Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis with Proton Pump Inhibitors or Histamin-2 Receptor Antagonists in Adult Intensive Care Patients

Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis with Proton Pump Inhibitors or Histamin-2 Receptor Antagonists in Adult Intensive Care Patients

In this updated systematic review, we were able to refute a relative change of 20% of mortality. The occurrence of GI bleeding was reduced, but we lack firm evidence for a reduction in clinically important GI bleeding. The... read more

A Multidisciplinary Idea to STEP UP Resuscitation Effectiveness

A Multidisciplinary Idea to STEP UP Resuscitation Effectiveness

Non-technical skills and human factors are increasingly recognized as critical ingredients in the success or failure of acute care delivery in a number of high stakes clinical domains. This is reflected in the evolution of... read more

Few Ideas on How Nurses Can Recover After Difficult Shifts

Few Ideas on How Nurses Can Recover After Difficult Shifts

Most medical professionals agree that a nursing career can be constantly stressful. It comes with the territory of caring for those who are ill and injured. On an average day, well-trained nurses are more than capable of... read more

Penn Finds a Way to Reduce ICU Doctor Burnout

Penn Finds a Way to Reduce ICU Doctor Burnout

Reducing the length of rotations in medical ICUs in half also reduces rates of physician burnout in half while additionally improving feelings of fulfillment, according to a new pilot study from Penn Medicine. The results... read more

Physician Burnout Costs the U.S. Billions of Dollars Each Year

Physician Burnout Costs the U.S. Billions of Dollars Each Year

Doctors in the U.S. experience symptoms of burnout at almost twice the rate of other workers, often citing as contributors the long hours, a fear of being sued, and having to deal with growing bureaucracy, like filling out... read more

Mapping Sources of Noise in an ICU

Mapping Sources of Noise in an ICU

Excessive noise in hospitals adversely affects patients' sleep and recovery, causes stress and fatigue in staff and hampers communication. The World Health Organization suggests sound levels should be limited to 35 decibels.... read more

Sedation in ICU patients – Need for Standardized Protocols

Sedation in ICU patients – Need for Standardized Protocols

A Johns Hopkins-led study on sedation practices in critically ill patients in a resource-limited setting finds that deep sedation, agitation, and benzodiazepines were independently associated with worse clinical outcomes.... read more

Just as in Life and Medicine, Time Is the Biggest Challenge in Writing

Just as in Life and Medicine, Time Is the Biggest Challenge in Writing

For Matt Morgan, writing is a means to relieve work stress and turn it into something useful. In his first book, which will soon be published with Simon & Schuster, he shares stories from the intensive care unit, one of the... read more

Also Human: The Inner Lives of Doctors

Also Human: The Inner Lives of Doctors

From ER and M*A*S*H to Grey's Anatomy and House, the medical drama endures for good reason: we're fascinated by the people we must trust when we are most vulnerable. In Also Human, vocational psychologist Caroline Elton introduces... read more

One Nation Under Stress

One Nation Under Stress

In an eye-opening new film, Dr Sanjay Gupta explores the link between stress and the continuing fall in US life expectancy. In the documentary, which premiered on HBO, Gupta speaks with scientists, affected individuals and... read more

The Continuing Saga of Nurse Staffing

The Continuing Saga of Nurse Staffing

Registered nurses are the backbone of America's health systems, providing care and support to patients across the lifespan. Appropriate nurse staffing is critical to ensure safe and effective care for patients. Nurse staffing... read more

The Effects of Family Functioning on the Development of Posttraumatic Stress in Children and Their Parents Following Admission to the PICU

The Effects of Family Functioning on the Development of Posttraumatic Stress in Children and Their Parents Following Admission to the PICU

Both children and parents have alarmingly high rates of acute stress and posttraumatic stress following the child's PICU admission. Although family function did not emerge as a predictor in this study, further understanding... read more

The Effect of Diaries Written by Relatives for ICU Patients on PTSD

The Effect of Diaries Written by Relatives for ICU Patients on PTSD

The results of this study will inform ICU nurses about the effects, strengths and limitations of prompting relatives to author a diary for the patient. This will allow the diary intervention to be tailored to the individual... read more

A Randomized Trial of Glutamine and Antioxidants in Critically Ill Patients

A Randomized Trial of Glutamine and Antioxidants in Critically Ill Patients

Critically ill patients have considerable oxidative stress. Glutamine and antioxidant supplementation may offer therapeutic benefit, although current data are conflicting. In this blinded 2-by-2 factorial trial, we randomly... read more