ABCDEF Bundle Implementation for ICU Patients During the COVID-19

Regardless of COVID-19 infection status, implementation rates for the ABCDEF bundle, for each element individually and an ICU diary were extremely low for patients without and with COVID-19 infections during the pandemic.... read more

Impact on Mental, Physical and Cognitive functioning of a Critical care sTay during the COVID-19 pandemic

The ongoing pandemic could affect the duration, variety and severity of the mental, physical, and cognitive impairments intensive care unit (ICU) survivors and their families frequently present. We aim to determine the impact... read more

The Use of Different Sepsis Risk Stratification Tools Uncovers Different Mortality Risks

Our data suggest that the sepsis risk stratification tools currently utilized in emergency departments and on the general wards do not predict mortality adequately. This is illustrated by the disparity in mortality risk... read more

The Nexus Between Sleep Disturbance and Delirium Among Intensive Care Patients

Sleep in intensive care is hampered due to many factors; the clinical environment itself exacerbates sleep disturbance. Research suggests that interventions aimed at improving sleep quality have produced positive effects... read more

Changes in Barriers to Implementing Early Mobilization in the ICU

This study was undertaken to investigate the rate of mobilization, defined as a rehabilitation level of sitting on the edge of a bed or higher, and its association with changes in barriers in the intensive care unit (ICU).... read more

Perioperative Dexmedetomidine on the Incidence of Postoperative Delirium

Delirium occurs commonly following major non-cardiac and cardiac surgery and is associated with: postoperative mortality; postoperative neurocognitive dysfunction; increased length of hospital stay; and major postoperative... read more

Timing of Antibiotic Therapy in the ICU

Severe or life threatening infections are common among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Most infections in the ICU are bacterial or fungal in origin and require antimicrobial therapy for clinical resolution. Antibiotics... read more

Approach to the Critically Ill Poisoned Patient

Toxicology histories are notoriously unreliable. Any available medical records, especially medication lists. Timing & amount of ingestions. Immediate vs. sustained-release formulations. Consider inquiring specifically... read more

Longitudinal Respiratory Subphenotypes in COVID-19 Patients with ARDS

COVID-19-related ARDS has no consistent respiratory subphenotype. Patients diverged from a fairly homogenous to a more heterogeneous population, with trajectories of ventilatory ratio and mechanical power being the most discriminatory.... read more

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Pronation Outside the ICUs in COVID-19 ARDS

Continuous positive airway pressure with patient mobilization (including pronation) was effective and safe in patients with ARDS due to COVID-19 managed outside the intensive care unit setting during the pandemic. Of 90... read more

Patients Discharged From the ICU on a Dopamine Infusion

Despite a higher ICU readmission rate, ICU discharge of patients on dopamine infusion was not associated with increased mortality. The hospital mortality rate was comparable in both groups, despite that the median logistic... read more

Impact of ABCDE Bundle Implementation in the ICU on Specific Patient Costs

Full ABCDE bundle implementation resulted in a decrease in total hospital laboratory costs and total hospital laboratory and diagnostic resource utilization while leading to an increase in physical therapy costs. The full... read more

Time Course of Risk Factors Associated with COVID-19 Mortality

The present multicentric study describes 1,260 critically ill patients with COVID-19-associated acute respiratory failure consecutively admitted to 24 Italian ICUs during the first pandemic wave. This study specifically... read more

Variations in End-of-Life Practices in ICUs Worldwide

Limitation of life-sustaining therapies is common worldwide with regional variability. Withholding treatment is more common than withdrawing treatment. Variations in type, frequency, and timing of end-of-life decisions were... read more

Discordance Between Respiratory Drive and Sedation Depth in Critically Ill Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation

Sedation depth is not a reliable marker of respiratory drive during critical illness. Respiratory drive can be low, moderate, or high across the range of routinely targeted sedation depth. 56 patients undergoing 197 bedside... read more

Higher ICU Sepsis Case Volume Associated with Significantly Lower Hospital Mortality

In this cohort study of 273,001 patients with sepsis at 231 ICUs in the UK, a higher annual sepsis case volume in the ICU was associated with significantly lower hospital mortality, and this association had no significant... read more

Artificial Intelligence Hold Promise in the ICU

In a 2018 article entitled “Human Cognitive Limitations”, the University of Utah's Alan Morris estimated the number of variables an intensivist has to take into account for a patient on mechanical ventilation. He... read more

Floating Feathers: A Doctor’s Harrowing Experience as a Patient Within Conventional Medicine and an Impassioned Call for the Future of Care in America

Dr. Ross I.S. Zbar spent his career as a plastic surgeon, in the US as well as abroad in developing countries, mending disease- and trauma-related deformities--and he was never hesitant to make his voice heard as an advocate... read more

Floating Feathers: A Doctor’s Harrowing Experience as a Patient Within Conventional Medicine and an Impassioned Call for the Future of Care in America

Intensive care–treated cardiac arrest: a retrospective study on the impact of extended age on mortality, neurological outcome, received treatments and healthcare-associated costs

The elderly ICU-treated CA patients in this study had worse neurological outcomes, higher mortality and lower cost-effectiveness than younger patients. Elderly received less intense treatment. Further efforts are needed... read more

Inhaled Sedation in the ICU: A New Option and Its Technical Prerequisites

Andreas Meiser summarizes the current literature on inhalation sedation of critically ill patients. To meet clinical demands, he describes the development of new devices to administer volatile anesthetics together with common... read more

Inhaled Sedation in the ICU: A New Option and Its Technical Prerequisites

Diaphragm Ultrasonography in ICU: Why, How, and When To Use It?

An overview of the principles and current applications of diaphragm ultrasound and innovative ultrasound-based techniques. In the ICU, ultrasound is starting to be acknowledged as a useful tool for studying the diaphragm.... read more