Intensive Care News and Research

RSS

Extended involvement maximizes gains from rapid response teams

An intensivist-led, multidisciplinary rapid-response team with extended involvement in patient care yields multiple benefits, say researchers.

8 Jan 2013

Merck’s resubmission of the NDA for suggammadex sodium injection accepted for review by the FDA

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the resubmission of the New Drug Application (NDA) for sugammadex sodium injection has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Merck expects the FDA’s review to be completed in the first half of 2013.

7 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: 'Class war' over Medicare funding; GOP needs courage to cut entitlements in debt fight

Failure to curb our deficits and reform unsustainable entitlement spending means passing greater debt burdens on to future generations. Democrats and Republicans have the opportunity to reverse this trend and claim credit. ... Sadly, the deal struck this week in Congress maintains the trend of $1 trillion deficits for at least another year while continuing to ensure that federal health care spending a generation from now will be untenable.

7 Jan 2013

Clinical approach to swallowing of foreign bodies

It is a well known fact that children often swallow things. Children aged 6 months to 6 years are most often affected, but even adults sometimes end up with a foreign body stuck in their throats-and not only there.

29 Dec 2012

MEDNAX acquires South Oakland Anesthesia Associates

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of South Oakland Anesthesia Associates, P.C., a physician group practice that provides anesthesia care and pain management services at three hospitals, four ambulatory surgery centers, one eye center, and four pain management centers throughout Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties in Michigan.

21 Dec 2012

NFKB gene variations could play a key role in helping to determine survival rate of sepsis patients

A study in the January 2013 issue of Anesthesiology offers evidence that variations in what is called the NFKB gene could play an important role in helping to determine the survival rate of patients who acquire sepsis, a condition in which the body is overwhelmed by infection, and which is the leading cause of death in hospitals.

21 Dec 2012

Mother–infant pairs admitted to ICU have poor outcomes

Mother–baby pairs with co-admission to intensive care units after delivery are more likely to experience separation due to interfacility transfer, and have higher mortality rates, than pairs in which either mothers or babies are admitted, show study results.

17 Dec 2012

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Older people often worry about dementia and while some risks are known, for example alcoholism or stroke, the effects of illness are less clear. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care looks at illness requiring hospitalization and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and finds that infection or severe sepsis, neurological dysfunction, such as delirium, or acute dialysis are all independently associated with an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia.

17 Dec 2012

Children's Miracle Network Ambassador announces Fire Truck O'Toys charity toy drive

Today, 13 year-old Children's Miracle Network Ambassador Mackenzie Scott announced the second annual Fire Truck O'Toys charity toy drive sponsored by Boxing Clever, Children's Miracle Network, The St. Louis Rams and Build-A-Bear Workshop.

15 Dec 2012

Challenge to brain injury guideline care

A randomized controlled trial has cast doubt on whether it is necessary to routinely place an intraparenchymal pressure monitor in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

14 Dec 2012

Benzodiazepines associated with fatal pneumonia

Benzodiazepines are associated with an increased risk for developing pneumonia, as well as an increased risk for dying from pneumonia, research shows.

12 Dec 2012

Severe RSV disease may impair innate immune response in infants

Infants with severe lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may have a dysfunctional innate immune response that relates to the severity of their disease.

10 Dec 2012

Surgical patients with chronic psychological symptoms require psychotherapeutic treatment

In their study, the research group, headed by Privatdozent Dr. Henning Krampe, psychologist at the Charité Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Prof. Claudia Spies, Director of the Charité Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and Prof. Elmar Brähler, Head of the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University of Leipzig, initially recorded how many patients faced by a forthcoming operation were interested in psychotherapy sessions and to what extent this interest was associated with the increased psychological distress occurring before the operation. Finally, the scientists examined whether changes in the psychological symptoms took place during the six months following the surgery.

10 Dec 2012

Delirium associated with higher mortality rates

A new meta-analysis has found that delirium, a condition developed by many patients in hospital intensive care units (ICU), is associated with higher mortality rates, more complications, longer stays in the ICU, and longer hospitalizations.

10 Dec 2012

Scientists isolate previously unknown protein in skeletal muscle

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have isolated a previously unknown protein in muscles that spurs their growth and increased power following resistance exercise. They suggest that artificially raising the protein's levels might someday help prevent muscle loss caused by cancer, prolonged inactivity in hospital patients, and aging.

7 Dec 2012

Study calls for reform of Medicare reimbursement rates and hospice eligibility requirements

In the first national survey of enrollment policies at hospices, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Yale University have found that the vast majority of hospices in the United States have at least one enrollment policy that could restrict access for terminally ill Medicare patients with high-cost medical needs.

5 Dec 2012

Rethinking therapy decisions in autoimmune encephalopathy

Researchers say that diagnosis and management of encephalopathies may need to be rethought, as many patients who test negative for the relevant antibody still benefit from immunotherapy.

4 Dec 2012

Talk is cheap for tackling wasteful emergency diagnostics

An intervention as simple as a staff discussion during a general meeting results in a large reduction in the number of unnecessary diagnostic tests ordered by emergency physicians, say Brazilian researchers.

4 Dec 2012

Swedish Medical Center/First Hill named among Leapfrog Group's 2012 Top Hospitals

The Leapfrog Group's annual class of 'Top Hospitals' – just 89 from a field of nearly 1,200 – will be announced today in Baltimore, Md., and includes Swedish Medical Center/First Hill for the third year in a row. The announcement will take place at Leapfrog's Annual Meeting.

4 Dec 2012

Children's Medical Center NICU receives Level IV designation

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children's Medical Center has been designated a Level IV NICU, the highest qualification for such programs, as established by the American Academy of Pediatrics under newly revised standards.

30 Nov 2012

Intensive Care News and Research

Extended involvement maximizes gains from rapid response teams

Merck’s resubmission of the NDA for suggammadex sodium injection accepted for review by the FDA

Viewpoints: 'Class war' over Medicare funding; GOP needs courage to cut entitlements in debt fight

Clinical approach to swallowing of foreign bodies

MEDNAX acquires South Oakland Anesthesia Associates

NFKB gene variations could play a key role in helping to determine survival rate of sepsis patients

Mother–infant pairs admitted to ICU have poor outcomes

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Children's Miracle Network Ambassador announces Fire Truck O'Toys charity toy drive

Challenge to brain injury guideline care

Benzodiazepines associated with fatal pneumonia

Severe RSV disease may impair innate immune response in infants

Surgical patients with chronic psychological symptoms require psychotherapeutic treatment

Delirium associated with higher mortality rates

Scientists isolate previously unknown protein in skeletal muscle

Study calls for reform of Medicare reimbursement rates and hospice eligibility requirements

Rethinking therapy decisions in autoimmune encephalopathy

Talk is cheap for tackling wasteful emergency diagnostics

Swedish Medical Center/First Hill named among Leapfrog Group's 2012 Top Hospitals

Children's Medical Center NICU receives Level IV designation

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Latest News