Stories Category: Intensive Care
Prehospital Intravenous Fentanyl Administered by Ambulance Personnel
Prehospital acute pain is a frequent symptom that is often inadequately managed. The concerns of opioid induced side effects are well-founded. To ensure patient safety, ambulance personnel are therefore provided with treatment... read more
Catheter-Directed Therapy for PE Built on Fallacy
Tissue plasminogen activator has a notoriously checkered past within emergency medicine, and its controversial use continues with the advent of targeted therapy for pulmonary embolism. Catheter-directed administration of... read more
Flu Has Sickened More Than 13 Million This Season
The CDC estimates that there have been 13.2 million to 15.2 million flu illnesses this season. The CDC estimates there have been 6.2 million to 7.2 million flu medical visits and 155,000 to 186,000 flu hospitalizations this... read more
Effect of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in adults with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure
Conflicting recommendations exist on whether high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy should be administered to adult patients in critical care with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. We performed a meta-analysis of... read more
Study Shows How Bacteria Spread from Sink Drainpipes to Patients
Many recent reports have found multidrug resistant bacteria living in hospital sink drainpipes, putting them in close proximity to vulnerable patients. But how the bacteria find their way out of the drains, and into patients... read more
Reducing Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections in the ICU
Patients in the ICU are at higher risk for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) due to more frequent use of catheters and lower threshold for obtaining urine cultures. This review provides a summary of CAUTI... read more
ICU May Be Overused for Some COPD, Acute MI, HF Patients
For patients with COPD, heart failure and myocardial infarction, who are not critically ill, a stay in the ICU may be no more beneficial than staying on a ward, according to an analysis just published in the Annals of the... read more
Medicating patients during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which can support gas exchange or hemodynamics in patients with severe respiratory or cardiac failure, has demonstrated considerable evolution over the last decade [1], with a steady... read more
The effects of performance status one week before hospital admission on the outcomes of critically ill patients
PS impairment was associated with worse outcomes independently of other markers of chronic health status, particularly for patients in the medium range of severity of illness. PS impairment was moderate in 17.3 % and severe... read more
Hypertriglyceridemic pancreatitis: Can we defuse the bomb?
Hypertriglyceridemia causes ~9% of pancreatitis, the third most common cause after alcohol and gallstones. It is a risk factor for severe pancreatitis, making it more frequent among ICU patients with pancreatitis. I see... read more
Ultrasound-guided Pleural Effusion Drainage With a Small Catheter Using the Single-step Trocar or Modified Seldinger Technique
Ultrasound-guided pleural effusion drainage by catheter insertion is a safe and effective procedure. The success rate is low when the effusion is loculated and septated. Both the trocar and the modified Seldinger techniques... read more
One of the Deadliest Hospital-Acquired Infections Is Preventable
Johns Hopkins Study Shows One of the Deadliest Hospital-Acquired Infections Is Preventable. For some hospital patients, going on a ventilator is often the difference between life and death. About 800,000 hospital patients... read more
Hemodynamic Support after Cardiac Surgery
Low cardiac output syndrome is a common complication of cardiac surgery and is associated with increased mortality. Levosimendan has been shown in small studies to be an effective therapy.... read more
Teen Who Walked While On Life Support is Home from Hospital
For the past 467 days, Zei Uwadia has been hospitalized on life support -- but that hasn't kept the quiet-natured teenager from walking, eating her favorite foods or even doing planks as exercise. Now, with determination... read more
