Decontaminants Don’t Cut Bloodstream Infection Risk in Ventilated ICU Patients

Decontaminants Don’t Cut Bloodstream Infection Risk in Ventilated ICU Patients

The use of digestive and oral decontaminants in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) who are mechanically ventilated and who have moderate to high antibiotic resistance is not associated with a reduction in ICU-acquired... read more

Burnout How Can We Improve

Burnout How Can We Improve

The risk of burnout in intensive care is high, there is a great need to look after ourselves and each other to enable us to effectively care for our patients and to be part of not only an effective team but also an enjoyable... read more

Vitamin Treatment For Sepsis Is Put To The Test

Vitamin Treatment For Sepsis Is Put To The Test

Dr. Jonathan Sevransky was intrigued when he heard that a well-known physician in Virginia had reported remarkable results from a simple treatment for sepsis. Could the leading cause of death in hospitals really be treated... read more

Early Resumption of β Blockers Is Associated with Decreased Atrial Fibrillation after Noncardiothoracic and Nonvascular Surgery

Early Resumption of β Blockers Is Associated with Decreased Atrial Fibrillation after Noncardiothoracic and Nonvascular Surgery

Resuming β blockers in chronic users by the end of the first postoperative day may be associated with lower odds of in-hospital atrial fibrillation. However, there seems to be little advantage to restarting on the day of... read more

Cast of the Right Bronchial Tree

Cast of the Right Bronchial Tree

A 36-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit with an acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure. His medical history included heart failure with an ejection fraction of 20%, bioprosthetic aortic-valve replacement... read more

Epidemiology of Mechanically Ventilated Patients Treated in ICU and non-ICU Settings in Japan

Epidemiology of Mechanically Ventilated Patients Treated in ICU and non-ICU Settings in Japan

A large proportion of Japanese patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) were treated in non-ICU settings. Analysis of administrative data indicated preliminary that hospital mortality rates in these patients were higher in... read more

The NeuroICU Book

The NeuroICU Book

An immediate classic, this groundbreaking text is based on the premise that neurointensivists must be trained to handle not only the brain, but the entire body. The NeuroICU Book, Second Edition does not limit coverage to... read more

Would A Change in Nomenclature for ICUs Promote Less Aggressive Care?

Would A Change in Nomenclature for ICUs Promote Less Aggressive Care?

The term "intensive care unit" (ICU) was originally meant to refer to the intensity of the resources allocated to patient care. Today, however, ICU refers more to the intensity of the interventions undergone by the patient.... read more

Reprint of Recovery Programme for ICU Survivors Has No Effect on Relatives’ Quality of Life

Reprint of Recovery Programme for ICU Survivors Has No Effect on Relatives’ Quality of Life

The recovery programme intended for intensive care survivors did not have an effect on the relatives. Future recovery programmes should be targeted to help both patient and family, and future research should be conducted... read more

A Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial of Levetiracetam vs. Phenytoin for Convulsive Status Epilepticus in Children

A Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial of Levetiracetam vs. Phenytoin for Convulsive Status Epilepticus in Children

Convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) is the most common life-threatening childhood neurological emergency. Despite this, there is a lack of high quality evidence supporting medication use after first line benzodiazepines,... read more

Anesthesia Telemedicine: Assessing Hard-to-Reach Patients for Surgery

Anesthesia Telemedicine: Assessing Hard-to-Reach Patients for Surgery

Medically fragile infants on ventilation support at community or rural hospitals without surgical services sometimes need those services. That poses a challenge for pediatric anesthesiologists who need to assess these babies... read more

Rapid Bedside Evaluation of Seizures in the ICU by Listening to the Sound of Brainwaves

Rapid Bedside Evaluation of Seizures in the ICU by Listening to the Sound of Brainwaves

The Ceribell EEG System enabled rapid acquisition of electroencephalography (EEG) in patients at risk for non-convulsive seizures and aided clinicians in their evaluation of encephalopathic ICU patients. The ease of use and... read more

Do State Regulations on Nurse Staffing Make a Difference in ICU Outcomes?

Do State Regulations on Nurse Staffing Make a Difference in ICU Outcomes?

In the recent issue of Critical Care Medicine, Law and colleagues published an evaluation of the impact of changes in Massachusetts state regulations mandating that nurse staffing levels on critical care units be set at 1:1... read more

Dear NRA, I’m a doctor. My lane? I sit in this chair when I tell parents their kids are dead

Dear NRA, I’m a doctor. My lane? I sit in this chair when I tell parents their kids are dead

Seems like a little thing, but I did this in response to a tweet by the National Rifle Association, asserting that doctors should "stay in our lane" instead of studying or making recommendations when it comes to gun violence.... read more