Critical Care
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Aggressive End-of-Life Care Remains Common, Especially in Nursing Homes
Recent research findings raise ethical questions about how patient or family preferences are communicated to care providers, the timing of those discussions, and what policies are in place at the nursing home to honor patients’ goals of care.
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Do Race and Ethnicity Affect the Likelihood of ICU Admission?
Patients who identify with racial or ethnic minority groups who present with sepsis or acute respiratory failure are more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) when compared to white patients. Capacity strain reduced the frequency of ICU admission but did not modify the differences seen between these groups.
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Does Surviving an ECMO Stay Put Patients at Greater Risk for Mental Health Problems?
Survivors of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) demonstrated a modest increase in risk of new mental health diagnoses after discharge vs. ICU survivors who do not undergo ECMO.
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‘Medical Clearance’ of Psychiatric Patient Can be Legally Risky
What does "medical clearance" really mean? Does it indicate a patient has no acute issues, or that all the patient’s chronic issues are stable? Or is it both? The answer depends on who you ask.
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ECMO-Supported CPR Disappoints for Treating Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
For patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest that was refractory to initial resuscitation efforts, adding extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to standard CPR did not result in a significant improvement in survival with favorable neurologic outcome.
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Novel Bedside Procedure Improves Tracheostomy Outcomes
Nurse-driven initiative led to zero incidents of tracheostomy medical device-related pressure injuries for three years.
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A Comparison of Ceftaroline and Daptomycin in the Treatment of MRSA Bloodstream Infections
Ceftaroline is an acceptable alternative therapy for treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
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Role of Early VA-ECMO Implementation in Patients with Rapidly Deteriorating Severe Cardiogenic Shock
The ECMO-CS trial found that using early VA-ECMO in patients with rapidly deteriorating or severe cardiogenic shock (Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions stages D or E) did not result in better patient outcomes compared to initial conservative care.
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ICU Physician Wellness and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A binational, cross-sectional survey including 431 questionnaires assessing wellness and coping among physicians who worked in the intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic found that physicians experienced moderate intrapandemic moral distress and burnout, yet also experienced moderate professional fulfillment.
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Clarity and Consistency Help Families Facing Serious Medical Decisions
Different clinicians use similar-sounding terms. Families may make decisions based on how the clinician presents a situation. It is critical for medical providers to choose their words carefully.