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In 1818, James Blundell performed the first successful human blood transfusion in a woman with postpartum hemorrhage. Nearly 200 years later, about 15 million red blood cell (RBC) units are transfused annually in the United States. Many of these transfusions occur in the intensive care unit (ICU), where up to 30-50% of patients are transfused. Despite the frequency of RBC transfusions, there is little evidence that transfusions benefit patients.
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Results from a large, multinational study indicate that ICU patients worldwide experience moderately intense pain, most commonly from chest tube removal, wound drain removal, and arterial line insertion.
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This prospective, single-center study reported that critical care perceived to be futile is common, is associated with certain patient factors, and can be quite costly.
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Despite intense research on respiratory muscle physiology and patient-ventilator interfacing, this knowledge has not been integrated into a comprehensive approach toward managing the respiratory muscles in critical illness. This special feature describes the complex array of issues complicating such an endeavor.
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There continues to be a huge discrepancy between the number of individuals on the national waiting list for vital organ transplant and the number of donor organs available.
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Infection prevention is a priority area of focus for critical care units worldwide.
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In this issue: Results from a Phase 3 study of dabigatran, intensive lipid-lowering in CVD, H1N1 vaccine dosing and efficacy, and FDA Actions.
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In an attempt to reproduce the situation in which a covering physician is called urgently to a patient's bedside because of a ventilator-related problem, this laboratory study sought to determine how readily intensivists could operate new-generation ICU mechanical ventilators with which they were not personally familiar.