Vitamin C: Should We Supplement?

A short course of intravenous vitamin C in pharmacological dose seems a promising, well tolerated, and cheap adjuvant therapy to modulate the overwhelming oxidative stress in severe sepsis, trauma, and reperfusion after ischemia.... read more

Avoiding Common Errors in the Emergency Department

Avoiding Common Errors in the Emergency Department

In a conversational, easy-to-read style, Avoiding Common Errors in the Emergency Department, 2nd Edition, discusses 365 errors commonly made in the practice of emergency medicine and gives practical, easy-to-remember tips... read more

What’s the Bleeding Problem with Trauma Laparotomies?!

Mortality for hypotensive trauma patients undergoing emergency laparotomy have not changed in 20 years. This blog explores the literature and the future! Wait! We're emergency physicians, why do we care about laparotomies?!... read more

Patient-tailored Triage Decisions by Anesthesiologist-staffed Prehospital Critical Care Teams

Patient-tailored Triage Decisions by Anesthesiologist-staffed Prehospital Critical Care Teams

The primary objective was to estimate the incidence of patients in the Central Denmark Region triaged to bypass the local emergency department without being part of a predefined fast-track protocol. The secondary objective... read more

Bedside Ultrasound Assessment of Lung Reaeration in Patients With Blunt Thoracic Injury Receiving High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy

Bedside Ultrasound Assessment of Lung Reaeration in Patients With Blunt Thoracic Injury Receiving High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy

High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy may be considered as an initial respiratory therapy for trauma patients with blunt chest injury. High-flow nasal cannula therapy could improve lung aeration as noted by the transthoracic... read more

Against the Odds – When Statistics Fail the Patient

Against the Odds – When Statistics Fail the Patient

Do you want to cut the cord? the nurse asked. I watched my husband pick up the scissors, his hand trembling as he cautiously severed the lifeline that once connected our daughter, Anika, to me. The nurse wrapped her in a... read more

The NeuroICU Book

The NeuroICU Book

An immediate classic, this groundbreaking text is based on the premise that neurointensivists must be trained to handle not only the brain, but the entire body. The NeuroICU Book, Second Edition does not limit coverage to... read more

Dear NRA, I’m a doctor. My lane? I sit in this chair when I tell parents their kids are dead

Dear NRA, I’m a doctor. My lane? I sit in this chair when I tell parents their kids are dead

Seems like a little thing, but I did this in response to a tweet by the National Rifle Association, asserting that doctors should "stay in our lane" instead of studying or making recommendations when it comes to gun violence.... read more

Mortality of civilian patients with suspected traumatic hemorrhage receiving pre-hospital transfusion of packed red blood cells compared to pre-hospital crystalloid

Mortality of civilian patients with suspected traumatic hemorrhage receiving pre-hospital transfusion of packed red blood cells compared to pre-hospital crystalloid

In a single centre UK HEMS study, in patients with suspected traumatic hemorrhage who received a PRBC transfusion there was an observed, but non-significant, reduction in mortality at 6 h and 28 days, also reflected in... read more

Mortality and Morbidity in Acutely Ill Adults Treated with Liberal vs. Conservative Oxygen Therapy

Mortality and Morbidity in Acutely Ill Adults Treated with Liberal vs. Conservative Oxygen Therapy

In acutely ill adults, high-quality evidence shows that liberal oxygen therapy increases mortality without improving other patient-important outcomes. Supplemental oxygen might become unfavourable above an SpO2 range of 94-96%.... read more

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

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

Septic Shock: Innovative Treatment Options in the Wings

Septic Shock: Innovative Treatment Options in the Wings

Vitamin C, angiotensin-II, and methylene blue are emerging options on the cutting edge of refractory septic shock treatment that require more investigation, but nevertheless appear promising, Rishi Rattan, MD, said at the... read more

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

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

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

Presenting Characteristics Associated With Outcome in Children With Severe TBI

Presenting Characteristics Associated With Outcome in Children With Severe TBI

Severe traumatic brain injury is a clinically heterogeneous disease that can be accompanied by a range of neurologic impairment and a variety of injury patterns at presentation. This secondary analysis of prospectively collected... 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

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