Time to Treatment and Mortality during Mandated Emergency Care for Sepsis

More rapid completion of a 3-hour bundle of sepsis care and rapid administration of antibiotics, but not rapid completion of an initial bolus of intravenous fluids, were associated with lower risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality. Among... read more

Early Identification of Patients at High Risk of Streptococcus-associated Necrotizing Infections

Two simple and available upon admission clinical predictors of group A streptococcus (GAS) documentation identified among a large cohort of surgically proven necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs). The results show... read more

Differential Gene Expression in Peripheral White Blood Cells with Permissive Underfeeding and Standard Feeding in Critically Ill Patients

The effect of short-term caloric restriction on gene expression in critically ill patients has not been studied. In this sub-study of the PermiT trial, we examined gene expression patterns in peripheral white blood cells... read more

Delayed Interhospital Transfer of Critically Ill Patients with Surgical Sepsis

Patients with surgical sepsis who spent more than 24 hours at an outside facility prior to transfer had greater initial illness severity, longer intervals between admission and source control, and more nosocomial infections... read more

Epidemiology of Pediatric Severe Sepsis in Main PICU Centers in Southwest China

This multicenter study demonstrates that pediatric severe sepsis is common and is a factor in the high mortality rate that is observed in PICUs in Southwest China. The mortality rate remains high; therefore, improved... read more

1-Year Outcomes in Patients with Infection-related Atrial Fibrillation

During the first year after discharge, 36% of patients with infection-related atrial fibrillation (AF) had a new hospital contact with AF. Infection-related AF was associated with increased risk of thromboembolic events... read more

Risks and Benefits of Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis for Patients With Severe Sepsis

Since the rate of gastrointestinal bleeding requiring endoscopic hemostasis is not different comparing patients with and without stress ulcer prophylaxis, and the increase in hospital-acquired pneumonia is significant, routine... read more

Climate Change, Global Warming, and Intensive Care

In the last five decades, human activities have resulted in the release of increasing quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, thus contributing to global climate change by additional heating of the atmosphere.... read more

Initial Therapy Affects Duration of Diarrhoea in Critically Ill Patients with Clostridioides Difficile Infection

Clostridioides Difficile Infection (CDI) further harms critically ill patients by increasing 28-day mortality and in case of prolonged diarrhoea the length of their hospital stay. Appropriate therapy should be initiated... read more

5-year Study Shows Predominance of Non-Device-Associated Pneumonia

Among more than 160,000 patients admitted to University of North Carolina hospitals during a recent 5-year period, non-device-associated, or ND, pneumonia was implicated in three of every four nosocomial pneumonia cases,... read more

Incidence of Bloodstream Infections, Length of Hospital Stay, and Survival in Patients With Recurrent CDI Treated With Fecal Microbiota Transplantation or Antibiotics

In a propensity score–matched cohort, patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection (CDI) treated with fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) were less likely to develop primary bloodstream infection (BSI). Of... read more

In-line Filtration of Intravenous Infusion May Reduce Organ Dysfunction of Adult Critical Patients

In-line filtration with finer 0.2 and 1.2 μm filters may be associated with less organ dysfunction and less inflammation in critically ill adult patients. Comparing fine filter vs control filter cohort, respiratory... read more

Probiotics Linked to Bloodstream Infections in ICU Patients

People carry a community of microbes in and on our bodies, and they can have a powerful influence on our physiology in many ways. Probiotics, which are live microbes, are intended to improve human health, and they sometimes... read more

Prophylactic Antibiotics After Cardiac Arrest?

This is a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of patients resuscitated from shockable out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.​ Patients were randomized to placebo versus intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanate for two... read more

XueBiJing Injection vs. Placebo for Critically Ill Patients with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia

In critically ill patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia, XueBiJing injection led to a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of the pneumonia severity index as well a significant improvement... read more

Optimizing Therapy of Bloodstream Infection Due to Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae

Carbapenems should be used in patients with serious infections; alternatives could be used individually, particularly for definitive treatment of patients with milder presentations. Meropenem and imipenem are the drugs... read more

Acute Liver Failure: Evidence-Based Evaluation and Management

Although acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare clinical presentation in the ED, it carries a high mortality, morbidity, and resource cost. Across the developing world, the underlying etiology is primarily viral, with hepatitis... read more

Norepinephrine Shortage and Mortality Among Patients With Septic Shock

Drug shortages in the United States are common, but their effect on patient care and outcomes has rarely been reported. This cohort study evaluated whether a national shortage of norepinephrine in the United States in 2011... read more

Candida Bloodstream Infection Under Veno-arterial ECMO Therapy

Cavayas et al. recently described invasive fungal infections in patients under extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry. They found a 1.2% prevalence of Candida... read more

Enteral vs. Parenteral Nutrition in Septic Shock

The strong paradigm of favoring the enteral over the parenteral route in critically ill patients has been challenged. As a consequence, updated guidelines recommend withholding enteral nutrition in patients with uncontrolled... read more

Blood Cultures From Arterial Catheters Reliable for Detection of Bloodstream Infection in PICUs

Cultures of arterial catheter–drawn blood are reliable for the detection of bloodstream infection in PICUs. The study group consisted of 138 patients admitted to the general or cardiac PICU in 2014–2015 who met the following... read more

Microbial Strategies to Reduce Pathogens and Drug Resistance in Clinical Settings

Healthcare‐associated infections (HAIs) are a global concern, affecting all western hospitals, and profoundly impairing the clinical outcome of up to 15% of all hospitalized patients. Persistent microbial contamination... read more