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Fluid Resuscitation in Children With Acute Kidney Injury

Should critically injured children receive balanced crystalloid (BC) solutions or normal saline (NS) during fluid resuscitation? This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a recent study examining whether the use of BC solutions versus NS is associated with the development of new or progressive acute kidney injury in children with septic shock.


Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Cardiac Arrest

Does extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) improve survival rates? This Concise Critical Appraisal reviews a study that sought to determine whether patients who received eCPR after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest had a favorable neurologic outcome at 30 days compared to those who received conventional CPR.


Fundamentals Courses Help Critically Ill Patients in Underserved Areas

Thanks to the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation, Gisselle Aguilar Sabillón, MD, recently led two Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support courses in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, training 39 pediatric residents and ICU nurses and providing standardized knowledge about caring for critically ill children.


Critically Ill Children and the ICU Liberation Bundle

Does use of the ICU Liberation Bundle (A-F) improve outcomes in critically ill children? Explore the first multicenter report on the impact of the entire ICU Liberation Bundle in critically ill children. Previous studies have focused only on individual bundle elements.


SCCM Members Extend Commitment to Ukrainian Clinicians

A multiprofessional group of SCCM members trained more than 300 clinicians in September, returning to Lviv, Ukraine to provide Fundamental Critical Care Support: Surgical, ICU Liberation, and Advanced Critical Care Ultrasound courses.


REDISCOVER-ICU: Utilizing Data to Study Drug Repurposing Beyond COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant gaps in the healthcare system, such as healthcare inequities and the need for more treatment options for intensive care unit patients with serious illnesses. Looking beyond COVID-19 to sepsis and other critical care illnesses, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and Critical Path Institute’s CURE Drug Repurposing Collaboratory are collaborating on the new study Repurposing Drugs in Intensive Care Units Through Real-World Data Analysis (REDISCOVER-ICU).


2022 Critical Care Congress Plenary: Cultivating Leadership from Within

Beth A. Wathen, CCRN-K, MSN, RN, is the current president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the world’s largest specialty nursing organization. Ms. Wathen has had the unique opportunity to support critical care nurses personally and professionally in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since becoming president in July, she has balanced the need to continue moving the association forward with recognizing the realities of exhaustion among critical care clinicians.


Critical Care and Pulmonary Societies Encourage Flu Shots Amid COVID-19 Spread

The members of the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, which are the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Thoracic Society (ATS), and Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), strongly urge people to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus and to receive their influenza (flu) immunizations for the upcoming flu season.
 


Innovating Consistency in Care Through the STOP-VIRUS ICU Learning Collaborative

In the preliminary analysis of the VIRUS COVID-19 Registry of Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network, investigators discovered significant variations in mortality that were not readily explained by patient comorbidities, demographics, or severity of illness. It became evident that much of the disparity in outcomes was tied to variations in processes of care from one intensive care unit (ICU) to another. This realization inspired the creation of the STOP-VIRUS Learning Collaborative, which seeks to help participants rapidly evaluate and effectively implement best practice recommendations from the ever-evolving body of knowledge related to the care of critically ill patients with COVID-19.


SARI-PREP Research Collaborative Aims To Revolutionize the Future

Groundbreaking study of hospitalized COVID-19 and influenza patients charts new path in critical care research
 
Severe Acute Respiratory Infection – Preparedness (SARI-PREP) is a groundbreaking new research platform from SCCM’s Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network, that is leading the way in revolutionizing how critical care research is conducted in the United States. It will inform clinical management of patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and help ensure that health systems are better prepared for future pandemics.


Surviving Sepsis Campaign Releases 2021 Adult Sepsis Guidelines

Updated global adult sepsis guidelines, released by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC), place an increased emphasis on improving the care of sepsis patients after they are discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) and represent greater geographic and gender diversity than previous versions. The updated guidelines are especially important today, as many who are seriously ill with COVID-19 are particularly vulnerable to sepsis.
 


Concise Critical Appraisal: Prehospital Transfusions and Mortality in Pediatric Trauma

Is prehospital transfusion associated with better outcomes in pediatric trauma? This Concise Critical Appraisal reviews a retrospective study of children who sustained trauma that found that pediatric patients were likely to benefit from early hemostatic resuscitation with blood transfusion.


Big Data Leads to the Discovery Data Science Campaign

The Discovery Data Science Campaign was launched in 2022 to improve the care of critically ill patients by leveraging the use of large-scale data (big data) for research. The campaign’s goal is to apply findings from data analysis in a clinical environment through standardized data models and shared resources, starting with the 2023 Datathon.


Concise Critical Appraisal: Surviving Sepsis Campaign COVID-19 Guidelines Update

The updated Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) COVID-19 guidelines are now available, reflecting the learnings from the latest major studies. This month’s Concise Critical Appraisal dives into the update to outline the changes and new recommendations made by the international panel and discusses limitations of the available data.


ICU Liberation: The Role of Rehabilitation Professionals

The ICU Liberation Bundle (A-F) can help rehabilitation practitioners and respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) assess the broad, long-term goals of patients while zooming in on the immediate steps needed to achieve short-term goals. Physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), speech language pathologists (SLPs), and RCPs all have a role in using the ICU Liberation Bundle when caring for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).


An SCCM Member Responds to a Call for Volunteers

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tina R. Shah, MD, MPH, focused her work on two questions: How can technology help improve the United States health system and, more specifically, how can it be used to improve patient and practitioner well-being?


Ethical Considerations for a COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Mandate to vaccinate or nudge if there is no budge? COVID-19 vaccines remain a key weapon in the fight against the deadliest modern-day pandemic the world has seen. In this article, we summarize key facts and ethical considerations for healthcare organizations when considering a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. healthcare workers (HCW).


Teaching Crisis Management in the United States and Around the World

Mary J. Reed, MD, FCCM, began teaching FCCS about 25 years ago. From there, her involvement expanded to teaching multiple SCCM courses, helping to develop courses, and teaching the courses overseas.


SCCM Supports FCCS Training in Tajikistan

Khorog, the regional capital of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), sits at an elevation of 2200 meters among the beautiful but rugged and isolated Pamir Mountains, where some people live at elevations of 4000 meters or more. In this resource-limited region, the Soviet-era healthcare system differs markedly from that of the United States.


ICU Liberation Bundle Implementation: Nurses Champion Change as Early Adopters

How can nurses champion change and improve outcomes by implementing the ICU Liberation Bundle (A-F)? Laura S. Maples, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, summarizes how nurses become early adopters of the bundle, focusing on advocacy for their patients’ best outcomes, and advocating for multiprofessional collaboration to successfully implement the elements of the bundle.