Comparative performance assessment of point-of-care testing devices for measuring glucose and ketones at the patient bedside.

Point-of-care (POC) testing devices for monitoring glucose and ketones can play a key role in the management of dysglycemia in hospitalized diabetes patients. The accuracy of glucose devices can be influenced by biochemical changes that commonly occur in critically ill hospital patients and by the medication prescribed. Little is known about the influence of these factors on ketone POC measurements.

Percutaneous tracheostomy in patients with disorders of the central nervous system.

Background And Purpose: Patients with disorders of the central nervous system frequently require maintenance of an artificial airway due to impairment of the cough reflex and swallowing, or due to the necessity to apply long-term mechanical ventilation. The technique of percutaneous tracheostomy, introduced in recent years to clinical practice globally, enables tracheostomy and establishment of an artificial airway in a bedside setting, in a quick, simple and minimally traumatic manner. It does not require the operating theatre environment and is associated with lower complication rates than the traditional surgical technique.

Two years on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis--does it change peritoneal transport?

We investigated changes in peritoneal transport in patients treated at least 2 years with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The study included 28 patients (21 men, 7 women; CAPD duration: 24.0 - 28.

Siderophore-mediated strategies of iron acquisition by extraintestinal isolates of Enterobacter spp.

A total of 89 examined Enterobacter isolates belonging to three species: E. cloaceae, E. aerogenes and E.