COMMENT|ONLINE FIRST Improved precision in defining the need for thromboprophylaxis during lower limb immobilisation Beverley J Hunt, Xavier L Griffin Lancet Published: February 15, 2024 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02613-2 Hospital-associated venous thromboembolism is defined as venous thromboembolism occurring during hospital admission and up to 90 days after discharge. It is the major cause of venous thromboembolism, accounting for over 50% ...

Temporal Trends in Mortality of Patients with Sepsis Sepsis, characterised by severe organ dysfunction, is a major cause of hospitalisation and mortality globally. The WHO recognises sepsis as a significant global health concern, urging efforts to enhance outcomes for affected individuals.  Despite no new targeted therapies emerging for sepsis in recent decades, advancements in ICU management, shifts in patient demographics, and improved supportive care pra...

Evidence-Based Medicine and the Practice of Personalised Medicine In ICU Fri, 22 Mar 2024 Sharon Einav-Bromiker from Tel Aviv, Israel, delivered a thought-provoking session @ISICEM, exploring the conflict between evidence-based medicine and personalised medicine. She acknowledged the complexity of the topic and aimed to challenge conventional perspectives.  While evidence-based medicine provides a sense of certainty, it may not be as reliable a...

Editorial  January 17, 2023 TRANSFORM-HF—Can We Close the Loop on Diuretics in Heart Failure? Michelle M. Kittleson JAMA. 2023;329(3):211-213. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.21692 Fluid overload is the cardinal manifestation of heart failure, and prior to the 20th century, treatment options were limited to purgatives, bloodletting, leeching, or lancing. It was not until 1920 that the concept of a diuretic was first appreciated, when physicians observe...

Sex - A Biological Variable in the ICU In ICU Thu, 21 Mar 2024 Dr Marlies Ostermann from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London presented a tutorial at ISICEM 2024, highlighting the historical disparities and inequalities faced by different sexes in the ICU. These challenges encompass lower ICU admission rates, variations in medical care provision, inadequate personalisation, limited representation in clinical trials, and biases.  ...

Invited Commentary  February 7, 2024 Health Insurance for Care—Access-Sensitive Surgical Conditions Casey M. Silver, Anne M. Stey JAMA Surg. Published online February 7, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2023.7536 Health care access depends on financial resources to pay for health care. Health insurance allows healthy people to pool resources to pay for health care when one becomes ill or injured. The RAND Corporation’s Health Insurance Experimen...

Change in Research Focus for Early Nutrition In ICU Thu, 21 Mar 2024 In an interesting session today at #ISICEM24, Dr Annika Reintam Blaser, an intensivist at Lucerne Cantonal Hospital in Switzerland, discussed future research on optimising feeding for critically ill patients. She highlighted the accumulating evidence over the past 15 years suggesting that feeding might have harmful effects on critically ill patients. Dr Blaser challenged the intuit...

Editorials Use of generative artificial intelligence in medical research Nazrul Islam, Mihaela van der Schaar BMJ 2024; 384 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q119 (Published 31 January 2024)Cite this as: BMJ 2024;384:q119 Policies must be standardised to ensure accountability and maintain public trust Among the most groundbreaking advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) is the emergence of generative AI. These models, ...

COMMENT|ONLINE FIRST Bacterial antimicrobial resistance burden in Africa: accuracy, action, and alternatives Sabiha Y Essack, Annick Lenglet Lancet Glob Health Published: December 19, 2023 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00587-9 Understanding the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), detecting potential hospital outbreaks due to multidrug resistant-bacteria, and monitoring local, regional, and global trends of bacterial resistance for the earl...

Just Published: The HOT-COVID Clinical Trial - ISICEM 2024 In ICU Tue, 19 Mar 2024 Findings from the HOT-COVID Randomised Clinical Trial, just published in JAMA, were presented at #ISICEM24.  COVID-19 pneumonia often leads to hypoxaemic respiratory failure, necessitating high levels of supplemental oxygen and intensive care. Previous recommendations suggested maintaining peripheral oxygen saturation (Spo2) between 90% and 96%. However, uncertai...