Sepsis Test Could Show Results In Minutes

Sepsis Test Could Show Results In Minutes

A new rapid test for earlier diagnosis of sepsis is being developed by University of Strathclyde researchers. The device, which has been tested in a laboratory, may be capable of producing results in two-and-a-half minutes,... read more

Study Shows How Bacteria Spread from Sink Drainpipes to Patients

Study Shows How Bacteria Spread from Sink Drainpipes to Patients

Many recent reports have found multidrug resistant bacteria living in hospital sink drainpipes, putting them in close proximity to vulnerable patients. But how the bacteria find their way out of the drains, and into patients... read more

ICU May Be Overused for Some COPD, Acute MI, HF Patients

ICU May Be Overused for Some COPD, Acute MI, HF Patients

For patients with COPD, heart failure and myocardial infarction, who are not critically ill, a stay in the ICU may be no more beneficial than staying on a ward, according to an analysis just published in the Annals of the... read more

One of the Deadliest Hospital-Acquired Infections Is Preventable

One of the Deadliest Hospital-Acquired Infections Is Preventable

Johns Hopkins Study Shows One of the Deadliest Hospital-Acquired Infections Is Preventable. For some hospital patients, going on a ventilator is often the difference between life and death. About 800,000 hospital patients... read more

Widespread use of Chlorhexidine Doesn’t Promote Resistance in S. Aureus

Widespread use of Chlorhexidine Doesn’t Promote Resistance in S. Aureus

Investigators from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Division of Infectious Diseases recently published reassuring data indicating that use of chlorhexidine (CHG) to bathe hospitalized patients does not lead... read more

When is Patient Feedback Valid? Supporting Patient Feedback as a Catalyst for Change

When is Patient Feedback Valid? Supporting Patient Feedback as a Catalyst for Change

As part of the revalidation process, doctors must collect patient feedback at least once every five years. While it is encouraging to see patient feedback included in this process, questions must be asked about what message,... read more

Optimizing Patient and Family Education Resources for the ICU

Optimizing Patient and Family Education Resources for the ICU

Offering stronger patient and family education tools in the ICU will ease patient and caregiver fears and make them more comfortable with the care setting. An integrated, centralized, and digital platform is best suited for... read more

The Psychological Impact of Intensive Care

The Psychological Impact of Intensive Care

A period in intensive care is known to negatively affect patients' long term physical, cognitive and psychiatric health, in what's known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Researchers from the University of Oxford sought... read more

ICU RN Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout Linked to Moral Distress

ICU RN Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout Linked to Moral Distress

Job satisfaction and practice environment are associated with moral distress among critical care nurses, according to a study published online Jan. 3 in the American Journal of Critical Care. The researchers found that 56... read more

A Rare Group of White Blood Cells May Be the Secret to Prevent Sepsis

A Rare Group of White Blood Cells May Be the Secret to Prevent Sepsis

Basophils are evolutionarily conserved in vertebrates, despite their small numbers and short life span, suggesting that they have beneficial roles in maintaining health. However, these roles are not fully defined. Here we... read more

A Framework for Increasing Trust Between Patients and the Organizations That Care for Them

A Framework for Increasing Trust Between Patients and the Organizations That Care for Them

Trust matters in health care. It makes patients feel less vulnerable, clinicians feel more effective, and reduces the imbalances of information by improving the flow of information. Trust is so fundamental to the patient-physician... read more

Poor Hospital Design Has an Impact on Staff, Patients, and Healthcare

Poor Hospital Design Has an Impact on Staff, Patients, and Healthcare

Many hospitals in which I have worked have struggled with finances over the last 5 years. There has often been a ban on capital investment on new physical infrastructure projects even extended to repairs in some circumstances.... read more

Machine Learning Can Reduce Tests, Improve Treatments for ICU Patients

Machine Learning Can Reduce Tests, Improve Treatments for ICU Patients

Researchers from Princeton University are using machine learning to design a system that could reduce the frequency of tests and improve the timing of critical treatments for ICU patients. To create the system, the researchers... read more

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Winner of the National Academy of Sciences Best Book Award "Thinking, Fast and Slow" takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and... read more