Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction in COPD. What We Know and Can Do for Our Patients

Skeletal muscle dysfunction occurs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and affects both ventilatory and nonventilatory muscle groups. It represents a very important comorbidity that is associated... read more

Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction in COPD. What We Know and Can Do for Our Patients

Dysphagia – A Common, Transient Symptom in Critical Illness Polyneuropathy

Dysphagia is frequent among patients with critical illness polyneuropathy treated in the ICU. Old age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the mode of mechanical ventilation, the prevalence of tracheal tubes, and behavioral... read more

Dysphagia – A Common, Transient Symptom in Critical Illness Polyneuropathy

Metabolic Phenotype of Skeletal Muscle in Early Critical Illness

Decreased mitochondrial biogenesis and dysregulated lipid oxidation contribute to compromised skeletal muscle bioenergetic status. In addition, intramuscular inflammation was associated with impaired anabolic recovery with... read more

Metabolic Phenotype of Skeletal Muscle in Early Critical Illness

Early application of continuous HVHF can reduce sepsis and improve the prognosis of patients with severe burns

Early application of high-volume haemofiltration (HVHF) benefits patients with severe burns, especially for those with a greater burn area (≥ 80% TBSA), decreasing the incidence of sepsis and mortality. This effect may... read more

Early application of continuous HVHF can reduce sepsis and improve the prognosis of patients with severe burns

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

We train longer, specialize more, use ever-advancing technologies, and still we fail. Atul Gawande makes a compelling argument that we can do better, using the simplest of methods: the checklist. In riveting stories, he reveals... read more

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

New research shows why nutrition should be back on the table for surgical patients

More than 48 million people in the U.S. undergo surgery each year, and for decades the focus has been on making sure patients do not consume any food or drinks in the hours leading up to the surgery. Yet, 1 in 3 patients... read more

New research shows why nutrition should be back on the table for surgical patients

Current efforts to fight sepsis aren’t working. We need a bolder approach

Thanks to antibiotics, vaccinations, and public health advances like modern sanitation, it's easy to think that Americans live largely free of the infectious diseases that once took such a toll. That’s partially right:... read more

Current efforts to fight sepsis aren’t working. We need a bolder approach

AKI and Mild Therapeutic Hypothermia in Patients After Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) on the incidence of and recovery from acute kidney injury (AKI). Mild therapeutic hypothermia seems to have a protective effect... read more

AKI and Mild Therapeutic Hypothermia in Patients After Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

In vitro comparison of the adsorption of inflammatory mediators by blood purification devices

Septic shock, a leading cause of acute kidney injury, induces release of pro-/anti-inflammatory mediators, leading to increased mortality and poor renal recovery. This is the first in vitro study directly comparing three... read more

In vitro comparison of the adsorption of inflammatory mediators by blood purification devices

Reducing diagnostic errors in the ICU

Diagnostic error occurs in 5-20 percent of physician-patient encounters, with a comparable prevalence among ICU admissions and patients who die in the intensive care unit (ICU). Further, diagnostic errors comprise 9-12 percent... read more

Reducing diagnostic errors in the ICU

A Randomized Trial of a Family-Support Intervention in ICUs

Family-support intervention in ICUs increased patient comfort and reduced costs. Among critically ill patients and their surrogates, a family-support intervention delivered by the interprofessional ICU team did not significantly... read more

A Randomized Trial of a Family-Support Intervention in ICUs

Muscle Weakness and 5-Year Survival in ARDS Survivors

At hospital discharge, >1/3 of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) survivors had muscle weakness. Greater strength at discharge and throughout follow-up was associated with improved 5-year survival. In patients with... read more

Muscle Weakness and 5-Year Survival in ARDS Survivors

Evaluating Muscle Mass in Survivors of ARDS

In the first year after acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), patients gained fat mass and maintained lean mass. We found no association of whole body percent lean mass with commonly hypothesized hospital risk factors.... read more

Evaluating Muscle Mass in Survivors of ARDS

Ketamine Alters Hippocampal Cell Proliferation and Improves Learning in Mice after TBI

Ketamine alters hippocampal cell proliferation after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Surprisingly, these changes were associated with improvement in a neurogenesis-related behavioral recall task, suggesting a possible benefit... read more

Ketamine Alters Hippocampal Cell Proliferation and Improves Learning in Mice after TBI

Words that Heal: ICU Journals at Penn Help Patients and Staff

After years of planning, Penn Presbyterian began offering the journals in January to help prevent post-intensive care syndrome or PICS, a set of physical and emotional problems gaining attention as more people survive an... read more

Delirium in ICU Prevented With Nocturnal Administration of Dexmedetomidine

Low-dose dexmedetomidine administered at night to critically ill adults reduced the incidence of delirium during intensive care unit (ICU) stays and patient-reported sleep quality remained unchanged, according to a study... read more

Delirium in ICU Prevented With Nocturnal Administration of Dexmedetomidine

Emergency Management of Intracerebral Hemorrhage – The Golden Hour

There is a kind of self-fulfilling prognostic pessimism when it comes to Intracerebral Hemorrhage. And this pessimism sometimes leads to less than optimal care in patients who otherwise might have had a reasonably good outcome... read more

Emergency Management of Intracerebral Hemorrhage – The Golden Hour

ICU Early Mobility – A Concept ICU Bed with Integrated Leg Press

ICU beds that promote muscle recovery not muscle loss. Critical care experts at Johns Hopkins are reporting initial success in boosting recovery and combating muscle wasting among critically ill, mostly bed-bound patients... read more

ICU Early Mobility – A Concept ICU Bed with Integrated Leg Press