Systematic review suggests synovial fluid analysis when necessary for diagnosis of gout

Gout presents with acute attacks of synovitis that start out as intermittent but can advance to chronic symptoms.... read more

Efficacy of Combination Therapy of Shenfu Injection and Postresuscitation Bundle in Patients With Return of Spontaneous Circulation

This study demonstrates that Shenfu injection in combination with conventional postresuscitation care bundle treatment is effective at improving clinical outcomes in patients with return of spontaneous circulation after in-hospital... read more

Principles of Antimicrobial Stewardship for Bacterial and Fungal Infections in ICU

Selecting antimicrobial therapy for suspected infection in critically ill patients is an important decision-making process for intensivists. In this current age of multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs), intensivists must... read more

Antiseptic baths to prevent infections deemed effective for long-term use

Long-term use antiseptic soap in bathing critically ill patients to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) did not cause high levels of resistance in bacteria on the patients' skin.... read more

Therapeutic Interchange of Clevidipine For Sodium Nitroprusside in Cardiac Surgery

Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) has been used clinically for decades for the treatment of hypertension associated with cardiac surgery.... read more

Hospital-Readmission Risk – Isolating Hospital Effects from Patient Effects

When the same patients were admitted with similar diagnoses to hospitals in the best-performing quartile as compared with the worst-performing quartile of hospital readmission performance, there was a significant difference... read more

Maryland emergency doctors find new life-saving use in old machine

A little used machine designed to detox people who overdose on Tylenol and other medications found another use. Doctors at Shock Trauma used it to save a teenage gunshot victim and then a college football player and an amateur... read more

Prehabilitation: Preparing Patients for Surgery

The impact of surgery leads to significant homeostatic disturbance.1 The surgical stress response is characterised by catabolism and increased oxygen demand. The extent and duration of the stress response is proportionate... read more

Sepsis – Explained in 3 Minutes

Sepsis is an emergency, striking about 30 million people every year, killing 6 to 9 million of them. Learn what sepsis is, and how to identify and treat it in this 3-min video. Please share with your loved ones - it could... read more

Can Early Rehabilitation on the General Ward After an ICU Stay Reduce Hospital Length of Stay in Survivors of Critical Illness?

An early rehabilitation program in survivors of critical illness led to an earlier discharge from the hospital, improved functional recovery, and was also cost-effective and safe. In the per-protocol analysis, length of... read more

Steroids for severe CAP. Should I?

Steroids. I always have mixed feelings about them. It's a Love & Hate relationship inside my head. On one hand I cannot stand those who claim steroids are the critical care's Holy Grail. Steroids for sepsis, ARDS, trauma,... read more

A comparison of two insulin infusion protocols in the ICU by continuous glucose monitoring

The Yale protocol provided better average glycemia, more time spent in normoglycemia, less time in hypoglycemia, and less glycemic variability than the Leuven protocol, but was not independently associated with strict glycemic... read more

Hypertension and Prehypertension Underdiagnosed, Undertreated in U.S. Children

Hypertension and prehypertension in children often go undiagnosed, according to a new study published in Pediatrics. The study focused on children with abnormal blood pressures across the United States.... read more

Metformin and Aspirin Potential Key in Treating Inflammatory Diseases

Ingredient in aspirin combined with popular diabetes drug can turn off faulty protein that plays a key role in inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. ... read more

Drug does not significantly reduce duration of mechanical ventilation for COPD patients

Among mechanically ventilated patients with COPD, administration of the respiratory stimulant acetazolamide did not significantly reduce the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation.... read more

The Ability of ICU Physicians to Estimate Long-Term Prognosis in Survivors of Critical Illness

Prognoses estimated by physicians incorrectly predicted long-term survival and HRQoL in one-third of ICU survivors. Moreover, inaccurate prognoses were generally the result of overoptimistic expectations of outcome. Among... read more

Conscious Sedation in TAVR Linked to Lower Mortality and Shorter Hospital Stays

The study, which captured approximately 90% of all patients who underwent TAVR in the United States during the study period, adds to a limited evidence base on the use of conscious sedation in this setting. Among those treated... read more

Association Between mRNA Expression of CD74 and IL10 and Risk of ICU-acquired Infections

Intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infections (IAI) result in increased hospital and ICU stay, costs and mortality. To date, no biomarker has shown sufficient evidence and ease of application in clinical routine for the identification... read more

Sepsis National Hospital Inpatient Quality Measure

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services adopted the Early Management Bundle, Severe Sepsis/Septic Shock (SEP-1) performance measure to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program in July 2015 to help address the... read more

Variation in Monitoring and Treatment Policies for Intracranial Hypertension in TBI

Substantial variation was found regarding monitoring and treatment policies in patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and intracranial hypertension. The results of this survey indicate a lack of consensus between European... read more

Patient Safety Collaborative Impact on Hospital-Acquired Harm

Improving patient safety often involves multifaceted interventions intended to change complex workflows. This prospective cohort study examined whether a collaborative improvement initiative across 33 pediatric hospitals... read more