Elevation of D-dimer Levels Associated with Early Need for Mechanical Ventilation Support in COVID-19 Patients

Elevation of D-dimer Levels Associated with Early Need for Mechanical Ventilation Support in COVID-19 Patients

Hypoxia and thrombosis are hallmarks of severe COVID-19, and each of them can exaggerate the other, adding to the magnitude of the disease. Our study proposes that D-dimer, commonly used as a marker of thrombosis, can also... read more

Improving Intubation Performance with Airway Registries

Improving Intubation Performance with Airway Registries

Airway registries are used as a crucial tool to monitor and improve intubation performance and patient care. ED airway registries inform and document the efficacy of quality improvement initiatives to improve intubation performance... read more

The effect of a multi-faceted quality improvement program on paramedic intubation success in the critical care transport environment

The effect of a multi-faceted quality improvement program on paramedic intubation success in the critical care transport environment

A multi-faceted advanced airway management (AAM) quality improvement program (QIP) resulted in statistically significant increase in intubation first pass success rates (FPS) rates and a non-significant improvement in DASH-1A... read more

Association Between Oxygen Desaturation Index and Cardiovascular Disease in Non-Sleepy SDB Subtype

Association Between Oxygen Desaturation Index and Cardiovascular Disease in Non-Sleepy SDB Subtype

In the Chinese community-dwelling population, non-sleepy sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) was highly prevalent. Oxygen desaturation index (ODI), an easily extracted indicator from a type IV sleep monitor, most strongly reflected... read more

CRT-targeted Fluid Resuscitation vs. Lactate-targeted in Septic Shock

CRT-targeted Fluid Resuscitation vs. Lactate-targeted in Septic Shock

Capillary refill time (CRT)-targeted fluid resuscitation in septic shock was not superior to a lactate-targeted one on early fluid administration or fluid balances. However, it was associated with comparable effects on regional... read more

MECA in Medical Emergency Situations Significantly Reduced Failure Rates

MECA in Medical Emergency Situations Significantly Reduced Failure Rates

In our simulation, the use of medical emergency cognitive aid (MECA) in medical emergency situations significantly reduced failure rates. The use of MECA was widely accepted, and MECA were easy to use. In a high percentage,... read more

Closed-loop oxygen control improves oxygen therapy in AHRF patients under high flow nasal oxygen

Closed-loop oxygen control improves oxygen therapy in AHRF patients under high flow nasal oxygen

Closed-loop oxygen control improves oxygen administration in patients with moderate-to-severe AHRF treated with HFNO, increasing the percentage of time in the optimal oxygenation range and decreasing the workload of healthcare... read more

Why Are We Still Talking about ICP and Ketamine?

Why Are We Still Talking about ICP and Ketamine?

A trauma patient required emergent intubation during a recent shift. The altered patient was suspected of having an intracranial bleed. My resident was concerned about rapid onset of hypoxia and other internal injuries causing... read more

Treating Hypoxia in Discharged COVID-19 Patients

Treating Hypoxia in Discharged COVID-19 Patients

The ICU technique of placing a hypoxic patient in a prone position is being widely used to care for COVID-19 patients in respiratory distress to improve oxygenation and possibly to avoid intubation. The COVID-19 pandemic... read more

Safety and Efficacy of MUST-ARDS

Safety and Efficacy of MUST-ARDS

This important first study, using multipotent adult progenitor cells in ARDS patients (MUST-ARDS), was a phase 1/2 randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled trial that demonstrated safety and tolerability of intravenous administration... read more

Anti-interleukin Drugs Effect on COVID-19 Patients

Anti-interleukin Drugs Effect on COVID-19 Patients

Drugs targeting IL-1 or IL-6 did not shorten the time to clinical improvement in this sample of patients with COVID-19, hypoxic respiratory failure, low SOFA score, and low baseline mortality risk. Between April 4, and... read more

Incidence of Arrhythmia Higher in COVID-19 vs. Other CAPs

Incidence of Arrhythmia Higher in COVID-19 vs. Other CAPs

The incidence of arrhythmia was higher in COVID-19 than in other community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), with 2 out of 10 COVID-19 patients dying after developing arrhythmia. Higher incidence rates of conduction disorders... read more

Lactate = LactHATE

Lactate = LactHATE

Like many others who attended SMACC earlier this year I returned home dazed and confused about the significance of lactate in the septic patient. So like any good (aspiring to be) evidence-based medicine practitioner,... read more

Rapid Sequence Induction: Where Did the Consensus Go?

Rapid Sequence Induction: Where Did the Consensus Go?

The conduct of Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI) in current emergency practice is far removed from the original descriptions of the procedure. Despite this, the principles – rapid delivery of a definitive airway and avoiding... read more