Editorials:

Christopher W. Bryan-Brown

My First 50 Years of Critical Care (1956–2006)
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 12-16. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Letters to the Editor:

Chris Stewart

In Defense of the DNP
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 17. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Sandra Walden

Questioning Guidelines in the ECG Puzzler
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 17-18. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Michele Kilbourne and Chris Sorenson

Questioning Guidelines in the ECG Puzzler
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 18. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Kathleen Kunis

Confirmation of Nasogastric Tube Placement
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 19. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Melinda Schell

Reader Offers Solution to Blood Pressure Cuff Problem
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 19. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Preventing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia:

Arlene F. Tolentino-DelosReyes, Susan D. Ruppert, and Shyang-Yun Pamela K. Shiao

Evidence-Based Practice: Use of the Ventilator Bundle to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
After reviewing published evidence on the use of the ventilator bundle to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia, these authors held education sessions to share their findings before evaluating changes in nurses’ knowledge and practices.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 20-27. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Carolyn L. Cason, Tracy Tyner, Sue Saunders, and Lisa Broome

Nurses’ Implementation of Guidelines for Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ventilator-associated pneumonia accounts for 47% of infections in patients in intensive care units. This study evaluated the extent to which nurses working in intensive care units implemented best practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for reducing the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in the management of adult intensive care patients.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 28-37. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [CE Test]  

Critical Care Techniques:

Suzanne Gould, Mary Jo Cimino, and David R. Gerber

Packed Red Blood Cell Transfusion in the Intensive Care Unit: Limitations and Consequences
Complications of blood transfusions such as reactions and the transmission of infectious agents long have been recognized. These authors reviewed published articles in the PubMed database of the National Library of Medicine—case studies, meta-analyses, and retrospective and prospective studies—that discussed indications, clinical utility, limitations, and consequences of packed red blood cell transfusions, especially in the treatment of critically ill patients.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 39-48. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [CE Test]  

David R. Goldhill, Michael Imhoff, Barbara McLean, and Carl Waldmann

Rotational Bed Therapy to Prevent and Treat Respiratory Complications: A Review and Meta-Analysis
Immobility in the intensive care unit can result in serious medical complications. This article reviews literature on the effectiveness of rotational therapy (using therapeutic surfaces that turn on their longitudinal axes) for the prevention and treatment of respiratory complications in the critically ill.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 50-61. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [CE Test]  

Cardiac Critical Care:

Shu-Fen Wung

Discriminating Between Right Coronary Artery and Circumflex Artery Occlusion by Using a Noninvasive 18-Lead Electrocardiogram
Differentiating occlusion of the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery (also called the circumflex artery) from occlusion of the right coronary artery is difficult; either may be associated with a pattern of acute inferior myocardial infarction on the electrocardiogram. This article examines whether an inexpensive 18-lead electrocardiogram can help to differentiate sites of coronary occlusion.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 63-71. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Psychosocial Issues in Critical Care:

Elizabeth Chapman, Jayan Parameshwar, David Jenkins, Stephen Large, and Steven Tsui

Psychosocial Issues for Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices: A Qualitative Pilot Study
Few studies have focused on patients’ experiences of having a ventricular assist device surgically implanted. Using semistructured face-to-face interviews, these authors retrospectively explored the phenomenological or psychological impact of surgical implantation of a ventricular assist device in 6 patients (4 men and 2 women) and 3 of their relatives in the United Kingdom.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 72-81. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Neurological Critical Care:

Ilya Sabsovich, Zia Rehman, Jose Yunen, and George Coritsidis

Propofol Infusion Syndrome: A Case of Increasing Morbidity With Traumatic Brain Injury
Propofol infusion syndrome is a rare but often fatal complication in critically ill children given prolonged high-dose infusions of the drug. Often undetectable, the syndrome is characterized by severe metabolic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure, refractory myocardial failure, and hyperlipidemia. This report describes the case of a previously healthy 16-year-old boy with traumatic brain injury who died of refractory cardiac dysrhythmia and circulatory collapse after continuous profusion of propofol for sedation and to control intracranial pressure.
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 82-85. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Current Controversies in Critical Care:

Lisa Day

Healing Environments and the Limits of Empirical Evidence
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 86-89. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Cardiology Casebook:

Kathryn Buchanan Keller and Louis Lemberg

Electrocardiographic Artifacts
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 90-92. [Full Text] [PDF]  

ECG Puzzler:

Mary G. Carey and Michele M. Pelter

Evaluating Pacemaker Function With Full Disclosure
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 93-94. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Education Directory:

Education Directory
Am J Crit Care 2007 16(1): 95-96. [Full Text] [PDF]  

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