Drug does not significantly reduce duration of mechanical ventilation for COPD patients

Drug does not significantly reduce duration of mechanical ventilation for COPD patients

Among mechanically ventilated patients with COPD, administration of the respiratory stimulant acetazolamide did not significantly reduce the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation.... read more

5-Year Trends of Critical Care Practice and Outcomes

5-Year Trends of Critical Care Practice and Outcomes

According to researchers in the U.S., analyses of patients, practices, and outcomes from a large geographically dispersed sample of adult ICUs revealed trends of increasing age and acuity, higher rates of adherence to best... read more

Benzodiazepines and Delirium in ICU Patients

Benzodiazepines and Delirium in ICU Patients

We have learned an extraordinary amount about ICU delirium over the last 2 decades, which is associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, long-term cognitive impairment, and mortality... 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

Successful Long-Term ECMO for Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Successful Long-Term ECMO for Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is an established life-saving procedure for severe acute respiratory failure due to various causes. Long-term extracorporeal membrane oxygenation might be considered if the primary causes... read more

Antibiotic Therapy in Comatose Mechanically Ventilated Patients Following Aspiration

Antibiotic Therapy in Comatose Mechanically Ventilated Patients Following Aspiration

Among comatose patients receiving mechanical ventilation, those without clinical, laboratory, or radiologic evidence of bacterial aspiration pneumonia did not require antibiotics. In those with suspected bacterial aspiration... read more

High-Observation Protocol Cuts Length of Stay in Head

High-Observation Protocol Cuts Length of Stay in Head

A high-observation protocol (HOP) appears to optimize clinical care for patients with head and neck cancer undergoing primary surgery, according to a study published online June 20 in Head & Neck. The researchers found... read more

Low Levels of Physical Activity During Critical Illness and Weaning

Low Levels of Physical Activity During Critical Illness and Weaning

Physical rehabilitation can benefit critically ill patients during ICU admission, but routine clinical practice remains inconsistent nor examined in prolonged mechanical ventilation patients transferred to a specialist ventilator... read more

Rescue Strategy for Treating Severe Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella Pneumoniae Infections

Rescue Strategy for Treating Severe Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella Pneumoniae Infections

Recent reports have suggested the efficacy of a double carbapenem (DC) combination, including ertapenem, for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) infections. We aimed to evaluate the clinical... read more

Analgosedation practices and the impact of sedation depth on clinical outcomes among patients requiring mechanical ventilation

Analgosedation practices and the impact of sedation depth on clinical outcomes among patients requiring mechanical ventilation

Analgesia and sedation are cornerstone therapies for mechanically ventilated patients. Despite data showing that early deep sedation in the intensive care unit influences outcome, this has not been investigated in the emergency... read more

ECMO for Adult Respiratory Failure: 2017 Update

ECMO for Adult Respiratory Failure: 2017 Update

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory failure in adults is growing rapidly, driven in large part by advances in technology, which have made ECMO devices easier to implement, safer and more... read more

Humidification During Mechanical Ventilation: A Systematic Review

Humidification During Mechanical Ventilation: A Systematic Review

Mechanical ventilation (MV) suppresses the mechanisms that heat and moisturise inhaled air; hence, humidification is mandatory during MV. However, a systematic review published in the journal Critical Care finds no clear... read more

Transthoracic echocardiography: an accurate and precise method for estimating cardiac output in the critically ill patient

Transthoracic echocardiography: an accurate and precise method for estimating cardiac output in the critically ill patient

Cardiac output (CO) monitoring is a valuable tool for the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients. In the critical care setting, few studies have evaluated the level of agreement between CO estimated by transthoracic... read more

Using Ventilator to Control Oxygen May Be COPD Game-changer

Using Ventilator to Control Oxygen May Be COPD Game-changer

Using a ventilator to control the level of supplemental oxygen a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient receives halved patients' trips to the hospital from disease flare-ups, according to a clinical trial. British... read more

Prediction of Survival and Functional Outcomes After ICU Admission

Prediction of Survival and Functional Outcomes After ICU Admission

This study assesses the 6-month discriminative accuracy of patient mortality and functional outcome predictions made by intensive care unit (ICU) physicians and nurses at the time of ICU admission. Intensive care unit physicians'... read more

Clinical Practice Guideline: Mechanical Ventilation in Adult Patients with ARDS

Clinical Practice Guideline: Mechanical Ventilation in Adult Patients with ARDS

An Official American Thoracic Society/European Society of Intensive Care Medicine/Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline: Mechanical Ventilation in Adult Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.... read more

Identifying barriers to delivering the ABCDE bundle to minimize adverse outcomes for mechanically ventilated patients

Identifying barriers to delivering the ABCDE bundle to minimize adverse outcomes for mechanically ventilated patients

Improved outcomes are associated with the Awakening, Breathing Coordination, Delirium and Early mobility/exercise (ABCDE) bundle; however, implementation issues are common. As yet, no study has integrated the barriers to... read more