Analysis of the alveolar recruitment maneuvers applied at seven intensive care units

Introduction: During the past years, alveolar recruitment maneuvers (RM) have produced growing interest due to their beneficial potential in pulmonary protection, and have been introduced in clinical practice. Objective: To describe and analyze the knowledge of MR and its application at seven intensive care units in the city of Cali, Colombia. Methods and materials: Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study with an intentional sample of 64 professionals working in seven intensive care units and who apply MR. The self-completed survey was made up of thirteen questions, and the application period was two months. Results: Out of 64 professionals surveyed, 77.8% of them follow a protocol guide; 54.7% employes during RM the ideal Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), which maintains a saturation > 90% and a PaO2 > 60 mmHg; 42.1% tolerates airway pressures between 35 and 50 cmH2O; 48.4% perform RM with a progressive increase of the PEEP and a low tidal volume. Conclusions: Regarding the knowledge related to RM, heterogeneity was found in the answers. There is currently no consensus about which is the most effective and secure way to implement an MR. This study can be the starting point to create awareness towards the revision of knowledge, capacities and abilities that are required to perform RM.

Parametric pension reform and the intensive margin of labor supply, evidence from Colombia

We analyze the effect of a parametric reform of the fully-funded pension regime in Colombia on the intensive margin of the labor supply. We take advantage of a threshold defined by law in order to identify the causal effect using a regression discontinuity design. We find that a pension system that increases retirement age and the minimum weeks during which workers must contribute to claim pension benefits causes an increase of around 2 hours on the number of weekly worked hours; this corresponds to 4% of the average number of weekly worked hours or around 14% of a standard deviation of weekly worked hours. The effect is robust to different specifications, polynomial orders and sample sizes.