Search Tag: ICU
2025 15 Apr
Critically ill patients, particularly those who experience delirium or require invasive mechanical ventilation, are at high risk for long-term cognitive impairments. Ventilator-associated brain injury is an emerging area of research, with experts emphasising the need for improved assessment tools and advanced statistical methods to evaluate brain dysfunction...Read more
2025 25 Mar
Delirium is common in critically ill patients and is linked to poor outcomes like prolonged hospital stays and cognitive impairment. Subsyndromal delirium (SSD) is an intermediate state between no delirium and full delirium, involving cognitive and behavioural abnormalities without meeting DSM-5 criteria for delirium. SSD affects about one-third of...Read more
2025 18 Mar
A roundtable discussion at the ISICEM Congress in Brussels on disorders of consciousness (DoC) focused on enhancing understanding, diagnosis, and prognosis for patients in ICUs. The main takeaway is that disorders of consciousness represent a continuum, and diagnoses should not be limited to binary terms like "coma" or "awake." These states...Read more
2025 04 Mar
ICU staffing varies widely due to factors like physician work-hour limitations, increased use of advanced practice providers (NPs and PAs), telemedicine, and shortages of healthcare workers, including nurses and ICU physicians. There is limited and low-quality data to guide staffing decisions, with most research focusing on individual roles rather...Read more
2025 24 Feb
Healthcare systems contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. Climate change is affecting human health, prompting healthcare professionals to adopt more sustainable practices. Pharmaceuticals play a major role in healthcare-related emissions, with their supply chain depleting natural resources and contributing...Read more
2025 27 Jan
ICUs provide critical treatment for severely ill patients but are resource-intensive and costly, requiring efficient and equitable utilisation. Guidelines for ICU admission and discharge have been established in several countries to optimise resource use. Intermediate care units (IMCUs), also known as high-dependency or step-down units, offer care...Read more
2025 16 Jan
Delirium is characterised by a sudden onset of cognitive changes, often accompanied by either altered consciousness or disorganised thinking. It is commonly observed in the post-surgical ICU, affecting up to 50-70% of patients, depending on individual risk factors. Several factors contribute to ICU delirium, including pre-existing and acute medical...Read more
2024 26 Nov
Pneumonia is a major global health issue, particularly for critically ill patients in ICUs. It encompasses various types, such as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), each with distinct diagnostic and treatment challenges. Annually, pneumonia contributes to over 2.5 million...Read more
2024 18 Nov
What is the impact of prolonged emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS), particularly ED-to-ICU time (from ED admission to ICU admission) and ED-boarding time (time between ICU admission decision and transfer), on hospital outcomes? Studies suggest prolonged ED-to-ICU times may increase ICU and hospital mortality, though findings are mixed. ...Read more
2024 02 Sep
Mechanical ventilation with positive pressure aims to deliver well-conditioned gas, ensure lung expansion, and monitor key parameters like airway pressures and tidal volume (VT). Despite technological advancements, current invasive ventilation has limitations, particularly for critically ill patients who require timely, precise interventions. Positive...Read more
2024 26 Aug
Despite ongoing restrictive family visitation policies in ICUs worldwide, contemporary guidelines advocate for more flexible visitation. Flexible policies aim to enhance the ICU experience for both patients and their families and are linked to reduced acute anxiety in both groups and decreased depression in family members. These flexible policies do...Read more
2024 30 May
In acute critical illness, catabolism leads to muscle wasting, weakness, and difficulty in weaning from ventilation. Low intake of protein, energy, and micronutrients can worsen catabolism, leading to infections, delayed recovery, and increased mortality. Traditionally, it was believed that nutrition could counteract catabolism and improve outcomes....Read more
2024 19 Apr
Decision-making in the ICU is a multifaceted process that involves clinical assessment, collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, ethical considerations, evidence-based practice, communication, and continuous adaptation to evolving clinical scenarios. Read more
2024 19 Apr
The seamless integration of patient- and family-centred care in the critical care setting remains elusive. This review discusses the history and benefits of patient- and family-centred care, plus strategies for partnering with patients and families in the critical care setting. Introduction Patient and family partnerships in the...Read more
2024 17 Apr
The increasing availability of complex health data, coupled with advancing computational capabilities, offers an opportunity to define health and disease states with greater clarity and efficiency. This potential extends to real-time diagnosis and patient management. Due to its time-critical nature, the ICU presents unique challenges in creating effective...Read more
2024 12 Jan
Sepsis is a prominent cause of mortality in ICUs. Despite extensive research on the dynamics leading to sepsis, the role of cytokines—immune system molecules that can cause substantial harm to the body—has remained inadequately understood. While these proteins typically regulate inflammation, an overly aggressive immune response can result in a cytokine...Read more
2023 21 Dec
There is increasing evidence that factors such as sex, race, and socioeconomic status may influence the treatment received in ICUs. Data suggests that women are less likely to receive invasive ventilation, vasoactive medication, renal replacement therapy (RRT), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and tracheostomy than men, but previous studies...Read more
2023 22 Nov
Sleep measurement in critically ill patients remains a barrier for large studies on ICU sleep and circadian disruption (SCD). The gold standard, polysomnography, is difficult to interpret due to factors like medications and complex illnesses. While portable, wearable devices have improved sleep and circadian function measures, challenges persist for...Read more
2023 13 Oct
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making significant strides in healthcare, and its application in critical care is no exception. AI technologies can potentially enhance patient care, improve clinical outcomes, and streamline healthcare operations in the ICU. There are numerous ways in which AI can be effectively utilised in the ICU....Read more
2023 13 Oct
Ongoing research and challenges regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to leverage data and identify complex interactions to address antimicrobial resistance in the ICU. The possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI), and more specifically, machine learning (ML), are being researched across almost all domains...Read more
2023 26 Sep
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are emerging technologies with diverse applications, from entertainment and education to medical care. VR immerses users in a virtual three-dimensional environment, while AR retains connection to the real world while increasing information through the use of virtual elements. Both require specialised...Read more
2023 30 Aug
Instituting patient safety practices will save lives and healthcare dollars. We are proud of our healthcare experts; it is the system that needs to be fixed, and we can do that! We can create a system where safe, high-quality healthcare is delivered to every patient every time. Healthcare must become a high-reliability organisation, and this starts...Read more
2023 18 Jul
Sepsis is a frequently encountered condition that leads to severe illness and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It is commonly accompanied by acute kidney injury (AKI), known as sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI). The relationship between sepsis and AKI has been investigated in prior studies. However, the absence...Read more
2023 13 Jun
Medication use is a fundamental aspect of healthcare. The process of administering medication involves numerous steps. Within a single medication administration sequence, there can be a range of 80 to 200 individual steps. Each of these steps represents a potential opportunity for a medication error, thus highlighting the importance of thorough and...Read more