BACKGROUND Warfarin sodium is highly effective for prevention of embolic stroke, particularly in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, but its expected benefit can be offset by risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We studied the determinants of ICH outcome to quantify the independent effect of warfarin. METHODS Consecutive patients with supratentorial ICH treated in a tertiary care hospital wit...

BACKGROUND External ventricular drains (EVDs) are associated with high rates of infection, and EVD infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To determine whether the introduction of an evidence-based EVD infection control protocol could reduce the rate of EVD infections. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of an EVD infection control protocol introduced in a tert...

BACKGROUND Fever in neurocritical care patients is common and has a negative impact on neurological outcome. The purpose of this prospective observational study was (1) to evaluate the practicability of cooling with newly developed neck pads in the daily setting of neurointensive care unit (NICU) patients and (2) to evaluate its effectiveness as a surrogate endpoint to indicate the feasibility ...

The feasibility and accuracy of using checklists after every working shift in a bedside computer-based information system for documentation of secondary insults in the neurointensive care unit were evaluated. The ultimate goal was to get maximal attention to avoid secondary insults. Feasibility was investigated by assessing if the checklists were filled in as prescribed. Accuracy was evaluated ...

conclusions in this study, a low albumin level (≤ 3 mg/dl) was an indicator of nutritional status. patients’ albumin levels, bmi, nutritional status, apache ii score, and sofa score were associated with mortality. age in itself did not predict mortality in the elderly. objectives in this study, the effect of body mass index (bmi) and albumin values at first admission to the icu on the course an...

the empiric antibiotic therapy can result in antibiotic overuse, development of bacterial resistance and increasing costs in critically ill patients. the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of procalcitonin (pct) guide treatment on antibiotic use and clinical outcomes of patients admitted to intensive care unit (icu) with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (sirs).  a total ...

receiving information related to patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit is among the most important needs of the family members of such patients. when health care professionals should decide whether to be honest or to give hope, giving information becomes an ethical challenge we conducted a research to study the ethical approaches of iranian nurses to giving information to the family ...

background & aim: high levels of anxiety in mothers after the birth of a premature infant and its negative effects and consequences on the infant and the family indicate the necessity of performing an intervention for them. this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of neonatal intensive care unit orientation program on the anxiety of premature infants’ mothers in shahrekord . methods & ma...

conclusion the calculated ni rate in our study (14.7%) is higher than usual rates reported from picu in other societies. meanwhile, long stay in picu and age less than 2 years are the main risk factor for ni and subjects with ni are 5.13 times more likely to die. patients and methods this cross sectional study was carried out on all patients hospitalized for more than 48 hours in pediatric inte...

background: this study aimed to determine the impact of an empowerment program on maternal stress. materials and methods: during may 2009–may 2010, this quasi‑experimental study was performed in the neonatal intensive care unit (nicu) of shahid akbarabadi, rasoul‑e‑akram, and aliasghar hospitals affiliated to tehran university of medical sciences (iran). the program consists of an educational c...