Cost-effectiveness of Procalcitonin Testing to Guide Antibiotic Treatment Duration in Critically Ill Patients

Although the impact of PCT guidance on total healthcare-related costs during the initial hospitalisation episode is likely negligible, the lower in-hospital mortality may lead to a non-significant increase in costs over a... read more

Is a Golden Age of Resuscitation on the Horizon?

Is emergency medicine on the verge of "the dawn of a new golden age of resuscitation?" That's the bold prediction from CPR innovator Keith Lurie, MD, a professor of internal and emergency medicine at the University of Minnesota,... read more

Effect of Bag-Mask Ventilation vs Endotracheal Intubation During CPR on Neurological Outcome After OHCA

Among patients with out-of-hospital cardiorespiratory arrest (OHCA), the use of BMV compared with ETI failed to demonstrate noninferiority or inferiority for survival with favorable 28-day neurological function, an inconclusive... read more

Impact of Drug and Equipment Preparation on Pre-hospital Emergency Anesthesia Procedural Time, Error Rate and Cognitive Load

Pre-preparation of Preparation on Pre-hospital Emergency (PHEA) equipment and drugs resulted in safer performance of PHEA and has the potential to reduce on-scene time by up to a third. In total 23 experiments were completed,... read more

How Doctors Responded After NRA Told Them To “Stay In Their Lane”

If the goal of the National Rifle Association (NRA) was to get doctors' attention, the Tweet posted recently certainly did its job. The NRA editorial that accompanied the Tweet included the following statement: "some doctors’... read more

“Real-World” Application of Thrombolysis in Cardiac Arrest

In a single center's experience, thrombolytic therapy is used infrequently for the management of cardiac arrest. Thrombolysis during cardiac arrest should be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be utilized only... read more

Superbugs Pose a Dangerous, $65 Billion Threat to the US Health-Care System

A new report released Wednesday from the OECD estimates that antimicrobial resistant infection is on track to kill 30,000 Americans per year by 2050. The financial cost to the 33 developed countries included in the study... read more

Caffeine Accelerates Emergence from Isoflurane Anesthesia in Humans

Intravenous caffeine is able to accelerate emergence from isoflurane anesthesia in healthy males without any apparent adverse effects. All randomized participants were included in the analysis. The mean time to emergence... read more

EHR-guided Strategy Reduces Postop VTE Events

By incorporating algorithms into the electronic health record (EHR), UPMC was able to realize a "dramatic" 72% reduction in missed doses, from 4,331 missed doses in 2014 to 1,193 in 2015, Dr. Neal told attendees in a session... read more

The Social Media Index as an Indicator of Quality for Emergency Medicine Blogs

The Social Media Index’s correlation with multiple quality evaluation instruments over time supports the hypothesis that it is associated with overall Web site quality. It can play a role in guiding individuals to high-quality... read more

Can probiotics be an alternative to chlorhexidine for oral care in the mechanically ventilated patient?

In this multicentre study, we could not demonstrate any difference between Lp299 and CHX used in oral care procedures regarding their impact on colonisation with emerging potentially pathogenic enteric bacteria in the oropharynx... read more

Assessment of the adequacy of oxygen delivery

In this article, we review physiologic principles of global oxygen delivery, and discuss the bedside approach to assessing the adequacy of oxygen delivery in critically ill patients. Although there have been technological... read more

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors in patients with respiratory failure and metabolic alkalosis

In patients with respiratory failure and metabolic alkalosis, carbonic anhydrase inhibitor therapy may have favorable effects on blood gas parameters. In mechanically ventilated patients, carbonic anhydrase inhibitor therapy... read more

Ultrasound as a Screening Tool for Central Venous Catheter Positioning and Exclusion of Pneumothorax

Although real-time ultrasound guidance during central venous catheter insertion has become a standard of care, postinsertion chest radiograph remains the gold standard to confirm central venous catheter tip position and rule... read more

Identifying associations between diabetes and ARDS in patients with AHRF

Diabetes mellitus is a common co-existing disease in the critically ill. Diabetes mellitus may reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but data from previous studies are conflicting. The objective of... read more

A retrospective observational study of acquired subglottic stenosis using low-pressure, high-volume cuffed endotracheal tubes

The safety of cuffed endotracheal tubes in the neonatal and critically ill pediatric population continues to be questioned due to the theoretical risk of acquired subglottic stenosis. The incidence of acquired subglottic... read more

The Impact of Frailty on ICU Outcomes

Functional status and chronic health status are important baseline characteristics of critically ill patients. The assessment of frailty on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) may provide objective, prognostic information... read more

Antipsychotic Prescribing Patterns During and After Critical Illness

In this study, antipsychotics were used to treat nearly half of all antipsychotic-naïve ICU patients and were prescribed at discharge to 24% of antipsychotic-treated patients. Treatment with an atypical antipsychotic greatly... read more

Differences in attitudes towards end-of-life care among intensivists, oncologists and prosecutors in Brazil

There is great variability in end-of-life care and the legal context may interfere with decisions on limitation of medical treatment. In Brazil, end-of-life care was initially regulated in 2006, but legal controversies still... read more

The impact of age on the innate immune response and outcomes after severe sepsis/septic shock in trauma and surgical ICU patients

Aged, critically ill surgical patients have greater organ dysfunction and incidence of adverse clinical outcomes after sepsis. Biomarker profiles suggest an immunophenotype of persistent immunosuppression and catabolism.... read more

Blood test may obviate need for head CTs in brain trauma evaluation

A biomarker test based on the presence of two proteins in the blood appears to be suitable for ruling out significant intracranial injuries in patients with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) without the need... read more

Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death

Dr. Sam Parnia, Director of the AWARE Study (AWAreness during REsuscitation) and one of the world's leading experts on the scientific study of death and near-death experiences (NDE), presents cutting-edge research from the... read more

Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death