Acute Hyperglycemic Emergencies

As diabetes prevalence increases in the US, critical care nurses need to be familiar with the acute hyperglycemic emergencies they may encounter in the ED or ICU. This article focuses on the diagnosis of, various treatments... read more

Acute Hyperglycemic Emergencies

How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again

Medicine has become inhuman, to disastrous effect. The doctor-patient relationship, the heart of medicine, is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and... read more

How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again

Antibiotic timing in Severe Sepsis

Severe sepsis is a time dependent condition and this study builds on previous literature which supports that early identification and treatment of sepsis with antibiotics decreases mortality. Retrospective analysis of a large... read more

Antibiotic timing in Severe Sepsis

ICU Utilization for Patients With Acute Exacerbation of COPD Receiving Noninvasive Ventilation

There is wide variability in the rate of ICU utilization for noninvasive ventilation across hospitals. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients receiving noninvasive ventilation had similar in-hospital mortality... read more

ICU Utilization for Patients With Acute Exacerbation of COPD Receiving Noninvasive Ventilation

Sepsis Incidence and Mortality are Underestimated in Australian ICU Administrative Data

When compared with the reference standard — prospective clinical diagnosis — ANZICS CORE database criteria significantly underestimate the incidence of sepsis and overestimate the incidence of septic shock, and also result... read more

Sepsis Incidence and Mortality are Underestimated in Australian ICU Administrative Data

Overuse of troponin? A comprehensive evaluation of testing in a large hospital system

Troponin assays are integral to the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but there is concern that testing is over utilized and may not conform to published guidelines. We reviewed all testing performed at 14 hospitals... read more

Overuse of troponin? A comprehensive evaluation of testing in a large hospital system

Procedure Eases Complications Related to Fluid Around Lungs

As people live longer with more advanced stages of cancer or chronic diseases, the longer their complications must be treated. That can include pleural effusions, an unusually large amount of fluid around a person’s lungs... read more

Procedure Eases Complications Related to Fluid Around Lungs

Insulin-Treated Diabetes Reduces Dysglycemia-Related Mortality in Sepsis

Patients with sepsis and a pre-existing diagnosis of insulin-treated diabetes (ITD) may show a different relationship between hospital mortality and highest glucose levels and glycemic variability in the first 24 hours than... read more

Insulin-Treated Diabetes Reduces Dysglycemia-Related Mortality in Sepsis

Are “Sniffer” Systems Effective in Detecting ARDS?

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) results in substantial mortality but remains underdiagnosed in clinical practice. For this reason, automated "sniffer" systems that analyse electronic records have been developed... read more

Are “Sniffer” Systems Effective in Detecting ARDS?

Patient-tailored Triage Decisions by Anesthesiologist-staffed Prehospital Critical Care Teams

The primary objective was to estimate the incidence of patients in the Central Denmark Region triaged to bypass the local emergency department without being part of a predefined fast-track protocol. The secondary objective... read more

Patient-tailored Triage Decisions by Anesthesiologist-staffed Prehospital Critical Care Teams

Effect of a Program Combining Transitional Care and Long-term Self-management Support on Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COPD

In a single-site randomized clinical trial of patients hospitalized due to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a 3-month program that combined transition and long-term self-management support resulted in significantly... read more

Effect of a Program Combining Transitional Care and Long-term Self-management Support on Outcomes of Hospitalized Patients With COPD

New Sickle Cell Test Can Transform Screening

Sickle cell disease is common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. It affects up to 3% of births in some areas and is associated with very high mortality. Many cases go undiagnosed in regions where there are few resources,... read more

New Sickle Cell Test Can Transform Screening

Seeing the Present Through the Past

As an MD-PhD candidate, now in the second year of a history of medicine PhD, I often reflect on the role of history in the medical school classroom and at the bedside. Medical history is a useful way to understand the roots... read more

Seeing the Present Through the Past

The combination of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein or presepsin alone improves the accuracy of diagnosis of neonatal sepsis

The combination of PCT and CRP or presepsin alone improves the accuracy of diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. However, further studies are required to confirm these findings. A total of 28 studies enrolling 2661 patients were... read more

The combination of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein or presepsin alone improves the accuracy of diagnosis of neonatal sepsis

PET-CT in Critically Ill Patients: Diagnosing the Unsuspected

PET-CT precisely detected the deep foci of infection about 48 hours prior to the diagnosis of sepsis. The cases reports suggested the use of this image technique in ICU for patients with sepsis of unknown origin. We admitted... read more

PET-CT in Critically Ill Patients: Diagnosing the Unsuspected

Shared Decision Making – The Importance of Diagnosing Preferences

Shared decision making occurs when patients and clinicians reach a formulation about the presenting problem and discuss how to manage it. If there are several reasonable alternatives, the alternatives should be explicitly... read more

Shared Decision Making – The Importance of Diagnosing Preferences

Implementing a bedside assessment of respiratory mechanics in patients with ARDS

Implementing a systematic respiratory mechanics test leads to frequent individual adaptations of ventilator settings and allows improvement in oxygenation indexes and reduction of the risk of overdistention at the same time.... read more

Implementing a bedside assessment of respiratory mechanics in patients with ARDS