An Analysis of Arguments for and Against Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Part One

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Thomasma
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hospital Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Return Home ◽  
Life Prolongation

In advanced technological societies there is growing concern about the prospect of protracted deaths marked by incapacitation, intolerable pain and indignity, and invasion by machines and tubing. Life prolongation for critically ill cancer patients in the United States, for example, literally costs a fortune for very little benefit, typically from $82,845 to $189,339 for an additional year of life. Those who return home after major interventions live on average only 3 more months; the others live out their days in a hospital intensive care unit.

scholarly journals Acinetobacterinfections: a growing threat for critically ill patients

2007 ◽  
Vol 136 (8) ◽  
pp. 1009-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. FALAGAS ◽  
E. A. KARVELI ◽  
I. I. SIEMPOS ◽  
K. Z. VARDAKAS
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Icu Patients

SUMMARYThere has been increasing concern regarding the rise ofAcinetobacterinfections in critically ill patients. We extracted information regarding the relative frequency ofAcinetobacterpneumonia and bacteraemia in intensive-care-unit (ICU) patients and the antimicrobial resistance ofAcinetobacterisolates from studies identified in electronic databases.Acinetobacterinfections most frequently involve the respiratory tract of intubated patients andAcinetobacterpneumonia has been more common in critically ill patients in Asian (range 4–44%) and European (0–35%) hospitals than in United States hospitals (6–11%). There is also a gradient in Europe regarding the proportion of ICU-acquired pneumonias caused byAcinetobacterwith low numbers in Scandinavia, and gradually rising in Central and Southern Europe. A higher proportion ofAcinetobacterisolates were resistant to aminoglycosides and piperacillin/tazobactam in Asian and European countries than in the United States. The data suggest thatAcinetobacterinfections are a growing threat affecting a considerable proportion of critically ill patients, especially in Asia and Europe.

scholarly journals Evolving oxygenation management reasoning in COVID-19

Diagnosis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-383
Author(s):  
Steven Liu ◽  
Cara Sweeney ◽  
Nalinee Srisarajivakul-Klein ◽  
Amanda Klinger ◽  
Irina Dimitrova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure ◽  
Hospital Wards

AbstractThe initial phase of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the United States saw rapidly-rising patient volumes along with shortages in personnel, equipment, and intensive care unit (ICU) beds across many New York City hospitals. As our hospital wards quickly filled with unstable, hypoxemic patients, our hospitalist group was forced to fundamentally rethink the way we triaged and managed cases of hypoxemic respiratory failure. Here, we describe the oxygenation protocol we developed and implemented in response to changing norms for acuity on inpatient wards. By reflecting on lessons learned, we re-evaluate the applicability of these oxygenation strategies in the evolving pandemic. We hope to impart to other providers the insights we gained with the challenges of management reasoning in COVID-19.

scholarly journals Healthcare-Associated Infections among Patients in a Large Burn Intensive Care Unit: Incidence and Pathogens, 2008–2012

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1304-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Weber ◽  
David van Duin ◽  
Lauren M. DiBiase ◽  
Charles Scott Hultman ◽  
Samuel W. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Burn Injuries ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Healthcare Associated Infections ◽  
Burn Patients ◽  
Healthcare Associated

Burn injuries are a common source of morbidity and mortality in the United States, with an estimated 450,000 burn injuries requiring medical treatment, 40,000 requiring hospitalization, and 3,400 deaths from burns annually in the United States. Patients with severe burns are at high risk for local and systemic infections. Furthermore, burn patients are immunosuppressed, as thermal injury results in less phagocytic activity and lymphokine production by macrophages. In recent years, multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens have become major contributors to morbidity and mortality in burn patients.Since only limited data are available on the incidence of both device- and nondevice-associated healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in burn patients, we undertook this retrospective cohort analysis of patients admitted to our burn intensive care unit (ICU) from 2008 to 2012.

scholarly journals Advances in the Management of Sepsis and the Understanding of Key Immunologic Defects

2011 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 1349-1362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee P. Skrupky ◽  
Paul W. Kerby ◽  
Richard S. Hotchkiss
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Operating Room ◽  
The United States ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
Treatment Algorithms ◽  
New Treatment ◽  
Overall Mortality

Anesthesiologists are increasingly confronting the difficult problem of caring for patients with sepsis in the operating room and in the intensive care unit. Sepsis occurs in more than 750,000 patients in the United States annually and is responsible for more than 210,000 deaths. Approximately 40% of all intensive care unit patients have sepsis on admission to the intensive care unit or experience sepsis during their stay in the intensive care unit. There have been significant advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of the disorder and its treatment. Although deaths attributable to sepsis remain stubbornly high, new treatment algorithms have led to a reduction in overall mortality. Thus, it is important for anesthesiologists and critical care practitioners to be aware of these new therapeutic regimens. The goal of this review is to include practical points on important advances in the treatment of sepsis and provide a vision of future immunotherapeutic approaches.

scholarly journals Incidence of Delirium in Critically Ill Cancer Patients

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis A. Sánchez-Hurtado ◽  
Nancy Hernández-Sánchez ◽  
Mario Del Moral-Armengol ◽  
Humberto Guevara-García ◽  
Francisco J. García-Guillén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Icu Stay ◽  
Potential Risk Factors

Objective. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of delirium and its risk factors among critically ill cancer patients in an intensive care unit (ICU). Materials and Methods. This is a prospective cohort study. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) was measured daily at morning to diagnose delirium by a physician. Delirium was diagnosed when the daily was positive during a patient’s ICU stay. All patients were followed until they were discharged from the ICU. Using logistic regression, we estimated potential risk factors for developing delirium. The primary outcome was the development of ICU delirium. Results. There were 109 patients included in the study. Patients had a mean age of 48.6 ± 18.07 years, and the main reason for admission to the ICU was septic shock (40.4%). The incidence of delirium was 22.9%. The mortality among all subjects was 15.6%; the mortality rate in patients who developed delirium was 12%. The only variable that had an association with the development of delirium in the ICU was the days of use of mechanical ventilation (OR: 1.06; CI 95%: 0.99–1.13;p=0.07). Conclusion. Delirium is a frequent condition in critically ill cancer patients admitted to the ICU. The duration in days of mechanical ventilation is potential risk factors for developing delirium during an ICU stay. Delirium was not associated with a higher rate of mortality in this group of patients.

Shiva’s Babies

2019 ◽  
pp. 124-141
Author(s):  
Swasti Bhattacharyya
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Humility ◽  
Religious Perspectives

Discussing religious views from within any tradition is challenging because they are not monolithic. However, it is worth exploring religious perspectives because they are often the foundation, whether conscious or not, of the reasoning underlying people’s decisions. Following a brief discussion on the importance of cultural humility and understanding the worldview of patients, the author focuses on Hindu perspectives regarding the care of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Along with applying six elements of Hindu thought (underlying unity of all life, multivalent nature of Hindu traditions, dharma, emphasis on societal good, karma, and ahimsa), the author incorporates perspectives of Hindu adults, living in the United States, who responded to a nationwide survey regarding the care of high-risk newborn infants in the hospital.

scholarly journals Population Trends in Intensive Care Unit Admissions in the United States Among Medicare Beneficiaries, 2006–2015

2018 ◽  
Vol 170 (3) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary E. Weissman ◽  
Meeta Prasad Kerlin ◽  
Yihao Yuan ◽  
Nicole B. Gabler ◽  
Peter W. Groeneveld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Medicare Beneficiaries
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