Amid the challenges of managing the ICU, the elements of the system are forever altering, creating yet more complexity. Changes in an ICU, whether tried and tested or from innovative research that indicates beneficial results, are prone to error if doctors, nurses and other staff are not educated sufficiently. This may involve not just training on...
READ MOREA commonly used, inexpensive diagnostic tool, the dipstick proteinuria (DP) urine test, may provide an easier, more effective way to predict Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in patients with sepsis or severe blood poisoning infections. Led by Dr. Javier Neyra at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, researchers have found a new prognostic application...
READ MOREEuropean Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) has for decades engaged in education and training as one of its core activities. Through the Division of Professional development (DPD) it now runs the European Diploma of Intensive Care (EDIC) exam; the distant e-learning tool, PACT; and the Competence Based Training in Intensive Care in Europe...
READ MOREResource Difficulties in ICU Education Conventional training methods for nurses involve many physical factors that place limits on potential class size (Sorce, Simone, and Madden 2010). Alternate training methods with lower physical requirements may support larger class sizes but, given the tactile quality of nurse training, are most appropriately...
READ MOREDespite the ever-increasing evidence base suggesting that interventions enhance the quality and safety of healthcare, a large gap remains between the existing evidence and the actual implementation of these interventions in day-to-day critical care practice. This gap undoubtedly impacts on patient safety and quality of care. This article provides the...
READ MOREMetabolic nutritional support is a cornerstone in the management of seriously ill patients. Election of the route of nutritional administration – parenteral nutrition (PN), enteral nutrition (EN) or mixed – depends on the condition and integrity of the digestive tract as well as the diagnosis and condition of the patient. If the gastrointestinal...
READ MOREIntroduction Does the caloric intake of critically ill patients make a difference? Ever since initial measurements with indirect calorimetry were made, it has been obvious that predictions from body size end up with some + 30 percent uncertainty with regard to the actual energy expenditure of a patient. Following this realisation, a long line of modified...
READ MOREA successful research grant application may represent an important step in the career of professionals working in the intensive care medicine field, especially in academic institutions. Grants are needed for launching and keeping research projects, as well as for buying equipment for the laboratory or initiating a clinical trial. Ideally, grant applications...
READ MOREProfessor Benoit Vallet, Chair for the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital of Lille, France has played a great influence in his fields of professionalism over the years, with his current participating role in the steering committees for the Age of Blood Evaluation (ABLE) randomised controlled trial and...
READ MOREChallenges and Changes in Care Provision for the HIV Infected Population The break up of the USSR brought about negative changes in healthcare among other industries, with nepotism in research and corruption from authorities remaining the weak spots of the health system. Although the occupation of a physician has not lost its appeal, more than...
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