Intensive Care News and Research

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Palliative care-led support does not reduce caregiver anxiety, study finds

Among families of patients with chronic critical illness, the use of palliative care-led informational and emotional support meetings compared with usual care did not reduce anxiety or depression symptoms, according to a study appearing in the July 5 issue of JAMA.

7 Jul 2016

New method could help detect unconjugated bilirubin in newborn infants

A research group led by Project Professor Morioka Ichiro and Assistant Professor Iwatani Sota in collaboration with Doctor Miyawaki Atsushi have clinically proven that a fluorescent protein sourced from Japanese eel muscles can be used to accurately detect unconjugated bilirubin in newborns.

5 Jul 2016

Study finds preoperative falls common among adults of all age groups

In a large study of 15,000 adults undergoing elective surgery, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that falling up to six months before an operation is common and often causes serious injuries — not only in elderly patients but across all age groups. Surprisingly, the frequency of falls among middle-aged patients was slightly higher than those who were age 65 or older.

4 Jul 2016

New test strip can rapidly, cost-effectively detect disease pathogens

At present, bacteria, fungi or viruses can generally only be detected with certainty by way of elaborate laboratory tests or animal experiments. The food and pharmaceutical industries would like to have faster tests to check their products.

4 Jul 2016

Study assesses prevalence of delirium among survivors of cardiac arrest treated with hypothermia

A study in the American Journal of Critical Care found a remarkably high prevalence of delirium in a small cohort of critically ill patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest.

1 Jul 2016

New IDSA guidelines focus on diagnosis, treatment of deadly aspergillosis

New therapies are improving care, but early diagnosis remains critical in the effective treatment of invasive, a potentially deadly fungal infection, according to new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Jun 2016

High levels of zinc may lead to kidney stone formation

David Killilea, PhD, a staff scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute- the research arm of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland - co-authored a study into the causes of kidney stones.

28 Jun 2016

Study highlights need to improve end-of-life care for all patients with serious illnesses

Historically, efforts to improve end-of-life care have focused primarily on patients with cancer. But few studies have looked at the quality of end-of-life care for patients with other serious illnesses, such as lung, kidney or heart failure or dementia.

27 Jun 2016

Smartphone app may increase discharge preparedness for parents of VLBW infants

A smartphone app specifically designed to support parents of very low birth weight (VLBW) premature infants as they transition home from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may increase parenting self-efficacy and discharge preparedness, according to a pilot randomized controlled trial at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago that was published in the journal Internet Interventions.

24 Jun 2016

Study finds nearly half of older Americans spend heavily on end-of-life care

Last-ditch, high-tech heroic treatments. Days in the hospital intensive care unit. You might think this is what makes dying in America so expensive - and that it's where we should focus efforts to spend the nation's healthcare dollars more wisely.

17 Jun 2016

Caribbean, African-born women more likely to be admitted at ICU during delivery

Women born in the Caribbean or Africa are two times more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit at the time of their delivery than Canadian-born women, a new study has found.

17 Jun 2016

New, portable molecular imaging system combines optical imaging and scintigraphy

Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to a new and surprisingly portable molecular imaging system that combines optical imaging at the surface level and scintigraphy, which captures the physiological function of what lies beneath, announced developers at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

15 Jun 2016

Infection prevention bundles effective for reducing CLABSIs in critical care newborns

Infection prevention bundles, a package of evidence-based guidelines implemented in unison, are effective for reducing central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI) in critical care newborn infants, according to a new study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

15 Jun 2016

Medical Applications of World’s Smallest Differential Pressure Sensor

In this interview, Daniel Trautlein, Medical Sales Director at Sensirion, talks about the applications of the world’s smallest differential pressure sensor.

From Sensirion Inc 8 Jun 2016

Need for improved care in and out of ICU to treat patients with PICS, PICS-F

Thanks to advances in modern medicine, more ICU patients are surviving critical illness, but most are unprepared for the challenges ahead for themselves and their families on their journey toward recovery.

8 Jun 2016

Study shows aggressive end-of-life care for young cancer patients may be less effective

In the last month of their lives, younger cancer patients continued to be hospitalized and receive other aggressive treatment at high rates, a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center-led study found.

7 Jun 2016

Large national effort shows promise in reducing both catheter use and UTI rates

Right now, about one in five hospital patients has a catheter collecting their urine - and putting them at risk of a painful and potentially dangerous urinary tract infection, or UTI.

2 Jun 2016

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC supports parents’ presence with children during resuscitation

Inviting parents to the bedside while their child receives CPR is supported by professional associations, joint position and policy statements, and clinical practice guidelines, but hospitals often find that putting those recommendations into practice requires more than a new policy.

1 Jun 2016

Use of next-generation gene sequencing in NICUs may improve diagnosis of rare diseases

The use of next-generation gene sequencing in newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) may improve the diagnosis of rare diseases and deliver results more quickly to anxious families, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

30 May 2016

Noise in ICUs exceeds recommended levels, disturbs patients and care givers

A study presented at Euroanaesthesia 2016 shows that noise levels in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can go well above recommended levels, disturbing both patients and the medical teams that care for them.

30 May 2016