High blood glucose is associated with poor outcomes in hospitalized patients, and use of intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to control hyperglycemia is a common practice in hospitals. But the recent evidence does not show a consistent benefit and even shows harms associated with the use of IIT, according to the American College of Physicians' (ACP) Clinical Guidelines Committee in a new evidence-based paper published today online in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
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The Critical Care Societies Collaborative, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announces recipients in the 2013 National Awards Program to Recognize Achievements in Eliminating Health Care-Associated Infections.
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A study published in the June issue of Anesthesiology represents an important first step in establishing new therapeutic options targeting specific genetic areas that influence the occurrence and severity of sepsis - a life-threatening, whole-body response to infection.
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A study from the June issue of Anesthesiology found feedback from the front region of the brain is a crucial building block for consciousness and that its disruption is associated with unconsciousness when the anesthetics ketamine, propofol or sevoflurane are administered.
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Johns Hopkins researchers report that hospitals may be reaping enormous income for patients whose hospital stays are complicated by preventable bloodstream infections contracted in their intensive care units.
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Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute is honoring the physician widely known as the leading pioneer in modern mitral heart valve repair, Alain Carpentier, MD, PhD, with the second annual Eliot Corday, MD, International Prize in Heart Research.
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Delayed transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) in hospitalized patients significantly increases the risk of dying in the hospital, according to a new study from researchers in Chicago.
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New research suggests that for some hospitalized ICU patients on mechanical ventilators, using headphones to listen to their favorite types of music could lower anxiety and reduce their need for sedative medications.
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With little evidence to guide them, many hospital intensive care units have been employing critical care physicians at night with the notion it would improve patients' outcomes. However, new results from a one-year randomized trial from researchers at Penn Medicine involving nearly 1,600 patients admitted to the Hospital of the University Pennsylvania Medical ICU suggest otherwise: Having a nighttime intensivist had no clear benefit on length of stay or mortality for these patients, not even patients admitted at night or those with the most critical illnesses at the time of admission.
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Researchers from King's College London have for the first time used a novel form of MRI to identify crucial developmental processes in the brain that are vulnerable to the effects of premature birth.
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A metabolic profile of intensive care unit patients based on biomarkers of four metabolites can be used to accurately predict mortality, according to a new study.
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Posterior fossa subdural hematoma is a serious and rare condition in newborns, generally occurring after difficult deliveries. But with appropriate treatment, there's an excellent chance of good long-term outcomes even in severe cases of PFSDH, reports a study in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
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In 2011, the organization that oversees medical student training instituted a new regimen to replace the traditional 24-hour call schedule for medical residents, to improve patient safety and the residents' health. Under this new policy, residents in their first year of post-graduate training get increased supervision and are limited to 16-hour shifts.
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Thomas Jefferson University Hospital was recently bestowed the title of "Quality Respiratory Care Institution" for 2013 by the American Association for Respiratory Care.
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New guidelines to reduce early elective deliveries at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies have cut by 50 percent the admission of late pre-term newborns (37-38 weeks gestation) into the neonatal intensive care unit, resulting in healthcare cost savings.
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Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have devised a 'magic bullet' nanomedicine which could become the first effective treatment for Acute Lung Injury or ALI, a condition affecting 20 per cent of all patients in intensive care.
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For patients with kidney failure, getting creative may provide some relief. Kansas State University researchers are exploring the effects of drama therapy on patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis and are the first in the world to study the topic.
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It seems that even for the smallest of people, a gentle massage may be beneficial. Newborn intensive care units (NICUs) are stressful environments for preterm infants; mechanical ventilation, medical procedures, caregiving activities and maternal separation create these stressful conditions.
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The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses brings together thousands of nurses next week in Boston, at its annual National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition with the theme "Dare To."
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Nurses will use extreme measures to save their patients and parents; but if they were dying, they prefer less aggressive ones for themselves, according to results from an international survey on nurses' end-of-life preferences.
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