Wage Gap Between Hospital Executives and Doctors is Widening

Over the past decade, salaries for hospital CEOs have risen much faster than for surgeons, physicians, and nurses, reports a study in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Using publicly accessible data, the researchers... read more

Miracles & Mayhem in the ER: Unbelievable True Stories from an Emergency Room Doctor

Occasionally heart wrenching and always fast-paced, Miracles and Mayhem in the ER will have readers holding their breath one second and celebrating the next. Through his night shifts at a renowned Portland, OR hospital, Russell... read more

Miracles & Mayhem in the ER: Unbelievable True Stories from an Emergency Room Doctor

3 Notable Leaps in Sepsis Care

Sepsis is deadly, it's expensive, and there are abundant initiatives underway that could lead to earlier detection, lowering costs, and saving lives. In May 2016, the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the Agency... read more

AIRWAYS-2

AIRWAYS-2 looks at the initial advanced airway management strategy for paramedics attending out of hospital cardiac arrests, essentially whether or not the aim should be to place a supraglottic airway device or an endotracheal... read more

Catastrophic Care: Why Everything We Think We Know about Health Care Is Wrong

A devastating and utterly original analysis of what has gone wrong with the American healthcare system. Goldhill explodes the myth that Medicare and insurance coverage can make care cheaper and improve our health, and shows... read more

Catastrophic Care: Why Everything We Think We Know about Health Care Is Wrong

Chest Radiography vs. Lung Ultrasound for Identification of ARDS

For the identification of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) using the Berlin definition, both chest radiography and lung ultrasound were equally related to mortality. The Berlin definition using lung ultrasound helped... read more

Watchdog Group Calls for NIH to Halt Dangerous Study of Sepsis Treatment

A medical watchdog group is calling on the National Institutes of Health to immediately stop the enrollment of patients in a clinical trial of sepsis treatment and launch an investigation of how the study received approval,... read more

Partial Oral versus Intravenous Antibiotic Treatment of Endocarditis

In patients with endocarditis on the left side of the heart who were in stable condition, changing to oral antibiotic treatment was noninferior to continued intravenous antibiotic treatment. After randomization, antibiotic... read more

Comparison of Complication Rates of Central Venous Catheters Versus Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheters in Pediatric Patients

Rates of central line–associated bloodstream infection and venous thromboembolism were higher in hospitalized pediatric patients with peripherally inserted central catheters as compared to central venous catheters. Our... read more

Predicting AKI using urinary liver-type fatty-acid binding protein and serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients treated at medical cardiac ICUs

Urinary L-FABP and serum NT-proBNP levels on admission are independent predictors of acute kidney injury (AKI), and when used in combination, improve early prediction of AKI in patients hospitalized at medical cardiac intensive... read more

Value of variation index of inferior vena cava diameter in predicting fluid responsiveness in patients with circulatory shock receiving mechanical ventilation

The findings of this study suggest that the ΔIVCD performed moderately well in predicting fluid responsiveness in patients with circulatory shock receiving mechanical ventilation. Overall, 603 patients were included in this... read more

Probiotic and Synbiotic Therapy in the Critically Ill

Recent medical history has largely viewed our bacterial symbionts as pathogens to be eradicated rather than essential partners in optimal health. However, one of the most exciting scientific advances in recent years has been... read more

Early Versus Late Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients

Early initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) effect on survival and renal recovery of critically ill patients is still uncertain. We aimed to systematically review current evidence comparing outcomes of early versus... read more

ICU Survivorship

Dr Kimberley Haines, Vice Chair of ANZICS Victorian Branch and ICU Physio at Western Health joins Dan and Jane to discuss survival following ICU admissions.Dr Kimberley discusses her journey to research, what happens to patients... read more

Direct Discharge From ICU OK for Some Patients

Discharging patients home directly from the intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with outcomes similar to those seen in patients discharged after a follow-up stay on a hospital ward, the authors of a large, population-based... read more

When Does an Effusion Become Pericardial Tamponade?

Pericardial tamponade occurs when fluid within the pericardial sac impairs filling of the right-sided chambers, leading to a decrease in cardiac output and hemodynamic compromise. It is neither a clinical nor an echocardiographic... read more

Perspectives on Strained ICU Capacity: A Survey of Critical Care Professionals

Strained intensive care unit (ICU) capacity represents a supply-demand mismatch in ICU care. Limited data have explored health care worker (HCW) perceptions of strain. Strained capacity is perceived as common among inter-professional... read more

Determination of the Feasibility of a Multicomponent Intervention Program to Prevent Delirium in the ICU

During this study a feasible multicomponent intervention program to prevent ICU delirium was developed based on expert consensus. As no consensus was reached on cognitive training, a pilot study is planned to determine the... read more

Evaluation of Stressors in ICUs

The environmental and psychological factors affecting intensive care unit patients varied according to age, sex, and educational and surgical status. These factors had adverse effects on the patients. The elimination or modification... read more

Achieving Fluid Balance

Kyle Enfield, MD, speaks with Colin K. Grissom, MD, FCCM, and Matthew W. Semler, MD, about fluid management in the critically ill. Dr. Grissom presented his talk, entitled "Achieving Fluid Balance," at the 47th Critical Care... read more

Natural History of COPD Exacerbations in a General Practice-based Population with COPD

A large proportion of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) do not exacerbate over a maximum 10 years of follow-up. AECOPD frequency in a single year predicts long-term AECOPD rate. Increasing frequency... read more

Predicting the Requirement for RRT in Intensive Care Patients with Sepsis

Sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients, with initial organ impairment often followed by dysfunction in other systems. Renal dysfunction may therefore represent one... read more