Stories Category: Intensive Care
Most ICU Patients Underfed
A large international multicentre cohort study shows that most of the patients are underfed during their ICU stay. In their findings published in the journal Clinical Nutrition, researchers say most of the patients in intensive... read more
The Glass Door of the Patient Room
Poor communication among health-care providers is cited as the most common cause of sentinel events involving patients. Our goal was to create a novel, easily accessible communication device to improve ICU patient care. Due... read more
Reduction of Laboratory Utilization in the ICU
In our academic ICU, there is excess ordering of routine laboratory tests. This is partially due to a lack of transparency of laboratory-processing costs and to the admission order plans that favor daily laboratory test orders.... read more
Hyperventilation Therapy for Control of Post-Traumatic Intracranial Hypertension
During traumatic brain injury, intracranial hypertension (ICH) can become a life-threatening condition if it is not managed quickly and adequately. Physicians use therapeutic hyperventilation to reduce elevated intracranial... read more
Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis in the ICU (SUP-ICU)
Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) is standard of care in the intensive care unit (ICU), however the quantity and quality of evidence is low and potential harm has been reported. The aim of the SUP-ICU trial is to asses the overall... read more
Double Mortality Risk for Depressed Heart Disease Patients
Among 24,000 patients with heart disease studied over many years, those who suffered from depression were at twice the risk of dying, according recently published findings from Intermountain Healthcare. A statistical analysis... read more
Avoiding Intubation
Review the basic principles and physiology of Non-Invasive Ventilation and High-Flow Oxygen Systems. Critical Care Summit talk by William Bender, MD, Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Emory University School... read more
Prescribed Morphine Milligram Equivalents of Opioids by County
Despite reductions in opioid prescribing in some parts of the USA, the amount of opioids prescribed remains high relative to 1999 levels and varies substantially at the county-level. Given associations between opioid prescribing,... read more
A Brief Review of Troponin Testing for Clinicians
Current American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines state that troponin is the preferred biomarker for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (MI). Troponin T (TnT) and I molecules have amino... read more
Consideration of the Intracranial Pressure Threshold Value for the Initiation of TBI Treatment
Monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) is considered to be fundamental for the care of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is routinely used to direct medical and surgical therapy. The cerebral circulation... read more
This Startup Could Revolutionize How We Fight Infectious Diseases
Karius Test has raised $50 million to develop a novel technology that can detect more than 1,000 infectious diseases, without requiring the usual trial-and-error tests. The test is expensive at $2,000, and is meant for use... read more
Hyperglycaemia in Critically Ill Patients
There is an ongoing debate regarding the efficacy of glycaemic control in critically ill patients. Here we briefly highlight the key function of elevated glucose in critically ill patients, namely, to enable elevation of... read more
Delirium in Advanced Cancer Patients Worsens Survival
Patients with advanced cancer who arrived at the ED with delirium had increased rates of hospitalization and ICU admissions, as well as shorter survival rates, according to a study published in The Oncologist. Many patients... read more
Muscle Oxygenation as Indicator of Shock Severity
The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the potential of a new noninvasive optical measurement of muscle oxygenation (MOx) to identify shock severity in patients with suspected sepsis. We demonstrate that noninvasive... read more
Better Detection & Response to Outbreaks with Enhanced Data
Established in 2016, CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (AR Lab Network) supports nationwide lab capacity to rapidly detect antibiotic resistance in healthcare, food, and the community, and inform local responses... read more
Improving Long-Term Outcomes Research for ARF
Alison Turnbull, DVM, MPH, PhD discusses the heterogeneity in outcome measures in our field and the need for a Core Outcome Measurement Set (COMS) to standardize reporting of important outcomes. As part of the consensus process,... read more
Where is the Love in Critical Care?
If we look at any critical care system there are several components that are required to drive quality, safety and ultimately success. The greatest driver of success is ultimately the staff. Staff who feel safe, valued and... read more
