Critical Care Alert – December 1, 2011

December 1, 2011

• Special Feature: Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock in 2012: What Have We Learned?

  When I was a medicine resident 40 years ago just as the first ICUs were being introduced, treatment for life-threatening bacterial infections consisted of antibiotics, control or removal of the primary source, intravenous fluids, and vasopressors.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Early or Late Tracheostomy Placement: Optimal Timing Remains Unclear

  This paper presents the findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis of available randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) published through July 2011 and retrieved from a variety of electronic search databases worldwide.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Hospital Organizational Characteristics Associated with Use of Daily Sedation Interruption in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

  Miller and colleagues conducted a survey of daily interruption of sedation (DIS) in U.S. hospitals and sought to determine whether organizational features were associated with DIS use. The survey was mailed to a stratified random sample of non-federal U.S. acute-care hospitals with more than 50 beds.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Academic ICU Attending Workload: Potential Effects on Teaching, Patient Care, and Workforce Stability

  This article reports findings of a task force set up by the Society of Critical Care Medicine in 2008 to study intensivist workforce issues in the face of the ongoing increase in ICU beds and numbers of critically ill patients.

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• Pharmacology Watch: HPV Vaccine Now Recommended for Males

  In this issue: New recommendations for HPV vaccine; guidelines for treatment of essential tremor; updates on smoking cessation drugs; and FDA actions.

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• Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement

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