Communicating Context in Quality Improvement Reports

Communicating Context in Quality Improvement Reports

The study by Demb and colleagues reports on the positive results of an intervention strategy to reduce excess radiation exposure across 5 academic medical centers associated with the University of California. Leading up to... read more

The Prevalence of Acute Critical Neurological Disease in Children

The Prevalence of Acute Critical Neurological Disease in Children

Neurologic insults are a significant pediatric international health issue. They are frequent and contribute substantial morbidity and mortality. These data suggest a need for an increased focus on acute critical neurologic... read more

Association between delirium superimposed on dementia and mortality in hospitalized older adults

Association between delirium superimposed on dementia and mortality in hospitalized older adults

In a prospective cohort study, Thiago Junqueira Avelino-Silva and colleagues examine the association of delirium superimposed on dementia on hospital mortality and 12-month mortality in hospitalized older adults. This was... read more

Intraoperative Oxidative Stress Associated With Postoperative Delirium

Intraoperative Oxidative Stress Associated With Postoperative Delirium

Intraoperative oxidative stress is associated with postoperative delirium in ICU patients after cardiac surgery, a study has found. Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tenn., came to this... read more

Anesthesiologists Found Underreporting Medication Errors

Anesthesiologists Found Underreporting Medication Errors

Medication errors are apparently significantly underreported by anesthesia providers, at least at certain institutions. These recent findings may reflect a culture of underreporting or fear of punitive action, despite the... read more

ICU Study Shows Significant Reduction in Time to Blood Gas Result using Sphere Medical’s Proxima

ICU Study Shows Significant Reduction in Time to Blood Gas Result using Sphere Medical’s Proxima

A recent time and motion study by University Hospital Southampton demonstrated a 1.5 minute (>20%) reduction in time to blood gas results when using the Proxima bedside blood gas monitoring system. The study also found... read more

How Redesigning The Abrasive Alarms Of Hospital Soundscapes Can Save Lives

How Redesigning The Abrasive Alarms Of Hospital Soundscapes Can Save Lives

After a recent hospital stay filled with frightening, uselessly beeping gadgets, an ambient musician set to work reinventing the aural landscape of medicine, to make life calmer for patients and easier for doctors. ... read more

How to keep up with the scientific literature

How to keep up with the scientific literature

Few aspects of scientific work may be as crucial - and yet as easy to neglect - as reading the literature. Beginning a new research project or writing a grant application can be good opportunities for extensive literature... read more

Genomics, Health Disparities, and Missed Opportunities for the Nation’s Research Agenda

Genomics, Health Disparities, and Missed Opportunities for the Nation’s Research Agenda

The completion of the Human Genome Project occurred at a time of increasing public attention to health disparities. In 2004, Sankar and colleagues1 suggested that this coincidental timing resulted in an inappropriate emphasis... read more

Data Authorship as an Incentive to Data Sharing

Data Authorship as an Incentive to Data Sharing

Data from well-designed and well-executed research not only are useful for the original purpose and secondary analyses by the original researchers but also can be repurposed for a variety of applications, including independent... read more

Rules of thumb for writing research articles

Rules of thumb for writing research articles

The paper provides 'rules of thumb' for writing research articles (RA) and getting them published. These were discussed during the "Scientific writing course" organized for ITC PhD students by Cressie... read more

Vitamin C and the Ethics of Borrowing data

Vitamin C and the Ethics of Borrowing data

I was recently amazed to be engaged in a Twitter kerfuffle which generated more than 10,000 Impressions within 24 hours. Passions were running high, libellous comments were being broadcast, and old friendships seemed to be... read more

The Case for Removing Barriers to APRN Practice

The Case for Removing Barriers to APRN Practice

The IOM issued The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, which called for the removal of laws, regulations and policies that prevent APRNs from providing the full scope of health care services they are educated... read more

Predicting and measuring fluid responsiveness with echocardiography

Predicting and measuring fluid responsiveness with echocardiography

Echocardiography is an essential tool to predict and measure fluid responsiveness, according to a recent article, which provides a practical guide. Ashley Miller and Justin Mandeville outline the physiological basis of fluid... read more

Doctor Turns Up Possible Treatment For Deadly Sepsis

Doctor Turns Up Possible Treatment For Deadly Sepsis

It is hard not to get excited about news of a potentially effective treatment for sepsis, a condition that leads to multiple organ failure and kills more people in the hospital than any other disease. The study, from Eastern... read more

Management of COPD exacerbations: a European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society guideline

Management of COPD exacerbations: a European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society guideline

This document provides clinical recommendations for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. This recommendation places a high value on improving clinical outcomes and a lower value on the burden... read more

Milestones in Critical Care

Milestones in Critical Care

Take a look back at some of Critical Care's milestones over the past 20 years. In the past 20 years, the journal has contributed to improving the care of critically ill patients by acquiring, discussing, distributing... read more