ORIGINAL ARTICLE FREE PREVIEW Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Infections in U.S. Hospitalized Patients, 2012–2017 John A. Jernigan, Kelly M. Hatfield, Hannah Wolford, et al N Engl J Med 2020; 382:1309-1319DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1914433 Abstract BACKGROUND Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria that are commonly associated with health care cause a substantial health burden. Updated national estimates for this group of pathogens are needed to inform public health ac...

Infection Control Measures: Best COVID-19 Practices from Hong Kong Healthcare workers can be protected during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak with the application of proper infection control measures, an example from Hong Kong shows.  You may also like: 3-step 15sec hand-rubs reduce infection & improve hygiene compliance A recent study (Cheng at al. n.d.) from a research team at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, described the infection contro...

ORIGINAL ARTICLE FREE PREVIEW Timing of Endoscopy for Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding James Y.W. Lau, Yuanyuan Yu, Raymond S.Y. Tang, et al N Engl J Med 2020; 382:1299-1308DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1912484 Abstract BACKGROUND It is recommended that patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding undergo endoscopy within 24 hours after gastroenterologic consultation. The role of endoscopy performed within time frames shorter than 24 hours has not been ...

Analysis Face masks for the public during the covid-19 crisis Trisha Greenhalgh, Manuel B Schmid,  Thomas Czypionka BMJ 2020; 369 doi: :m1435 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1435 (Published 09 April 2020) Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues argue that it is time to apply the precautionary principle The precautionary principle is, according to Wikipedia, “a strategy for approaching issues of potential harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is ...

Preliminary Communication March 27, 2020 Treatment of 5 Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 With Convalescent Plasma Chenguang Shen, Zhaoqin Wang, Fang Zhao, et al JAMA. Published online March 27, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4783 Abstract Importance Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic with no specific therapeutic agents and substantial mortality. It is critical to find new treatments. O...

Editorials Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in covid-19 Robin E Ferner, Jeffrey K Aronson BMJ 2020; 369:m1432 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1432 (Published 08 April 2020) Use of these drugs is premature and potentially harmful TheBMJ in 1925 cautiously endorsed Moellgaard’s gold treatment for tuberculosis,1 although it found his pharmacological reasoning “both interesting and instructive.”2 We should be similarly cautious about proposed...

JAMA Clinical Guidelines Synopsis March 26, 2020 Management of Critically Ill Adults With COVID-19 Jason T. Poston, Bhakti K. Patel, Andrew M. Davis JAMA. Published online March 26, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4914 Guideline title Surviving Sepsis Campaign: Guidelines on the Management of Critically Ill Adults With COVID-19 Developer Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) Release date March 23, 2020 Target population Critic...

Coronavirus and the Potential Role of ECMO The relatively new coronavirus has already infected thousands of patients in China and is now rapidly spreading globally. Many countries have already reported cases of coronavirus and the WHO has declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a public health emergency and has released preliminary guidelines on management of patients.  Most reports out of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, indicate that COVID-19 primarily a...

ONLINE FIRST (FREE ACCESS)  Conference Report and Expert Panel ~ Leoneet al. - Noninvasive respiratory support in the hypoxaemic peri-operative/periprocedural patient: a joint ESA/ESICM guideline Editorial ~Martin-Loeches I. et al. - Focus on infection Less is more in Intensive Care ~ Gattinoni L. et al.- “Less is More” in mechanical ventilation Original ~ De Weerdt A.et al. -  Pre-admi...

Allocating Ventilators in a Pandemic Life has come to a standstill as critical care doctors continue to battle COVID-19. The pandemic has led to shortages of essential goods and services - from hand sanitizers to masks to beds to ventilators. Today, the healthcare system is facing the prospect of rationing medical goods and services. Mechanical ventilation, in particular, has come out to be the most problematic. Several countries are already facing a shortage of ven...