Ventilator News and Research

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Model against unnecessary use of antibiotics

Patients in intensive care units (ICU) are often administered antibiotics against ventilator-associated pneumonia, 'to be on the safe side'. Dutch researcher Stefan Visscher has developed a model that can quickly establish whether or not a patient has pneumonia. This can prevent unnecessary treatment with antibiotics.

15 Oct 2008

Prolonging the withdrawal of life support in the ICU affects family satisfaction with care

Clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) often care for patients who are on several life support measures at once. When such a patient is dying and the decision is reached to withdraw life support, these clinicians may make an imperfect compromise in seeking to balance the complex needs of the patient and the patient's family - they may remove the life support measures one at a time over a period of days, rather than withdrawing all at once.

15 Oct 2008

FDA approves implantable electronic device that stimulates the diaphragm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it approved the NeuRx DPS RA/4 Respiratory Stimulation System, an implantable electronic device that stimulates the diaphragm and allows certain spinal cord injury patients to breathe for at least four hours a day without a mechanical ventilator.

19 Jun 2008

Optimising use of ventilators to treat patients while minimising risk of injury

The ventilators on an intensive care ward of a hospital offer a vital lifeline to the sickest and most vulnerable patients, providing the oxygen that keeps them alive when they are unable to breathe for themselves.

3 Jun 2008

Noninvasive ventilation eases final hours, days for lung cancer patients

For patients with end-stage lung cancer, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) may be more effective at reducing breathing difficulty than standard oxygen therapy, and has the added advantage of reducing patients' reliance on morphine, thus improving lucidity in their final days, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

20 May 2008

Mayo Clinic research shows U.S. intensive care units' prevention of pneumonia in critically-ill generally strong; identifies area of improvement

Mayo Clinic researchers found that the frequency with which critically-ill patients developed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is approximately the same at a multidisciplinary medical center such as Mayo Clinic compared to the average VAP-risk rate for 211 hospitals in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).

20 May 2008

Simple checklist at NYC public hospitals effective in preventing infections

A "simple checklist" used by the 11 New York City public hospitals is "credited with drastically reducing" the number of infections at the facilities, the New York Times reports.

20 May 2008

Silver-coated endotracheal tube reduces infections from highly resistant bacteria

A silver-coated endotracheal tube may reduce infections with highly resistant bacteria over traditional tubes by nearly half, according to the results of a large randomized trial to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Monday, May 19.

19 May 2008

New deadly superbug Steno an ever-increasing threat

Scientists in the Britain say hospitals could be facing an increasing threat from yet another deadly bacterial infection with the potential to rapidly develop a resistance to drugs.

8 May 2008

Superbug genome sequenced

The genome of a newly-emerging superbug, commonly known as Steno, has just been sequenced. The results reveal an organism with a remarkable capacity for drug resistance. The research was carried out by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge and the University of Bristol.

6 May 2008

New less traumatic way of delivering surfactant to help preemies breathe could reduce chronic lung disease

A less traumatic way of delivering surfactant, a lung lubricant that premature babies need to help them breathe, could reduce the incidence of respiratory problems they'll have later, Medical College of Georgia physicians say.

29 Apr 2008

Long-term use of mechanical ventilation contributes to the deterioration of human diaphragm muscle

A new study by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine shows, for the first time in humans, that ventilators combined with diaphragm disuse contributes to muscle atrophy in the diaphragm in as little as eighteen hours.

28 Mar 2008

Update on Cairns meningococcal case

As of 3.30 this afternoon the news on the little boy with suspected meningococcal is slightly more optimistic.

26 Mar 2008

Boy diagnosed with meningococcal in far north Queensland

The boy, aged three and a half years developed a high fever on Monday and then developed a telltale rash and was diagnosed with meningococcal disease.

25 Mar 2008

Obese ICU patients have lower mortality but longer ICU stays

Obese intensive care patients do not have a higher ICU death rate than non-obese ICU patients, but they remain in the ICU significantly longer and are intubated significantly longer than non-obese patients, a new study has found.

18 Mar 2008

JAMA MRSA article provides false support for CDC's 'do-nothing' status quo

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) purports to show that screening for MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus), a simple skin or nasal swab, is not effective in reducing MRSA hospital infections ("Universal Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus at Hospital Admission and Nosocomial Infection in Surgical Patients," JAMA vol. 299, no. 10, March 12, 2008).

11 Mar 2008

Gene chip technology used to distinguish ventilator-associated pneumonia from underlying critical illness

Critically ill patients who need a ventilator to breathe face a high risk of pneumonia.

14 Feb 2008

Bird flu death toll in Indonesia reaches 95

The death toll in Indonesia from bird flu has risen to 95 following the death of a woman in West Java.

15 Jan 2008

Sedative may have better outcomes than common medication for ICU patients on respirator

Intensive care unit patients on respirators who were sedated with the drug dexmedetomidine had more days alive without delirium or coma and better sedation compared to patients treated with the recommended drug lorazepam, according to a study in the December 12 issue of JAMA.

13 Dec 2007

Physical therapy in intensive care reduce hospital stays

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) cites the results of the first study to show the effectiveness of early physical therapy for patients in a medical intensive care unit (ICU).

19 Nov 2007