Updated Guidelines for Sepsis Management
In 2017 the Society for Critical Care Medicine updated its guidelines for sepsis management. These new guidelines differ significantly from ones in the past in that they no longer recommend protocolized resuscitation and... read more
Experts reveal noisy wards can lead to terrifying hallucinations
How a stay in hospital can tip you over the edge: Experts reveal noisy wards can lead to terrifying hallucinations and even long-term harm. Recognizing the symptoms means patients receive the care they need and can make the... read more
Medicine is the most emotional profession
Medicine is the most emotional profession. This story proves it. There you are in your father’s arms. He is practically running to keep up with the triage nurse. The nurse is walking quickly toward the room that we leave... read more
Influenza and Considerations Regarding Infectious Mimics
The patient with headache, myalgia, and URI symptoms may just have the common flu. It's all too common to see and treat multiple patients with influenza-like illness during the flu season. But what could you be missing?... read more
Palliative care from diagnosis to death
Evidence is growing that people can benefit from palliative care earlier in their illness, say Scott Murray and colleagues, but care must be tailored to different conditions. Many people still associate palliative care with... read more
The Changing Face of Informed Consent
Informed consent for a research study brings to mind a paper document with a handwritten signature completed at a clinical research site. However, the paper, ink, and clinical site are not necessary. Sufficient information... read more
Ketamine: A Drug at War with Itself
KETAMINE has always been the odd one out. Like an eccentric uncle who always turns up at the holiday season with a new partner, ketamine has never really comfortably fitted in to simple classifications of anesthetic drugs.... read more
Arterial Blood Gas: Time and Motion Study
Nursing workload using the Proxima versus standard arterial blood gas sampling Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) sampling is carried out in intensive care units (ICU) every day. Traditionally the nurse takes the blood sample and... read more
Excessive Resource Utilization
Overuse is inconsistent with professionalism because of the associated patient and societal harms and should receive equal attention as adverse events in health systems. Timely communication by inpatient specialists with... read more
World's most threatening superbugs ranked in new list
The World Health Organization has drawn up a list of the drug-resistant bacteria that pose the biggest threat to human health. Top of the list are gram-negative bugs, such as E. coli, which can cause lethal bloodstream infections... read more
Factors influencing physical activity and rehabilitation in survivors of critical illness
Eighty-nine papers were included. Five major themes and 28 sub-themes were identified, encompassing: (1) patient physical and psychological capability to perform physical activity, including delirium, sedation, illness severity,... read more
What’s new with stress ulcer prophylaxis in the ICU?
Critically ill patients are at risk of stress-related mucosal erosions. These are typically superficial and asymptomatic but may progress to ulceration and overt and clinically important gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding,... read more
The status of intensive care medicine research and a future agenda for very old patients in the ICU
The "very old intensive care patients" (abbreviated to VOPs; greater than 80 years old) are probably the fastest expanding subgroup of all intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Up until recently most ICU physicians... read more
Tight Glycemic Control in Critically Ill Children
In multicenter studies, tight glycemic control targeting a normal blood glucose level has not been shown to improve outcomes in critically ill adults or children after cardiac surgery. Studies involving critically ill children... read more
The Sick Bowel Obstruction Patient
A 68-year-old female presents to the ED with abdominal pain, bloating, and nausea which she states began this morning upon wakening about 3 hours prior to arrival. She appears moderately uncomfortable and pale. She is urgently... read more
Study Connects Maternal Response to Infection During Pregnancy with Increased Autism Risk
A new study adds to a growing body of research aimed at understanding how a mother’s body’s response to infection influences a growing fetus. In research published this week in mSphere, researchers at Columbia University... read more
Predicting HCAHPS scores from hospitals' social media pages
Social media is an important communication channel that can help hospitals and consumers obtain feedback about quality of care. However, despite the potential value of insight from consumers who post comments about hospital... read more
A Primer on the Perils of Intravenous Fluids – Part 2
Critically-ill patients all likely have endothelial dysfunction to some degree. resuscitationThis perturbation in microvascular physiology may be underpinned by abnormal glycocalyx structure and function. Sepsis, trauma,... read more
A Primer on the Perils of Intravenous Fluids – Part 1
The provision of intravenous fluids is no trivial intervention. Indeed, one eminent nephrologist has called for medical students to receive, not a 'white coat ceremony' at the outset of their education, but instead... read more
Prophylactic hydration to protect renal function from intravascular iodinated contrast material in patients at high risk of contrast-induced nephropathy
Between June 17, 2014, and July 17, 2016, 660 consecutive patients were randomly assigned to receive no prophylaxis (n=332) or intravenous hydration (n=328). 2–6 day serum creatinine was available for 307 (92%) of 332 patients... read more
Electronic Dura Mater Meddling in the Central Nervous System
This review of preclinical applications assesses the potential of the electronic dura mater to deliver electrical and chemical stimulation to targeted areas of the central nervous system for extended periods. Soft neural... read more
GERD Treatment May Reduce Healthcare Visits for Acute Respiratory Infections
Treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may help decrease healthcare visits for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). These are the findings of a new study published... read more
