Tag: research
Weaning from the Ventilator and Extubation in ICU
Current research is focusing on preventing extubation failure, especially in the most challenging cases. The use of weaning protocols – written or computerized – attempts to early identify patients who are able to breathe... read more
Risk of Recurrence After Surviving Severe Sepsis
Risk of recurrence after surviving severe sepsis is substantial regardless of patient characteristics or infection sites. Further research is necessary to find underlying mechanisms for the high risk of recurrence in these... read more
What’s Your Doctor Reading? How Social Media is Disrupting Medical Education
Traditionally, research would be presented at conferences, discussed at meetings, and gradually incorporated into international guidelines and textbooks. It would then filter down into clinical practice, years after its original... read more
Johns Hopkins Investigators Unravel Biological Roots of Pulmonary Hypertension
Working with cells that line the innermost layer of the blood vessels, Johns Hopkins investigators say they have made a leap forward in understanding the underlying biology behind pulmonary hypertension, a dangerous type... read more
The Emerging Role of the Microbiota in the ICU
The importance of the intestinal and lung microbiotas is often overlooked on the ICU. Currently, we can explore the microbiome using a vast array of techniques, giving us 'meta' libraries of data, which has allowed researchers... read more
New Approach Developed for Diagnosing COPD
Primary care clinicians may soon be able to provide an early diagnosis for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, using a new method. According to researchers, patients with COPD can be diagnosed with the help of... read more
Sepsis-3, a New Definition. Solutions or New Problems?
Before we can discuss the "Sepsis-3" definitions, we need to look back at the history of Sepsis definitions, and what the rationale was leading the authors to create a new definition. Below is a brief, albeit non-exhaustive,... read more
Critical Care Reviews Book 2018
The Critical Care Reviews Book summarises, critiques and puts in context the biggest trials of the year. Five intensivists from Belfast, Northern Ireland, spend a year writing this in their own time. This is available as... read more
Precision Medicine, Genome Sequencing, and Improved Population Health
Despite controversy, major health systems across the globe are obtaining and making use of genome sequence data in patients they care for, hoping this approach will prove beneficial.1 Genome sequencing technology, a key driver... read more
Helping Without Harming
You've been resuscitating the patient for hours and finally caught up with volume. You come back on your next shift only to find your colleague has been diuresing them all day. What the heck were they thinking!?! This normal... read more
Does Respiratory Variation Of Inferior Vena Cava Diameter Predict Fluid Responsiveness In Spontaneously Ventilating Children With Sepsis
IVC collapsibility has poor test characteristics for predicting fluid responsiveness in spontaneously ventilating children with sepsis. Thirty-nine fluid boluses were recorded in 33 children, 28/39 (72%) of which met criteria... read more
Efficacy of Combined Intravenous Thrombolysis and Thrombectomy
Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) improves clinical outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) caused by a large vessel occlusion. However, it is not known whether intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is of added benefit... read more
Updated Version of the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU
The 2014 updated version of the CAM-ICU is valid according to DSM-5 criteria and reliable regarding inter-observer agreement in a research setting. Delirium remains under-recognized by bedside clinicians. Delirium was diagnosed... read more
Interprofessional Care and Teamwork in the ICU
A robust body of evidence supports an interprofessional approach as a key component in the provision of high-quality critical care to patients of increasing complexity and with increasingly diverse needs. "Interprofessional... read more
Improving Survival Rates From Sepsis
Sepsis kills more Australians each year than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Daily, as many as 20,000 people worldwide are thought to die from this deadly disease. Also known as blood poisoning, sepsis is a life-threatening... read more
Hyperoxia and Hypocapnia During Pediatric ECMO
Hyperoxia is common during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and associated with mortality. Hypocapnia appears to occur less often and although associated with complications, an association with mortality... read more
Too Much SALT on the ICU?
There has a been a little flutter of activity in the #FOAMed world this week about two trials published in the NEJM on the subject of balanced fluids in the care of critically ill patients, and also on admitted patients in... read more
Combined Intravenous Thrombolysis and Thrombectomy vs Thrombectomy Alone for Acute Ischemic Stroke
The results indicate that treatment of patients experiencing AIS due to a large vessel occlusion with IVT before MT does not appear to provide a clinical benefit over MT alone. A randomized clinical trial seems warranted.... read more
Sepsis: A Threat That Needs a Global Solution
Flavia R. Machado, MD, PhD, gives a plenary talk at the 47th Critical Care Congress, “Sepsis: A Threat That Needs a Global Solution.”... read more
Research Aims to Fine-Tune Sepsis Diagnosis
Work designed to improve diagnosis of one of the leading causes of death in children is under way in Brisbane, led by a University of Queensland researcher. Mater Research Institute-UQ Associate Professor Luregn Schlapbach... read more
Are We Using IV Bags Properly?
In the months since Hurricane Maria, my hospital has dealt with an IV bag shortage. It turns out that might not be such a bad thing. Among the collateral damage of Hurricane Maria’s havoc on Puerto Rico is the shutdown... read more
Sepsis Patients can be Risk Stratified at the Time of Diagnosis
Multicenter Meta-Analysis Reveals Sepsis Patients can be Risk Stratified at the Time of Diagnosis Demonstrating Potential to Improve Critical Care Medicine on a Global Scale. For this study, the team identified a large collection... read more
