Introduction Up to 85% of critical care patients may experience some form of delirium, but it can be very easily missed (Inouye et al. 2001; Page 2008) particularly in a very busy 24 bedded General Critical Care Unit that is also the regional centre for Trauma and neurosurgery. The unit admits both level 2 and 3 patients within the same cli1
READ MOREChallenges and advantages of engaging a clinical staffing and management service for your ICU Trusting a third-party partner to staff and manage your ICU isn’t a decision to be made lightly. Your hospital’s reputation is at stake. Even more important, so are your patients’ health and safety. Finding the right partner to help you 1
READ MOREDesign for Southmead ICU It is well established that the Arts have a clear contribution to make in the delivery of an improved healthcare experience for patients, service users and staff. ‘Arts and health are, and should be firmly recognised as being, integral to health, healthcare provision and healthcare environments, including supporting staf1
READ MOREVital minutes before unconsciousness The myth that anaesthetists pick the specialty ‘because you don’t need to talk to your patients’ persists. Whether said in jest or disdain this concept gains ground because, yes for much of the time, our patients are mostly ‘asleep’. But this ignores the vital communication that occurs prior to anaesthesia;1
READ MOREThe parameters of the Capstesia app are described. After taking a photo of the arterial waveform on the monitor screen, and cropping it to the signal of interest, the picture is sent to the Capstesia server via a mobile Internet connection. The heart rate and systolic and diastolic arterial pressures are manually entered into the app to determin1
READ MOREInsights from the PARAMEDIC2 trial and future improvements Perkins et al. have advanced the long-awaited PARAMEDIC2 trial (Perkins et al. 2018). They deserve to be congratulated for such a well-interpreted and well-designed contribution. The study’s two main outcomes are as follows: the Epinephrine group had a significantly improved inpatient su1
READ MOREHuman factors are a well recognised cause of discrepancies in patient care that can lead to adverse outcomes. In a busy Emergency Department (ED) setting, when dealing with the sickest patients at all hours and with a rotating workforce, there is an increased potential for inconsistent care despite clear evidence based protocols and guidelines on1
READ MOREAs a nurse working in intensive care I have moments in which emotions get much deeper than expected. My own vulnerability is confronting. Do I lose control or do I experience the essence of my job as a nurse? Kathy, your story on YouTube and your saying “the touch that isn’t effective or that didn’t hurt” made a deep impression on me. E1
READ MOREWhy study endotracheal intubation? Endotracheal intubation (ETI) in critically ill patients is a potentially life-threatening procedure, and approximately one-third of ETIs are complicated by severe hypoxia, cardiovascular collapse and cardiac arrest. Critically ill patients are prone to severe complications as the consequence of the underlyi1
READ MOREMedical decision-making about antibiotic use in critically ill patients is challenging and complex. The need for antibiotic stewardship requires judicious prescription and choice of antimicrobials, as the need for effective therapy has to be put in balance with the need to limit undue selection pressure, and all this must be done in a context 1
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