Time of Admission to the PICU and Mortality

Margaret Parker, MD, MCCM, speaks with Michael C. McCrory, MD, MS, about the article, "Time of Admission to the PICU and Mortality," published in the October 2017 issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Dr. McCrory discusses... read more

Human limb skeletal muscle wasting and architectural remodeling during five to ten days intubation and ventilation in critical care

Human limb skeletal muscle wasting and architectural remodeling during five to ten days intubation and ventilation in critical care

Using ultrasound, we have been able to demonstrate that muscle thickness and architecture of vastus lateralis undergo rapid changes during the early phase of admission to a critical care environment. Muscle loss in critically... read more

Limiting Sedation for Patients with ARDS

Limiting Sedation for Patients with ARDS

Current evidence supports the use of protocol-based, light-sedation strategies in critically ill patients with ARDS. Further research into sedation management specifically in ARDS populations is needed. Deep sedation strategies... read more

Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Potentiation as a Therapeutic Strategy for Pulmonary Edema

Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Potentiation as a Therapeutic Strategy for Pulmonary Edema

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator potentiation by ivacaftor is a novel therapeutic approach for pulmonary edema. Ivacaftor significantly improved alveolar liquid clearance in isolated pig lung lobes ex vivo... read more

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

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

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 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

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?

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

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

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

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