Critical Care Alert
RSSArticles
-
Burnout in the Critical Care Workforce
The burnout epidemic has plagued the medical profession for decades, with an escalating prevalence most recently fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
Is There a Role for Intermediate-Dose Anticoagulation for Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients?
In a multicenter, randomized clinical trial of critically ill COVID-19 patients, intermediate-dose compared to standard-dose prophylactic anticoagulation did not result in significant differences in the rates of venous or arterial thrombosis, treatment with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or mortality within 30 days.
-
Dexmedetomidine for Sedation in Patients Undergoing Mechanical Ventilation in the ICU
This special feature will focus on dexmedetomidine as a sedative for invasive mechanical ventilation in the ICU.
-
Is There a Difference Between COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 ARDS?
Comparison of a small COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) cohort with a historical pre-COVID-19 ARDS cohort found some differences in physiologic parameters and biomarkers, but not enough evidence to warrant deviation from known management guidelines.
-
Beyond Benzodiazepines: Adjuncts for the Management of Alcohol Withdrawal in the ICU
Although benzodiazepines are the mainstay of prevention and treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, adjunct medications are used increasingly, with the goal of reducing cumulative benzodiazepine exposure and decreasing both hospital and intensive care unit admission and length of stay.
-
Dexmedetomidine and Temperature Elevation: Is the Link Important?
In this post hoc analysis of the SPICE III trial, a greater percentage of patients receiving dexmedetomidine had temperatures greater than or equal to 38.3ºC and 39.0ºC compared to usual care. Although there was a significant dose response relationship between dexmedetomidine received and increase in temperature, there was no difference between groups in terms of paracetamol, antimicrobial, neuromuscular blocker, neuroleptic drug use, blood cultures performed, or initiation of renal replacement therapy. -
Lung Protective Ventilation in ARDS: What Is the Best Strategy?
Using newer methodology in network meta-analysis to compare various protective mechanical ventilation strategies, the authors concluded that a low tidal volume strategy combined with prone ventilation was associated with the greatest risk reduction in mortality for moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. -
Clinical Application of Biomarkers of Acute Kidney Injury in the ICU
Biomarkers have become an important tool for the early recognition and prognostication of acute kidney injury. In the last few years, several biomarkers have emerged that have shown promising results in large-scale clinical studies. -
Dexmedetomidine Compared to Propofol for Sedation in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with Sepsis
The MENDS2 trial found that dexmedetomidine, when used for light sedation, had outcomes similar to those for propofol. -
Interleukin-6 Antagonists in the Treatment of Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia
These two trials had disparate findings with respect to interleukin-6 inhibition, with REMAP-CAP showing a benefit and COVACTA showing none.