SCCM Latest News http://www.sccm.org/Publications/SCCM_eNewsletters/Pages/default.aspx Society of Critical Care Medicine http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:50:12 -0500 jcorlaci@sccm.org Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:50:10 -0500 jcorlaci@sccm.org FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.3.1) http://www.feedforall.com Reminders that encourage hospital staff to remove catheters promptly can reduce the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 52%, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#n1 D9DC7C47-AF65-4C5E-BEC8-4465212388E3 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:47:21 -0500 Each year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers grants to exceptionally creative scientists through the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, New Innovator Award and the Transformative Research Projects Award programs... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#n2 B54A5F8C-3132-4DE7-B862-F46F7A1A4627 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:47:38 -0500 Last year’s postgraduate review course on quality improvement was deemed a great success, and several sessions from the meeting are now posted to the Paragon website. Access the slides and audio from the presentation, Practical Tools for ICU Performance Improvement, and from the pro/con debate, Should Multiprofessional Rounds Include a Physician? Each session is accompanied by links related to quality tools, including checklists for central venous catheter insertion, family conferences, and withdrawal of life support. SBAR-Q daily goal sheets and safety reports also are available... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#sn1 27AEA830-0E7E-4E50-A8EB-DD666E0392B6 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:47:56 -0500 A comprehensive list of resources to help intensive care unit teams build or improve their rapid response system is now available on LearnICU.org. Resources are listed by date and include references from a variety of journals, including Critical Care Medicine. The list was compiled with help from SCCM members Joe C. Hylton, RRT; Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN, PhD, RN-CS, FCCM; Elizabeth LaVelle, PhD; Gourang P. Patel, PharmD; and Frank Sebat, MD, FCCM... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#sn2 68781926-F081-4CC8-A1FB-4C9BD050A0EB Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:48:21 -0500 Each year the Grenvik Family Award for Ethics recognizes a Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) member who has devoted significant efforts toward advancing the ethical aspects of care in the intensive care unit (ICU). Certainly, David C. Kaufman, MD, FCCM, meets and exceeds these criteria, having dedicated his 20-year career to advancing this very idea... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#sn3 EC0C665F-8810-4A97-B77B-88F35C8D6246 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:48:50 -0500 Online abstract submission for the 40th Critical Care Congress is now open. Make your contribution to the advancement of critical care by submitting your original investigative research and case reports... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#e0 9DB9645F-ABFC-4496-AD63-1FE1A88E6772 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:49:15 -0500 Advance registration for the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) upcoming conference, Pharmacotherapy in Critical Illness, ends Wednesday, September 1, 2010. After this date, registration will be accepted on site and only if space is available. Register online today or contact SCCM Customer Service at +1 847 827-6888 to guarantee your spot... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_19_2010.htm#e1 202E22AE-D4FE-422E-ABDA-2DD8AB408C39 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:49:38 -0500 Family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are likely to be more optimistic about their loved ones' chances of survival, regardless of how a physician presents a grim prognosis, according to a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. After surveying 169 surrogate decision makers, researchers found the method of communication mattered little in trying to align family members' opinions with those of the physicians... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#n1 4804EA35-CF73-4272-9D4F-9FBC94FC9126 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:52:59 -0500 Prolonged mechanical ventilation is expensive and many times still results in persistent, profound disability. Family members or other decision makers should be informed of this when they are considering a course of prolonged life support, according to a study published in the August issue of Annals of Internal Medicine... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#n2 DD024EE4-BFEB-4EF5-8F17-EB0083CA8B8C Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:53:19 -0500 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a national provider conference call on the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program (eRx). This toll-free call will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on August 17, 2010... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#n3 24F6F156-7791-4ED6-9A20-62992F6F785D Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:53:36 -0500 The Society of Critical Care Medicine is updating its LearnICU website to include mock board examinations. Volunteers are sought to serve on the Adult or Pediatric Mock Board Exam Online Posting Committee... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#sn1 C0759BA7-1813-4C2B-AF0F-2E4AEA88663C Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:53:55 -0500 Two of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s regional chapters will hold educational programs in August. The Carolinas-Virginia Chapter will host a conference focused on resuscitation in critical care on August 13, 2010, in Roanoke, Virginia... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#sn2 ADF0EA08-B3CD-413E-A6E9-699C201D895F Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:54:13 -0500 Reserve your housing at Caesars Palace by Wednesday, August 25, 2010, to take advantage of the special discounted rates for the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) Pharmacotherapy in Critical Illness conference, to be held September 16 and 17, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Reservations made after Wednesday, August 25, 2010, may not receive the discounted hotel rate... