OBJECTIVE Intensive Care Units (ICUs) experience higher infection rates due to the severity of illness and frequent use of invasive devices. Use of personal protective equipment reduces the risk of acquiring an infection. This study has been conducted to determine the role of using shoe covers by medical staff and visitors on infection rates, mortality and length of stay in ICU. METHODS It is...

OBJECTIVE Expert surveillance of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) is a key parameter for good clinical practice, especially in intensive care medicine. Assessment of clinical entities such as HCAIs is a time-consuming task for highly trained experts. Such are neither available nor affordable in sufficient numbers for continuous surveillance services. Intelligent information technology (...

INTRODUCTION. The problem of parents and children staying together in intensive care units (ICU) is solved from a categorical ban the past, to exceptional loyalty at present time, when it allowed stay with patient his beloved pets. OBJECTIVES. To study social psycho-emotional aspects joint child unit as an indicator satisfaction medical care. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Hospitals commitment family c...

Weaning protocols can improve outcomes, but their efficacy may vary with patient and staff characteristics. In this prospective, controlled trial, we compared protocol-based weaning to usual, physician-directed weaning in a closed medical intensive care unit (ICU) with high physician staffing levels and structured, system-based rounds. Adult patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more th...

PURPOSE The objectives of this study are to describe organizational and safety culture in Canadian intensive care units (ICUs), to correlate culture with the number of beds and physician management model in each ICU, and to correlate organizational culture and safety culture. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, surveys of organizational and safety culture were administered to...

BACKGROUND Managing anxiety, pain and delirium in critically ill patients is an ongoing challenge. Differences in physician practice, variations of pharmacological agents, as well as concentrations and units can increase the risk of medication error Personal preferences, subjectivity, and nurses' level of expertise are variables when titrating analgesic and sedation infusions. PURPOSE The pur...