H1N1 Influenza Outbreak
The Canadian Critical Care Trials Group is working on an H1N1 Influenza ICU Study. SCCM encourages all practitioners to complete the study's case report form to allow description of patients who become critically ill with H1N1 influenza.
SCCM's H1N1 Resources
Critical Care Cross Training for Hospital-Based Non-ICU Health Care Professionals (CCXT) New!
A new, Web-based training program designed to prepare non-intensivists to assist with the care of critically ill patients, including those with H1N1 influenza.
Critical Care Cross Training for Hospital-Based non-ICU Health Care Professionals is available to all healthcare professionals at no cost. It was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response as part of the agency’s pandemic preparedness efforts.
Disaster Triage Module
Crisis Standard of Care and Triage in a Disaster Situation module is based on the Institute of Medicine Guidance (September, 2009). The module discusses principles of triage and offers a systematic process for allocation of scarce resources when augmentation resources have failed.
Free FDM Chapters
Access chapters from the Fundamental Disaster Management Third Edition (2009). Information includes photos displaying the correct use of hospital PPE as well triage methods and allocation of resources in times of disaster
Critical Care Medicine Journal
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Journal
A special collection of PCCM papers relating to the H1N1 pandemic in the pediatric patient has been created.
Additional resources related to mass critical care are available in the American College of Chest Physicians 2008 supplement on definitive care for the critically ill during a disaster.
Spanish-Language Resources
Available now is a presentation by Edgar J. Jimenez, MD, FCCM entitled, "Recomendaciones para Protección Personal en Cuidados Intensivos con Enfermedades Altamente Contagiosas" for the Associacion Mexicana de Medicina Critica y Terapia Intensiva (AMMCTI). Released: 4/29/09
iCritical Care Podcasts
SCCM Pod-106 Discussion of H1N1 Influenza - Part I
Randy S. Wax, MD, discusses the current outbreak of H1N1 influenza, the triage protocol for critical care during an influenza epidemic, the public's role in taking necessary precautions, and educational resources that are available. Dr. Wax is an intensivist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He has multiple areas of expertise, including disaster management. This podcast is the first in a series focused on the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Released: 4/30/09
Access the background materials cited in Dr. Wax's podcast [SCCM Pod-106 Discussion of Influenza A (H1N1) –Part 1]. Christian MD, Hawryluck L, Wax RS et al. Development of a triage protocol for critical care during an influenza pandemic. CMAJ. 2006;175;1377-1381.
SCCM Pod-107 Discussion of H1N1 Influenza - Part II
John H. Beigel, MD, clarifies the definition of influenza and discusses the evolution of viruses, speculation on the mode of transmission, and the role of vaccines and therapies as they relate to Influenza A (H1N1). The conversation references his recent publication in Critical Care Medicine (Beigel JH. Influenza. Crit Care Med. 2008; 36:2660-2666). Dr. Beigel is Director of Clinical Research at MacroGenics, Inc. in Rockville, Maryland, and a volunteer consultant at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. This podcast is the second in a series focused on the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Released: 5/1/09
SCCM Pod-108 Discussion of H1N1 Influenza - Part III
Naomi O'Grady, MD clarifies the strain of the current virus, discusses the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic, and outlines the prescription therapies available specific to H1N1 Influenza. O'Grady is a senior staff physician in the Clinical Center's Critical Care Medicine Department and the medical director of the department's Vascular Access and Conscious Sedation Services at the National Institutes of Health. She also is an attending physician with the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Department of the Children's National Medical Center and an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This podcast is the third in a series focused on the H1N1 Influenza outbreak. Released: 5/5/09
Other H1N1 Resources
American Thoracic Society
Click here for information about salvage therapies for H1N1-induced ARDS.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Regular COCA Conference Calls
As the spread of H1N1 influenza continues to impact U.S. intensive care units, nationwide conference calls on its diagnosis and treatment in critically ill adult and pediatric patients will be held periodically. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), these calls will include three brief case studies, a 10-minute update from HHS/CDC experts, and a question and answer session. Access previous sessions or sign up for updates on upcoming calls.
Flu.gov offers several resources, including an H1N1 self-evaluation and the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal.
As with any infectious disease, the CDC recommends that people should take everyday preventive actions. As a result of this outbreak, the Acting HHS Secretary has declared a Public Health Emergency nationwide involving H1N1 influenza. The following resources link to CDC documents addressing various issues in clinical practice:
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors global incidence of H1N1 influenza.