A randomised study of the effect of external distractors on the quality of ventilation in a simulated adult cardiac arrest.

Objective: To establish the role of distraction in learner performance and workload when ventilating a mannequin during a simulated cardiac arrest.

Design, Setting And Participants: Observational, randomised simulation study of critical care doctors and nurses, set in the critical care department of Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand

Interventions: Participants ventilated a mannequin for 1 minute in a neutral scenario that acted as a control, before immediately continuing to ventilate the mannequin in two experimental scenarios for 2 minutes each. Scenarios included one in which participants were asked questions based on resuscitation algorithms, and one in which the participants had to play the children's game hangman.

Hypertonic fluid administration in patients with septic shock: a prospective randomized controlled pilot study.

We assessed the short-term effects of hypertonic fluid versus isotonic fluid administration in patients with septic shock. This was a double-blind, prospective randomized controlled trial in a 15-bed intensive care unit. Twenty-four patients with septic shock were randomized to receive 250 mL 7.

The effects of hypertonic fluid administration on the gene expression of inflammatory mediators in circulating leucocytes in patients with septic shock: a preliminary study.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effect of hypertonic fluid administration on inflammatory mediator gene expression in patients with septic shock.

Design And Setting: Prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical study in a 15-bed mixed intensive care unit in a tertiary referral teaching hospital.

Interventions: Twenty-four patients, who met standard criteria for septic shock, were randomized to receive a bolus of hypertonic fluid (HT, 250 ml 6% HES/7.

Night shift: can a homeopathic remedy alleviate shift lag?

Night shift nurses are subject to shift lag or circadian dysrhythmia, which may result in physical and mental symptoms ranging from fatigue, irritability, depression, and apathy to gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and sleep disorders. This study investigated the effect a homeopathic remedy No-Shift-Lag had on the night shift nurses in an intensive care unit. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.