Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Critically Ill Patient After Hepatobiliary Surgery, Stephen P. Povoski, Robert J. Downey, Paul S. Dudrick, Yuman Fong, William R. Jarnigan, Jeffrey S. Groeger, Leslie H. Blumgart

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

Background

We analyzed the causes and results of utilization of critical careservices in the special care unit in patients after surgical proceduresperformed by the hepatobiliary surgical service during a 23-month period.

Results

Thirty-two of 537 patients (6.0%) required postoperative admissionto the special care unit. Twenty-one patients were admitted directly fromoperating room or from recovery room because of inability to wean fromventilator (n = 10), hypovolemic shock (n = 4), myocardialischemia or infarction (n = 2), sepsis (n = 2), uppergastrointestinal bleeding (n = 2), and acute renal failure (n=1). Eleven postoperative patients were …

Icu Resource Allocation: Life In The Fast Lane, David Crippen, Leslie Whetstine

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Nursing

Introduction: what's the speed limit?

In 1973, the then United States President, Jimmy Carter, addressed the issue of declining petroleum resources and increasing automobile traffic by the institution of a rationing plan that mandated decreasing consumption fairly and equitably across the entire population of consumers. The national speed limit (NSL) decreased from 70 to 55 miles per hour, and, according to experts, constituted the perfect rationing plan [1]. It affected only those who used a scarce resource (gasoline) and it applied to all equally. In a perfect world, it should have been an extremely effective conservation method.

However, …