OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical outcomes of glycemic control of intensive insulin therapy and recommend its place in the management of critically ill patients. DATA SOURCES Searches of MEDLINE (1966-March 2004) and Cochrane Library, as well as an extensive manual review of abstracts were performed using the key search terms hyperglycemia, insulin, intensive care unit, critically ill, outco...

background: transport of the critically ill patient is potentially risky and the transport team should be careful in making decision and be prepared to deal with them in any condition. our physicians are not qualified in safe transport. we want to evaluate the effect of small group teaching method for promotion of physicians' skills in transport of critically ill patients. methods: in an interv...

OBJECTIVE In critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, daily interruption of sedative infusions decreases duration of mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit length of stay. Whether this sedation strategy reduces the incidence of complications commonly associated with critical illness is not known. DESIGN Blinded, retrospective chart review. SETTING University-based h...

OBJECTIVE Many aspects of the care and underlying pathologies in patients suffering critical illness can detrimentally influence the normal healing processes of skin and soft tissues. Although a great diversity of pathologies exists, some aspects of the diseases and their treatments are common in critically ill patients. We aimed to identify some features, both common and specific, that could i...

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) exert protective effects during experimental endotoxemia through upregulation of cellular immunity and phagocytic functions. They are part of a positive regulatory feedback loop that enhances the production of the other. Because critically ill patients show a marked suppression of T-cell and macrophage functions with a high susceptibility ...

Structural anthropology remains a hidden influence in Frantz Fanon’s theory of the ‘sociogenesis’ mental illness. This chapter outlines how belief therapeutic capacity ‘socialization’ critically absorbs Claude Lévi-Strauss’s examination link between ‘madness’ and symbolic structure society. These innovations, Chamberlin argues, pushed Fanon to institute ‘semi-hospitalization’ as radically diale...

OBJECTIVES The matrix protein hyaluronic acid (HA, hyaluronan) has possibly additional immune-regulatory functions in inflammation. We aimed at evaluating serum HA concentrations in critically ill patients. DESIGN AND METHODS We analyzed serum HA levels in 164 critically ill patients at a medical ICU and 61 healthy controls, with respect to organ dysfunction, systemic inflammation and mortali...