background demand for icu beds is exceeding its supply. since the sources are limited in some centers, it is necessary to design a model to identify the patients who benefit more from icu beds. objectives the present study aimed to develop a model to prioritize adult patients according to their clinical indications by a three rounded delphi method study. patients and methods in this study, 22 p...

background critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation require frequent suctioning of airway secretion. closed suction permits suctioning without disconnection from ventilator; so it might decrease hypoxemia and infection rate. objectives this study aimed to evaluate the effect of closed tracheal suction system (ctss) versus open tracheal suction system (otss). patients and methods thi...

Results. A sample of 48 doctors and 136 nurses (47% response rate) from four ICUs responded to the survey. Nurses and doctors were found to have differing perceptions of interdisciplinary communication, with nurses reporting lower levels of communication openness between nurses and doctors. Compared with senior doctors, trainee doctors also reported lower levels of communication openness betwee...

With the development of new technologies and drugs, health care is becoming increasingly complex and expensive. Governments and health care providers around the world devote a large proportion of their budgets to maintaining quality of care. During 2007, Critical Care published several papers that highlight important aspects of critical care management, which can be subdivided into structure, p...

medication errors (mes) are the most common error in icus. in fact, 78% of all serious errors in icus are due to mes. therefore, detecting mes has vital significance. the goal of this study was to investigate the frequency, type and consequences of different types of errors including prescribing, transcribing and administration errors in an icu of a large teaching hospital. disguised direct obs...

The provision of nutrition to critically ill patients is internationally accepted as standard of care in intensive care units (ICU). Nutrition has the potential to positively impact patient outcomes, is relatively inexpensive compared to other commonly used treatments, and is increasingly identified as a marker of quality ICU care. Furthermore, we are beginning to understand its true potential,...

A mobile intensive care unit is an important extension of a regional intensive treatment service. The treatment and monitoring of critically ill patients can be maintained during transfer for specialist investigation or treatment. Such units can be brought into service with low construction and running costs.

In order to improve quality (of therapy), one has to know, evaluate and make transparent, one's own daily processes. This process of reflection can be supported by the presentation of key data or indicators, in which the real as-is state can be represented. Quality indicators are required in order to depict the as-is state.Quality indicators reflect adherence to specific quality measures. Conti...