Kinetic Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Critically Ill Patients
Both the Acute kidney injury (AKI) classification system and the nonsteady-state (kinetic) estimated glomerular filtration rate (KeGFR) are complementary to each other. Assessing both AKI stage and KeGFR can help to identify... read more
Effect of Azithromycin on Asthma Exacerbations and Quality of Life in Adults with Persistent Uncontrolled Asthma
Adults with persistent symptomatic asthma experience fewer asthma exacerbations and improved quality of life when treated with oral azithromycin for 48 weeks. Azithromycin might be a useful add-on therapy in persistent asthma.... read more
Multicenter Assessment of Sedation and Delirium Practices in the ICU in Poland
A majority of Polish ICUs do not adhere to international guidelines regarding sedation and delirium practices. There continues to be inadequate use of sedation and delirium monitoring tools. High usage of benzodiazepines... read more
Excess Ventilation in COPD-Heart Failure Overlap
Heightened neural drive promoting a ventilatory response beyond that required to overcome an increased "wasted" ventilation led to hypocapnia and poor exercise ventilatory efficiency in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease–heart... read more
Promoting High-Value Practice by Reducing Unnecessary Transfusions With a Patient Blood Management Program
Although blood transfusion is a lifesaving therapy for some patients, transfusion has been named 1 of the top 5 overused procedures in US hospitals. As unnecessary transfusions only increase risk and cost without providing... read more
Pearls and Pitfalls in Comprehensive Critical Care Echocardiography
Comprehensive critical care echocardiography is a useful, rapid and non-invasive method to both diagnose pathology and monitor treatment response in the critically ill. Although growing dramatically in use around the world,... read more
Better AKI Patient Survival Linked to Negative Fluid Balance
Optimal fluid management of critically ill patients with or at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) is still uncertain. Now a new prospective study from India confirms that patients with negative fluid balance live longer.... read more
Cardiohepatic Interactions in Heart Failure
Liver involvement in chronic heart failure has long been recognized and reflects the systemic hemodynamic changes that occur during the evolution of heart failure syndrome. Apart from venous congestion and backward failure,... read more
Taking Care of the Physician
There is increasing conversation about "physician wellness" these days, as we look at how young doctors are trained, and at the physical, emotional and spiritual pathways of those who are supposedly (and arduously and extensively)... read more
Lowering systolic blood pressure would save more than 100,000 lives per year, study finds
Intensive treatment to lower systolic (top number) blood pressure to below 120 would save more than 100,000 lives per year in the United States, say scientists. Two thirds of the lives saved would be men and two thirds would... read more
Long-Term Cognitive Impairment after Critical Illness
Patients in medical and surgical ICUs are at high risk for long-term cognitive impairment. A longer duration of delirium in the hospital was associated with worse global cognition and executive function scores at 3 and 12... read more
Algorithm Can Diagnose Pneumonia Better than Radiologists
Stanford researchers have developed a deep learning algorithm that evaluates chest X-rays for signs of disease. In just over a month of development, their algorithm outperformed expert radiologists at diagnosing pneumonia.... read more
ICU Diary Impact on Patients and Families Wellbeing
The ICU-Diary study: prospective, multicenter comparative study of the impact of an ICU diary on the wellbeing of patients and families in French ICUs. This study will provide new insights on the impact of ICU diaries on... read more
Early Exercise in Critically Ill Youth and Children, a Preliminary Evaluation
Early mobilization is safe and feasible in the PICU. In-bed cycling may facilitate greater duration and intensity of mobilization, in critically ill children. A full-scale randomized controlled trial is warranted to evaluate... read more
The Septic Shock 3.0 Definition and Trials
Ranjit Deshpande, MD, speaks with James A. Russell, MD, about the article, "The Septic Shock 3.0 Definition and Trials: A Vasopressin and Septic Shock Trial Experience," published in the June 2017 issue of Critical Care Medicine.... read more
Association of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program Implementation With Readmission and Mortality Outcomes in Heart Failure
Among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries discharged after heart failure hospitalizations, implementation of the HRRP was temporally associated with a reduction in 30-day and 1-year readmissions but an increase in 30-day... read more
The New Blood Pressure Guidelines
The last time a major updates to the identification, classification and treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension) was 2003. Finally, the long anticipated updated comprehensive guidelines were released earlier this month... read more
