Daily goals checklist--a goal-directed method to eliminate nosocomial infection in the intensive care unit.

Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are usually very sick and have complicated, multisystem dysfunctions and often life-threatening medical conditions. Their management requires skilled, comprehensive, and organized medical care. The use of the "ventilator bundle," "sepsis bundle;" and other evidence-based initiatives often results in improved quality of care and reduction of complications in the ICU. However, in reality, multiple factors can make the practitioners in the ICU overlook some of these quality measures. The daily goals checklist presented here is a quality tool that incorporates several evidence-based quality parameters, and it is easy to use and cost-effective. Its implementation is likely to greatly improve the quality of care and reduce complications in ICUs.