Diagnostic errors are prevalent in critical care practice and are associated with patient harm and costs for providers and the healthcare system.Patient complexity,illness severity,and the urgency in initiating proper...Diagnostic errors are prevalent in critical care practice and are associated with patient harm and costs for providers and the healthcare system.Patient complexity,illness severity,and the urgency in initiating proper treatment all contribute to decision-making errors.Clinician-related factors such as fatigue,cognitive overload,and inexperience further interfere with effective decision-making.Cognitive science has provided insight into the clinical decision-making process that can be used to reduce error.This evidence-based review discusses ten common misconceptions regarding critical care decision-making.By understanding how practitioners make clinical decisions and examining how errors occur,strategies may be developed and implemented to decrease errors in Decision-making and improve patient outcomes.展开更多
Technological advances and evolving demands inmedical care have led to challenges in ensuring adequate training for providers of critical care. Reliance on the traditional experience-based training model alone is insu...Technological advances and evolving demands inmedical care have led to challenges in ensuring adequate training for providers of critical care. Reliance on the traditional experience-based training model alone is insufficient for ensuring quality and safety in patient care. This article provides a brief overview of the existing educational practice within the critical care environment. Challenges to education within common daily activities of critical care practice are reviewed. Some practical evidence-based educational approaches are then described which can be incorporated into the daily practice of critical care without disrupting workflow or compromising the quality of patient care. It is hoped that such approaches for improving the efficiency and efficacy of critical care education will be integrated into training programs.展开更多
Ascorbic acid(vitamin C) elicits pleiotropic effects in thebody. Among its functions, it serves as a potent antioxidant, a co-factor in collagen and catecholamine synthesis, and a modulator of immune cell biology. Fur...Ascorbic acid(vitamin C) elicits pleiotropic effects in thebody. Among its functions, it serves as a potent antioxidant, a co-factor in collagen and catecholamine synthesis, and a modulator of immune cell biology. Furthermore, an increasing body of evidence suggests that highdose vitamin C administration improves hemodynamics, end-organ function, and may improve survival in critically ill patients. This article reviews studies that evaluate vitamin C in pre-clinical models and clinical trials with respect to its therapeutic potential.展开更多
Independent lung ventilation,though infrequently used in the critical care setting,has been reported as a rescue strategy for patients in respiratory failure resulting from severe unilateral lung pathology.This involv...Independent lung ventilation,though infrequently used in the critical care setting,has been reported as a rescue strategy for patients in respiratory failure resulting from severe unilateral lung pathology.This involves isolating and ventilating the right and left lung differently,using separate ventilators.Here,we describe our experience with independent lung ventilation in a patient with unilateral diffuse alveolar hemorrhage,who presented with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure despite maximal ventilatory support.Conventional ventilation in this scenario leads to preferential distribution of tidal volume to the nondiseased lung causing over distension and inadvertent volume trauma.Since each lung has a different compliance and respiratory mechanics,instituting separate ventilation strategies to each lung could potentially minimize lung injury.Based on review of literature,we provide a detailed description of indications and procedures for establishing independent lung ventilation,and also provide an algorithm for management and weaning a patient from independent lung ventilation.展开更多
文摘Diagnostic errors are prevalent in critical care practice and are associated with patient harm and costs for providers and the healthcare system.Patient complexity,illness severity,and the urgency in initiating proper treatment all contribute to decision-making errors.Clinician-related factors such as fatigue,cognitive overload,and inexperience further interfere with effective decision-making.Cognitive science has provided insight into the clinical decision-making process that can be used to reduce error.This evidence-based review discusses ten common misconceptions regarding critical care decision-making.By understanding how practitioners make clinical decisions and examining how errors occur,strategies may be developed and implemented to decrease errors in Decision-making and improve patient outcomes.
文摘Technological advances and evolving demands inmedical care have led to challenges in ensuring adequate training for providers of critical care. Reliance on the traditional experience-based training model alone is insufficient for ensuring quality and safety in patient care. This article provides a brief overview of the existing educational practice within the critical care environment. Challenges to education within common daily activities of critical care practice are reviewed. Some practical evidence-based educational approaches are then described which can be incorporated into the daily practice of critical care without disrupting workflow or compromising the quality of patient care. It is hoped that such approaches for improving the efficiency and efficacy of critical care education will be integrated into training programs.
文摘Ascorbic acid(vitamin C) elicits pleiotropic effects in thebody. Among its functions, it serves as a potent antioxidant, a co-factor in collagen and catecholamine synthesis, and a modulator of immune cell biology. Furthermore, an increasing body of evidence suggests that highdose vitamin C administration improves hemodynamics, end-organ function, and may improve survival in critically ill patients. This article reviews studies that evaluate vitamin C in pre-clinical models and clinical trials with respect to its therapeutic potential.
文摘Independent lung ventilation,though infrequently used in the critical care setting,has been reported as a rescue strategy for patients in respiratory failure resulting from severe unilateral lung pathology.This involves isolating and ventilating the right and left lung differently,using separate ventilators.Here,we describe our experience with independent lung ventilation in a patient with unilateral diffuse alveolar hemorrhage,who presented with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure despite maximal ventilatory support.Conventional ventilation in this scenario leads to preferential distribution of tidal volume to the nondiseased lung causing over distension and inadvertent volume trauma.Since each lung has a different compliance and respiratory mechanics,instituting separate ventilation strategies to each lung could potentially minimize lung injury.Based on review of literature,we provide a detailed description of indications and procedures for establishing independent lung ventilation,and also provide an algorithm for management and weaning a patient from independent lung ventilation.
