intensive care units

An article "Factors contributing to an increase in duplicate medication order errors after CPOE implementation" by Wetterneck et al. appeared recently in JAMIA (JAMIA doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000255).

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Expanded use of active surveillance for bacteria and of barrier precautions -- specifically, gloves and gowns -- did not reduce the transmission of two important antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital-based settings, according to a clinical trial conducted in 18 intensive care units in the United States.

(MedPage Today) -- Patients in Michigan's intensive care units were significantly less likely to die in the hospital following the launch of a quality improvement program that focused on infection control, researchers said.

(JAMA and Archives Journals) A multifaceted quality improvement intervention that included education, reminders and feedback through a collaborative telecommunication network improved the adoption of evidenced-based care practices in intensive care units at community hospitals for practices such as preventing catheter-related bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to a study that will appear in the Jan. 26 issue of JAMA.

One in three older adults with advanced cancer spends their last days in hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs), often with doctors employing Herculean efforts to prolong their life.

This week two more articles appeared describing how large hospital systems use market dominance to charge more.  Naturally, both were in news publications, not scholarly health services research journals.

San Francisco

(Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia) Severe sepsis, a disease characterized by a sudden drop in blood pressure and progressive organ dysfunction following infection, remains one of the most common causes of mortality in intensive care units worldwide.

A research team from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, Portugal, led by Miguel Soares, found that free heme, released from red blood cells during infection, is the cause of organ failure, leading to the lethal outcome of severe sepsis.

(American Physical Therapy Association) Patients who are critically ill and participate in mild exercise programs led by physical therapists achieve higher functional mobility and spend fewer days in intensive care units (ICU) and hospitals than those who receive less exercise.

A biomarker-guided strategy for antibiotics in intensive care units reduced drug use without increasing mortality, researchers said.

In a one-day snapshot of intensive care units around the world, more than half of the patients had acquired an infection during their stay, a major study revealed.