Effect of heat and moisture exchangers on the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) remains one of the major causes of infection in the intensive care unit (ICU) and is associated with the length of hospital stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. We compared the frequency of VAP 10 months prior to (pre-intervention group) and 13 months after (post-intervention group) initiation of the use of a heat and moisture exchanger (HME) filter. This is a study with prospective before-and-after design performed in the ICU in a tertiary university hospital. Three hundred and fourteen patients were admitted to the ICU under mechanical ventilation, 168 of whom were included in group HH (heated humidifier) and 146 in group HME. The frequency of VAP per 1000 ventilator-days was similar for both the HH and HME groups (18.7 vs 17.4, respectively; P = 0.97). Duration of mechanical ventilation (11 vs 12 days, respectively; P = 0.48) and length of ICU stay (11 vs 12 days, respectively; P = 0.39) did not differ between the HH and HME groups. The chance of developing VAP was higher in patients with a longer ICU stay and longer duration of mechanical ventilation. This finding was similar when adjusted for the use of HME. The use of HME in intensive care did not reduce the incidence of VAP, the duration of mechanical ventilation, or the length of stay in the ICU in the study population.

Effects of exercise and metformin on the prevention of glucose intolerance: a comparative study

We aimed to evaluate the effects of aerobic exercise training (4 days) and metformin exposure on acute glucose intolerance after dexamethasone treatment in rats. Forty-two adult male Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were divided randomly into four groups: sedentary control (SCT), sedentary dexamethasone-treated (SDX), training dexamethasone-treated (DPE), and dexamethasone and metformin treated group (DMT). Glucose tolerance tests and in situ liver perfusion were undertaken on fasting rats to obtain glucose profiles. The DPE group displayed a significant decrease in glucose values compared with the SDX group. Average glucose levels in the DPE group did not differ from those of the DMT group, so we suggest that exercise training corrects dexamethasone-induced glucose intolerance and improves glucose profiles in a similar manner to that observed with metformin. These data suggest that exercise may prevent the development of glucose intolerance induced by dexamethasone in rats to a similar magnitude to that observed after metformin treatment.

Public expenditures on HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services in Iran, 2004

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