Half of Sepsis Patients Face Death Within Two Years

Half of all patients with sepsis admitted to an emergency medical department died within two years, according to Danish researchers investigating factors that could predict outcomes for these patients. Dr. Finn E. Nielsen,... read more

Blood Grouping Identifies Patients at Risk for Developing Venous Thromboembolism

Blood Grouping Identifies Patients at Risk for Developing Venous Thromboembolism

Based on study of more than 28,000 TJA patients, presurgical ABO blood group testing looks like an inexpensive way to identify patents at increased risk for symptomatic postoperative VTE. Prophylaxis regimens can dramatically... read more

Moving Vulnerable Patients Around Hospital Can Increase Infections

Moving Vulnerable Patients Around Hospital Can Increase Infections

Researchers at Overlook Medical Center released a report stating that transporting patients increases the risk of hospital-acquired infections. The study focused on ICU patients being treated for strokes, aneurysm ruptures... read more

Perceptions of Risk and Safety in the ICU

Perceptions of Risk and Safety in the ICU

This study drew on cognitive research, specifically theories of cognitive dissonance, psychological safety, and situational awareness to explain how professionals' cognitive processes impacted on ICU behaviors. Our results... read more

Rivaroxaban Lowers Cardiovascular Risk But Increases Bleeding Risk

Rivaroxaban Lowers Cardiovascular Risk But Increases Bleeding Risk

In 27,395 patients with stable atherosclerotic disease, the addition of 2.5 mg rivaroxaban twice daily to aspirin therapy reduced the rates of cardiovascular death, stroke, or nonfatal MI, at the cost of increased major bleeding... read more

Delirium and Benzodiazepines Associated With Prolonged ICU Stay in Critically Ill Children

Delirium and Benzodiazepines Associated With Prolonged ICU Stay in Critically Ill Children

Delirium is associated with a lower likelihood of ICU discharge in preschool-aged children. Benzodiazepine exposure is associated with the development and longer duration of delirium, and lower likelihood of ICU discharge.... read more

Better AKI Patient Survival Linked to Negative Fluid Balance

Better AKI Patient Survival Linked to Negative Fluid Balance

Optimal fluid management of critically ill patients with or at risk for acute kidney injury (AKI) is still uncertain. Now a new prospective study from India confirms that patients with negative fluid balance live longer.... read more

Early Troponin I in Critical Illness and its Association with Hospital Mortality

Early Troponin I in Critical Illness and its Association with Hospital Mortality

TnI is an independent predictor of hospital mortality and correlates most highly with the APS component of APACHE II. It does not improve risk prediction. We would not advocate the adoption of routine troponin analysis on... read more

Benzodiazepines and Delirium in ICU Patients

Benzodiazepines and Delirium in ICU Patients

We have learned an extraordinary amount about ICU delirium over the last 2 decades, which is associated with increased duration of mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, long-term cognitive impairment, and mortality... read more

An Alternative Consent Process for Minimal Risk Research in the ICU

An Alternative Consent Process for Minimal Risk Research in the ICU

Seeking consent for minimal risk research in the ICU poses challenges, especially when the research is time-sensitive. Our aim was to determine the extent to which ICU patients or surrogates support a deferred consent process... read more

Sepsis Prediction in Critically Ill Patients by Platelet Activation Markers on ICU Admission

Sepsis Prediction in Critically Ill Patients by Platelet Activation Markers on ICU Admission

Platelets have been involved in both immune surveillance and host defense against severe infection. To date, whether platelet phenotype or other hemostasis components could be associated with predisposition to sepsis in critical... read more

PICU Repeated and Unplanned Readmissions Within 1 Year

PICU Repeated and Unplanned Readmissions Within 1 Year

Unplanned readmissions occurred in a sizable minority of PICU patients. Patients with complex chronic conditions and particular conditions were at much higher risk for readmission. In this multi-institutional study, we found... read more

An Airway Risk Assessment Score for Unplanned Extubation in PICU

An Airway Risk Assessment Score for Unplanned Extubation in PICU

Higher Risk Assessment Scores are associated with occurrence rates of unplanned extubation. As a result of a workshop to identify common causes of unplanned extubation, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta developed a scoring... read more

Priority Levels in Intensive Care at an Academic Public Hospital

Priority Levels in Intensive Care at an Academic Public Hospital

This prospective study of medical records determined the proportion of medical ICU patients in each priority group within a tertiary care academic public hospital. Critical care services can be life-saving, but many patients... read more

Preadmission Oral Corticosteroids Are Associated With Reduced Risk of ARDS in Critically Ill Adults With Sepsis

Preadmission Oral Corticosteroids Are Associated With Reduced Risk of ARDS in Critically Ill Adults With Sepsis

The unadjusted occurrence rate of acute respiratory distress syndrome within 96 hours of ICU admission was 35% among patients who had received oral corticosteroids compared with 42% among those who had not (p = 0.107). In... read more

Study Connects Maternal Response to Infection During Pregnancy with Increased Autism Risk

Study Connects Maternal Response to Infection During Pregnancy with Increased Autism Risk

A new study adds to a growing body of research aimed at understanding how a mother’s body’s response to infection influences a growing fetus. In research published this week in mSphere, researchers at Columbia University... read more

Prophylactic hydration to protect renal function from intravascular iodinated contrast material in patients at high risk of contrast-induced nephropathy

Prophylactic hydration to protect renal function from intravascular iodinated contrast material in patients at high risk of contrast-induced nephropathy

Between June 17, 2014, and July 17, 2016, 660 consecutive patients were randomly assigned to receive no prophylaxis (n=332) or intravenous hydration (n=328). 2–6 day serum creatinine was available for 307 (92%) of 332 patients... read more