Communication Strategy for Families of Patients Dying in the ICU

Communication Strategy for Families of Patients Dying in the ICU

Providing relatives of patients who are dying in the ICU with a brochure on bereavement and using a proactive communication strategy that includes longer conferences and more time for family members to talk may lessen the... read more

Preparing for COVID-19 Related Drug Shortages

Preparing for COVID-19 Related Drug Shortages

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted all aspects of healthcare delivery. There is widespread concern that increased clinical demands due to the virus will outstrip available resources. Much attention has focused... read more

Spotting the Clotting: Hypercoagulopathy in COVID-19

Spotting the Clotting: Hypercoagulopathy in COVID-19

Evolving experience with TEG, clotting parameters, treatment considerations, and ongoing data gathering will help us better understand if antiplatelet therapy with aspirin or clopidogrel or anticoagulant treatment with traditional... read more

What COVID-19 Has Taught Me

A personal narrative of Adrian Wong’s experience while battling COVID-19 at King's College Hospital. These are the author's personal opinions and do not represent the views of the institution and professional societies... read more

Preparing ICUs for COVID-19: an Australian Experience

Preparing ICUs for COVID-19: an Australian Experience

In this article, we describe the response from our intensive care unit (ICU) within a large tertiary private metropolitan Australian hospital. We hope this information may be useful to other ICUs in Australia, for any second... read more

Humanizing the ICU Experience with Enhanced Communication

Humanizing the ICU Experience with Enhanced Communication

Decisions to limit therapy (DTLT) are routine for ICU physicians. Although breaking bad news is one of the most difficult tasks clinicians face, ongoing communication is even more crucial as families (not necessary following... read more

Dealing with Internet-based Information Obtained by Families of Critically Ill Patients

Dealing with Internet-based Information Obtained by Families of Critically Ill Patients

The increasing availability of web-based health information resources should foster intensivists to step out of their comfort zone and encourage families to discuss their online discoveries. The majority of families of... read more

Approaches to EOL Decision-making For Patients Affected by Sepsis and ARDS

Approaches to EOL Decision-making For Patients Affected by Sepsis and ARDS

A Qualitative Study of Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Sepsis and Their Surrogates. The purpose of this study was to develop hypotheses of patient and surrogate's rationale for decision-making. Patients... read more

Compliance With Evidence-Based Processes of Care After Transitions Between Staff Intensivists

Compliance With Evidence-Based Processes of Care After Transitions Between Staff Intensivists

No significant impact of transitions of care observed between individual staff physicians on evidence-based processes of care for mechanically ventilated adult patients. However, transitions were associated with a lower likelihood... read more

2019 Elf on the Shelf

2019 Elf on the Shelf

It is time for the second annual Elf on the Shelf social media photo sweepstakes! Your creative entries help make the season bright. So, just snap a photo of an Elf on the Shelf scene in your unit, and submit it here. Three... read more

Patient and Family Member-Led Research in the ICU

Patient and Family Member-Led Research in the ICU

Patient and family member-led research is a novel research approach that is feasible to conduct and can be used to identify opportunities for improving care. Study participants described shared key experiences in the... read more

That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour

That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour

As the American born daughter of immigrants, Dr. Sunita Puri knew from a young age that the gulf between her parents' experiences and her own was impossible to bridge, save for two elements: medicine and spirituality. Between... read more

Cardiogenic Shock – The Next Level & Mechanical Circulatory Support

Cardiogenic Shock – The Next Level & Mechanical Circulatory Support

We could center this discussion about the SCAI paper that came out (attached). A nice collaborative expert panel piece outlining a CS pyramid used quickly at the bedside in the ED, ICU, Cath Lab, etc to help us identify these... read more

Critical: Science and Stories From the Brink of Human Life

Critical: Science and Stories From the Brink of Human Life

Following in the wake of hugely successful medical memoirs such as Do No Harm and Fragile Lives, Critical is an intelligent, compelling and profoundly insightful journey into the world of intensive care medicine and the lives... read more