Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infections: Practical Considerations for Intensivists
On December 31, 2019, China reported cases of respiratory illness in humans appearing first in Wuhan, Hubei Province, that involved a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (aka 2019-nCoV). This new emergency is a zoonotic disease... read more
COVID-19 Webinar
Access the recording and hear the discussions which give clear insight into the situation in China and Europe, advice on how hospitals should respond and what can be learned from the experience in Mainland China. Guest... read more
7 Nursing Technologies Helping Patient Care
From pizza ordering to financial security, new technology is changing the way we live our lives every day. And now more than ever before, new technology is finding ways to impact the healthcare industry. A new survey of... read more
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
Moral Distress in the Health Professions
This is the first book on the market or within academia dedicated solely to moral distress among health professionals. It aims to bring conceptual clarity about moral distress and distinguish it from related concepts. Explicit... read more
Critical Care Response to a Hospital Outbreak of the 2019-nCoV Infection in Shenzhen, China
Beginning at early December 2019, there is an outbreak of a novel 2019-nCoV in Wuhan, China. Then, Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) was declared on 30 January 2020, by the World Health Organization... read more
New Genomic Tests Aim to Diagnose Deadly Infections Faster
Rapid genomic tests are poised to change the way doctors diagnose and treat infections, but their cost may limit widespread use. Ryan Springer's mystery illness began last summer with a dull ache in his chest. Over the... read more
Immediate Diagnosis of Pyloric Stenosis with POCUS
A case of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis diagnosed immediately at the bedside by an emergency physicians (EP) using point-of-care ultrasound is presented. hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) is an important diagnosis for... read more
Survivorship Will Be the Defining Challenge of Critical Care in the 21st Century
Distracted by the high mortality rate of critical illness, we tend to overlook the essential fact that most patients survive the intensive care unit (ICU). Every year, millions of patients are discharged from the ICU... read more
eFAST Performance with a Novel vs. Conventional Transducers
Point-of-injury extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma (eFAST) may identify life-threatening torso hemorrhage and expedite casualty evacuation. The purpose of this study was to compare combat medic eFAST performance... read more
Recognition, Assessment, and Pharmacotherapeutic Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in the ICU
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a complex neurologic disorder that develops after an acute reduction in or cessation of chronic alcohol consumption that alters neurotransmitter conduction. The incidence of AWS in the... read more
Wide Interest in a Vitamin C Drug Cocktail for Sepsis Despite Lagging Evidence
Critical care medicine specialist Paul Marik, MD, has described himself as a status quo destabilizer, and probably nothing illustrates that designation better than the sepsis treatment known as the Marik protocol. In the... read more
Pretreating Transfused Erythrocytes with NO Prevents Pulmonary Hypertension
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH; Boston, USA), Harvard Medical School (HMS; Boston, MA, USA), and other institutions conducted a trial to see if treating stored packed sheep RBCs with NO before transfusion... read more
Empirical Anti-MRSA Therapy Not Associated with Reduced Mortality for Patients with Pneumonia
This study suggests that empirical anti-MRSA therapy was not associated with reduced mortality for any group of patients hospitalized for pneumonia. These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that questions the... read more
Methylnaltrexone for Treatment of Opioid-induced Constipation in Critically Ill Patients
No evidence to support the addition of methylnaltrexone to regular laxatives for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in critically ill patients; however, the confidence interval was wide and a clinically important... read more
Respiratory Drive in the ARDS: Pathophysiology, Monitoring, and Therapeutic Interventions
Neural respiratory drive, i.e., the activity of respiratory centres controlling breathing, is an overlooked physiologic variable which affects the pathophysiology and the clinical outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome... read more
1 in 5 Patients Die within 90 Days After LVAD Implantation
The aim of the study was to analyze early mortality after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation which remains high. In the EUROMACS registry, approximately 1 in 5 patients die within 90 days... read more
Standardized EEG Analysis to Reduce the Uncertainty of Outcome Prognostication After Cardiac Arrest
In the majority of comatose cardiac arrest (CA) patients, the outcome remains indeterminate after application of ERC/ESICM prognostication algorithm. Standardized EEG background analysis enables accurate prediction of both... read more
Could Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis Increase Mortality in High-acuity Patients?
Although considerable uncertainty remains, the inferences from SUP-ICU and PEPTIC are consistent with the hypothesis that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase the risk of death in patients with higher illness severity.... read more
Which Component of Mechanical Power is Most Important in Causing VILI?
Repeated applications of tidal energy inflict lung damage (VILI) when stress and strain exceed the limits of tissue tolerance. Inflation work and energy are the products of pressure and volume, which are loosely associated... read more
It’s Insane to Keep Using Mortality As a Primary Endpoint in Critical Care Trials
Mortality is an important endpoint, so we shouldn't ignore mortality trends entirely. However, the vast majority of these will be spurious. Thus, we should generally not change practice due to them. In the history of critical... read more
Tranexamic Acid in TBI – CRASH-3 Trial Treatment
The CRASH-3 trial is a multi-centre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of the effects of tranexamic acid on death and disability in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Patients with reactive pupils and/or mild... read more
