Critical Care Alert – February 1, 2024
February 1, 2024
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Using Targeted Trials to Investigate Early vs. Late Intubation Strategies
Authors used a machine learning framework to show that delaying intubation in critically ill patients when compared to early intubation does not result in a greater 30-day mortality.
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Buprenorphine May Be an Effective Alternative to Full Opioids for Pain in the ICU
In a small, single-center, retrospective, propensity-matched cohort study examining enteral oxycodone vs. sublingual buprenorphine in a critically ill population, pain control was equivalent, indicating that sublingual buprenorphine may be an effective and appropriate alternative.
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Small-Volume Blood Collection May Reduce Transfusion Needs in the ICU
The STRATUS randomized clinical trial was a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial in 25 adult medical-surgical intensive care units (ICUs) in Canada that studied standard-volume to small-volume vacuum tubes for blood collection in the ICU. In the primary analysis, there was no significant difference in red blood cell transfusion between groups. However, in a pre-specified secondary analysis, red blood cell transfusion decreased after the transition from standard-volume tubes to small-volume tubes.
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Percutaneous Coronary Intervention vs. Placebo for Stable Angina Patients
In this randomized trial of patients with stable angina and objective evidence of ischemia, percutaneous coronary intervention resulted in a significant reduction in angina compared to a placebo procedure.