Do Nurse Staffing Ratios Work? New Research Says No
Advocates of mandated staffing ratios say they improve patient outcomes. A recent study finds otherwise. Nurse-to-patient ratios are a hot button issue. Look no further than Massachusetts for an example. After a battle that... read more
NHS Cancels 14% of Operations at Last Minute
One in seven NHS hospital operations are being cancelled just before they are due to take place, often because of a lack of beds, staff or operating theatres, research reveals. Of 26,171 procedures due to take place during... read more
The Needs of Families of Trauma Intensive Care Patients
This mixed methods study identified that families of trauma patients have different needs to families of general patients and the nurses rated the needs of the families of trauma patients as less important than the families... read more
New York State Sepsis Reporting Mandate Appears to Improve Care and Reduce Deaths
A New York State requirement that all hospitals report compliance with protocols to treat severe sepsis and septic shock appears to improve care and reduce mortality from one of the most common causes of death in those who... read more
Hospitals Prepare To Launch Their Own Drug Company To Fight High Prices And Shortages
Shortages of commonplace generic drugs have plagued hospitals in recent years. And with short supplies and fewer suppliers for key drugs, there have been price increases. Hospital purchasing agents keep searching for new... read more
Subsegmental Pulmonary Embolism: Anticoagulation or Observation?
As the use of chest CT-angiograms in emergency departments and medical wards has risen by more than tenfold, so has the discovery of small pulmonary emboli of unclear clinical significance. These PEs are often isolated to... read more
The white coat means something more to patients
How do we choose what we wear when seeing patients? Is it by what tradition dictates? Do we need to meet our institution's dress code? Or do we just like what makes us comfortable? (Those scrubs sure are comfy — almost... read more
Hospital Variation in Risk-Adjusted Pediatric Sepsis Mortality
Margaret Parker, MD, MCCM, speaks with Stefanie G. Ames, MD, about the article "Hospital Variation in Risk-Adjusted Pediatric Sepsis Mortality," published in the May 2018 issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Ames... read more
Device Delivers Drugs to the Brain to Stop Seizures
The failure of systemic drug treatments to address numerous neurological disorders has spurred the development of alternative approaches that attempt localized treatment. These localized treatments focus therapy on the region... read more
Rapid Diagnosis of MRSA
Current standard laboratory methods for detection of oxacillin resistance require for isolation, identification, and susceptibility testing at least 48–72 h, although the multiplex PCR assay used is a rapid, sensitive,... read more
Doctors’ Mental Health at Tipping Point
Patients rely on doctors to look after their mental health but is enough being done to help the doctors when they are the ones with problems? There are concerns that some medical professionals in England are unable to get... read more
Lessons From Everest’s Sherpas Could Aid Intensive Care Treatment
A research expedition to Mount Everest has shed light on the unique physiological basis of adaptations seen in the native Sherpa people, which make them better suited to life at high altitude. This improved understanding,... read more
Sepsis Around the Cradle of Humankind
While representing the cutting edge of civilization everywhere, mothers and their newborn infants are a population particularly vulnerable to sepsis.1 By recognizing the importance of antiseptic prophylaxis (handwashing),... read more
Drug-resistant Superbug Spreading in Hospitals
A superbug resistant to all known antibiotics that can cause "severe" infections or even death is spreading undetected through hospital wards across the world, scientists in Australia warned on Monday. Researchers at the... read more
MRSA Protocols – Methods in Molecular Biology
Presenting the most up-to-date techniques for the detection, genotyping, and investigation of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), this second edition of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Protocols collects... read more
Failures in the Respectful Care of Critically Ill Patients
Care that is inadequately respectful to patients and families in the setting of critical illness is prevalent but does not appear to be associated with clinical characteristics. The incidence of such emotional harms is nuanced,... read more
Trends in Visits to Acute Care Venues for Treatment of Low-Acuity Conditions
From 2008 to 2015, total acute care utilization for the treatment of low-acuity conditions and associated spending per member in the United States increased, and utilization of non-ED acute care venues increased rapidly.... read more
Time-limited Trial of Intensive Care Treatment
In critically ill patients, it is frequently challenging to identify who will benefit from admission to the intensive care unit and life-sustaining interventions when the chances of a meaningful outcome are unclear. In addition,... read more
Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance
The struggle to perform well is universal: each of us faces fatigue, limited resources, and imperfect abilities in whatever we do. But nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in medicine, where lives may be... read more
Commencing out of bed rehabilitation in critical care – what influences clinical decision-making?
These results confirm previous observational reports that the presence of an endotracheal tube (ETT) remains a major obstacle to the provision of rehabilitation for critically ill patients. Despite rehabilitation being effective... read more
New antibiotics and antimicrobial combination therapy for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections
Only few new molecules have an adequate activity against MDR gram-negative pathogens, especially carbapenemase-producer strains. Among these, ceftozolane/tazobactam has been recently approved for clinical use. Other compounds,... read more
Measuring Sleep in the Intensive Care Unit: A Critical Appraisal of the Use of Subjective Methods
Research using questionnaires to assess sleep is commonplace in light of practical barriers to polysomnography or other measures of sleep. A methodologically sound approach to tool development and testing is crucial to gather... read more
