Role of an electronic antimicrobial alert system in intensive care in dosing errors and pharmacist workload.

Background: Critically ill patients are vulnerable to dosing errors. We developed an electronic Antimicrobial Dose alert based upon Creatinine clearance (ADC-alert), which gives daily antimicrobial dosing advice based upon the 24-h creatinine clearance (CLcr).

Objective: Primary objective: to verify the correctness of the ADC-alert output and its benefit for the workload of the clinical pharmacist (CP).

Socio-economic, behavioural, (neuro)psychological and clinical determinants of HRQoL in people living with HIV in Belgium: a pilot study.

Introduction: Due to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV-1 infection has evolved from a lethal to a chronic disease. As such, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has become an important outcome variable. The purpose of this study was to identify socio-economic, behavioural, (neuro)psychological and clinical determinants of HRQoL among people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Prevention of nosocomial infections in intensive care patients.

Background: Changes in patient profile, and in the health care environment, altering socioeconomic conditions and advances in science and information technology challenge the nursing profession, in particular intensive care nursing. All these changes will undoubtedly affect the way we will practice in the (near) future. A comprehensive understanding of these factors is therefore essential if nursing is to meet the challenges presented by tomorrow's critical care environment.

Impaired hemoglobin scavenging during an acute HIV-1 retroviral syndrome.

Background: We report a case of temporary impaired hemoglobin scavenging in a patient with an acute HIV-1 retroviral syndrome. The patient was presented at the emergency department in a severe inflammatory state, mimicking bacterial sepsis and/or hemophagocytic syndrome. The serum showed a hemolytic aspect.

Nurses' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of surgical site infection.

Background: Prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) is an important responsibility for nurses. Knowledge of the related evidence-based recommendations is necessary to provide high-quality nursing care.

Aim: Development of an evaluation tool and subsequent evaluation of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge of the SSI prevention guideline to identify their specific educational needs, as part of a needs analysis preceding the development of an e-learning module on infection prevention.

Implementation of an evidence-based sepsis program in the intensive care unit: evident or not?

Severe sepsis and septic shock are among the most serious health conditions and are associated with unwelcome clinical, social, and economic outcomes. With the introduction of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines, the campaign leaders aimed to reduce mortality from severe sepsis by at least one quarter by 2009 by means of a six-point action plan, namely, building awareness among health care professionals, improving early and accurate disease recognition and diagnosis, increasing the use of appropriate treatments and interventions, education, getting better post-intensive care unit access, and developing standard processes of care. However, adherence to these recommendations is a first but crucial step in obtaining these goals.

Determinants and impact of multidrug antibiotic resistance in pathogens causing ventilator-associated-pneumonia.

Introduction: The idea that multidrug resistance (MDR) to antibiotics in pathogens causing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is an independent risk factor for adverse outcome is still debated. We aimed to identify the determinants of MDR versus non-MDR microbial aetiology in VAP and assessed whether MDR versus non-MDR VAP was independently associated with increased 30-day mortality.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of a prospectively registered cohort of adult patients with microbiologically confirmed VAP, diagnosed at a university hospital intensive care unit during a three-year period.

Antimicrobial resistance in nosocomial bloodstream infection associated with pneumonia and the value of systematic surveillance cultures in an adult intensive care unit.

Objective: To study the occurrence of multiple-drug-resistant pathogens in nosocomial bloodstream infection associated with pneumonia. To evaluate prediction of multiple drug resistance by systematic surveillance cultures.

Design: A retrospective study of a prospectively gathered cohort.

Documented and clinically suspected bacterial infection precipitating intensive care unit admission in patients with hematological malignancies: impact on outcome.

Objective: To assess the impact of documented and clinically suspected bacterial infection precipitating ICU admission on in-hospital mortality in patients with hematological malignancies.

Design And Setting: Prospective observational study in a 14-bed medical ICU at a tertiary university hospital.

Patients: A total of 172 consecutive patients with hematological malignancies admitted to the ICU for a life-threatening complication over a 4-year period were categorized into three main groups according to their admission diagnosis (documented bacterial infection, clinically suspected bacterial infection, nonbacterial complications) by an independent panel of three physicians blinded to the patient's outcome and C-reactive protein levels.