Thermal injury destroys the physical skin barrier that normally prevents invasion of microorganisms. This and concomitant depression of local and systemic host cellular and humoral immune responses are important factors that contribute to colonization and infection of the burn wound. One of the most …

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Endotracheal suctioning in intubated patients is routinely applied in most ICUs but may have negative side effects. We hypothesised that on-demand minimally invasive suctioning would have fewer side effects than routine deep endotracheal suctioning, and would be comparable in duration …