Stories Category: Intensive Care
Fibromyalgia as marker for seizures less reliable
The specificity of fibromyalgia as a marker for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures is less reliable than previously described, results from a large analysis showed. Fibromyalgia may not be as reliable a clinical indicator... read more
The role of POC Diagnostics in Combatting Antibiotic Resistance
During the winter months, patients frequently present with respiratory symptoms like coughing, sneezing and fever that could be caused by one of several bacterial and viral infections including influenza, respiratory syncytial... read more
Sleep Duration Correlated with Lower Odds of Hyperglycemia
For hospitalized patients, additional sleep and increased sleep efficiency correlate with lower odds of hyperglycemia and impaired fasting glucose. The researchers found that 34 percent of the participants had diabetes, and... read more
Randomised trials role in surgery
In medical science, as in all walks of life, we are impressed by dramatic effects. If a new treatment seems much better than an old one initially, there is often impatience to get on and use it, and people question why... read more
Hemodialysis Patients who skipped influenza vaccine more likely to be hospitalized
Hemodialysis patients who skipped vaccination were 53% more likely to be hospitalized during the flu season the first year, 87% more likely to be hospitalized the second year, and 158% more likely to be hospitalized the third... read more
Three-year mortality in 30 day survivors of critical care with AKI
Acute kidney injury was not an independent risk factor for 3-year mortality among 30-day survivors. Increased 3-year mortality among patients with AKI who survive critical illness may not be related to AKI per se, but rather... read more
Wires and Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters
An increasing number of patients are being admitted to critical care units with multiple chronic medical conditions. In some of these patients, intravenous access is a challenge. With a concern for indwelling catheter infections,... read more
CMS Quality Payment Program Website Updated to Enable Data-sharing
CMS recently added a new tool to its Quality Payment Program website that will help vendors create important software for physician practices. The tool itself is an application program interface (API) that was created to... read more
Hospital Groups Warn that Repealing Obamacare Could Trigger Public Health Crisis
The American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) have expressed concerns that repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) could cause hospitals to lose billions... read more
RSNA attendees warned by FBI about the threat of radiation theft from hospitals
FBI and Department of Energy reps briefed a room full of RSNA attendees in Chicago last week about a growing litany of concerns ranging from disgruntled medical employees stealing radioactive materials, to patients setting... read more
Antibiotic therapy advances in the critically ill
Key issues related to antibiotic management in the critically ill, including problems associated with timing, duration, and dosing of antibiotics. The authors highlighted the importance of early diagnosis of infection and... read more
Quality of Outpatient Care Delivered to Adults in USA
This cross-sectional survey study measures changes in outpatient quality and patient experience in the United States from 2002 to 2013 to determine whether efforts to improve outpatient quality have been successful. Three... read more
Improving Appropriate Neurologic Prognostication after Cardiac Arrest
A multicenter quality intervention improved rates of appropriate neurologic prognostication after OHCA but did not increase survival with good neurologic outcome. This was a pragmatic stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled... read more
Neuroprotective Effects of the Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Analog Exenatide After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Acute administration of exenatide to comatose patients in the ICU after OHCA is feasible and safe. Exenatide did not reduce neuron-specific enolase levels and did not significantly improve a composite end point of death and... read more
High rate of depression and suicidal thoughts among medical students
A review and analysis of nearly 200 studies involving 129,000 medical students in 47 countries found that the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms was 27 percent, that 11 percent reported suicidal thoughts during... read more
Dexmedetomidine Use in Critically-Ill Children with Acute Respiratory Failure
Margaret Parker, MD, MCCM, speaks with Mary Jo C. Grant, APRN, PhD, about the article, "Dexmedetomidine Use in Critically-Ill Children with Acute Respiratory Failure," published in the December 2016 issue of Pediatric... read more
The Worst Trauma Experienced as a Nurse
As a relatively new nurse, I never experienced the terror that normal people experience when someone starts to die. For me, I knew how to handle it.... read more
