Changes in health-related quality of life and factors predicting long-term outcomes in older adults admitted to intensive care units.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine predictors of survival after hospital discharge and to describe the impact of intensive care unit admission on health-related quality of life at 6 months after hospital discharge in older adults admitted to intensive care units.

Design: Prospective longitudinal observational study with administered questionnaire.

Settings And Patients: Patients 65 yrs of age and older who were admitted to the medical, surgical, and coronary intensive care units for >24 hrs in a large urban teaching hospital system from August 2007 to May 2008 with a follow-up period ending April 2009.

Parathyroid surgery and methylene blue: a review with guidelines for safe intraoperative use.

Methylene blue has been used to help facilitate parathyroid surgery for over 30 years. Its use has been widely considered both safe and cost effective. Twenty-six cases of a toxic metabolic encephalopathy, however, have been reported with its use.