Treat Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus with a Minimum of 14 days of Antibiotics Iosifina Giannakikou MD There are approximately 2 million nosocomial infections in the United States each year. About 30%…
Consider Prophylactic Antibiotics when Leeches are Applied to Free Flaps Benjamin A. Mandel MD The use of leeches for medicinal purposes dates back at least 2,000 years. This practice peaked…
Consider Parvovirus B19 Infection in Patients with Anemia or Pancytopenia Jayme E. Locke MD Parvovirus B19 is a nonenveloped virus with single-stranded DNA that has a tropism for erythroid progenitor…
Consider Using Heliox in the Mechanically Vented Asthmatic Patient Anthony D. Slonim MD DrPH Therapeutic strategies in pulmonary medicine frequently employ bronchodilators or steroids to decrease airway resistance and improve…
Do not Routinely Extubate on Clinical Picture Alone Ronald W. Pauldine MD The benefits of separating patients from mechanical ventilation include decreasing the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia and ventilator-induced lung…
Treat Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia for 8 days B. Robert Gibson MD Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) refers to a pneumonia that arises after 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. Unfortunately, it is common, costly,…
Keep the Head of Bed Elevated at Least 30 degrees for Intubated Patients if no Contraindications Exist Deborah B. Hobson BSN Sean M. Berenholtz MD, MHS Mechanical ventilation is a…
Empirically Cover the Common Nosocomial Microbes in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia until the Cultures are Returned Anthony D. Slonim MD, DrPH Nosocomial pneumonia is an important hospital-acquired infection that occurs 48 hours…
Remove Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure Masks Periodically Bradford D. Winters MD, PhD Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) are two…
Do Not Attempt to Reverse Neuromuscular Blockade if there are no Twitches E. David Bravos MD Paralysis through the use of neuromuscular blockers can provide optimal conditions for many surgical…
