Continuous endobronchial suctioning for refractory post lobectomy lung atelectasis: a case report.

The presentation of post lung resection atelectasis can vary between simple atelectasis and total lung collapse i.e., "white - out", making its treatment demanding in many occasions.

Validation of a classification system for causes of death in critical care: an assessment of inter-rater reliability.

Objective: Trials in critical care have previously used unvalidated systems to classify cause of death. We aimed to provide initial validation of a method to classify cause of death in intensive care unit patients.

Design, Setting And Participants: One hundred case scenarios of patients who died in an ICU were presented online to raters, who were asked to select a proximate and an underlying cause of death for each, using the ICU Deaths Classification and Reason (ICU-DECLARE) system.

Using an alarm to improve drug trolley safety.

Leaving drug trolleys unlocked and unattended during drug rounds creates opportunities for drug theft and tampering. A new device was developed by our trust to detect when an open drug trolley is left unattended; it then sounds an alarm to remind staff to return to the trolley. This article describes use of the alarm on general hospital wards in one trust in the east of England.

The coated antiseptic tip (CAT) syringe.

Catheter-related blood stream infections (CR-BSI) account for 30% of healthcare acquired infection (HAI). Colonization of connector hubs and contaminated syringes are thought to increase the risk of CR-BSI. The Coated Antiseptic Tip (CAT) syringe was developed to decontaminate connector hubs, thereby reducing the risk of CR-BSI.

A questionnaire-based survey investigating the current use of tranexamic acid in traumatic haemorrhage and elective hip and knee arthroplasty.

Objectives: To record the current use of tranexamic acid during traumatic haemorrhage and elective arthroplasty of the hip and knee.

Design: A questionnaire-based postal survey.

Setting: The questionnaire was sent to the 'anaesthetic lead' at all acute trusts in England, excluding centres for children, women's health, cancer and cardiac care.

A change in humidification system can eliminate endotracheal tube occlusion.

Purpose: Inadequate airway humidification can result in endotracheal tube occlusion. There is evidence that heat and moisture exchangers (HMEs) are more prone to endotracheal tube occlusion than heated humidifiers (HHs) that contain a heated wire circuit. We aimed to compare the incidence of endotracheal tube occlusion while introducing a new dual-heated wire circuit HH in place of an established hydrophobic HME.