Oral Antibiotics Preferred for Pediatric Pneumonia

Oral Antibiotics Preferred for Pediatric Pneumonia

Children with complicated pneumonia should be discharged from the hospital with oral instead of intravenous (IV) antibiotics when possible, according to a new study. The results showed no significant differences in treatment... read more

Preventing the misuse of ICU visiting hours to reduce inequities

Preventing the misuse of ICU visiting hours to reduce inequities

Family participation in healthcare serves to improve outcomes across a broad spectrum of conditions. Current guidelines recommend open family presence in the intensive care unit (ICU) while citing evidence of its safety.... read more

Acute Kidney Injury Is Risk Factor for Delirium and Coma

Acute Kidney Injury Is Risk Factor for Delirium and Coma

For critically ill adults, acute kidney injury is a risk factor for delirium and coma. Stage 2 acute kidney injury was associated with increased risk of delirium and coma (odds ratios, 1.55 and 2.04, respectively), as was... read more

Should Transfusions Be Matched by Sex?

Should Transfusions Be Matched by Sex?

In the first large study to look at how blood transfusions from previously pregnant women affect recipients' health, researchers discovered men under 50 were 1.5 times more likely to die in the three years following a transfusion... read more

Patient-reported Outcomes Included Into Daily Practice

Patient-reported Outcomes Included Into Daily Practice

Measuring relevant outcomes in a timely manner is a priority in a health care system increasingly focused on the delivery of high-value care. Most quality measures focus on care processes or downstream outcomes such as survival;... read more

Understanding Patient Outcomes After ARDS

Understanding Patient Outcomes After ARDS

We identified four post-ARDS outcome subtypes that were predicted by sex, ethnicity, pre-ARDS smoking status and other baseline factors. These subtypes may help develop tailored rehabilitation strategies, including investigation... read more

Detecting Undiagnosed Atrial Fibrillation with Cardiac Monitors

Detecting Undiagnosed Atrial Fibrillation with Cardiac Monitors

A group of researchers led by James A. Reiffel, M.D., did a study to determine the incidence of previously undiagnosed atrial fibrillation in high-risk patients with the use of insertable cardiac monitors (ICM). The results... read more

Quality initiative reduced the number of chest X-rays conducted in the NICU

Quality initiative reduced the number of chest X-rays conducted in the NICU

A quality improvement initiative implemented at Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Health System successfully reduced the number of chest X-rays conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit, decreasing the risk of... read more

Rapid genetic testing useful for diagnosis of critically ill children

Rapid genetic testing useful for diagnosis of critically ill children

In a cohort of children under the age of 12 months admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) without a clear diagnosis, rapid, targeted genetic testing revealed a diagnosis in about one-third of patients. Genetic diagnoses... read more

Hypothermia No Help When Cardiac Arrest Occurs in Hospital

Hypothermia No Help When Cardiac Arrest Occurs in Hospital

While therapeutic hypothermia may help improve some outcomes, it doesn't appear to provide benefit when cardiac arrest happens in a hospital setting, according this study.... read more

Post-ICU syndrome signals need for better transition between life-saving care and return to life

Post-ICU syndrome signals need for better transition between life-saving care and return to life

Studies show that there are a range of reactions to a stay in the ICU, from the physical wasting that patients experience when they're prone and immobilized to the emotional problems that can come with surviving a near-death... read more

Effect of Systematic ICU Triage on Long-term Mortality Among Critically Ill Elderly Patients

Effect of Systematic ICU Triage on Long-term Mortality Among Critically Ill Elderly Patients

Among critically ill elderly patients in France, a program to promote systematic ICU admission increased ICU use but did not reduce 6-month mortality. Additional research is needed to understand the decision to admit elderly... read more

Anesthesia changes neuronal choreography

Anesthesia changes neuronal choreography

Even under deep anesthesia, nerve cells remain highly active. A study conducted by researchers from Charite - Universitätsmedizin Berlin has shown by high-resolution cellular imaging that local neuronal networks remain active... read more