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President’s Message: Research Triggers Thought . . . and Action!

SCCM is supporting transformative and informative research, encouraging thought and action through its grants, programs, sections, collaborative audits, and research networks.


The Critical Care Community Shares Why It’s “Better Together” at Congress 2023

The Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) 2023 Critical Care Congress in San Francisco marked the in-person return of the largest multiprofessional critical care gathering, bringing together thousands of colleagues and experts from around the world. This year’s Congress theme of “Better Together” recognized the meaningful ways in which critical care professionals collaborate with each other and contribute to the communities in which they live and work.


Concise Critical Appraisal: Endothelial Glycocalyx Integrity and Fluid Bolus Types

Is there an association between balanced versus unbalanced fluids and endothelial glycocalyx integrity in children with sepsis? This Concise Critical Appraisal offers insight into the vascular dysfunction that occurs in pediatric patients with sepsis or septic shock after receiving either balanced or unbalanced fluids.


NIH Funds SCCM Discovery Study on the Use of Sepsis Bundles in the Emergency Department

In funding a five-year prospective multicenter study to determine the safest and most effective approach to sepsis intervention, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is recognizing the significant accomplishments of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) to improve outcomes in patients with sepsis.


Five Years of Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network

Several years before the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted healthcare worldwide, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) launched a task force to identify gaps in critical care research and determine how SCCM could address them. Within two years, this effort led to the establishment of Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network, and the timing could not have been more fortuitous.


SCCM Diagnostic Excellence Program Seeks to Transform Sepsis Care With Support of CMSS Grant

Sepsis is the leading cause of hospitalization and hospital deaths in the United States. SCCM has received a grant from the Council of Medical Specialty Societies to improve diagnostic excellence. SCCM’s Diagnostic Excellence Program focuses on providing education and technology for accurate and rapid-cycle sepsis diagnosis via webcasts, podcasts, and toolkits.


Concise Critical Appraisal: Vasopressin and Methylprednisolone for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Although several trials have examined in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), only two trials in the past decade have examined the use of vasopressin and glucocorticoids for IHCA. Both trials found improved survival and favorable neurologic outcome with a vasopressin-epinephrine-methylprednisolone combination. Because of a lack of additional supporting evidence, neither the American nor European international guidelines have recommended this combination for IHCA. This Concise Critical Appraisal examines an article by Andersen et al that attempted to validate the results of these trials.
 


Effect of Bougie Versus Endotracheal Tube With Stylet on Successful Tracheal Intubation

Tracheal intubation is a high-risk procedure that is frequently performed in the emergency department and intensive care unit. Failure of first-pass success (FPS) when intubating has been shown to be associated with major adverse events, so maximizing FPS is paramount for improving patient outcomes. This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a study published in JAMA that sought to determine the effect of using a bougie (tracheal tube introducer) versus an endotracheal tube with stylet when intubating.


SCCM Releases PANDEM Guidelines for Critically Ill Children and Infants

Emphasize importance of continual assessment, nonpharmacologic interventions, and family involvement. The PANDEM guidelines for children and infants were published in the February 2022 issue of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.


Increased Mental Disorder Diagnoses in Children After Invasive Mechanical Ventilation

This Concise Critical Appraisal highlights an article in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine that sought to determine the association between invasive mechanical ventilation—a known predictor of adverse outcomes in children—and subsequent new neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders after pediatric intensive care unit hospitalization by reviewing Texas Medicaid Analytic eXtract data.


Leapfrog Dashboard Tracking of Postoperative Sepsis: An Opportunity for Quality Improvement

This article describes the new Leapfrog quality metrics and their methodology, focusing on postoperative sepsis identification and the potential impact of dashboard performance tracking moving forward. Critical care professionals routinely encounter patients with sepsis and play an integral role in the formulation and implementation of management plans for postoperative sepsis, making them key participants in this effort.


Concise Critical Appraisal: Quality Improvement Intervention on Sleep and Delirium

Does your hospital use a checklist or bundle to minimize risk factors for delirium? Delirium is common in surgical and medical intensive care units (ICUs) and has shown to be associated with longer mechanical ventilation duration and longer ICU and hospital lengths of stay. This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a study that evaluated a multicomponent nonpharmacologic quality improvement intervention aimed at the sleep-wake cycle for reducing delirium in critically ill patients in the surgical critical care setting.


Improving Post-ICU Stay Outcomes: How SCCM’s Discovery Grant Helped Establish an NIH-Funded Study

Paul E. Wischmeyer, MD, EDIC, FASPEN, FCCM, has a highly personal understanding of the challenges of recovering from an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Diagnosed at age 15 with ulcerative colitis, his colon was removed when it perforated and caused septic peritonitis. Throughout his life, he has had 27 major surgeries and multiple ICU stays for bowel resections after bowel obstructions or to address complications from recurrent intestinal obstructions. These experiences have motivated his research to test a personalized, remotely monitored, coached exercise program to help patients recover after ICU discharge.


2022 Critical Care Congress Thought Leaders: Genetics and Genomics

During the 2022 Critical Care Congress, Karin Reuter-Rice, PhD, NP, FAAN, FCCM, will talk about precision health, and specifically the role omic technologies play in critical care in a thought leader session titled “Genetics and Genomics.”


Best Practices for Managing Staff Shortages

In SCCM's webcast “Best Practices for Managing Staff Shortages,” a multiprofessional panel of experts discussed how staffing challenges arise in overwhelmed healthcare systems and how they have managed staff shortages.


Concise Critical Appraisal: Epinephrine Dosing Intervals on Outcomes From Pediatric In-Hospital Card

The average annual incidence of pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) has recently been estimated at more than 15,000 cases.1 Survival rates for pediatric patients who have had pulseless cardiac arrest have remained below 50% for the past decade.2,3 The American Heart Association currently recommends epinephrine, the cornerstone medication for cardiac arrest, dosed every 3 to 5 minutes in adult and pediatric cardiac arrest, although there is conflicting evidence about whether this is the best interval.4,5 Epinephrine is believed to acutely increase coronary perfusion pressure by increasing diastolic blood pressure (DBP).


Concise Critical Appraisal: Rapid Implementation of an Intensivist-Led VV ECMO Cannulation Program

This Concise Critical Appraisal explores an article published in Critical Care Medicine on a program at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, USA, that implemented a previously published successful ECMO model, in which ECMO cannulation primarily performed by cardiothoracic surgeons is transitioned to medical intensivist-led cannulation. This article is significant in advancing the role of the medical intensivist in the cannulation of patients who require ECMO.


Managing Moral Distress During a Pandemic

To help understand what moral distress looks like and how to manage and prevent it, the Society of Critical Care Medicine recently hosted the webcast Managing Moral Distress During a Pandemic.


Concise Critical Appraisal: Hydrocortisone and Fludrocortisone Versus Hydrocortisone Only

Is hydrocortisone for septic shock best used alone or in combination with fludrocortisone? This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a retrospective cohort study that found that treatment with hydrocortisone plus fludrocortisone led to lower rates of mortality or discharge to hospice, hospital deaths, and fewer days on vasopressors than treatment with hydrocortisone alone.


AHRQ Releases New Experience-Based Toolkit for Intensive Care Units

The new Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Toolkit for Preventing CLABSI and CAUTI in ICUs offers customizable tools and training resources to help your facility prevent dangerous infections. Its unique design gives users resources to assess current clinical and safety practices, implement a reduction plan, and overcome common cultural and technical challenges in reduction efforts.