Why We Can Thank a Polio Emergency for the Birth of Intensive Care

Why We Can Thank a Polio Emergency for the Birth of Intensive Care

An outbreak of polio in 1950s Denmark led one hospital to pioneer mechanical ventilation, constant monitoring of vital signs and other innovations that are saving lives to this day. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought home... read more

Increased Fungal Infections Hospitalizations during COVID-19

Increased Fungal Infections Hospitalizations during COVID-19

An examination of a large healthcare database in the United States revealed a significant rise in hospitalization rates related to fungal infections between 2019 and 2021. This increase was primarily driven by hospitalizations... read more

Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in COVID-19 Setting

Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in COVID-19 Setting

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an acquired syndrome that can lead to catastrophic thrombosis and hemorrhage. In DIC, an uncontrolled release of pro-inflammatory mediators activates tissue factor-dependent... read more

Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia is the Key Factor in COVID-19 Fatalities Not Cytokine Storm

Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia is the Key Factor in COVID-19 Fatalities Not Cytokine Storm

A recent study found that secondary bacterial pneumonia, rather than the much-discussed “cytokine storm,” is a significant factor in COVID-19-related fatalities. Almost half of the patients who required mechanical... read more

Prone vs. Supine Position Ventilation in Intubated COVID-19 Patients

Prone vs. Supine Position Ventilation in Intubated COVID-19 Patients

Whether prone positioning of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation for COVID-19 pneumonia has benefits over supine positioning is not clear. We conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis to determine whether prone... read more

Effect of P2Y12 Inhibitors on Organ Support-Free Survival in COVID-19 Patients

Effect of P2Y12 Inhibitors on Organ Support-Free Survival in COVID-19 Patients

n this randomized clinical trial of critically ill participants hospitalized for COVID-19, treatment with a P2Y12 inhibitor did not improve the number of days alive and free of cardiovascular or respiratory organ support.... read more

Barotrauma Rate Is 25% in ARDS Patients Receiving ECMO

Barotrauma Rate Is 25% in ARDS Patients Receiving ECMO

Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) receiving mechanical ventilation have a high risk of barotrauma, which often has poor prognosis and high mortality. Although ECMO should theoretically protect patients... read more

The Ketamine Drive-Through

The Ketamine Drive-Through

Patients who present with unexplained urinary tract symptoms or laboratory abnormalities on tests for liver injury should be asked about exposure to ketamine. Patients who chronically use ketamine should also be screened... read more

Half of Healthcare Workers with COVID-19 Showed Up For Work

Half of Healthcare Workers with COVID-19 Showed Up For Work

About 50% of healthcare workers with symptomatic COVID-19 showed up for work, indicating concern over high workload burden for coworkers and personal responsibility. The findings were published in Infection Control & Hospital... read more

Heterogeneous Treatment Effects of Therapeutic-Dose Heparin in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19

Heterogeneous Treatment Effects of Therapeutic-Dose Heparin in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of therapeutic-dose heparin in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 produced conflicting results, possibly due to heterogeneity of treatment effect (HTE) across individuals. Better understanding... read more

Combination Treatment of Persistent COVID-19 in Immunocompromised Patients

Combination Treatment of Persistent COVID-19 in Immunocompromised Patients

Little data exists to guide the treatment of persistent COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients. We have employed a unique protocol combining tixegavimab/cilgavimab, and short-term combination antivirals including remdesivir.... read more

Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19: Acute and Long-Term Impacts

Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19: Acute and Long-Term Impacts

This book is the first comprehensive approach on COVID-19 cardiac complications, both during the acute phase as well as in the long-COVID period. It provides an up-to-date and highly illustrated summary of the biology... read more

Inhaled Hydrogen Efficacy on Neurological Outcome Following Brain Ischemia During Post-cardiac Arrest Care

Inhaled Hydrogen Efficacy on Neurological Outcome Following Brain Ischemia During Post-cardiac Arrest Care

Inhaled molecular hydrogen gas (H2) has been shown to improve outcomes in animal models of cardiac arrest (CA). H2 inhalation is safe and feasible in patients after CA. We investigated whether inhaled H2 would improve outcomes... read more

Mechanical Ventilation from Pathophysiology to Clinical Evidence

Mechanical Ventilation from Pathophysiology to Clinical Evidence

This new book aims to give a comprehensive overview of the current challenges and solution posed to the health care professionals who need to use mechanical ventilation to treat their patients. Mechanical ventilation is... read more