Early Sepsis Screening in the Emergency Department

Early Sepsis Screening in the Emergency Department

This single-center retrospective analysis shows promising results with NEWS as a screening tool primarily because it can be done at triage and does not require any laboratory evaluation. This study adds to the current knowledge... read more

How can we make ICU rehabilitation easier for patients and relatives?

How can we make ICU rehabilitation easier for patients and relatives?

Zoe van Willigen is a Physiotherapist in Critical Care at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Her study aims to explore patients' and relatives' experiences of ICU rehabilitation (being mobilised out of... read more

Relationship of at Admission Lactate, Unmeasured Anions, and Chloride to the Outcome of Critically Ill Patients

Relationship of at Admission Lactate, Unmeasured Anions, and Chloride to the Outcome of Critically Ill Patients

Four thousand nine hundred one patients were admitted throughout the study period; 1,609 met criteria for metabolic acidosis and 145 had normal acid-base values. The association between at admission lactate, unmeasured anions,... read more

Combined Biomarkers Predict Acute Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients With Suspected Sepsis

Combined Biomarkers Predict Acute Mortality Among Critically Ill Patients With Suspected Sepsis

Combined biomarkers predict risk for 14-day and total mortality among subjects with suspected sepsis. Serum amyloid P and tissue plasminogen activator demonstrated the best discriminatory ability in this cohort. Fourteen-day... read more

Noninvasive ventilation for avoidance of reintubation in patients with various cough strength

Noninvasive ventilation for avoidance of reintubation in patients with various cough strength

The aim of this study was to assess whether prophylactic noninvasive ventilation (NIV) would benefit patients with various cough strengths.... read more

The Effect of Adhesive Tape vs. Endotracheal Tube Fastener in Critically Ill Adults

The Effect of Adhesive Tape vs. Endotracheal Tube Fastener in Critically Ill Adults

The optimal securement method of endotracheal tubes is unknown but should prevent dislodgement while minimizing complications. The use of an endotracheal tube fastener might reduce complications among critically ill adults... 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

ED Door-to-Antibiotic Time and Long-term Mortality in Sepsis

ED Door-to-Antibiotic Time and Long-term Mortality in Sepsis

Delays in ED antibiotic initiation time are associated with clinically important increases in long-term, risk-adjusted sepsis mortality. This study investigated the association of door-to-antibiotic time with long-term mortality... read more

PERFECT Protocol: Volume-based Feeding in Ventilated Adults

PERFECT Protocol: Volume-based Feeding in Ventilated Adults

Underfeeding in critical illness is common and associated with poor outcomes. Researchers in the UK designed a before-and-after study to evaluate the safety, efficacy and clinical outcomes associated with volume-based feeding... 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

Time To Stop Labeling Physicians As Providers

Time To Stop Labeling Physicians As Providers

Back when I was in business school, I interviewed for a job at a health care consulting firm. During one of the interviews, a partner there told me that there isn't too much difference between running a hospital and running... read more

Disinfection Devices in ICU Sinks Dramatically Reduce Superbugs

Disinfection Devices in ICU Sinks Dramatically Reduce Superbugs

Putting disinfection devices onto the siphons of sinks can help manage multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization in intensive care units, according to a study published in Journal of Hospital Infection. Researchers... read more

Lactate-Guided Resuscitation Only Encourages Over-Resuscitation and Downstream Harms

Lactate-Guided Resuscitation Only Encourages Over-Resuscitation and Downstream Harms

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Surviving Sepsis Campaign both rushed to offer guidance on the appropriate management strategies for patients presenting with septic shock. In both cases, a lactate-guided... read more

Economic Evaluation of vv-ECMO for Severe ARDS

Economic Evaluation of vv-ECMO for Severe ARDS

Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vv-ECMO) is increasingly being used to support patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but its cost-effectiveness is unknown. The cost-utility of vv-ECMO... read more