Search Tag: Sepsis
Blood Cultures Before Sepsis Treatment
2019 20 Sep
Severe bacterial infections still pose a significant threat to public health, with 1.7 million people in the U.S. infected with sepsis every year. There has been a constant debate within medicine as to when treatment should be administered. Current guidelines state that blood cultures should be taken before antimicrobial treatment is initiated,... Read more
Neonatal Early-Onset Sepsis Calculator
2019 13 Sep
In 2007, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health assessed the use of predictive models to calculate the risk of early-onset sepsis (EOS) in neonatal patients, accounting for multiple variables. The main objectives of the study were to assess the links between the risk factors and the infection outcomes; use patient data collected from... Read more
Reducing Risks and Generating Economic Benefits
2019 26 Aug
Did you know that IV filtration in an intensive care unit (ICU) could help to reduce risks and generate economic benefits? Introduction Intravenous administration of fluids and drugs is an important part of patient care for the critically ill. However, the contamination of infusion solutions by particles is a largely unknown and underestimated... Read more
Understanding the Influenza Virus
2019 25 Jul
Diagnosis of the Influenza virus remains a challenge in the ICU. It is vital that knowledge of its pathophysiology and epidemiology is known so clinicians can make informed decisions regarding their patients’ health. The Influenza virus is found most commonly to replicate in the respiratory tract in humans. This is mainly due to the haemagglutinin... Read more
Monocyte Distribution Width as Biomarker for Early Sepsis Detection
2019 25 Jul
Existing biomarkers provide limited use for rapid detection of sepsis since they cannot accurately distinguish sepsis from other common conditions encountered in the emergency department (ED). Now a U.S. clinical trial suggests that the monocyte distribution width (MDW) can be a useful indicator of Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 in high-risk ED patients. "Changes... Read more
Vitamin C Drug Cocktail for Sepsis
2019 09 Jul
The combination of intravenous vitamin C, corticosteroids and thiamine has been made famous by Dr. Paul Marik, M.D. for the treatment of sepsis in critically ill patients. The ‘Marik protocol’, also termed HAT (Hydrocortisone, Ascorbic acid, Thiamine), has however come under criticism regarding the lack of evidence. Dr. Marik of Sentara Norfolk... Read more
Promising Ideas for Future Intensive Care
2019 26 Jun
The path to innovation is often based on intuition or insight. But the implementation of new ideas in healthcare requires rigorous testing and confirmation. However, one can argue that in the field of critical care, this cautious approach has let clinicians down. There is no doubt that clinical trials are important, but at the same time, they... Read more
In-hospital mortality and misdiagnosis of site of infection
2019 11 Jun
Sepsis is one of the most dangerous and life-threatening conditions encountered in the intensive care unit. Sepsis is considered to be an emergent disease similar to trauma, heart attack, and stroke. But sepsis is characterised by various aetiologies and pathophysiological conditions, and that is why it is very complicated to treat compared to... Read more
Big Data and hidden subtypes of sepsis
2019 30 May
Results of a study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggests that sepsis is not one condition, but many conditions that could benefit from different treatments. The findings are published in JAMA and were presented at the American Thoracic Society's Annual Meeting. Sepsis is the number one killer of hospitalised patients... Read more