Stories Category: Intensive Care
Use of Patient-Generated Wound Data to Improve Postdischarge SSI Monitoring
The use of mobile health (mHealth) to convey patient-generated health data (PGHD) offers new enhancements and challenges to the provision of surgical care. The Mobile Post-Operative Wound Evaluator (mPOWEr) is a patient-centered... read more
Admission to the ICU is Associated With Changes in the Oral Mycobiome
A prospective exploratory study was conducted to characterize the oral mycobiome at baseline and determine whether changes occur after admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). We found that ICU admission is associated... read more
Clinical summaries for hospitalised patients: time for higher standards
The average person remembers less than half of the information provided by healthcare professionals during a medical visit. The situation is arguably most challenging for patients leaving the hospital, where acute illness,... read more
Evaluating the Validity of Sepsis-3 Criteria in the Emergency Department
In this multicenter prospective cohort study involving 879 patients with suspected infection treated at the emergency department, the qSOFA was better at predicting in-hospital mortality with an area under the receiver operating... read more
The effect of day of the week on short- and long-term mortality for emergency general surgery
The effect of day of the week on outcome after surgery is the subject of debate. The aim was to determine whether day of the week of emergency general surgery alters short- and long-term mortality. Dr Mike Gillies and... read more
Emory Healthcare leverages Philips eICU platform to save $4.6 million
Emory Healthcare used Philips' technology for an eICU program, resulting in massive savings, lowered readmission rates and more. Emory's story began in 2010 and 2011, when team members saw tele-ICUs based on platforms... read more
Effect of an automated notification system for deteriorating ward patients on clinical outcomes
We performed a prospective before-and-after study in all patients admitted to two clinical ward areas in a district general hospital in the UK. We examined the effect on clinical outcomes of deploying an electronic automated... read more
Mindfulness Program Aims to Help Nurses Better Manage Stress
Creating a nursing workforce that is resilient to occupational stress and burnout is critical for engagement, job satisfaction and retention, as well as the overall success of any healthcare organization. The overall goal... read more
Antipyretic Therapy in Critically Ill Septic Patients
This meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of antipyretic therapy on mortality in critically ill septic adults. Inclusion criteria were observational or randomized studies of septic patients, evaluation of antipyretic... read more
Telemedicine and e-Health
Telemedicine-Assisted Intubation in Rural Emergency Departments: A National Emergency Airway Registry Study. Intubation in rural emergency departments (EDs) is a high-risk procedure, often with little or no specialty support.... read more
Early Palliative Care in Advanced Illness
As the on-call pulmonary critical care fellow, I listened to a family member plead with me to "do right by Mama." The emergency department team consulted me for possible intensive care unit (ICU) admission on a... read more
The Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU-7 Delirium Severity Scale
Delirium severity is independently associated with longer hospital stays, nursing home placement, and death in patients outside the ICU. Delirium severity in the ICU is not routinely measured because the available instruments... read more
Nursing Informatics Continues To Grow, Survey Finds
As healthcare adopts technology at all levels of care, the industry has been turning to nursing informatics specialists to help improve efficiency, boost patient outcomes, and reduce errors. As Health IT Outcomes reported,... read more
Spontaneous Breathing during Mechanical Ventilation. Risks, Mechanisms, and Management
Spontaneous respiratory effort during mechanical ventilation has long been recognized to improve oxygenation, and because oxygenation is a key management target, such effort may seem beneficial. Also, disuse and loss of peripheral... read more
Many Factors Contribute to Nurses' Alarm Response Time
Multiple factors including nurses' experience and assignments determined how fast they responded when monitoring alarms were triggered in a children's hospital, a video analysis found. Nurses were more likely to... read more
Venous congestion: are we adding insult to kidney injury in sepsis?
In critical illness, septic shock is a contributing factor in nearly half of all cases of acute kidney injury (AKI). Traditional approaches to prevention of organ dysfunction in early sepsis have focused on prevention of... read more
Changing Mindsets to Enhance Treatment Effectiveness
This Viewpoint defines mindsets - frames of mind that orient beliefs or expectations - discusses how they can influence patients' perceptions about treatment and self-efficacy, and proposes ways physicians might shape... read more