Reducing Unplanned Extubations Across a Children's Hospital Using Quality Improvement Methods.

Introduction: Children who require an endotracheal (ET) tube for care during critical illness are at risk of unplanned extubations (UE), or the unintended dislodgement or removal of an ET tube that can lead to significant patient harm. A proposed national benchmark is 1 UE per 100 ventilator days. We aimed to reduce the rate of UEs in our intensive care units (ICUs) from 1.

Acute pancreatitis in the paediatric age group: a personal experience.

Although relatively rare, acute pancreatitis is the most common disease complex involving the pancreas in the paediatric age group. The etiology of the disease is often unknown, and Italian epidemiological data on the paediatric population and, in particular, on the etiology of the disease are not available (except for studies of prevalence). Within the field of the most frequently encountered pancreatitis in the age range of our interest (i.

Cefixime for the prophylaxis of urinary tract infections in children with malformative uropathies: an open study.

Urinary tract infections are often associated with urinary anomalies. An appropriate pharmacologic treatment may prevent, or may at least limit, any kidney damage due to pyelonephritis. The antibiotic prophylaxis plays a role as significant as early surgical therapy, taking into consideration also the present limitative trend for a softer therapeutic regimen.

A universal precautions monitoring system adaptable to any health care department.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed monitoring employee compliance with universal precautions, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Our respiratory care department, following a four-step system development plan, has developed and implemented a universal precautions monitoring system that is easy to adapt to any health care department. The results from monitoring can be used for educational planning, quality assurance purposes, and employee performance reviews.