Intensive Care News and Research

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Premature babies are exposed to high noise levels in the incubator, shows study

What do premature babies hear while lying in an incubator? That is the question addressed by an interdisciplinary team from the Medical University of Vienna, led by Vito Giordano (neuroscientist at the Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics at the Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics (CCP) of Medical University of Vienna) and by music physiologist Matthias Bertsch from the University of Music and the Performing Arts in the recent study "The Sound of Silence", published in the journal "Frontiers in Psychology".

20 Jul 2020

Type 1 interferon deficiency as a biomarker for detecting patients at risk of severe COVID-19

Approximately 5% of people with Covid-19 progress to a severe or critical form, including the development of severe pneumonia that progresses to acute respiratory distress syndrome.

17 Jul 2020

Study shows immediate dialysis is no better than the conservative approach

In the largest international study of its kind, researchers at the University of Alberta and Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital found that an accelerated renal-replacement therapy strategy did not reduce mortality after three months, compared to a standard strategy for critically ill patients with acute kidney injury.

17 Jul 2020

Rapid genomic surveillance of healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2

The researchers from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge United Kingdom have published their findings in a study titled, “Rapid implementation of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing to investigate cases of healthcare-associated COVID-19: a prospective genomic surveillance study,” in the latest issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

16 Jul 2020

Experts develop recommendations for avoiding triage of COVID-19 patients

An international expert group led by Mathias Wirth, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at the University of Bern, has developed recommendations for avoiding triage of COVID-19 patients in extreme situations.

16 Jul 2020

Chest X-rays reveal more severe COVID-19 in racial/ethnic minority patients

Racial/ethnic minority patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 infection are more likely to have more severe disease on chest X-rays than white/non-Hispanic patients, increasing the likelihood of adverse outcomes, such as intubation or death, according to a study published in the journal Radiology.

16 Jul 2020

Why doctors keep monitoring kids who recover from mysterious COVID-linked illness

Israel Shippy doesn’t remember much about having COVID-19 — or the unusual auto-immune disease it triggered — other than being groggy and uncomfortable for a bunch of days. He’s a 5-year-old, and would much rather talk about cartoons, or the ideas for inventions that constantly pop into his head.

16 Jul 2020

Researchers develop recommendations to avoid triage of COVID-19 patients

16 Jul 2020

Overall mortality of COVID-19 patients admitted in ICUs has reduced considerably, shows study

A systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies from three continents shows overall mortality of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has fallen from almost 60 per cent at the end of March to 42 per cent at the end of May — a relative decrease of one third.

16 Jul 2020

Selective statins may reduce SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and inhibit infection

Statins are a class of drugs often used to control high cholesterol levels in obesity. Now, a study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 suggests that statins do not aggravate the risk of COVID-19 infection and may have a small beneficial effect in some cases.

16 Jul 2020

Study identifies factors associated with death in critically ill COVID-19 patients

More than 3 million people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 and more than 130,000 have died. More people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. than in any other country, but few studies offer national data on the factors that may contribute to outcomes for critically ill patients.

15 Jul 2020

New trial investigates if prostate cancer drug can be used to treat COVID-19

In a new trial, Swedish researchers will investigate if a medicine normally used to treat prostate cancer can also be used to treat COVID-19 in patients.

15 Jul 2020

Viral load peaks in early stages of COVID-19 disease, shows study

In a retrospective study, investigators from New York University Langone Health found that the quantity of SARS-CoV-2 (viral load) collected from patients in the emergency department is significantly higher in patients with fewer or milder symptoms who did not require hospitalization--the opposite of what might be expected.

15 Jul 2020

Certain antibodies may cause the dangerous part of COVID-19 disease

A new study out of the Netherlands and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in July 2020 discusses the commonly observed phenomenon of COVID-19 progression at 1-2 weeks from the onset of the earliest symptoms. This is ascribed to the overactivation of the inflammatory signaling cascade triggered by a hyperactive adaptive immune reaction, commonly called the cytokine storm.

15 Jul 2020

"Winter is coming," warn UK COVID-19 experts

The famous line from "Game of Thrones" about approaching dangers this winter may prove to be accurate, say, scientists in a new report. The researchers state that a second wave of infection could hit the United Kingdom this winter, and this would be worse than the first wave taking as many as 120,000 lives.

14 Jul 2020

New link between impaired brain energy metabolism and delirium discovered

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new link between impaired brain energy metabolism and delirium - a disorienting and distressing disorder particularly common in the elderly and one that is currently occurring in a large proportion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

14 Jul 2020

UTHealth physicians investigate blood pressure drug's effect on improving COVID-19 outcomes

An interventional therapy aimed at improving survival chances and reducing the need for critical care treatment due to COVID-19 is being investigated by physicians at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

14 Jul 2020

Serology distinguishes children with MIS-C associated with COVID-19

Researchers in the United States say that measuring antibody titers against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may help to distinguish between multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and other clinically similar syndromes.

13 Jul 2020

Next showdown in Congress: Protecting workers vs. protecting employers in the pandemic

Congressional leaders are squaring off over the next pandemic relief bill in a debate over whom Congress should step up to protect: front-line workers seeking more safeguards from the ravages of COVID-19 or beleaguered employers seeking relief from lawsuits.

13 Jul 2020

Whole-body CT rapidly scans traumatic injuries, reduces time spent in emergency departments

Ever sat in an ambulance or crowded emergency room with a loved one who has sustained serious injuries, waiting for a scan as the precious life-saving minute's tick by?

13 Jul 2020