Search Tag: Pneumonia
Can the Ultrasound Probe Replace the Stethoscope?
2020 27 Jan
Auscultation is used in most routine examinations of critically ill patients and is considered to be one of the essential components of the clinical examination. Two of the most frequent pathologies encountered in critically ill patients are pulmonary oedema and pneumonia. Both of these conditions often coexist. In recent years, many clinicians... Read more
Understanding the Influenza Virus
2019 25 Jul
Diagnosis of the Influenza virus remains a challenge in the ICU. It is vital that knowledge of its pathophysiology and epidemiology is known so clinicians can make informed decisions regarding their patients’ health. The Influenza virus is found most commonly to replicate in the respiratory tract in humans. This is mainly due to the haemagglutinin... Read more
Taking Responsibility for Avoidable Patient Deaths
2019 11 Jun
Unmonitored opioid deaths at home after surgery. Primum Non Nocere. First, do no harm. These wise words form the basis of the oath sworn to our patients. With the vast array of treatment models, administration, and decisions in medicine today, this oath is more poignant than ever. Medical Errors are the third leading cause... Read more
Improving pneumonia diagnosis in Ugandan children
2018 09 Jul
Pneumonia is a major cause of childhood mortality and morbidity globally – particularly in resource-poor environments – and diagnosis of pneumonia can be complex. The current gold standard diagnostic technique is a chest X-ray, looking for the presence or absence of areas of consolidation on the lungs. However, this obviously exposes the patient to... Read more
Humidification During Mechanical Ventilation: A Systematic Review
2017 07 Jun
Mechanical ventilation (MV) suppresses the mechanisms that heat and moisturise inhaled air; hence, humidification is mandatory during MV. However, a systematic review published in the journal Critical Care finds no clear advantages in terms of clinical outcomes for different humidification devices. Gas delivered during mechanical ventilation must... Read more
Masimo Introduces Rad-G™ Pulse Oximeter
2017 10 May
Masimo has announced the introduction of Rad-G™, a combined pulse oximeter designed primarily for use in pneumonia screening and spot-checking of oxygen saturation (SpO2) in low-resource settings. The development of the device is supported in part by a grant of $4.95 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), announced in November 2016,... Read more
1 in 7 Sepsis Patients Readmitted within 30 Days
2017 22 Jan
Readmissions due to sepsis are higher and costlier than for the four conditions already reported in the U.S. to measure quality of care and guide pay for performance, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Their research is published in JAMA to coincide with the presentation... Read more
Using Data to Minimise Pneumonia Risk After Cardiac Surgery
2016 26 Jul
An article published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery identifies a list of 17 patient characteristics that include age, race, smoking habits, and white blood cell count among others, that are associated with developing pneumonia after cardiac surgery. Pneumonia is the most prevalent infection after such a surgery and often leads to longer hospital... Read more
Lung Ultrasound Safer Than Chest X-ray For Pneumonia in Children
2016 14 Apr
Lung ultrasound is portable, less costly and safer than chest X-rays when diagnosing pneumonia in children, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, results of which were published in the medical journal Chest . Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation... Read more