Intensive Care Unit or ICU is a specialized section of a hospital containing the equipment, medical and nursing staff, and monitoring devices necessary to provide intensive care.
Comprehensive Approach Associated With Reduced MRSA in French Hospitals – An intensive program of surveillance, precautions, training and feedback in a large multihospital institution appears to be associated with reductions in rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) over a 15-year period.
Report on H1N1 cases in California shows hospitalization can occur at all ages, with many severe – In contrast with some common perceptions regarding 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infections, an examination of cases in California indicates that hospitalization and death can occur at all ages. About 30 percent of hospitalized cases have been severe enough to require treatment in an intensive care unit.
Experts advise WHO on pandemic vaccine policies and strategies — Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note – The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, which advises WHO on policies and strategies for vaccines and immunization, devoted a session of its 27?29 October meeting to pandemic influenza vaccines.
Lessons learned from H1N1 virus pandemic — A comprehensive study has revealed, for the first time, the impact of swine flu on the health of the general public in Australia and New Zealand. – Australia and New Zealand sharing the lessons learned in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across these two countries on the impact of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. The information being shared with countries in the Northern Hemisphere to help them prepare for their upcoming flu season.
Rhinosinusitis should be considered the primary cause of TSS when another site of infection has not been identified. – Rhinosinusitis (infection and inflammation in the sinus passages surrounding the nose) appears to be a primary factor in about one-fifth of toxic shock syndrome cases in children.
Vaccine shows therapeutic promise against advanced melanoma – A vaccine for one of the most lethal cancers, advanced melanoma, has shown improved response rates and progression-free survival for patients when combined with the immunotherapy drug, Interleukin-2, according to researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Acid-suppressive medication use was associated with 30% increased odds of hospital-acquired pneumonia. – Hospitalized patients who receive acid-suppressive medications such as a proton-pump inhibitor have a 30 percent increased odds of developing pneumonia while in the hospital, according to a study in the May 27 issue of JAMA.
Reducing resident work hours could cut serious medical errors by 25 percent in medical intensive care units and could cost $1.6 billion annually. – New recommendations to limit the work hours of medical residents could cost teaching hospitals about $1.6 billion annually to hire substitute workers, according to a new report from the RAND Corporation and UCLA, USA.
University of Arizona research on scorpion antivenom published in NEJM. Antivenom results in prompt recovery from nerve poisoning. – Youngsters suffering severe nerve poisoning following a scorpion sting recover completely and quickly if a scorpion-specific antivenom is administered, according to a study conducted by researchers from The University of Arizona and reported in the May 14 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Low vitamin D or Vitamin D deficiency may cause problems for acutely ill patients in ICU. – A group of endocrinologists in Sydney have observed that very sick patients tend to have very low levels of Vitamin D. The sicker they are, the lower the levels.
