COVID-19: Risk Score to Predict Critical Illness The coronavirus disease (COVID 19) continues to create havoc around the globe. Millions of people have been infected with the virus and thousands have died. The infection is spread via droplet particles. Many infected patients remain asymptomatic; others develop a mild upper respiratory infection-like illness and some develop a serious lung infection that requires admission to the ICU. COVID-19 cases that are of a severe...

Is COVID-19 Pneumonia ARDS or Not? COVID-19 pneumonia meets the ARDS Berlin definition. However, it is a specific disease with peculiar phenotypes. The primary characteristic is the dissociation between the severity of the hypoxaemia and the maintenance of respiratory mechanics. Patients with respiratory compliance that is lower or higher than the median value experience severe hypoxaemia. In a recent editorial published in Critical Care, the authors propose ...

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FREE PREVIEW Timing of Initiation of Renal-Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury The STARRT-AKI Investigators for the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group, the United Kingdom Critical Care Research Group, the Canadian Nephrology Trials Network, and the Irish Critical Care Trials Group N Engl J Med 2020; 383:240-251DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2000741 Abstract BACKGR...

COVID-19: Quarantine Measures, Laws and Limits COVID-19 continues to spread, and governments across the globe have imposed quarantines and travel bans. China locked down its cities, Italy imposed restrictions throughout the country, and the US and Canada have enforced self-quarantine. The US has banned the entry of travellers from China, Iran, and most of Europe, while many other countries have implemented heavy screening protocols. However, despite these quarantine me...

ARTICLES|ONLINE FIRST Feasibility and physiological effects of prone positioning in non-intubated patients with acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 (PRON-COVID): a prospective cohort study Anna Coppo, Giacomo Bellani, Dario Winterton, et al Lancet Respir Med Published:June 19, 2020 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30268-X Summary Background The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging advanced health systems, which are dealing with an overwhelming...

Hospitals’ Creative Responses to Coronavirus Challenges While hospitals around the world are struggling to fight the COVID-19 pandemic with limited or unavailable supplies and equipment, some are forced to become creative and find new ways to continue care delivery and, at the same time, protect the staff. One-Person Booths South Korea has already proven the effectiveness of its rigorous testing policies. Of over 8,500 confirmed cases only slightly above 1% ...

ICU Management & Practice, Volume 20 - Issue 1, 2020 COVID-19: Masks in Intensive Care Units With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing in the intensive care units, there is a high risk of infection for healthcare professionals. What kind of masks can be used and what are the most effective strategies to protect against airborne particles? Currently, there is an increasing number of patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) due to COVID-19 all over t...

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effect on Patient Safety of a Resident Physician Schedule without 24-Hour Shifts Christopher P. Landrigan, Shadab A. Rahman, Jason P. Sullivan, et al N Engl J Med 2020; 382:2514-2523DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1900669 Abstract BACKGROUND The effects on patient safety of eliminating extended-duration work shifts for resident physicians remain controversial. METHODS We conducted a multicenter, cluster-randomized, crossover trial comparing two...

ICU Management & Practice, Volume 20 - Issue 1, 2020 Adaptive Strategies for Intensive Care During the Spread of COVID-19: The Brussels Experience Structured interventions and bottom-up initiatives at a tertiary Intensive Care Unit in Brussels, Belgium. Introduction Optimisation of medical response to no-notice events has been an important focus of research in the field of disaster medicine (Debacker et al. 2016). However, evidence-driven development ...

ONLINE FIRST THIS WEEK(FREE ACCESS) Systematic Review ~ Duncan S. et al. - Interventions for oropharyngeal dysphagia in acute and critical care: a systematic review and meta-analysisOriginal ~ Uhel F. et al. - Mortality and host response aberrations associated with transient and persistent acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with sepsis: a prospective cohort studyOriginal ~ Awad A. et al. - Tim...