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

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

Abdominal Sepsis: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Abdominal Sepsis: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Recently released, Abdominal Sepsis examines in detail the topic of sepsis, with a focus on intra-abdominal sepsis. Particular attention is devoted to source control in the management of the infection, antimicrobial therapy... read more

Never Underestimate the Simple Things We Do To Our Patients

Never Underestimate the Simple Things We Do To Our Patients

In this compelling episode, Professor Paul Wischmeyer, shares some of his experiences as a patient in the ICU. Since he was 15 he has endured multiple hospitalizations and ICU stays for his inflammatory bowel disease. This... read more

Implementing a Standardized Nurse-driven Rounding Protocol in a Trauma-surgical ICU

Implementing a Standardized Nurse-driven Rounding Protocol in a Trauma-surgical ICU

We instituted several interventions in our trauma and surgical ICU aimed at improving communication and teamwork between RNs and MDs. Informal feedback indicated greater satisfaction among RNs and MDs with the working environment.... read more

When ICU Delirium Leads To Symptoms Of Dementia After Discharge

Doctors have gradually come to realize that people who survive a serious brush with death in the intensive care unit are likely to develop potentially serious problems with their memory and thinking processes. This dementia,... read more

ESPEN Guideline on Clinical Nutrition in the ICU

ESPEN Guideline on Clinical Nutrition in the ICU

Following the new ESPEN Standard Operating Procedures, the previous guidelines to provide best medical nutritional therapy to critically ill patients have been updated. These guidelines define who are the patients at risk,... read more

Triiodothyronine Replacement in Critically Ill Adults with Non-thyroidal Illness Syndrome

Triiodothyronine Replacement in Critically Ill Adults with Non-thyroidal Illness Syndrome

This study suggests that with triiodothyronine (T3) supplementation there was evidence of serum free T3 normalization without evidence of associated harms. A definitive trial is needed to evaluate clinical effectiveness.... read more

NHS Cancels 14% of Operations at Last Minute

NHS Cancels 14% of Operations at Last Minute

One in seven NHS hospital operations are being cancelled just before they are due to take place, often because of a lack of beds, staff or operating theatres, research reveals. Of 26,171 procedures due to take place during... read more

Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance

Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance

The struggle to perform well is universal: each of us faces fatigue, limited resources, and imperfect abilities in whatever we do. But nowhere is this drive to do better more important than in medicine, where lives may be... read more

Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2018

Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2018

The Annual Update compiles reviews of the most recent developments in experimental and clinical intensive care and emergency medicine research and practice in one comprehensive reference book. The chapters are written by... read more

Magnesium for Rapid Atrial Fibrillation Rate-Control in the ED

Magnesium for Rapid Atrial Fibrillation Rate-Control in the ED

Over the years, IV magnesium has been studied for the treatment of rapid AF in several clinical situations, most prominently in post-cardiac surgery patients. However, there are also studies in ED and cardiology patients,... read more

Coronary Endothelial Function and Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection

Coronary Endothelial Function and Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection

Coronary epicardial and microvascular vasomotor dysfunction is not a predominant feature of spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Endothelial dysfunction is not implicated as the principal underlying mechanism. A total... read more

Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science

Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science

Gently dismantling the myth of medical infallibility, Dr. Atul Gawande's Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science is essential reading for anyone involved in medicine - on either end of the stethoscope. Medical... read more

Six Kidney Transplants in 30 Hours at University Hospital of Wales

Six Kidney Transplants in 30 Hours at University Hospital of Wales

Any transplant begins with a phone call but on Sunday, the phone in the Cardiff Transplant Unit kept ringing. It was to prove the start of a remarkable few days as specialists at University Hospital of Wales completed six... read more

Operator performs robot-assisted PCI from 100 miles away

Operator performs robot-assisted PCI from 100 miles away

Tele-stenting appears more possible now than ever, as Vascular Robotics announced an interventional cardiologist used its CorPath GRX System to perform a remote percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in a pig 100 miles... read more

Help! I Need Somebody

Help! I Need Somebody

It's not so easy - how do you ask neurosurgery at 4 in the morning to see your patient with subdural hematoma? Or when you have a really sick patient that you don't know what to do with, or a difficult airway but you're the... read more

Mitochondrial Function in Sepsis

Mitochondrial Function in Sepsis

The authors were tasked with developing five specific questions regarding mitochondrial function in sepsis within the context of the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative 14 (ADQI XIV) meeting held in Bogotá, Colombia, in late... read more