Tag: ICU
Transmission of Staphylococcus aureus between health-care workers, the environment, and patients in ICU
Between Oct 31, 2011, and Dec 23, 2012, we sampled 198 health-care workers, 40 environmental locations, and 1854 patients; 1819 isolates were sequenced. Median nasal carriage rate of S aureus in health-care workers at 4-weekly... read more
Pre-Op Screen: What Does A Pulse Oximeter Tell Us?
Routinely utilized in ICUs, operating rooms, and telemetry floors, the pulse oximeter ("pulse ox") is perhaps the single greatest monitoring advancement in the modern medical era. It relies on the fact that oxyhemoglobin... read more
The ABCDEF Bundle: Science and Philosophy of How ICU Liberation Serves Patients and Families
Over the past 20 years, critical care has matured in a myriad of ways resulting in dramatically higher survival rates for our sickest patients. For millions of new survivors comes de novo suffering and disability called "the... read more
SOFA score may be best to identify sepsis in the ICU
Among critically ill patients admitted to the ICU with a suspected infection, defining sepsis by an increase of two or more points in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score yielded greater prognostic accuracy... read more
Impact of transfusion on patients with sepsis admitted in ICU
Red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) threshold in patients with sepsis remains a matter of controversy. A threshold of 7 g/dL for stabilized patients with sepsis is commonly proposed, although debated. The aim of the study was... read more
Clinical Pharmacist Role in the ICU
An overview of the various facets of pharmacist practice in the intensive care unit (ICU), the current extent to which pharmacists are present in the ICU, along with a discussion on barriers and lessons learned in garnering... read more
Patients want to be heard loud and clear!
We congratulate ten Hoorn et al. on their systematic review of communication with ICU patients. Their work in defining an algorithm to assist improving communication options for these patients addresses a clear gap in patient-centred... read more
Poor outcome predictors in status epilepticus
Predictors of poor outcomes in patients with status epilepticus admitted to the neurointensive care unit include complex partial status epilepticus, refractory status epilepticus, or the development of nonconvulsive status... read more
Improving the quality of nurse‐influenced patient care in the ICU
Quality of care is a major focus in the intensive care unit (ICU). The nursing-initiated QI project demonstrated improved ICU patient care in relation to early enteral nutrition commencement, DSIs and early and daily mobilizing.... read more
The Role of Intensive Care Registries
To develop, implement, evaluate and sustain a quality improvement programme in the ICU is an important and demanding undertaking. The work can be made easier by joining an intensive care registry. Mature registries have resources... read more
Co-infection is Frequent in Patients Hospitalized with Influenza
According to a recent article published online in Intensive Care Medicine, co-infection occurs commonly in patients with influenza-related infections that require intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Influenza infection causes... read more
Experiences and Expressions of Spirituality At the End of Life in the ICU
Family members and clinicians consider spirituality an important dimension of end-of-life care. The 3 Wishes Project invites and supports the expression of myriad forms of spirituality during the dying process in the ICU.... read more
Is platelet transfusion associated with hospital-acquired infections in critically ill patients?
After adjustment for confounders, including patient severity and other blood components, platelet transfusion was independently associated with ICU-acquired infection. Further research aiming to better understand this association... read more
First ICU for Men Suffering from Cold
There's finally hope for the critically ill! The Münster University Hospital has set up an intensive care unit exclusively for the treatment of male patients suffering from coughs, colds, or even both. A specially trained... read more
Tele-ICU shows positive outcomes at Florida hospitals
Large hospitals staff their ICUs with 24/7 intensivists but smaller facilities rely on tele-ICU systems that provide specialist help as needed. The eCare program being implemented at BayCare, which includes 14 Florida hospitals,... read more
Waging War Against CABSIs
Catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CABSIs) are on the decline, according to the 2016 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report. The report, published by the CDC, showed that between 2008... read more
Hospital ICUs Are Overused
A study conducted on ICU admissions at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center states that the hospital’s Intensive Care Units are being overused by non-deserving patients. This revelation is suggesting that the hospital’s most evasive... read more
In-Bed Cycling Feasible for ICU Patients on Ventilation
TryCYCLE was the first study in the CYCLE research program. In TryCYCLE, we determined it was safe and feasible to bike with mechanically ventilated medical surgical patients very early in their ICU stay.... read more
Normal Saline as Resuscitation Fluid in Critically Ill
The study of Van Regenmortel et al. indirectly underscores growing equipoise in the expert medical community regarding the presumed harmful effects of NS compared with balanced crystalloids. Future studies, such as the ongoing... read more
New Blood Draw Protocol can reduce risks for pediatric patients
Researchers report that implementing a checklist-style set of procedures appears to cut almost in half the number of potentially unnecessary blood culture draws in critically ill children without endangering doctors'... read more
The CAPCRI study on Semi-recumbent positioning
The CAPCRI study(3) conducted by Mireia Llaurado and her team had three aims: to evaluate real semi-recumbent position compliance and degree of head-of-bed elevation in Spanish intensive care units, to describe the relationship... read more
Induced hypothermia not associated with better outcomes for status epilepticus
In this trial, induced hypothermia added to standard care was not associated with significantly better 90-day outcomes than standard care alone in patients with convulsive status epilepticus.... read more
