Severe AKI in Young ICU Patients Predicts Higher Mortality

Acute kidney injury (AKI) among critically ill children and young adults is common and is associated with higher mortality risk and other poor outcomes The condition also is associated with greater use of renal-replacement... read more

Aerosol Delivery During Invasive Mechanical Ventilation

Lung deposition was lower than 20% of nominal dose delivered with nebulizers and mostly occurred in proximal airways. Further studies are needed to link substantial concentrations of antibiotics in infected pulmonary fluids... read more

Can this patient be safely weaned from RRT?

The timing of initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the critically ill with acute kidney injury (AKI) has been widely studied and discussed in detail recently. However, there is limited information and few recommendations... read more

Active Noise Control Headphones to Reduce Patient’s Exposure to ICU Noise

The use of active noise cancellation, as delivered by noise-cancelling headphones, is associated with a significant reduction in noise exposure in our model of noise exposure in a cardiac ICU. This is the first study to look... read more

ICU Telemedicine Program Financial Outcomes

The ability of properly modified ICU telemedicine programs to increase case volume and access to high-quality critical care with improved annual direct contribution margins suggests that there is a financial argument to encourage... read more

Robot aims to zap out ICU infections

Hospital workers are constantly cleaning rooms to avoid Hospital Acquired Infections at Hunterdon Medical Center, but now a robot will be working to do the dirty work. In July, the hospital purchased a $100,000 Xenex... read more

Opioid use to worse outcomes in C. difficile

A study presented at the World Congress of Gastroenterology found that patients being prescribed opioids who also have Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) have higher peak white blood cell counts, higher creatinine elevations,... read more

Levosimendan in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Levosimendan reduces mortality in patients with preoperative severely reduced LVEF but does not affect overall mortality. Levosimendan reduces the need for RRT after high-risk cardiac surgery. Six RCTs were included in the... read more

Early Oseltamivir Therapy Improves the Outcome in Critically Ill with Influenza

This real-life study emphasizes oseltamivir efficacy on in-hospital outcome when administrated within 2 days of the onset of symptoms. Even if physicians' awareness of the influenza disease has been undeniably enhanced... read more

Humanizing the Treatment of Hyperactive Delirium in the Last Days of Life

When patients with advanced cancer near the end of their life, it is important for physicians, nurses, and other health care personnel to respect and dignify the dying process of the patient. This requires a shift in focus... read more

Sound and Light Levels Are Similarly Disruptive in ICU and non-ICU Wards

Quieter, non-ICU wards have as many SLCs as ICUs do, which has implications for quality improvement measurements. Efforts to further reduce average noise levels might be counterproductive. Light levels in the hospital (ICU... read more

2B4-Mediated Coinhibition of CD4+ T Cells Underlies Mortality in Experimental Sepsis

Sepsis is a leading cause of death in the United States, but the mechanisms underlying sepsis-induced immune dysregulation remain poorly understood. 2B4 (CD244, SLAM4) is a cosignaling molecule expressed predominantly on... read more

Preventing the misuse of ICU visiting hours to reduce inequities

Family participation in healthcare serves to improve outcomes across a broad spectrum of conditions. Current guidelines recommend open family presence in the intensive care unit (ICU) while citing evidence of its safety.... read more

Rapid Retriage of Critically Injured Trauma Patients

Critically injured patients presenting to nontrauma hospitals require timely transfer to trauma centers; however, the transfer process varies and differences in outcomes for patients from trauma centers are unknown. We evaluated... read more

Acute Kidney Injury Is Risk Factor for Delirium and Coma

For critically ill adults, acute kidney injury is a risk factor for delirium and coma. Stage 2 acute kidney injury was associated with increased risk of delirium and coma (odds ratios, 1.55 and 2.04, respectively), as was... read more

Does Early Mobilization Reduce Time in the Surgical ICU?

Is early mobilization in the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) beneficial? Here is a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial in five university hospitals, where they recruited a total of 200 patients.... read more

Oestrogen Inhibition Reverses PAH and Associated Metabolic Defects

Increased oestrogen is a strong epidemiological risk factor for development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in patients, associated with metabolic defects. In addition, oestrogens drive penetrance in mice carrying... read more

Should Transfusions Be Matched by Sex?

In the first large study to look at how blood transfusions from previously pregnant women affect recipients' health, researchers discovered men under 50 were 1.5 times more likely to die in the three years following a transfusion... read more

Evidence-Based Guidelines to Eliminate Repetitive Laboratory Testing

Routine daily laboratory testing of hospitalized patients reflects a wasteful clinical practice that threatens the value of health care. Choosing Wisely initiatives from numerous professional societies have identified repetitive... read more

The World Day of the Critical Lung Event

On November 17th 2017, the first edition of "The World Day of the Critical Lung" will be held. It will be an online, global, free, bilingual (Spanish and English) participatory and non-profit event organized by the Pan American... read more

Patient-reported Outcomes Included Into Daily Practice

Measuring relevant outcomes in a timely manner is a priority in a health care system increasingly focused on the delivery of high-value care. Most quality measures focus on care processes or downstream outcomes such as survival;... read more

Risk of AKI After Intravenous Contrast Media Administration

In the largest well-controlled study of acute kidney injury (AKI) following contrast administration in the ED to date, intravenous contrast was not associated with an increased frequency of acute kidney injury. Rates of acute... read more