Tag: ICU
How Patient Stories Can Improve Intensive Care
Opportunities to share stories about care, in settings away from the hospital, serve to bridge the gap between the experiences of patients and those of doctors and nurses. The 21st century re-orientation of health care towards... read more
Supplemental Parenteral Nutrition vs. Usual Care in Critically Ill Adults
This individually titrated supplemental PN strategy applied over 7 days significantly increased energy delivery when compared to usual care delivery. Clinical and functional outcomes were similar between the two patient groups.... read more
Glycaemic Control Targets After TBI
This meta-analysis of intensive glycaemic control shows no association with reduced mortality in TBI. Intensive glucose control showed a borderline significant reduction in the risk of poor neurological outcome, but markedly... read more
Comparison between a nurse-led weaning protocol and weaning based on physician’s clinical judgment in tracheostomized critically ill patients
In this pilot RCT we demonstrated that a nurse-led weaning protocol from tracheostomy was feasible and safe. A larger RCT is justified to assess efficacy. We enrolled 65 patients, 27 were in the protocol group and 38 in the... read more
An attenuated rate of leg muscle protein depletion and leg free amino acid efflux over time is seen in ICU long-stayers
In critically ill patients with sustained organ failure and in need of a prolonged ICU stay, the initial high rate of skeletal muscle protein depletion was attenuated over time. The distinction between the acute phase and... read more
Evaluation of early administration of simvastatin in the prevention and treatment of delirium in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation
Delirium in critically ill patients is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Neuroinflammation might be an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of delirium, and since simvastatin has anti-inflammatory properties it might... read more
Dexmedetomidine Prevents AKI After Adult Cardiac Surgery
Perioperative administration of dexmedetomidine in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery may reduce the incidence of postoperative AKI. Future trials are needed to determine the dose and timing of dexmedetomidine in improving... read more
What Is PICS and How Does it Affect Patients and Families
Every year, about 6 million people are admitted to intensive care units with a life-threatening illness. As medical technology advances, more people survive conditions that once would have been fatal. However, about half... read more
Pressure on NHS Intensive Care at Highest Level Since 2010 Swine Flu Pandemic
Pressures in intensive care units are at their highest level since the 2010 swine flu pandemic,with wards regularly having no spare beds, senior doctors have warned. Figures reported by the NHS this winter show that two-thirds... read more
The Case of the Relative Insufficiency
When it comes to the efficacy of glucocorticoid therapy for the treatment of septic shock, we have existed in a state of ambiguity, torn between the results of two contradictory RCTs. The first, the Annane et al trial published... read more
Adjunctive Glucocorticoid Therapy in Patients with Septic Shock
Among patients with septic shock undergoing mechanical ventilation, a continuous infusion of hydrocortisone did not result in lower 90-day mortality than placebo. We randomly assigned patients with septic shock who were undergoing... read more
Should We Manage All Septic Patients Based on a Single Definition?
It is indisputable from the biological and clinical perspectives that not all cases of sepsis are the same. On the contrary, most have great many differences, that is, different portals of entry, clinical manifestations,... read more
ECMO for Severe Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use, as a rescue therapy, was associated with lower mortality in MERS patients with refractory hypoxemia. The results of this, largest to date, support the use of ECMO as a rescue... read more
Train Of Four Monitoring
A peripheral nerve stimulator, also called the "train of four", is used to assess nerve function in patients receiving neuromuscular blocking agents (AKA paralytic medications). It is commonly seen used in critical care... read more
A Qualitative Exploration of the Discharge Process and Factors Predisposing to Readmissions to the ICU
Severe illness predisposes ICU patients to readmission, especially when goals of care were not adequately addressed. Communication, premature discharge, and other factors, mostly unrelated to the patient were also perceived... read more
TBI Outcomes in an LMIC Tertiary Care Centre and Performance of Trauma Scores
This observational study of patients sustaining moderate or severe TBI in Sri Lanka (a LMIC) reveals only 46% of patients were alive at 6 months after ICU discharge and only 20% overall attained a good (GOSE 7 or 8) recovery.... read more
Fluid Management in Cardiac Surgery
Perioperative fluid management in cardiac surgery patients may have changed in the last few years in European centers. Balanced crystalloids now seem to be the preferred solutions, followed by synthetic colloids (mainly gelatins)... read more
Business of Critical Care and Value/Performance Building
New, value-based regulations and reimbursement structures are creating historic care management challenges, thinning the margins and threatening the viability of hospitals and health systems. The Society of Critical Care... read more
Perceptions of Risk and Safety in the ICU
This study drew on cognitive research, specifically theories of cognitive dissonance, psychological safety, and situational awareness to explain how professionals' cognitive processes impacted on ICU behaviors. Our results... read more
Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Symptomatology in Adolescents Faced With the Hospitalization of a Loved One in the ICU
ICU experience is linked to anxiety and depression symptomatology in family members of patients. Minors may be forbidden from visiting. To bring practices in line with evidence, we determined the prevalence of anxiety and... read more
Developing the Role of the Critical Care Pharmacist
The evolution of the critical care pharmacist — from lone practitioner to integral multidisciplinary team member. Pharmacists keen on a career in critical care need to understand that this is a complicated area and that... read more
Characteristics and Outcomes of ICU Survivors
A significant number of intensive care unit survivors evaluated 3 months after discharge had psychological, respiratory, motor, and socioeconomic problems; these findings highlight that strategies aimed to assist critically... read more
