Intensive Care News and Research

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End-of-life care: A challenge in terms of costs and quality

t first glance, America is making great strides toward a medical and cultural shift in its approach to end-of-life care: More and more providers are recognizing the benefits of hospice, more people are dying at home, and many health care organizations are institutionalizing the discussions between providers and patients that would help patients formalize their wishes for end-of-life care through an advance directive. But pull up the curtain on these statistics, and the drama that unfolds tells a very different story. End-of-life care continues to be characterized by aggressive medical intervention and runaway costs (Adamopoulos, 6/3).

5 Jun 2013

New strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill children

Implementation of a bundle for prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill infants and children may lead to lower rates of VAP in these patients, according to an article in the June issue of Critical Care Nurse.

4 Jun 2013

New tool enables doctors to monitor infections, inflammation and scarring in lungs

Intensive care patients who are on breathing support could be helped by a new tool to enable doctors to see inside their lungs to check for and monitor infections, inflammation and scarring.

4 Jun 2013

CWRU nursing school receives NINR grant to support palliative care

Medical advancements that extend the lives of patients with cancer, heart failure and other serious chronic diseases have created another need: more clinicians skilled in specialized care for people with terminal illnesses.

4 Jun 2013

Experts call for international consensus on criteria used to diagnose circulatory and neurological death

The criteria used to diagnose both circulatory and brain death in a patient are subject to variability and as such can be controversial. Anaesthesiologists play an important role in procedures related to the determination of death, so should have specific knowledge about medical, ethical and legal criteria of brain death definition.

3 Jun 2013

Report highlights successes in improving maternal health, reducing child mortality

Rapid expansion of programs to prevent HIV transmission to babies and vaccinate children show how results can be achieved in relatively little time.

1 Jun 2013

Low mortality hospitals appear better able to treat life-threatening complications

Hospitals with low rates of patient mortality appear better able to rescue patients from complications following cardiac surgery, according to a study published in the June 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

31 May 2013

Using germ-killing soap, ointment reduces presence of MRSA in ICUs, study finds

Using germ-killing soap and ointment on all intensive-care unit patients can reduce bloodstream infections by up to 44 percent and significantly reduce the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in ICUs, according study results published in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

31 May 2013

$Study provides insights into characteristics of sports-related facial fractures in young athletes$

Study provides insights into characteristics of sports-related facial fractures in young athletes

Facial fractures are relatively common, and potentially serious, sports-related injuries among children participating in a wide range of sports, according to a study in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery-, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

30 May 2013

Hospitals cracking down on those who don't wash their hands

At North Shore University Hospital on Long Island, motion sensors, like those used for burglar alarms, go off every time someone enters an intensive care room.

30 May 2013

First Edition: May 29, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include a look at California's effort to expand health care and reports on the Supreme Court's announcement that stops Indiana from barring Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding.

29 May 2013

UCLA researchers show that bacteria ingested in food can affect brain function

UCLA researchers now have the first evidence that bacteria ingested in food can affect brain function in humans. In an early proof-of-concept study of healthy women, they found that women who regularly consumed beneficial bacteria known as probiotics through yogurt showed altered brain function, both while in a resting state and in response to an emotion-recognition task.

29 May 2013

Resolvins may help protect against cognitive decline after surgery

Resolvins are molecules naturally produced by the body from omega-3 fatty acids - a process that can be jumpstarted by common aspirin. In a new study, published in The FASEB Journal, researchers at Karolinska Institutet describe how resolvins could protect against the cognitive impairment that often affects recovery of surgical and critically ill patients.

28 May 2013

NCKU collaborates with Quanta Computer to launch QOCA baby for neonatal care

National Cheng Kung University, southern Taiwan, has collaborated with Quanta Computer to launch a cloud solution expecting to provide neonatal intensive care unit doctors and parents access to a live video stream that they can watch anywhere from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

27 May 2013

Research roundup: Getting a critical care doc at night; Poverty among seniors

Researchers analyzed 121,084 firearms deaths in the U.S., using 2007 to 2010 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "The outcome measures were state-level firearm-related fatalities per 100 000 individuals per year overall, for suicide, and for homicide.

27 May 2013

VINARES project aims to strengthen evidence-based control of antibiotic use in Vietnam

The increasingly widespread resistance to antibiotics is a global threat. One of the most vulnerable countries is Vietnam, with 90 million inhabitants. In an attempt to change this development, the VINARES project was started in the autumn of 2012 led by researchers from Sweden, UK and Vietnam.

27 May 2013

New evidence shows intensive insulin therapy does not provide substantial benefits

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.

24 May 2013

CCSC, HHS honor hospitals, health care facilities for preventing HAIs

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.

24 May 2013

Study identifies specific genetic factors that influence occurrence and severity of sepsis

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.

23 May 2013

Study sheds light on the phenomenon of general anesthesia

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.

23 May 2013

Intensive Care News and Research

End-of-life care: A challenge in terms of costs and quality

New strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill children

New tool enables doctors to monitor infections, inflammation and scarring in lungs

CWRU nursing school receives NINR grant to support palliative care

Experts call for international consensus on criteria used to diagnose circulatory and neurological death

Report highlights successes in improving maternal health, reducing child mortality

Low mortality hospitals appear better able to treat life-threatening complications

Using germ-killing soap, ointment reduces presence of MRSA in ICUs, study finds

Study provides insights into characteristics of sports-related facial fractures in young athletes

Hospitals cracking down on those who don't wash their hands

First Edition: May 29, 2013

UCLA researchers show that bacteria ingested in food can affect brain function

Resolvins may help protect against cognitive decline after surgery

NCKU collaborates with Quanta Computer to launch QOCA baby for neonatal care

Research roundup: Getting a critical care doc at night; Poverty among seniors

VINARES project aims to strengthen evidence-based control of antibiotic use in Vietnam

New evidence shows intensive insulin therapy does not provide substantial benefits

CCSC, HHS honor hospitals, health care facilities for preventing HAIs

Study identifies specific genetic factors that influence occurrence and severity of sepsis

Study sheds light on the phenomenon of general anesthesia

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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