Intensive Care News and Research

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‘Elephant in the room’ adds to rectal surgery costs

Anastomotic leakage occurs after one in 10 anterior resection procedures and costs English hospitals up to £ 3.5 milion per year, research shows.

6 Feb 2013

Delirium overlooked in hospital patients

Delirium occurs in about one in five inpatients, but appears to be a low priority with hospital staff, research suggests.

4 Feb 2013

State highlights: Mayo seeks Minn. help for Rochester expansion; Texas bill on end-of-life treatment offered; Milwaukee County board considers dropping employee coverage

The Mayo Clinic is proposing more than $5 billion in investments in and around Rochester as part of an ambitious expansion plan to create what the clinic calls a "Destination Medical Center." Included in that plan is a request for more than $500 million in state taxpayer money to help fund infrastructure as the Mayo grows. Mayo claims the plan would create between 35,000 and 45,000 new jobs. Mayo is already Minnesota's largest private employer with 32,000 employees in the state.

1 Feb 2013

Advances in health information technology may lead to more efficient use of critical care resources

A national shortage of critical care physicians and beds means difficult decisions for healthcare professionals: how to determine which of the sickest patients are most in need of access to the intensive care unit.

1 Feb 2013

Bispectral index benefits for postoperative recovery unclear

A secondary analysis of two large clinical trials fails to settle the question of whether use of the bispectral index rather than end-tidal anesthetic concentration to monitor general anesthesia results in faster patient recovery.

31 Jan 2013

TAPS supports preoperative transfusion

Preoperative transfusion may protect sickle cell patients from surgical complications, suggest findings published in The Lancet.

29 Jan 2013

High-frequency oscillatory ventilation put on hold

Findings from two trials suggest that high-frequency oscillatory ventilation does not help, and may even harm patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

29 Jan 2013

NSAIDs pose kidney risk in some children

A small but significant percentage of children develop acute kidney injury after taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, show study findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

29 Jan 2013

Military women more likely to contract sexually transmitted infections: Study

As the number of women in the military increases, so does the need for improved gynecologic care. Military women may be more likely to engage in high-risk sexual practices, be less likely to consistently use barrier contraception, and, therefore, more likely to contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs), according to research recently released by a physician at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

29 Jan 2013

Daily antibacterial baths can safely reduce risk of bloodstream infections in critically ill children

Daily baths with an ordinary antibacterial cleanser can safely reduce the risk of dangerous bloodstream infections in critically ill children, according to a trial conducted in five pediatric hospitals and led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

28 Jan 2013

Leading-edge Masimo medical devices to be displayed at Arab Health

Masimo returns to Arab Health Jan. 28-31, the world's longest running healthcare exhibition and congress held each year in Dubai, UAE, to showcase advanced, noninvasive patient monitoring technologies – including breakthrough SET Measure-Through Motion pulse oximetry and rainbow Pulse CO-Oximetry – that are becoming the standard-of-care across the Middle East.

28 Jan 2013

Vejthani ART Center provides innovative and high quality services

Vejthani Hospital Bangkok recommends Assisted Reproductive Technology Center at Vejthani ART Center, the way to bring your dream come true that you will be assured by our professional service.

25 Jan 2013

Bloodstream infections in newborns reduce significantly

Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in newborns were reduced by 58 percent in less than a year in hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) participating in an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety program.

25 Jan 2013

Ibuprofen and naproxen can cause kidney damage in children

Sick children, especially those with some dehydration from flu or other illnesses, risk significant kidney injury if given drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, Indiana University School of Medicine researchers said Friday.

25 Jan 2013

Cost transparency does not influence the way physicians ordered imaging tests

In a study designed to see if doctors who are told the exact price of expensive medical tests like MRIs in advance would order fewer of them, Johns Hopkins researchers got their answer: No.

24 Jan 2013

Routine gastric volume monitoring thrown out

Monitoring gastric residual volumes in critically ill patients receiving enteral nutrition does not prevent them from developing ventilator-associated pneumonia, shows a randomized trial.

22 Jan 2013

Concern over privacy in neonatal intensive care units

Researchers say that privacy is a problem for breastfeeding mothers of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit.

21 Jan 2013

Albumin may prove a predictor for pneumonia outcomes

Researchers say that assessing serum albumin levels within 24 hours of admission could be a good prognostic marker of community-acquired pneumonia.

21 Jan 2013

Research roundup: Ameliorating physician shortages; Patients' perceptions of bias

The authors note that there is a consensus "that the current shortage of primary care physicians will worsen over the next ten years as the nation's population grows and ages and as insurance coverage expands as a result of the Affordable Care Act." They examine whether workplace changes will impact that assessment.

19 Jan 2013

ECLS system supports flu patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems

In recent weeks the intensive critical care units at University Health Network's Toronto General Hospital have used Extra Corporeal Lung Support (ECLS) to support five influenza (flu) patients in their recovery from severe respiratory problems.

19 Jan 2013