Effect of an automated notification system for deteriorating ward patients on clinical outcomes
We performed a prospective before-and-after study in all patients admitted to two clinical ward areas in a district general hospital in the UK. We examined the effect on clinical outcomes of deploying an electronic automated... read more
Mindfulness Program Aims to Help Nurses Better Manage Stress
Creating a nursing workforce that is resilient to occupational stress and burnout is critical for engagement, job satisfaction and retention, as well as the overall success of any healthcare organization. The overall goal... read more
Antipyretic Therapy in Critically Ill Septic Patients
This meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of antipyretic therapy on mortality in critically ill septic adults. Inclusion criteria were observational or randomized studies of septic patients, evaluation of antipyretic... read more
Telemedicine and e-Health
Telemedicine-Assisted Intubation in Rural Emergency Departments: A National Emergency Airway Registry Study. Intubation in rural emergency departments (EDs) is a high-risk procedure, often with little or no specialty support.... read more
Early Palliative Care in Advanced Illness
As the on-call pulmonary critical care fellow, I listened to a family member plead with me to "do right by Mama." The emergency department team consulted me for possible intensive care unit (ICU) admission on a... read more
The Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7 Delirium Severity Scale
Delirium severity is independently associated with longer hospital stays, nursing home placement, and death in patients outside the ICU. Delirium severity in the ICU is not routinely measured because the available instruments... read more
Nursing Informatics Continues To Grow, Survey Finds
As healthcare adopts technology at all levels of care, the industry has been turning to nursing informatics specialists to help improve efficiency, boost patient outcomes, and reduce errors. As Health IT Outcomes reported,... read more
Spontaneous Breathing during Mechanical Ventilation. Risks, Mechanisms, and Management
Spontaneous respiratory effort during mechanical ventilation has long been recognized to improve oxygenation, and because oxygenation is a key management target, such effort may seem beneficial. Also, disuse and loss of peripheral... read more
Many Factors Contribute to Nurses' Alarm Response Time
Multiple factors including nurses' experience and assignments determined how fast they responded when monitoring alarms were triggered in a children's hospital, a video analysis found. Nurses were more likely to... read more
Venous congestion: are we adding insult to kidney injury in sepsis?
In critical illness, septic shock is a contributing factor in nearly half of all cases of acute kidney injury (AKI). Traditional approaches to prevention of organ dysfunction in early sepsis have focused on prevention of... read more
Changing Mindsets to Enhance Treatment Effectiveness
This Viewpoint defines mindsets - frames of mind that orient beliefs or expectations - discusses how they can influence patients' perceptions about treatment and self-efficacy, and proposes ways physicians might shape... read more
Delays in Emergency Care and Mortality during Major U.S. Marathons
Large marathons frequently involve widespread road closures and infrastructure disruptions, which may create delays in emergency care for nonparticipants with acute medical conditions who live in proximity to marathon routes. Medicare... read more
Which position is safest for central line placement: subclavian, jugular, femoral?
Where to place a central venous catheter is a decision driven mainly by individual experience and preference. The limited evidence available has not established any site as superior; the subclavian position has been reported... read more
Building Global Collaboration in Acute Care Research
Dr. Ludwig Lin, MD, speaks with John C. Marshall, MD, FRCSC, FACS, about his talk given at the 46th Critical Care Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii on, "Building Global Collaboration in Acute Care Research." Dr. Marshall discusses... read more
Lung Microbiome: Key to Respiratory Ills?
Recently, JAMA discussed this research and its potential clinical applications with 2 experts on the front lines, Jack Gilbert, PhD, a microbial ecologist at the University of Chicago and director of its new Microbiome Center... read more
Komodo dragon-inspired synthetic peptide DRGN-1 promotes wound-healing of a mixed-biofilm infected wound
Cationic antimicrobial peptides are multifunctional molecules that have a high potential as therapeutic agents. We have identified a histone H1-derived peptide from the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), called VK25. Using... read more
Comparison of Alveolar Recruitment Strategies for Preventing Postoperative Pulmonary Complications
This randomized clinical trial compares the effects of adding an intensive vs moderate alveolar recruitment strategy to protective ventilation on the number and severity of pulmonary complications following cardiac surgery.... read more
Top 5 Skills Every Nurse Should Develop Quickly
What are the top five skills that every nurse should develop? Nope! Not those. I imagine many of you reading automatically think about the clinical skills it takes to become a professional nurse. While clinical skills are... read more
Communicating Context in Quality Improvement Reports
The study by Demb and colleagues reports on the positive results of an intervention strategy to reduce excess radiation exposure across 5 academic medical centers associated with the University of California. Leading up to... read more
The impact of emergency department crowding on early interventions and mortality in patients with severe sepsis
Critically ill patients require significant time and care coordination in the emergency department (ED). We hypothesized that ED crowding would delay time to intravenous fluids and antibiotics, decrease utilization of protocolized... read more
Value-Based Reforms and the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program
In this longitudinal study of 2837 US hospitals between 2008 and 2015, we found that participation in 1 or more Medicare value-based reforms - including the Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records program, the Accountable... read more
The Prevalence of Acute Critical Neurological Disease in Children
Neurologic insults are a significant pediatric international health issue. They are frequent and contribute substantial morbidity and mortality. These data suggest a need for an increased focus on acute critical neurologic... read more
