ABSTRACT
When reading a clinical research article, the clinician must judge if the reported findings and conclusions are valid before applying them to patient care. This concern is legitimate given the wide range of study validity in the clinical literature. In this article, the authors present many validity markers that signify the quality of the information reported from a study, such as authorship, bias, confounding, statistics, randomization, controls, blinding, and the logical framework of scientific investigations.
Subject(s)
Clinical Nursing Research/standards , Bias , Clinical Nursing Research/methods , Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic , Humans , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
475 pediatric patients with a variety of neurologic conditions were subjected to encephalography, using N2O as the contrast medium and N2O-halothane as anesthetic agents. This technic is both safe and effective, as reflected by no mortality and satisfactory roentgenograms. By application of the principles of gas physics, postoperative discomfort has been greatly reduced, resulting in a more comfortable convalescence and earlier discharge.
Subject(s)
Brain/diagnostic imaging , Nitrous Oxide , Anesthesia, Inhalation , Cerebral Ventriculography/adverse effects , Child , Halothane , Headache/etiology , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Nausea/etiologyABSTRACT
Because of our experience, as anesthesiologists, in the treatment of upper airway obstructions, we have been asked to see children with epiglottitis. Over a 5-year period, we have treated 28 such cases. Our hope that IPPB and nebulized racemic epinephrine would quickly relieve the obstruction, as it has in laryngotracheobronchitis, did not materialize. The obstruction from the edematous aryepiglottic folds and other hypopharyngeal structures was not relieved by such treatment, and half required an artificial airway, five by tracheal intubation. However, we documented two facts: (1) that the obstructed patient with epiglottitis can be ventilated and benefited by positive pressure by mouth or machine and that this ventilatory support can be life saving, rather than worsening the obstruction as was previously thought; (2) that with heavy-dose antibiotic-steroid therapy, the severe obstruction can be expected to improve significantly 8 to 12 hours after the onset of treatment. With this observation, we have extubated our patients at this time, rather than at 24 hours or later.
