Intensive Care News and Research

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Using air filtration to remove airborne SARS-CoV-2 and other microbial aerosols in COVID wards

University of Cambridge researchers conducted a study in two repurposed COVID-19 units in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK, between January and February 2021. During this time, the alpha variant (lineage B1.1.7) accounted for >80% of the circulating SARS-CoV-2. This study, posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, aimed to provide evidence of the removal of SARS-CoV-2 and microbial bioaerosols using portable air filters with UV sterilization.

24 Sep 2021

COVID-19 vaccination eases healthcare demand

A new study discusses a model that has been developed to predict the effects of relaxing restrictions on the number of new COVID-19 cases.

23 Sep 2021

Differences in blood gene expression among patients with varying COVID-19 severity

A new study published on the medRxiv* pre-print server and currently undergoing peer-review aims to answer this question through whole blood transcriptomics of individuals with varying degrees of COVID-19 severity. Transcriptomics, done by RNA sequencing, gives insights into the genes expressed in a cell at a given time point. It gives an analysis of all RNA molecules within a cell, in this case, whole blood.

23 Sep 2021

At an overrun ICU, ‘the problem is we are running out of hallways’

Nurses fill the hospital room to turn a patient from his stomach to his back. The ventilator forcing air into him is most effective when he's on his stomach, so he is in that position most hours of the day, sedated and paralyzed by drugs.

22 Sep 2021

Cardiothoracic surgeons implant novel type of artificial heart in a female patient

A cardiothoracic surgical team with UofL Health – Jewish Hospital and the University of Louisville has performed the world's first Aeson® bioprosthetic total artificial heart implantation in a female patient. The investigational device, currently intended as a bridge to heart transplant, is part of an Early Feasibility Study (EFS) sponsored by CARMAT, a French medical device company, in partnership with UofL, UofL Health – Jewish Hospital and the UofL Health – Trager Transplant Center.

22 Sep 2021

COVID-19 deaths in U.S. surpass 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is most likely the deadliest outbreak in recent American history, exceeding the estimated deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic.

21 Sep 2021

Clinical trial to test new automatic oxygen control device for premature babies

The consequences are dire for the health of a premature baby - too much oxygen can cause blindness, and too little oxygen can cause brain damage and other negative health effects.

21 Sep 2021

Delirium is highly likely in patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19

More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers are revealing the many devastating consequences that patients can face both during and after hospitalization.

21 Sep 2021

Count of severe COVID-19 no higher in children during second wave compared to first wave

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study suggesting that severe disease in children and young people admitted to hospital following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is still rare and was no more common during the second wave of infections than the first.

21 Sep 2021

Researchers identify prediction markers which can be used to define COVID-19 severity

An estimated 14−17% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients develop a severe form of the disease, requiring oxygen support and admission to the intensive care unit.

20 Sep 2021

Thousands of vulnerable hospital patients set to benefit from new COVID-19 treatment

Thousands of vulnerable NHS patients in hospital due to COVID-19 are set to benefit from a ground-breaking new antibody treatment, the government has announced today (17 September 2021).

18 Sep 2021

Review: Long COVID symptoms rarely persisted beyond 12 weeks in young people

Long COVID symptoms rarely persisted beyond 12 weeks in children and adolescents, unlike adults. But more studies were required to investigate the risk and impact of long COVID in young people to help guide vaccine policy decisions in Australia, according to a review led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI).

17 Sep 2021

Covid-overwhelmed hospitals postpone cancer care and other treatment

It's a bad time to get sick in Oregon. That's the message from some doctors, as hospitals fill up with covid-19 patients and other medical conditions go untreated.

17 Sep 2021

Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections usually mild, says study

A new study in the journal BMC Pediatrics describes the clinical phenotypes and outcomes in a thousand children who developed COVID-19.

16 Sep 2021

Blood clot risks are high following SARS-CoV-2 infection, not vaccination

Researchers from the University of Oxford have today announced the results of a study into thrombocytopenia (a condition with low platelet counts) and thromboembolic events (blood clots) following vaccination for Covid-19, some of the same events which have led to restricted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in a number of countries.

15 Sep 2021

Pregnancy complications with COVID-19

An important new article published in the Clinical Medicine Journal discusses pregnancy complicated with COVID-19.

14 Sep 2021

How effective are COVID-19 vaccines against mild and severe disease?

A new paper in the New England Journal of Medicine reports on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines in a healthcare setting.

14 Sep 2021

ICUs are filled with covid — and regret

It's a struggle for Joe Gammon to talk. Lying in his bed in the intensive care unit at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, this month, he described himself as "naive."

14 Sep 2021

Acid pH enhances SARS-CoV-2 infection by up-regulating ACE2 receptor

A new study published in the journal Frontiers of Medicine indicated that Barrett's esophagus (BE) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may represent novel comorbidities associated with SARS-CoV-2 disease. A previous study had estimated that in the United States, 5.6% of adults have BE, a disease where esophageal squamous mucosa gets damaged by GERD.

12 Sep 2021

INCB, UNODC and WHO call on governments to facilitate access to controlled medicines in emergencies

Recognizing World Humanitarian Day 2021, the International Narcotics Control Board, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization once again call on governments to facilitate access to medicines containing controlled substances in emergency settings, including during pandemics and the increasing number of climate-related disasters.

10 Sep 2021