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Category: Quality and Patient Safety

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SCCM Africa Infrastructure Relief and Support Project Will Improve Access to Oxygen in West Africa

The Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) new global health initiative, Africa Infrastructure Relief and Support (AIRS), will ensure the availability of medical oxygen to patients in the Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, made possible by a $5.5 million grant from Direct Relief and in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Global Alliance of Perioperative Professionals (GAPP) and the Institute of Global Perioperative Care. Officials in the Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will identify specific medical oxygen-related needs, including hospital-based infrastructure, oxygen-generating plants, and solar energy. SCCM plans to eventually expand the initiative to additional countries.


SCCM to Lead Ultrasound Training in Ukraine

José L. Díaz-Gómez, MD, FASE, FCCM, rides his bicycle to work every day in Houston, Texas. He passes the Texas Medical Center, where he sees a large Ukrainian flag on one of the hospital buildings. The flag symbolizes support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, and now when Dr. Díaz-Gómez passes it, he sees something more. He sees courage, responsibility, and hope.


Spreading Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training With the SCCM Course

In 2014, Nibras F. Bughrara, MD, FASA, FCCM, joined Albany Medical Center (AMC) in Albany, New York, USA, after completing a critical care medicine fellowship and perioperative echocardiography training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. At the time, he was the only intensivist at AMC using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS).


SCCM Trains Ukrainian Clinicians on Critical Care Ultrasound

Members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) traveled from the United States to Lviv, Ukraine in March to train more than 140 clinicians on lifesaving critical care ultrasound. Learning and using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) skills allows Ukrainian medical professionals to quickly diagnose and care for critically ill and injured patients—all the more important as injuries continue to mount in the ongoing Ukrainian humanitarian crisis.


Guidelines for Rapid Sequence Intubation in the Critically Ill Adult Patient

Acquisto NM, Mosier JM, Bittner EA, et al. Society of Critical Care Medicine clinical practice guidelines for rapid sequence intubation in the critically ill adult patient. Crit Care Med. 2023 Oct;51(10):1411-1430. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006000.


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 Pod-415 NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

The National Institutes of Health has released Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines.


Strategies to Optimize ICU Liberation (A to F) Bundle Performance in Critically Ill Adults With Coronavirus Disease 2019

From Critical Care Explorations. The combination of a novel disease, resource limitations, and risks to medical personnel health have created new barriers to implementing the ABCDEF Bundle, a proven ICU care approach that reduces delirium, shortens mechanical ventilation duration, prevents post-ICU syndrome, and reduces healthcare costs.


Letter to the Editor: Barrier Techniques to Reduce Aerosolization During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

From Critical Care Explorations. The authors developed additional modifications to the suggested guidelines to further protect providers from unnecessary aerosolization; it illustrates a sample protocol for provider safety during advanced cardiovascular life support in the coronavirus pandemic.


Letter to the Editor: Barrier Techniques to Reduce Aerosolization During Extubation

From Critical Care Explorations. The authors describe a barrier technique during extubation which contained aerosolized particulates into a non-rebreather mask at time of extubation. The authors believe their protocol allows providers to perform extubations while minimizing exposure to aerosolized particles.


Evaluation of the Risk Prediction Tools for Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan, China: A Single-Centered, Retrospective, Observational Study

From Critical Care Medicine. In this study from China, the authors evaluated and compared the efficacy of National Early Warning Score, National Early Warning Score 2, Rapid Emergency Medicine Score, Confusion, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, Age 65 score, and quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment on predicting in-hospital death in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.


Relocating IV Pumps for Critically Ill Isolated Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients From Bedside to Outside the Patient Room

From Critical Care Explorations. The authors discuss advantages and disadvantages of relocating IV pumps for coronavirus disease 2019 patients from bedside to outside the patient room and characterize reproducible details of an external infusion pump model.


Guiding Principles for the Conduct of Observational Critical Care Research for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemics and Beyond: The Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study Registry

From Critical Care Medicine. In this article, the authors describe how the Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study coronavirus disease 2019 registry sought to develop and implement prespecified best practices combined with grassroots efforts from clinical sites worldwide in order to develop clinically useful knowledge in response to a pandemic.