Search Tag: critically ill
2022 08 Dec
Imaging is integral to managing critically ill patients in the ICU as it is a key source of diagnostic information to guide clinical decision-making. In recent years, there has been significant evolution in the field of critical care imaging with an increased focus on improving imaging modalities and methodologies and increasing access to imaging...Read more
2022 18 Nov
A study led by the University of Michigan investigated whether certain hospital room features may affect a patient’s recovery after high risk surgery. There is particular interest as to whether certain hospital room features can impact mortality and length of stay post-surgery. Prior research already shed light on this matter, having demonstrated...Read more
2022 02 Aug
Prolacta Bioscience®, the world’s leading hospital provider of 100% human milk-based nutritional products for critically ill, premature infants, announced that neonatologist and breastfeeding advocate Erin Hamilton Spence, MD, IBCLC, has been appointed director of clinical education and professional development. Hamilton Spence brings more than...Read more
2022 25 May
In patients with obesity, standard, non-weight-based dosing, or weight-based dosing using either ideal body weight or adjusted body weight, is appropriate to limit the risk of overdosing. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide (Schetz et al. 2019). This trend is confirmed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where patients with obesity...Read more
2022 25 Jan
In recent years, there has been an increase in awareness of minimising sedation in the ICU. Several benefits of avoiding heavy sedation have been reported in clinical studies, and clinical guidelines also encourage less sedation. Findings from the NONSEDA trial were published in 2020. In this trial, 700 critically ill patients were randomised to...Read more
2021 02 Jul
As a cardiac surgeon with extensive experience of lung transplantations, Dr. Wojciech Karolak is used to performing complicated procedures. However, a recent case involving a critically ill female COVID-19 patient on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) became an extraordinary lifesaving experience. “The lung transplant cured the patient,...Read more
2021 24 Jun
A third anniversary update on the findings of the INTUBE study, a large international prospective observational study aiming at collecting data on peri-intubation adverse events in critically ill patients . Introduction Tracheal intubation in critically ill patients is among the most commonly performed and high-risk procedures (Russotto...Read more
2021 24 Jun
Tracheal intubation in critically ill patients requires planning, preparation and optimisation of patient’s physiology prior to the procedure. Reducing repeated attempts at tracheal intubation, improving peri-intubation oxygenation, and haemodynamic optimisation, are some of the steps that can reduce the antecedent morbidity and mortality. ...Read more
2021 22 Feb
C OVID-19 patients present to the hospital with lung involvement and interstitial pneumonia eventually associated with lung collapse. The clinical picture is dominated by severe hypoxaemia without dyspnoea/tachypneoa and normal respiratory mechanics; this condition has been defined as silent hypoxia. The picture may evolve, and these patients may...Read more
2020 24 Nov
Critically ill patients can develop a series of complications due to ICU risk factors that may lead to permanent disability. The implementation of strategies to reduce its incidence is essential. N owadays, the possibilities of survival of critically ill patients have grown due to technological and medical advances. This leads to...Read more
2020 19 May
This article discusses the nutritional implications for critically ill patients admitted to intensive care for the management of COVID-19, and considers the inflammatory metabolic processes, nutrition-impacting symptoms, medical therapy, and the impact of a pandemic on staff resourcing and remote practice. Introduction The global...Read more
2020 16 Mar
COVID-19 is associated with severe disease requiring intensive care in approximately 5% of proven infections. As with similar outbreaks in the past, including SARS, MERS, A(H7N9), and H1N1, critical care continues to be an integral component of the global response to Coronavirus. You might also like : Coronavirus and the Potential Role of ECMO...Read more
2019 03 Oct
In one of the sessions at #LIVES2019 in Berlin, Prof. Frank Van Haren of Canberra Hospital, Australia, presented findings from the Randomised Evaluation of Active Control of Temperature versus Ordinary Temperature Management (REACTOR) trial. The question which this study aimed to answer was whether there is a reason why fever should be actively...Read more
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
2019 30 May
Respiratory pathologies are among the most common causes of admission to critical care. Respiratory physiotherapy represents a fundamental part of the standard practice in ICU. The following review provides a practical and feasible description of the main physiotherapeutic tools and strategies that can be applied to critically ill patients....Read more
2019 23 Jan
Limited data are available assessing vancomycin concentrations in obese critically ill patients. Several physiologic changes in obesity affect antimicrobial pharmacokinetics. For example, the volume of distribution in obese patients is greater due to increased lean body mass and adipose tissue. Drug clearance may also be further enhanced due to...Read more
2019 10 Jan
Dutch researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of fish oil-containing enteral nutrition addressing relevant clinical outcomes in critically ill patients. Based on the results, they conclude that enteral fish oil supplementation cannot be recommended for these patients as strong scientific evidence...Read more
2018 23 May
Diagnostic error occurs in 5-20 percent of physician-patient encounters, with a comparable prevalence among ICU admissions and patients who die in the intensive care unit (ICU). Further, diagnostic errors comprise 9-12 percent of adverse safety events leading to ICU admission, and the majority of these errors are deemed preventable, says a review...Read more
2018 16 Mar
This symposium explored controversial aspects of the nutritional management of patients in the ICU. There are new concepts and old controversies such as the role of permissive underfeeding and the optimal timing of nutrient delivery. Glucose control is also one such area where there is still no widespread agreement on optimal targets for blood...Read more
2017 17 Apr
A new study reported in the journal CHEST demonstrates the beneficial effects of high-dose intravenous vitamin C in reducing mortality in patients with severe sepsis. However, an Editorial published in the same issue of CHEST, calls for more studies to determine optimal dose of vitamin C in the critically ill population. See Also : Albumin Administration...Read more
2016 30 Nov
An activity book for children visiting intensive care units (ICUs) has been published by ICUsteps, the UK intensive care patient and relative support charity. The resource comes with an information sheet for parents and carers to help them support the children, and can be downloaded from the ICUsteps website . Catherine White, Information Manager,...Read more
2016 27 Sep
The enteral route is commonly accepted as the first choice for providing nutrition to patients in the ICU with stable haemodynamics and a functional gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, there is wide uncertainty regarding safe enteral nutrition in patients with critical pathology in the abdomen. In the current review we address different abdominal...Read more
2016 01 Aug
Intensive Care Units are an integral part of the healthcare system. Approximately 164,000 patients are admitted to ICUs in England, Wales and Northern Island each year. Similarly, there are around 4 million ICU admissions per year in the U.S. While ICUs' are a regular feature in all high, middle and low income countries, disparities still exist in...Read more
2016 30 May
A study of over 1 million ICU patients has found that just 5 percent of patients account for 33 percent of ICU bed days. The researchers, led by Theodore Iwashyna, MD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan (U-M) Health System and a member of the VA Center for Clinical Management Research and the U-M Institute for Healthcare...Read more