Pneumonia — Pneumonia in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Setting
Citation(s)
Cabré M, Serra-Prat M, Force L, Almirall J, Palomera E, Clavé P Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a risk factor for readmission for pneumonia in the very elderly persons: observational prospective study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014 Mar;69(3):330-7. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glt099. Epub 2013 Jul 5.
Iregui M, Ward S, Sherman G, Fraser VJ, Kollef MH Clinical importance of delays in the initiation of appropriate antibiotic treatment for ventilator-associated pneumonia. Chest. 2002 Jul;122(1):262-8.
Kollef MH, Shorr A, Tabak YP, Gupta V, Liu LZ, Johannes RS Epidemiology and outcomes of health-care-associated pneumonia: results from a large US database of culture-positive pneumonia. Chest. 2005 Dec;128(6):3854-62. Erratum in: Chest. 2006 Mar;129(3):831.
Micek ST, Lang A, Fuller BM, Hampton NB, Kollef MH Clinical implications for patients treated inappropriately for community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department. BMC Infect Dis. 2014 Feb 5;14:61. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-14-61.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
