BACKGROUND: The use of ultrasound (US) guidance for radial artery cannulation has been shown to improve first attempt success rate, reduce time to successful cannulation, and reduce complications. We sought to determine whether properly trained respiratory therapists (RTs) could utilize US guidance for the placement of radial artery catheters. Primary outcome measurements were successful cannulation and first attempt success rate. Secondary outcomes included the effect of systolic blood pressure, prior attempts, palpable pulse strength, and gender in relation to USguided radial artery cannulation success rates. METHODS: RTs certified in arterial catheter insertion were trained in radial artery catheterization using US by emergency medicine physicians. Subjects were enrolled based on the need for an arterial catheter placement. The catheters and US devices used were standardized. Data recorded included pulse strength, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, number of attempts, and successful/unsuccessful artery cannulation. All catheterization attempts were performed according to institutional policy and procedure. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-two radial artery catheter insertion attempts were made between December of 2008 and October of 2011, in patients in whom the treating physician requested RT radial artery cannulation. The overall success rate was 86.1%, whereas the first attempt success rate was 63.1%. There was no difference found between the overall mean success rate for weak or absent pulses, age, systolic blood pressure, gender, or prior attempts. Conclusion: RTs can effectively utilize US technology to place radial artery catheters. Systolic blood pressure, prior attempts, and gender are not reliable predictors of success for US-guided radial artery cannulation. Training on the use of US should be strongly encouraged for all practitioners who place radial artery catheters.
In the setting of the pH1N1 influenza pandemic, an adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation program was successfully developed to complement an established neonatal-pediatric program. This program expansion integrated all of the necessary components involved in the development process from start to finish and confirms that a healthcare system can respond very quickly and successfully to an urgent healthcare need.
BACKGROUND: Presenting research at national and international meetings is an important aspect of the practice of respiratory care. Our department regularly presented abstracts but few projects were written up as manuscripts. We also noted that we did not have a centralized strategy to evaluate individual projects and provide mentorship. To address these challenges, we formed a Research Committee that meets monthly. We hypothesized that the formation of this committee would be associated with an increase in published manuscripts. METHODS: We evaluated all original research abstracts authored or co-authored by Duke respiratory therapists presented at the AARC OPEN FORUM between 2009 and 2019. Abstracts were grouped into two time periods; 1) 2009-2013 (before the formation of the research committee) and 2) 2014-2019 (after the formation of the research committee). Abstracts were evaluated based on authors, type of study, patient population, and whether the abstract resulted in a manuscript. Primary outcome was the percentage of abstracts published as manuscripts. RESULTS: A total of 56 abstracts were presented by 23 different lead authors, with 16 (29%) published as manuscripts. After formation of the committee, fewer abstracts per year were presented, but these abstracts were more likely to be published as manuscripts (53% vs 18%, P 5 .02). For abstracts published as manuscripts, there was a significant difference in the type of study before and after committee formation (P 5 .042), but there were no differences in lead author credentials, senior author credentials, author gender, or patient population. CONCLUSIONS: The formation of a research committee was associated with an increase in the percentage of abstracts published as manuscripts.
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