The Quiet Room
The grim reality for trauma healthcare clinicians. From the vantage point of a trauma surgeon, conversation seems a terribly feeble response. Gun violence, whether on the streets of Chicago or in the churches of Charleston... read more
Medical Journals in the Age of Ubiquitous Social Media
Medical journals increasingly use social media to engage their audiences in a variety of ways, from simply broadcasting content via blogs, micro-blogs, and podcasts to more interactive methods such as Twitter chats and online... read more
The Dark Sides of Fluid Administration in the Critically Ill Patient
The administration of intravenous fluids is probably the most frequently initiated therapy in critically ill patients. With very few exceptions, such as severe congestive heart failure, IV fluids are considered as a safe... read more
Better Living Quality for Intensive Care
Aiming to bring "Better Living in Intensive Care" for both patients and caregivers, the French Intensive Care Society issued guidelines to promote quality of life for ICU. As the largest premier reference and teaching hospital... read more
The YEARS Study – Simplified Diagnostic Management of PE
The clinical diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) can be challenging given its variable presentation, requiring dependence on objective testing. Decision instruments such as PERC and the Wells' score help stratify patients... read more
Does a 1-h Rest After a Successful SBT Really Improve Extubation Outcome?
Discussion on whether reconnection to mechanical ventilation for 1h after a successful spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) reduces reintubation in critically ill patients: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.... read more
Optimizing Strategies for Clinical Decision Support
As a result of a collaboration between the NAM and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, this NAM Special Publication summarizes and builds upon a meeting series in which a multi-stakeholder... read more
Responding to Ten Common Delirium Misconceptions With Best Evidence
Delirium (acute confusion) is a serious, common health condition, and it predicts poor outcomes, including greater rates of mortality, institutionalization, prolonged hospitalization, and cognitive impairment. Expedient diagnosis... read more
Successful Strategy to Decrease Indwelling Catheter Utilization Rates in an Academic Medical ICU
Our interventions demonstrated that aggressive and comprehensive indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) restriction protocol and provider training can lead to a successful decrease in IUC use, leading to a lower IUC utilization... read more
Outcomes after Angiography with Sodium Bicarbonate and Acetylcysteine
Intravenous sodium bicarbonate and oral acetylcysteine are widely used to prevent acute kidney injury (AKI) and associated adverse outcomes after angiography without definitive evidence of their efficacy. Among patients at... read more
Definitive Global Transfusion Study Supports Patient Safety and Outcomes
Lower thresholds for blood transfusions during cardiac surgery have proven to be safe and provide good patient outcomes compared to traditional thresholds, according to the largest research study ever performed in this area.... read more
Sepsis mortality linked to concentration of critical care fellowships
Higher survival rates for sepsis were more concentrated in the Northeast and metropolitan areas in the Western regions of the United States. Compared with other parts of the United States, survival rates for sepsis were highest... read more
Predicting outcomes after trauma to the brain
UMMS researchers help develop novel tool to predict survival after penetrating brain injury. Using the new tool they developed, the SPIN-Score (Surviving Penetrating Injury to the Brain), two factors were by far the strongest... read more
Enhancing Delirium Case Definitions in Electronic Health Records
Delirium is an acute confusional state, associated with morbidity and mortality in diverse medically ill populations. Delirium may be better captured by composite outcomes, including both administrative claims data and elements... read more
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery
With astonishing compassion and candor, leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reveals the fierce joy of operating, the profoundly moving triumphs, the harrowing disasters, the haunting regrets and the moments of black humor that... read more
The Timing of Early Antibiotics and Hospital Mortality in Sepsis
Prior sepsis studies evaluating antibiotic timing have shown mixed results. Objective: To evaluate the association between antibiotic timing and mortality among sepsis patients receiving antibiotics within 6 hours of emergency... read more
Is Intravenous Administration of Iodixanol Associated with Increased Risk of AKI, Dialysis, or Mortality?
Among patients at the highest perceived risk of post-contrast Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), intravenous administration of iodixanol for contrast material enhanced CT was not an independent risk factor for AKI, dialysis, or... read more
