Critical Care News and Research

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Diagnostic errors: The new focus of patient safety experts

Johns Hopkins patient safety experts say it's high time for diagnostic errors to get the same attention from medical institutions and caregivers as drug-prescribing errors, wrong-site surgeries and hospital-acquired infections.

11 Mar 2009

Abdominal obesity puts the squeeze on lungs

There's more bad news for people who carry excess weight around their waists: Not only is abdominal obesity associated with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and a host of other health problems collectively known as "metabolic syndrome," a new study has found that a high waist circumference is strongly associated with decreased lung function-independent of smoking history, sex, body mass index (BMI) and other complicating factors.

8 Mar 2009

Simplified treatment for sleep apnea

Diagnosing and treating obstructive sleep apnea may soon become much less expensive and arduous, thanks to new research showing that a simplified program using experienced nurses, home ambulatory diagnosis and auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines to titrate CPAP pressures is not inferior to the traditional model which relies on specialist physicians and sleep studies.

8 Mar 2009

Patented inventions double at University at Buffalo

An antibody with the potential to stop breast cancer in its path. A nanoparticle that can address a side effect of the treatment that hemophiliacs cannot live without. A "quantum dot" with the potential to treat cancer or harvest the power of the sun. An air purifier that kills the world's nastiest toxins.

5 Mar 2009

Best course of treatment to reduce risk of secondary stroke

Rush University Medical Center is participating in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study to determine the best course of treatment to reduce the risk of stroke patients suffering another stroke.

3 Mar 2009

Bacteria-killing enzyme cures mice with fatal pneumonia

Before the advent of antibiotics, pneumonia claimed so many lives - and was so feared - that it was called the "captain of the ship of death."

1 Mar 2009

Long-term use of beta carotene supplements may increase cancer risk

Long-term use of beta carotene and some other carotenoid-containing dietary supplements may increase the risk of lung cancer, especially among smokers, according to a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers.

26 Feb 2009

New cause of critical illness hypeglycemia identified

The endocrinologic basis of pediatric critical illness hypergylcemia (CIH) differs depending on the disease processes.

25 Feb 2009

University at Buffalo designed ventilator can safely sedate ICU patients for less

A new, recently licensed medical device developed by University at Buffalo researchers would introduce into intensive care settings the powerful and effective method of anesthetizing patients that works so well in the operating room.

25 Feb 2009

Researchers block immune cell rush behind deadly sepsis

Researchers have found a way to block the ability of white blood cells to sprint toward the sites of infection when such speed worsens the damage done by sepsis, the often fatal, whole-body bacterial infection, according to a study published today in the journal Blood.

24 Feb 2009

New prognostic indicator for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

There may be a new way to predict mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a devastating disease that slowly petrifies the lungs.

22 Feb 2009

Trial of Quadramet (153 Samarium-lexidronam) in combo with Velcade shows positive results

Quadramet (153 Samarium-lexidronam) is a radioactive medication that targets the bone, specifically bone cancer, and is used to treat pain caused by cancer that has metastasized or spread to the bone.

15 Feb 2009

Noninvasive screening test may detect narrowing in intracranial stents

Great advances have been made in treating blockages in the arteries of the brain using angioplasty to widen the narrowed artery and a stent to hold the artery open.

15 Feb 2009

Fluid buildup in lungs is part of the damage done by the flu

In a fight against respiratory infections, the body typically produces a little fluid to help the lungs generate a productive cough.

10 Feb 2009

Weight loss stops obstructive sleep apnea

For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , one of the American Thoracic Society's three peer-reviewed journals.

8 Feb 2009

Emphysema linked to accelerated aging protein

A University of Iowa study is apparently the first to make a connection between a rare, hereditary premature aging disease and cell damage that comes from smoking.

8 Feb 2009

FDA issues early communication about Xigris safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is working with the maker of Xigris (drotrecogin alfa activated), Eli Lilly and Company, to further evaluate the incidence of serious bleeding events and death in patients who receive Xigris, a drug used to treat severe sepsis (a blood stream infection).

5 Feb 2009

Sedative dexmedetomidine may offer advantages over agents often used for sedation in ICU

Use of the sedative dexmedetomidine for critically ill patients resulted in less time on a ventilator and less delirium compared to patients administered a more commonly used drug, according to a study in the February 4 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

2 Feb 2009

Lung transplants: Doing more is better and safer

Transplant surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence that hospitals performing at least 20 lung transplant procedures a year, on average, have the best overall patient survival rates and lowest number of deaths from the complex surgery.

29 Jan 2009

ZOLL cleared to market new defibrillators

ZOLL Medical Corporation has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market and sell the new ZOLL R Series BLS and R Series Plus defibrillators.

23 Jan 2009