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Mark J Rumbak

Publications and source records attributed to Mark J Rumbak.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Pneumonia in patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Nosocomial pneumonia is the most important infectious disease in patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation. Understanding of the etiology helps to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). VAP can develop in four ways: by aspiration, inhalation, hematogenous spread and by contiguous spread. The two most common are aspiration from the oropharyngeal region and inhalation, usually from manipulation of tubing or infected equipment. VAP is prevented by hand-washing, keeping the head of the bed at 45 and, in some cases, by treating the surface bacteria which usually cause VAP. Sputum can be used for the diagnosis of VAP in most of these patients instead of invasive bronchoscopy. However, if the patients are critically ill, then bronchoscopy is used. Treatment in these patients depends on the bacteria. Pseudomonas is treated by two drugs (beta-lactam plus a quinolone or aminoglycoside), Acinetobacteria by ampicillin/sulbactam or carbapenam, extended-spectrum beta-lactam-producing bacteria by carbapenums, and Staphylococcus by vancomycin or linezolid.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed2005

Reducing emergency department visits and hospitalizations in African American and Hispanic patients with asthma: a 15-year review.

Minority populations in the United States continue to experience a disproportionate share of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations due to asthma. This review examines programs that have attempted to reduce these acute care visits in African American and Hispanic patients. We performed a PubMed search of the English literature for studies published from March 1990 to March 2005, aimed at reducing ED visits and hospitalizations in patients with asthma. Decreased acute care visits in African American and Hispanic patients with asthma have been demonstrated in several studies over the past 15 years, including collaboration by physicians, nurses, and clinical pharmacists in achieving this goal. These studies have shown that reduced acute care visits are associated with optimal drug therapy per national guidelines, concurrent with patient education, environmental control, and objective monitoring of this inflammatory airway disease. Early intensive patient education was a key feature of these successful programs. Written action plans, including early use of oral corticosteroids at home, and rapport with patients are other key components of programs that have resulted in a decrease in ED visits and hospitalizations.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

A prospective, randomized, study comparing early percutaneous dilational tracheotomy to prolonged translaryngeal intubation (delayed tracheotomy) in critically ill medical patients.

OBJECTIVE: The timing of tracheotomy in patients requiring mechanical ventilation is unknown. The effects of early percutaneous dilational tracheotomy compared with delayed tracheotomy in critically ill medical patients needing prolonged mechanical ventilation were assessed. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. SETTING: Medical intensive care units. PATIENTS: One hundred and twenty patients projected to need ventilation >14 days. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients were prospectively randomized to either early percutaneous tracheotomy within 48 hrs or delayed tracheotomy at days 14-16. Time in the intensive care unit and on mechanical ventilation and the cumulative frequency of pneumonia, mortality, and accidental extubation were documented. The airway was assessed for oral, labial, laryngeal, and tracheal damage. Early group showed significantly less mortality (31.7% vs. 61.7%), pneumonia (5% vs. 25%), and accidental extubations compared with the prolonged translaryngeal group (0 vs. 6). The early tracheotomy group spent less time in the intensive care unit (4.8 +/- 1.4 vs. 16.2 +/- 3.8 days) and on mechanical ventilation (7.6 +/- 2.0 vs. 17.4 +/- 5.3 days). There was also significantly more damage to mouth and larynx in the prolonged translaryngeal intubation group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the benefits of early tracheotomy outweigh the risks of prolonged translaryngeal intubation. It gives credence to the practice of subjecting this group of critically ill medical patients to early tracheotomy rather than delayed tracheotomy.

Procedural Sedation↗
PubMed2002

The pathogenesis of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Of the four routes of infection pathogenic bacteria can take, the inhalation and aspiration ones are the most important. Inhalation pneumonia is usually due to manipulation of the ventilator tubing and aspiration of the infected condensate. Aspiration of the colonized oropharyngeal contents through the open vocal cords and eventually around the blown up endotracheal cuff allows bacteria to invade the trachea and main bronchi. Reflux of the bacteria and infection of the biofilm on the inner surface of the endotracheal tube is the source for recurrent seeding of pathogenic bacteria into the lungs, causing ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Journal Article↗