Editorial

Author Jean-Louis Vincent Head Department of Intensive Care, Erasmus Hospital Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium Safety is defined as the condition of being safe – freedom from danger, risk, or injury. Of course, safety itself is a relative term. It relies on the elimination of all risk. As we in the field of intensive care, are aware – eliminating risk is an impossible feat,...

News

Efforts on Child-Appropriate Medicines Intensify www.who.int Efforts to ensure children have better access to medicines appropriate for them have intensified with the unveiling of a new research and development agenda by the World Health Organization (WHO). The agenda targets a range of medicines – including antibiotics, asthma and pain medication – that need to be better tailored to children's nee...

A New Manifesto for Medical Research in Europe www.esf.org Public spending on medical research in Europe should be doubled over the next ten years to ensure the health and welfare of Europe’s citizens and to nurture a thriving medical research industry, according to an influential panel of distinguished scientists. In addition there should be greater collaboration between European institutions in med...

Beating Hospital Yeast Infection http://ccforum.com/ Increasing numbers of critically ill patients develop fungal or yeast infections, which are associated with high mortality. Now a review published in the online open access journal, Critical Care, compares treatments involving single-drug antifungal prophylaxis (SAP) or a multi-drug regimen of selective digestive tract decontamination (SDD) and sugge...

New Web Resource For Intensive Care Clinicians www.maquet.com MAQUET Critical Care has launched a peer-topeer ventilation information source for intensive care clinicians interested in clinical applications in ventilation therapies. The site hosts an extensive amount of peer-to-peer material in different ventilation therapies, where physicians share their experiences by means of interview article...

Cover Story: Safety

Intensive care, ICU, Adverse Events, Medicl errors

Several studies the last decade have revealed that errors and adverse events are common in the ICU. Errors have become the norm rather than the exception in most ICUs—for physicians as well as nurses. Efforts have been made to prevent errors and adverse events from occurring, but evidence showing that preventive measures are effective is scarce. Experiences from our own ICU have also affirmed that adver...

Author Akos Csomos, MD, DEAA, PhD Surgical Intensive Care Unit Semmelweis University Budapest, Hungary [email protected] There is an ongoing demand for quality patient care and reduction of human errors. We know it is possible to prevent errors, but how much does it cost? Over a decade ago, the much-quoted To Err is Human report (Kohn et al. 1999) was published and we acknowledged t...

Author Andrej Michalsen, MD, MPH Consultant Intensive Care Medicine HELIOS Hospital Überlingen,Überlingen/See, Germany [email protected] Risk-prone industries, such as aviation and nuclear power plant operations, have been addressing the issue of erroneous design and behaviour in systematic ways over the last decades. In general terms, an error is the failure of planned actions...

Author Karen Timmons President,CEO Joint Commission International Oak Brook, Illinois, USA [email protected] The process of external quality evaluation against consensus healthcare standards, commonly referred to as “Accreditation”, is one of the most effective means for standardising care processes in healthcare organisations. The accreditation process focusses on the functions and process...

Matrix Features

Authors Smith Jean, PhD. Division of Critical Care Medicine Robert Wood Johnson, School of Medicine University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Cooper University Hospital Camden, New Jersey, USA Ismail Cinel, MD, PhD. Division of Critical Care Medicine Robert Wood Johnson, School of Medicine University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Cooper University Hospital, Ca...

Author Armand R.J. Girbes Professor Internist-Intensivist, Clinical Pharmacologist University Hospital VU, Medical Centre Amsterdam, Netherlands [email protected] Introduction In 2001, Van den Berghe et al. published the results of a study, demonstrating a clinically and statistically significant fall in mortality in intensive care (IC) patients treated by intensive insulin therapy, ai...

Author Tim Wolfe, MD Associate Professor Department of Surgery, University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah, USA [email protected] Evidence that Early Detection and Management Improves Outcomes and Reduces Resource Utilisation Introduction There are several important issues concerning intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). The first is that IAH/ACS a...

Authors Karen K. Giuliano, RN (above) Principal Scientist Philips Medical Systems, Andover, Massachusetts USA [email protected] Elaine R. Bloniasz, RN Clinical Nurse III Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts USA Peggy Lambert, RN Director, Critical Care Services Catholic Medical Center Manchester, New Hampshire USA Although empirical research i...

Product Comparison:Cardiac Output Monitors

Author Samir G. Sakka, MD, PhD, DEAA, EDIC Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine University Witten/Herdecke Medical Center Cologne- Merheim, Cologne, Germany [email protected] Although there is no evidence for an improved outcome of critically ill patients by measurement of cardiac output (CO) per se, this haemodynamic variable is still considered clinically imp...

ECRI Institute is a totally independent nonprofit research agency designated as a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization (WHO). Such organizations are appointed to contribute to WHO’s public health mission by providing specialized knowledge, expertise, and support in the health field to the WHO and its member nations. ECRI Institute is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading inde...

Management

Authors Sylvia Schwarz, MD Professor of Anaesthesiology Department of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Hospital Hietzing, Vienna, Austria Robert D. Fitzgerald, MD, PhD (Hon) Associate Professor Karl Landsteiner Institute for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Vienna, Austria [email protected] Michaela Suske, MSc Research Assistant Karl Landsteiner Institute for An...

Views & Interviews

Dr. Ranieri is the Chair of the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at Molinette Hospital in Turin, Italy; Professor at the University of Turin and the current President of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). In this interview with Sherry Scharff, Dr. Ranieri reflects on the difficulties of applying business principles to critical care management and outlines his vision for IC...

Country Focus:Canada

Author Nathalie Danjoux, MSc Senior Policy Analyst Critical Care Secretariat,Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email protected] "Through the years, I came to believe that health services ought not to have a price tag on them, and that people should be able to get whatever health services they require irrespective of their individual capacity to pay." – T. C. Douglas, Founder of Medicare (1...

Author Laura Hawryluck, MSc, MD, FRCPC Associate Professor Critical Care Medicine,University Health Network Toronto General Hospital,Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email protected] The Canadian national health insurance program for many Canadians represents a fundamental and defining value of our society. The “Medicare” Program has as its key values those of public administration, co...

Author James Downar, MD, FRCPC Clinical Fellow Division of Palliative Care, Division of Critical Care Department of Medicine, University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email protected] Communication is an important issue in the Canadian healthcare system. Recent studies have shown that communication problems are the most common reason for patient complaints to Canadian regul...

Authors Rebecca Anas, B.Sc, MBA Project Manager,Strategic Decisions Critical Care Department,St. Michael’s Hospital Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email protected] Fabrice Brunet, MD, FRCPC Professor of Medicine University of Toronto, Chief, Critical Care Department St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email protected] The Canadian Healthcare system h...

Congress Review

Author Kees H. Polderman, MD, PhD Department of Intensive Care University Medical Center Utrecht [email protected] The 1st Therapeutic Temperature Management Congress There is an increasing awareness in the critical care community of the importance of body temperature in determining outcome in patients with neurological injuries. Numerous studies have shown that development of fever is...

Congress Preview

Author Jean-Louis Vincent Department of Intensive Care Erasmus Hospital,Free University Brussels Brussels, Belgium As we look out on the wet and windy winter weather, we may find ourselves looking forward to spring, and springtime in Brussels is, of course, synonymous with the International Symposium of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, held every year in March! The 28th ISICEM will be held at...


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