Stories Category: Intensive Care
Respiratory Physiology of Mechanically Ventilated Patients with COVID-19
In this "Breathe Easy Critical Perspective" podcast, Dr. Dominique Pepper interviews Drs. Jehan Alladina and Corey Hardin. They discuss the respiratory physiology of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19. Dr.... read more
In the Fight to Treat Coronavirus, Your Lungs Are a Battlefield
Ventilators have become the single most important piece of medical equipment for critically ill coronavirus patients whose damaged lungs prevent them from getting enough oxygen to vital organs. The machines work by forcing... read more
Acute Respiratory Failure in COVID-19: Typical ARDS?
COVID-19 is highly infectious and can lead to fatal comorbidities especially ARDS. There are currently no recommended specific anti-COVID-19 treatments, so supportive treatment is important. Fully understanding the characteristics... read more
Prevention and Treatment of ALI with Time-controlled Adaptive Ventilation
Neither the current lung protect and rest nor open lung approach (OLA) ventilation strategies have been effective at reducing VILI and ARDS-related mortality below that in the ARMA study. For a protective ventilation strategy... read more
Awake Proning for COVID-19
Prone positioning improves oxygenation in spontaneous breathing nonintubated patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure: A retrospective study. This is a retrospective case series describing 15 non-intubated patients... read more
High Risk of Thrombosis in Patients with Severe COVID-19
Despite anticoagulation, a high number of patients with ARDS secondary to COVID-19 developed life-threatening thrombotic complications. Higher anticoagulation targets than in usual critically ill patients should therefore... read more
Rapid Development of an Inactivated Vaccine Candidate for COVID-19
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in an unprecedented public health crisis. There are currently no SARS-CoV-2-specific... read more
The Pandemic Is a Perfect Storm for ICU Delirium
Spending time in the ICU, especially for anyone with COVID-19, is a dangerous, physically taxing experience: Only the most seriously ill patients land in intensive care, where many undergo a number of complex medical treatments... read more
Pathological Inflammation in Patients with COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 has led to more than 200,000 deaths worldwide. Several studies have now established that the hyperinflammatory response induced by SARS-CoV-2 is a major cause of disease... read more
Provider Burnout and Fatigue During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in an overall surge in new cases of depression and anxiety and an exacerbation of existing mental health issues, with a particular emotional and physical... read more
Give that Febrile Patient a Blanket!
The practice of not allowing patients with a fever to have a blanket is predicated on the intriguing and complex scientific relationship between body temperature and medical outcomes. We know that an elevated temperature... read more
COVID-19: Tube Exchange
Emergency physicians rarely are involved in tube exchanges; I can't remember the last time I had to do one. However, during the COVID19 surge, we found ourselves boarding intubated patients for days and even weeks as our... read more
50 Studies Every Intensivist Should Know
50 Studies Every Intensivist Should Know presents key studies that have shaped the practice of critical care medicine. Selected using a rigorous methodology, the studies cover topics including: sedation and analgesia, resuscitation,... read more
Let’s Save Some Lives: A Doctor’s Journey Into the Pandemic
There is no hope of outrunning the suffering that has settled into the hospital and the world around it, so Andrew Ibrahim laces up his blue waterproof sneakers and walks. In the time it has taken the daffodils to poke... read more
30 Days as a Medical Resident in New York City
The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped everyone's lives. But for health-care workers, the impact of covid-19 is felt acutely, tragically, every day. To capture the lived reality of this, we asked Shaoli Chaudhuri, 29,... read more
Supine Body Position As a Risk Factor for Nosocomial Pneumonia in Mechanically Ventilated Patients
The frequency of clinically suspected nosocomial pneumonia was lower in the semirecumbent group than in the supine group. This was also true for microbiologically confirmed pneumonia. Supine body position were independent... read more
What’s Working for COVID-19 Patients in the Epicenter
Our large tertiary care ED in Queens, NY, usually sees more than 100,000 adults a year. As we write this, we have 850 COVID-19-likely or -positive patients (several hundred above our bed capacity just one month ago), more... read more
