Practical Management of Invasive Candidiasis in Critically Ill Patients

Practical Management of Invasive Candidiasis in Critically Ill Patients

The heterogeneity of this patient population necessitated the creation of a mixed working group comprising experts in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases and intensive care medicine, all chosen on the basis of their... read more

The Glutamine Debate in Surgery and Critical Care

The Glutamine Debate in Surgery and Critical Care

Three recent meta-analyses have confirmed traditional glutamine (GLN)-supplemented (or "GLN-Complemented" – providing GLN for completeness of amino acid content) TPN is safe, reduces mortality and improves outcome in surgical... read more

Oxygen Use, Lower Lung Function Seen as Predictors of Death or Transplant in IPF

Oxygen Use, Lower Lung Function Seen as Predictors of Death or Transplant in IPF

The use of oxygen at rest is associated with a greater likelihood of death or lung transplant in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a study shows. The results also showed that lower lung function at the start... read more

Positive Outcomes, Mortality Rates, and Publication Bias in Septic Shock Trials

Positive Outcomes, Mortality Rates, and Publication Bias in Septic Shock Trials

Out of 65 eligible septic shock trials, 14 did not have a clearly defined control group (two standards of care were compared) and were excluded. For the 51 remaining trials, control-group mortality ranged between 15.9%... read more

New Approaches Reduces Inappropriate Antibiotic Usage

New Approaches Reduces Inappropriate Antibiotic Usage

A UC Davis study of 9 emergency departments and urgent care centers in California and Colorado found educating physicians and patients about safe antibiotic use can cut overuse by 30%. The study, funded under a contract from... read more

Huddling for High Reliability and Situation Awareness

Huddling for High Reliability and Situation Awareness

This study objectives were to explore hospital administrator and frontline staff perspectives on the benefits and challenges of implementing a tiered huddle system; and propose a model based on our findings depicting the... read more

Acute Kidney Injury in Cirrhosis

Acute Kidney Injury in Cirrhosis

Novel biomarkers may assist in identification of acute tubular necrosis and persistent/severe acute kidney injury (AKI). Norepinephrine has been suggested to be inferior to terlipressin, with additional research required.... read more

Critical Care Study Guide: Text and Review

Critical Care Study Guide: Text and Review

Critical care medicine is a dynamic and exciting arena where complex pathophysiologic states require extensive knowledge and up-to-date clinical information. An extensive knowledge of basic pathophysiology, as well as awareness... read more

Using Propensity Scoring Analyses in Critical Care Research

Using Propensity Scoring Analyses in Critical Care Research

Observational studies are a common and important aspect of critical care research. A key challenge in the design of observational studies is the control of confounding. Confounding arises when the groups being compared in... read more

Level and Prevalence of Spin in Published Cardiovascular Randomized Clinical Trial Reports With Statistically Nonsignificant Primary Outcomes

Level and Prevalence of Spin in Published Cardiovascular Randomized Clinical Trial Reports With Statistically Nonsignificant Primary Outcomes

In this systematic review that included 93 reports of Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) from 6 high-impact journals, positive spin of statistically nonsignificant primary outcomes was found in 57% of abstracts and 67% of... read more

The Rise of the Healthcare Administrator

The Rise of the Healthcare Administrator

Here's some food for thought: The number of physicians in the United States grew 150 percent between 1975 and 2010, roughly in keeping with population growth, while the number of healthcare administrators increased 3,200... read more

Effect of a Low vs Intermediate Tidal Volume Strategy on Ventilator-Free Days in ICU Patients Without ARDS

Effect of a Low vs Intermediate Tidal Volume Strategy on Ventilator-Free Days in ICU Patients Without ARDS

In patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) without acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who were expected not to be extubated within 24 hours of randomization, a low tidal volume strategy did not result in a greater... read more

Pretreating red blood cells with nitric oxide may reduce side effect linked to transfusions

Pretreating red blood cells with nitric oxide may reduce side effect linked to transfusions

A new treatment may diminish a dangerous side effect associated with transfusions of red blood cells (RBCs) known as pulmonary hypertension, an elevated blood pressure in the lungs and heart that can lead to heart failure.... read more

An evaluation of the Swiss staging model for hypothermia using hospital cases and case reports from the literature

An evaluation of the Swiss staging model for hypothermia using hospital cases and case reports from the literature

The Swiss staging model for hypothermia uses clinical indicators to stage hypothermia and guide the management of hypothermic patients. The proposed temperature range for clinical stage 1 is ... read more