Fewer Hospital Patients Harmed by Bedsores and Injuries
No one who enters a hospital for care expects to be harmed or sickened accidentally. Unfortunately, preventable errors and mishaps are all too common, occurring during one in six hospital admissions and killing at least 500... read more
Burn Till You’re Out
When using the technical definition of burnout: "The reduction of a fuel to nothing", it clearly describes the state of being of the few people that I have met who are having a burnout. The problem is huge and almost... read more
Management of Septic Shock
The results of the PRISM trials confirm that early intervention strategies, including early detection of sepsis, risk stratification, early administration of antibiotics, and appropriate fluid resuscitation, improve the outcomes... read more
The Basics of Veno-Arterial and Veno-Venous ECMO and the Indications of ECMO Therapy
Sean P. Kane, PharmD, BCPS, speaks with Elliott Cohen, MD about extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). In the episode, the basics of Veno-Arterial (VA) and Veno-Venous (VV) ECMO are outlined and the indications of ECMO... read more
Intraoperative Infusion of Dexmedetomidine for Prevention of Postoperative Delirium and Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Patients
Intraoperative infusion of dexmedetomidine for prevention of postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients undergoing major elective non-cardiac surgery. Postoperative delirium occurs in 10% to 60%... read more
Malnutrition, Critical Illness Survivors, and Postdischarge Outcomes
The exposure of interest was malnutrition determined at intensive care unit (ICU) admission by a registered dietitian using clinical judgment and on data related to unintentional weight loss, inadequate nutrient intake, and... read more
WHO tries to keep certain antibiotics largely off the table
In a bid to battle antibiotic resistance, the World Health Organization for the first time has classified antibiotics into three categories, including one that lists the drugs it hopes will not be used except in circumstances... read more
Effect of Home Noninvasive Ventilation With Oxygen Therapy vs Oxygen Therapy Alone on Hospital Readmission or Death After an Acute COPD Exacerbation
In this randomized clinical trial of 116 patients, the addition of home noninvasive ventilation significantly prolonged time to readmission or death from 1.4 months to 4.3 months. Among patients with persistent hypercapnia... read more
Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of C. difficile: Current State of the Evidence
This is a summary of a systematic review that evaluated the recent evidence regarding the accuracy of diagnostic tests and the effectiveness of interventions for preventing and treating Clostridium difficile (C. difficile)... read more
Systolic Blood Pressure Reduction and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality
Clinical trials have documented that lowering blood pressure reduces cardiovascular disease and premature deaths. However, the optimal target for reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) is uncertain. This study suggests... read more
Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) believes there is an ethical obligation to responsibly share data generated by interventional clinical trials because trial participants have put themselves at... read more
Critical care at the end of life: a population-level cohort study of cost and outcomes
Despite the high cost associated with ICU use at the end of life, very little is known at a population level about the characteristics of users and their end of life experience. In this study, our goal was to characterize... read more
Sevoflurane for Sedation in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Sevoflurane improves gas exchange, and reduces alveolar edema and inflammation in preclinical studies of lung injury, but its therapeutic effects have never been investigated in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).... read more
ER Overcrowding Delays Sepsis Treatment
Prompt antibiotic initiation is associated with improved mortality in sepsis and septic shock. However, new research shows that patients with sepsis, a life-threatening complication of an infection, had delays approaching... read more
3 Reasons Many Nurses are Leaving the Profession
A 2017 study from RNnetwork, one of the largest, travel nursing companies in the country, shows nearly half of the nurses they surveyed are considering leaving the field altogether. RNnetwork provided an email poll to more... read more
Accuracy of Medical Claims for Identifying Cardiovascular and Bleeding Events After Myocardial Infarction
In this secondary analysis of a clinical trial of 12 365 patients with acute myocardial infarction, the cumulative 1-year event rates for myocardial infarction, stroke, and bleeding were lower when medical claims were used... read more
Personalised Medicine in Intensive Care
The specialty of intensive care medicine grew out of the realisation that critically ill patients needed more attention and specialised treatment than could be provided on a general ward, and that many of these patients had... read more
ICU Medicine Is a Team Sport
I am incredibly fortunate to work on a multidisciplinary team every day. The team includes respiratory therapists, nurses, nutritionists, attending physicians (APs), and advanced practice providers (APPs) (nurse practitioners... read more
ICU Admission for the Very Elderly: A Cost Analysis
Considering the poor clinical outcomes, and that many intensive care unit (ICU) admissions may be undesired by very elderly patients (aged 80 or older), ICU costs in this population are substantial, according to a new study... read more
WHA Adopts Resolution on Sepsis
World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization made sepsis a global health priority, by adopting a resolution to improve, prevent, diagnose, and manage sepsis. This marks a quantum leap in the global fight against... read more
Clinical Implications of Sarcopenia on Decreased Bone Density in Men With COPD
Sarcopenia and osteoporosis are systemic features of COPD. The present study investigated the association between sarcopenia and osteopenia/osteoporosis and the factors associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) in men... read more
What emotions are doctors allowed to feel?
As a medical professional, struggle between feeling too much and feeling too little is constant. Feelings are a double edged sword in medicine - many times they can shake you or beat you down. After two years, I know this:... read more
