Association Between mRNA Expression of CD74 and IL10 and Risk of ICU-acquired Infections

Association Between mRNA Expression of CD74 and IL10 and Risk of ICU-acquired Infections

Intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infections (IAI) result in increased hospital and ICU stay, costs and mortality. To date, no biomarker has shown sufficient evidence and ease of application in clinical routine for the identification... read more

Raising Sepsis Awareness

Raising Sepsis Awareness

Most recent parody created by ILAS (Brazil) aimed at health professionals with English subtitles. Share this video with your multidisciplinary teams because together we can overcome sepsis.... read more

Antibiotic Prescription Fill Rates Declining

Antibiotic Prescription Fill Rates Declining

Since 2010, antibiotic prescription rates in the U.S. have been declining among the commercially insured population, falling 9 percent during this period. In this report, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, in partnership... read more

Sepsis Awareness Month

Sepsis Awareness Month

September is Sepsis Awareness month. To mark the occasion we invited Marijke Vroomen Durning, Director of Content at Sepsis Alliance, to tell us more about Sepsis, the organization’s work, and the importance of raising... read more

FDA Approves ‘living drug’ to Cure Cancer

FDA Approves ‘living drug’ to Cure Cancer

FDA has approved the first treatment to redesign immune system so it attacks the cancer cells. Kymriah therapy, which leaves 83% of people free of a type of blood cancer, costs about $475,000 and was developed by Novartis.... read more

Are contact isolation precautions (CP) necessary when caring for patients infected or colonized with endemic MRSA or VRE?

Are contact isolation precautions (CP) necessary when caring for patients infected or colonized with endemic MRSA or VRE?

Researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center Division of Infectious Diseases and Nebraska Medicine Department of Infection Control and Epidemiology recently published results from a two-year observational study... read more

Acetaminophen in the ICU: Mixed Findings

Acetaminophen in the ICU: Mixed Findings

Does having a fever help fight infection? Patients who got acetaminophen to relieve fever while in intensive care units did about as well as patients who got a placebo when it came to mortality. But in a puzzling finding,... read more

Septic shock with no diagnosis at 24 hours: a pragmatic multicenter prospective cohort study

Septic shock with no diagnosis at 24 hours: a pragmatic multicenter prospective cohort study

The lack of a patent source of infection after 24 hours of management of shock considered septic is a common and disturbing scenario. A multicenter observational cohort study in ten intensive care units (ICU) in France.... read more

Restricting volumes of resuscitation fluid in adults with septic shock after initial management

Restricting volumes of resuscitation fluid in adults with septic shock after initial management

A protocol restricting resuscitation fluid successfully reduced volumes of resuscitation fluid compared with a standard care protocol in adult ICU patients with septic shock.... read more

Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!

An excellent analogy on how doing nothing can be the best option. Penalty kicks in soccer can make fans crumple with anguish or weep with elation. The kicker sends the ball rocketing toward the goal and goalkeepers lunge... read more

Selepressin – An Effective Substitute for Norepinephrine

Selepressin – An Effective Substitute for Norepinephrine

Selepressin, a novel selective vasopressin V1A agonist, is an effective substitute for norepinephrine in a phase IIa randomized, placebo-controlled trial in septic shock patients. Vasopressin is widely used for vasopressor... read more

NIH Herpesvirus Study Leads to Discovery of Potential Broad-Spectrum Antiviral

NIH Herpesvirus Study Leads to Discovery of Potential Broad-Spectrum Antiviral

Scientists studying how regulated herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection unexpectedly found that inhibiting EZH2/1 suppressed viral infection. The research group, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases... read more

Antibiotic Guidelines Improve Prescription Practices for Vulnerable Infants

Antibiotic Guidelines Improve Prescription Practices for Vulnerable Infants

Yale University School of Medicine neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) significantly reduced the number of cases of late-onset sepsis, a leading cause of death among pre-term infants, by implementing guidelines designed to... read more

Incidence, Prevalence, and Management of MRSA Bacteremia Across Patient Populations

Incidence, Prevalence, and Management of MRSA Bacteremia Across Patient Populations

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is still a major global healthcare problem. Of concern is S. aureus bacteremia, which exhibits high rates of morbidity and mortality and can cause metastatic or... read more

A Methodological Study to Develop a Standard Protocol for Central Line Catheter Care of ICU Patients

A Methodological Study to Develop a Standard Protocol for Central Line Catheter Care of ICU Patients

This study aims to develop a standard operational protocol (SOP) for central line catheter care for nurses. Central line based infection is the most significant complication in critical care setting. It is a challenge for... read more

Candida Auris a “Perfect Storm” Superbug

Candida Auris a “Perfect Storm” Superbug

How an invasive fungus got health officials' attention. Try as they might, the infection control specialists at Royal Brompton Hospital could not eradicate the invasive fungus that was attacking already gravely ill patients... read more

Can Electronic Alerts Help Identify Sepsis in Sick Children?

Can Electronic Alerts Help Identify Sepsis in Sick Children?

A two-step electronic alert system successfully reduced missed sepsis diagnoses in children by 76 percent. The new pediatric protocol, which incorporates the use of vital signs, risk factors, and a clinician's judgment,... read more