Do Nurse Staffing Ratios Work? New Research Says No

Advocates of mandated staffing ratios say they improve patient outcomes. A recent study finds otherwise. Nurse-to-patient ratios are a hot button issue. Look no further than Massachusetts for an example. After a battle that... read more

Do Nurse Staffing Ratios Work? New Research Says No

Sepsis Around the Cradle of Humankind

While representing the cutting edge of civilization everywhere, mothers and their newborn infants are a population particularly vulnerable to sepsis.1 By recognizing the importance of antiseptic prophylaxis (handwashing),... read more

Sepsis Around the Cradle of Humankind

Trends in Visits to Acute Care Venues for Treatment of Low-Acuity Conditions

From 2008 to 2015, total acute care utilization for the treatment of low-acuity conditions and associated spending per member in the United States increased, and utilization of non-ED acute care venues increased rapidly.... read more

Trends in Visits to Acute Care Venues for Treatment of Low-Acuity Conditions

Identifying Distinct Subgroups of ICU Patients: A Machine Learning Approach

Identifying subgroups of ICU patients with similar clinical needs and trajectories may provide a framework for more efficient ICU care through the design of care platforms tailored around patients' shared needs. However,... read more

Identifying Distinct Subgroups of ICU Patients: A Machine Learning Approach

Gender Disparities Among Adult Recipients of Bystander CPR in the Public

Males had an increased likelihood of receiving Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (BCPR) compared with females in public. BCPR improved survival to discharge, with greater survival among males compared with females.... read more

Gender Disparities Among Adult Recipients of Bystander CPR in the Public

Early Versus Late Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients

Early initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) effect on survival and renal recovery of critically ill patients is still uncertain. We aimed to systematically review current evidence comparing outcomes of early versus... read more

Early Versus Late Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients

Perspectives on Strained ICU Capacity: A Survey of Critical Care Professionals

Strained intensive care unit (ICU) capacity represents a supply-demand mismatch in ICU care. Limited data have explored health care worker (HCW) perceptions of strain. Strained capacity is perceived as common among inter-professional... read more

Perspectives on Strained ICU Capacity: A Survey of Critical Care Professionals

Predicting the Requirement for RRT in Intensive Care Patients with Sepsis

Sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients, with initial organ impairment often followed by dysfunction in other systems. Renal dysfunction may therefore represent one... read more

Predicting the Requirement for RRT in Intensive Care Patients with Sepsis

Hemodynamic Tolerance to IV Clonidine Infusion in the PICU

Although administration of clonidine is often associated with bradycardia and hypotension, these complications do not seem clinically significant in a mixed PICU population with a high degree of disease severity. Clonidine... read more

Hemodynamic Tolerance to IV Clonidine Infusion in the PICU

Increased Early Systemic Inflammation in ICU-Acquired Weakness

The main objective is to investigate whether patients who develop ICU-acquired weakness have a different pattern of systemic inflammatory markers compared with critically ill patients who do not develop ICU-acquired weakness.... read more

Increased Early Systemic Inflammation in ICU-Acquired Weakness

Travel Times Affect Neurocritical Care Unit Nurse Staffing Levels

For specialist nurses on neurocritical care units, accompanying patients for imaging scans and other procedures has a major impact on nurse staffing ratios, reports a study in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing. Over 30... read more

Travel Times Affect Neurocritical Care Unit Nurse Staffing Levels

Doctors Rely on More than Just Data for Medical Decision Making

Many technology companies are working on artificial intelligence systems that can analyze medical data to help diagnose or treat health problems. Such systems raise the question of whether this kind of technology can perform... read more

Doctors Rely on More than Just Data for Medical Decision Making

Positive End-Expiratory Pressure Lower Than the ARDS Network Protocol Is Associated with Higher Pediatric ARDS Mortality

Patients with PARDS managed with lower PEEP relative to FiO2 than recommended by the ARDSNet model had higher mortality. Clinical trials targeting PEEP management in PARDS are needed. This was a multicenter, retrospective... read more

Positive End-Expiratory Pressure Lower Than the ARDS Network Protocol Is Associated with Higher Pediatric ARDS Mortality

Increasing the Number of Medical Emergency Calls Does Not Improve Hospital Mortality

With adjustment for patient factors, illness, and comorbidities, increased emergency calling rates were not associated with reduced in-hospital mortality. Efforts to increase calling rates do not seem warranted. We studied... read more

Increasing the Number of Medical Emergency Calls Does Not Improve Hospital Mortality

Health-related Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients With and Without Sepsis

Critically ill patients with sepsis have higher healthcare resource use and costs but similar survival and HRQoL compared to matched patients without sepsis. We conducted a primary propensity score matched analysis of patients... read more

Health-related Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients With and Without Sepsis

Acute Skeletal Muscle Wasting in Critical Illness

Among these critically ill patients, muscle wasting occurred early and rapidly during the first week of critical illness and was more severe among those with multiorgan failure compared with single organ failure. These findings... read more

Acute Skeletal Muscle Wasting in Critical Illness

Utility of Adjunct Antibiotics After I+D – Systematic Review + Meta-Analysis

Skin and soft tissue abscesses are a common emergency department (ED) presentation. The approach to management has changed little in recent decades: incision and drainage (I+D) and then discharge home with follow up. However,... read more

Utility of Adjunct Antibiotics After I+D – Systematic Review + Meta-Analysis

Effects of Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Care on Hospital Mortality

Chlorhexidine oral care is widely used in critically and non-critically ill hospitalized patients to maintain oral health. We investigated the effect of chlorhexidine oral care on mortality in a general hospitalized population.... read more

Effects of Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Care on Hospital Mortality

Clinical Decision Support for In-Hospital AKI

AKI carries a significant mortality and morbidity risk. Use of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) might improve outcomes. We conducted a multicenter, sequential period analysis of 528,108 patients without ESRD before... read more

Clinical Decision Support for In-Hospital AKI

Association of the Quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) Score With Excess Hospital Mortality in Adults With Suspected Infection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

In this retrospective secondary analysis of 9 diverse LMIC cohorts that included 6569 hospitalized adults with suspected infection, a qSOFA score greater than or equal to 2 was significantly associated with increased likelihood... read more

Association of the Quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) Score With Excess Hospital Mortality in Adults With Suspected Infection in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Whole Blood – More than the Sum of Its Components?

This retrospective analysis was conducted in a US Military population across 6 combat hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan between January 2004 and October 2007. Patient's transfused at least 1 unit RBCs met inclusion criteria... read more

Metabolic Profiles in Community-Acquired Pneumonia

This study demonstrates that serum metabolomics approaches based on the LC-MS/MS platform can be applied as a tool to reveal metabolic changes during CAP and establish a metabolite signature related to disease severity. The... read more

Metabolic Profiles in Community-Acquired Pneumonia