ED FROM Sjögren P, Nilsson E, Forsell M, et al. A systematic review of the preventive effect of oral hygiene on pneumonia and respiratory tract infection in elderly people in hospitals and nursing homes: effect estimates and methodological quality of randomized controlled trials. J Am Geriatr Soc 2008;56:2124– 30. Correspondence to: Dr P Sjögren, Oral Care AB, Göteborg, Sweden; petteri.sjogren@...

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The ideal time for performing a tracheostomy has not been clearly established. Periods ranging from 3 days to 3 weeks have been suggested in the literature. With current operative methods, it has been established that tracheostomy can be performed with a low rate of complications. In a review of 281 tracheostomies, as well as another 2,862 cases in the literature, Zeito...

conclusions tuberculosis was an important cause of cap in our region. hence, it should be considered in all patients admitted with a cap diagnosis. results among 120 patients with cap, the most common etiology was s. pneumoniae (24.4%), followed by mycobacterium tuberculosis (17.5%), s. aureus (6.7%), polymicrobial agents including anaerobes (4.2%), complicated hydatid cyst (2.5%), influenza a ...

the article on the incidence of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in patients with H1N1 infection [1]. Acquired HLH is associated with infections (particularly viral), malignancy, and auto-immune disorders [2]. We describe a case of HLH in a 66-year-old woman admitted to the intensive care unit after aortic valve replace ment. She had a history of a cerebral vascular event and diabetes m...

i n a survey of pneumonia due to mycoplasma 282 out of 12168 ovine and caprine lung condemnation were collected (2.32%). mycoplasma spp. has been isolated from pneumonic cases in 4 sheep and 2 goats. pcr studies were confirmed the genus of mycoplasma although attempting for identification of strains m. mycoides, m. capricolum/caprine pleuropneumonia and m. arginin were in failure. the lesions i...

I read with special interest the meta-analysis of Blot et al. in a recent issue of Critical Care [1]. In a systematic review of the available literature of both laboratory and clinical studies, comparing the sealing efficacy of polyvinylchloride cuffed endotracheal tubes (PVC-ET) versus poly-urethane cuffed endotracheal tubes (PU-ET), they demonstrated a clear advantage with a demonstrated dela...

background: nosocomial pneumonia is a prevalent complication in patients admitted to intensive care units (icu). endotracheal suction is used in cleaning the airways of secretions in patients under mechanical ventilation. performing suction accurately is of great importance to prevent ventilation associated pneumonia. the purpose of this study was to compare the effect of open versus closed tra...

We read with interest the observational study by Paula Ramirez et al. [1] discovering the appropriate starting time of antibiotic treatment in patients with ventilatorassociated pneumonia (VAP). In that study, 440 patients receiving mechanical ventilation were screened, but only patients with VAP were studied, including 43 with gradual VAP and 28 with non-gradual VAP, and they suggested that ea...