An interprofessional training program for intrahospital transport of critically ill patients: model build-up and assessment.

Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures can be compromised by patient instability, equipment problems or inexperienced teamworking. This quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an in-situ interprofessional simulation-based training (IIST) model for junior member transport teams. Newly registered postgraduate physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists underwent the IIST.

Aerosol distribution during open suctioning and long-term surveillance of air quality in a respiratory care center within a medical center.

Background: The investigation of hospital air quality has been conducted in wards, ICUs, operating theaters, and public areas. Few studies have assessed air quality in respiratory care centers (RCCs), especially in mechanically ventilated patients with open suctioning.

Methods: The RCC air quality indices (temperature, relative humidity, levels of CO2, total volatile organic compounds, particulate matter [PM], bacteria, and fungi) were monitored over 1 y.

The impact of aerosolized mucolytic agents on the airflow resistance of bacterial filters used in mechanical ventilation.

Background/purpose: In order to reduce the contamination in the ventilator, bacterial filters were placed on the expiratory limb of a ventilator circuit. Aerosolized mucolytic agents may increase the resistance of the ventilator. The goal of this study is to determine the impact of aerosolized mucolytic agents on the pressure change during mechanical ventilation.

Effects of exercise training on pulmonary mechanics and functional status in patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Background: The functional status and outcomes in patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) are often limited by poor endurance and pulmonary mechanics, which result from the primary diseases or prolonged time bedridden. We evaluate the impact of exercise training on pulmonary mechanics, physical functional status, and hospitalization outcomes in PMV patients.

Methods: Twenty-seven subjects with PMV in our respiratory care center (RCC) were divided randomly into an exercise training group (n = 12) and a control group (n = 15).

Resolution of organ functional scores to predict the outcome in adult acute respiratory distress syndrome patients receiving high-frequency oscillatory ventilation.

Background: High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) may be used as a rescue therapy for adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome who have failed conventional ventilation (CV). We undertook a prospective study to investigate the determinants of mortality and the sequential evolution of organ failures in HFOV-treated adult acute respiratory distress syndrome patients.

Methods: The indication for HFOV was severe oxygenation failure (PaO2/FiO2 <120 mm Hg) while receiving aggressive CV support (defined by either PaO2 ≤65 mm Hg with FiO2 ≥0.