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#e0 124995ED-523A-40EB-BAFC-E78406735DC4 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:54:35 -0500 If you missed this year’s 2010 Adult and Pediatric Multiprofessional Critical Care Board Review Courses (MCCBRC), they will be available On Demand on or before September 1. You will be able to access the slides, speakers, and even MP3 audio files of all the sessions from the comfort and convenience of your home or office... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/08_05_10.htm#e1 C389A310-D6B0-4CE9-A589-35686DBCE6E9 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:54:57 -0500 The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is proposing new standards for residents, calling for 16-hour shifts and more oversight of less-experienced physicians. The draft regulations aim to promote patient safety and reduce medical errors by enhancing work conditions for sometimes sleep-deprived junior physicians. Residents in their second year and beyond may still work 24 hours, and 80-hour maximum work weeks would remain for all hospital residents. All residents and their supervisors would be required to explain their roles to patients and note that supervisors are ultimately in charge of their care... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#n1 65C6F8DA-1794-4E96-938E-462953412A4E Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:04:12 -0500 A lighter touch with sedation in critically ill patients can translate into a host of benefits, according to the results of a new quality improvement (QI) project at Johns Hopkins University that involved reducing the medication dosages in their medical intensive care unit (MICU)... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#n2 AAB2C442-9B67-4FFE-8968-1BF758486851 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:04:30 -0500 The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has become increasingly involved in initiatives to raise awareness of patient safety and quality issues on the national level. The Society recently signed on to two separate letters drafted by the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) offering comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Quality Forum (NQF) on issues sure to impact SCCM members... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#sn1 91C59DE1-3A7D-4226-81AD-57044F5F5BF8 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:04:48 -0500 With a 2009 impact factor of 6.373, Critical Care Medicine maintains its position as the premier peer-reviewed journal among those that publish primarily (more than 50%) critical care articles. CCM’s five-year impact factor is 6.698 and its immediacy index (an indicator of how quickly articles in the journal are cited) is 2.040, both strong markers of the journal’s influence. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, which reported its first-ever factor last year, saw a slight increase in its sophomore outing, reporting an impact factor of 2.376 compared to last year’s 2.330. The Society of Critical Care Medicine extends its congratulations and thanks to CCM editor in chief Joseph E. Parrillo, MD, FCCM, and PCCM editor Patrick Kochanek, MD, FCCM, as well as to the editorial boards and staff involved in both journals... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#sn2 180D780C-7AD4-4EF8-A6EA-8DB1D734E5C2 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:05:10 -0500 Reserve your housing at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel by Monday, July 5, 2010, to take advantage of special discounted rates for the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) Adult and Pediatric Multiprofessional Critical Care Board Review Courses (MCCBRC). Housing reservations made after Monday, July 5, 2010, may not receive the discounted hotel rate... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#e0 B61CCBB7-D0A9-4845-8BC9-CD198EA2863D Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:05:33 -0500 Patients on prolonged acute mechanical ventilation face an increased risk of Clostridium difficile colitis, according to a recent report. Once present in the intensive care unit (ICU), it is critical to contain the spread to other patients. Vigilant preventative efforts by ICU clinicians and hospital personnel are essential to reduce the resulting longer hospital stays, higher rates of readmission and recurrent episodes... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#e1 55E8CE95-6FD7-43A1-BB05-CDC7A75929E1 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:05:56 -0500 According to a recent review, medication errors can occur in the intensive care unit (ICU) at a median rate of 106 per 1,000 patient days. Critically ill patients are at a high risk for adverse drug events for multiple reasons, including challenges in drug dosing due to disease complexity, vulnerability to rapid changes in pharmacotherapy and the administration of complex drug regimens. Utilizing the multiprofessional team model is one way to ensure safe patient protocols in the ICU... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/07_01_10.htm#e3 37B8C792-26D4-4A01-B30E-592C000EE4D9 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:06:19 -0500 One of the largest, multicenter attempts to examine the relationship between safety culture and outcomes finds that lower perceptions of management were independently associated with increased hospital mortality and hospital length of stay. http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/06_17_2010.htm#n1 255CEE4D-EE7B-43EC-A83F-ACDBD754282B Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:19:42 -0500 Use of long-term acute care hospitals after hospitalization for critical care has increased over time, even as the one-year mortality rate remains high, at about 50%, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association... http://sccmwww.sccm.org/publications/eNewsletters_Archive/06_17_2010.htm#n2 358F8357-1FC9-4F72-90FE-6F0D8DA9592F Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:19:59 -0500