Break the Ice at Congress
Attending Congress for the first time? SCCM provides first-time attendees with suggestions of what to expect at Congress and how to maximize the Congr...
SCCM Task Force Develops New Criteria to Identify Pediatric Sepsis
An SCCM task force used an extensive approach to develop the most comprehensive and up-to-date criteria for defining sepsis and septic shock in childr...
Characteristics of Decision Regret in the PICU
This Concise Critical Appraisal discusses a recent study identifying conditions associated with parents’ decision regret after their critically ...
Euglycemic Versus Hyperglycemic Diabetic Ketoacidosis
Patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors are at increased risk for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Clinicians often miss the diagnosis of DKA when blood glucose ...
SCCM Welcomes New Editor-In-Chief of Critical Care Explorations
The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has named Tamás Szakmány, MD, PhD, MBE, FCCM, as the new editor-in-chief of Critical Care Explorations.
Hot Topics: Implementation Science, Augmented Intelligence, and Social Determinants of Health
Implementation science, augmented intelligence, and social determinants of health are at the forefront of critical care and will ultimately change how...
2025 Critical Care Congress Cochairs Message: Come to Congress!
The 2025 Critical Care Congress will be held February 23-25, 2025, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, USA. Register now!
Choice Framing in Family Meetings
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a study that reviewed transcripts from family meetings in the ICU to determine how clinicians use choice fram...
Outcomes of Children With Medical Complexities Based on Language Spoken
This Concise Critical Appraisal reviews a recent study exploring the outcomes of children with medical complexities who speak a language other than En...
Professional Development: Skills, Super-Skills, and Ultra-Skills
Examine professional development through a new framework to succeed in today’s complex ICU clinical environment.
Leaning Forward, SCCM Journals Transition to Fully Online
Driven by a shift in how information is consumed today and a focus on environmentally friendly publishing practices, the Society of Critical Care Medi...
Breathing Easier: Evolving Strategies in Ventilator Liberation Guidelines
This Concise Critical Appraisal discusses the major changes to the ventilator liberation guidelines, including completing spontaneous breathing trials...
New Study Showcases the Power of the ICU Liberation Bundle
A new study further illustrates that implementing the ICU Liberation Bundle (A-F) decreases patients’ mechanical ventilation duration and ICU le...
Supporting Each Other in Critical Care Careers
Growing and advancing careers in critical care starts at home with the multidisciplinary team.
Utility of Endovascular Thrombectomy in Patients With Large Infarct Cores
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a study that evaluated the clinical outcomes of patients with large infarct cores and Alberta Stroke Program ...
Vital Role of Clinician-Patient Communication: An SCCM Member’s Story
SCCM member Amy Tschirhart, MSN, APRN, CPNP-AC, shares how her own story of multiple ICU stays has influenced her practice as a pediatric ICU nurse pr...
SCCM Resources Help ICU Teams Address Well-Being
The Society of Critical Care Medicine has put together two free toolkits to address clinician workload, well-being, and burnout, providing resources a...
Editorial Leadership Change for Critical Care Explorations
Timothy G. Buchman, PhD, MD, MCCM, has announced that he will step down as editor-in-chief of Critical Care Explorations.
Bacterial Codetection in Infants With Lower Respiratory Tract Infections
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a recent study evaluating the prevalence of bacterial codetection in infants with lower respiratory tract inf...
Timing of Antibiotics in Septic Patients With Septic Arthritis
When should antibiotics be administered in septic patients with septic arthritis? This Concise Critical Appraisal reviews a recent study that sought t...
SCCM Welcomes New Editor-In-Chief of Critical Care Medicine
The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has named Jonathan E. Sevransky, MD, MHS, FCCM, as the new editor-in-chief of Critical Care Medicine
Push-Dose Vasopressor Safety and Efficacy
Are push-dose vasopressors (PDPs) safe and effective for patients with hypotension outside the operating room? This Concise Critical Appraisal covers ...
SCCM Diagnostic Excellence Program Seeks to Transform Sepsis Care With Support of CMSS Grant
Sepsis is the leading cause of hospitalization and hospital deaths in the United States. SCCM has received a grant from the Council of Medical Special...
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...
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 child...
RSV Vaccination in Adults May Curtail Morbidity and Mortality
This Concise Critical Appraisal delves into the impact of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and explores a recent trial that led to U.S. Food and Drug...
Critical Care Congress Site Selection
SCCM President Vinay M. Nadkarni, MD, MS, FCCM, provides an overview on how the Society is prioritizing and rethinking ease, comfort, and co...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Hydrocortisone and Fludrocortisone Versus Hydrocortisone Only
Is hydrocortisone for septic shock best used alone or in combination with fludrocortisone? This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a retrospective co...
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...
Remembering Norma Shoemaker: A Nurse Pioneer and SCCM’s First Executive Director
Norma J. Shoemaker, RN, MN, FCCM, one of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) earliest nurse members and its first executive director,...
Trip to West Africa Kicks Off SCCM AIRS Project
Oxygen is essential for human life and has no substitute. Its importance was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic by the many patients who had dif...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Endothelial Glycocalyx Integrity and Fluid Bolus Types
Is there an association between balanced versus unbalanced fluids and endothelial glycocalyx integrity in children with sepsis? This Concise Critical ...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Artificial Intelligence and the ICU Patient
With the advancement and increasing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, researchers have begun studying how to apply the technical cap...
An Update on SCCM Relief Efforts in Türkiye and Syria
SCCM President Vinay M. Nadkarni, MD, MS, FCCM, provides an update on the SCCM emergency response efforts for the Türkiye-Syria Earthquake.
Concise Critical Appraisal: Timing of Prone Positioning During Venovenous ECMO for ARDS
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a meta-analysis showing that prone positioning is beneficial for patients meeting criteria for venovenous ext...
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 av...
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 U...
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 fe...
COVID-19 Shutdown Expands Opportunity to Teach Critical Care Medicine
Before Michael J. Waxman, MBA, MD, FCCM, heads out to teach an FCCS course, he goes into his attic, where his simulation and teaching equipment is sto...
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 dev...
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 isol...
The Critical Care Community Shares Why It’s “Better Together” at Congress 2023
The Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) 2023 Critical Care Congress in San Francisco marked the in-person return of the largest multiprof...
Dr. Glaucomflecken Shares Humor on Social Media and at 2023 Critical Care Congress
Social media star and comedian Dr. Glaucomflecken, aka ophthalmologist William E. Flanary, MD, along with his wife, Kristin Flanary, MA, shared s...
Fluid Accumulations and Adverse Outcomes in Critically Ill Pediatric Patients
Is there an association between fluid accumulation (FA) and adverse outcomes in critically ill pediatric patients, and is there a threshold FA associa...
2023 ICU Heroes Award Winners: Perseverance and Compassion Amid the Chaos
Fifteen-year-old Rowen Cartmill played basketball for Westside Christian High School’s freshman team on January 8, 2022. Three days later, he wa...
Early Mobilization During Mechanical Ventilation: Pain With No Gain
Early active mobilization has been shown to mitigate ICU-acquired weakness, reduce disability and, most importantly, reduce mortality. This Concise Cr...
NIH Funds SCCM Discovery Study on the Use of Sepsis Bundles in the Emergency Department
In funding a five-year prospective multicenter study to determine the safest and most effective approach to sepsis intervention, the National Heart, L...
Improving Post-ICU Stay Outcomes: How SCCM’s Discovery Grant Helped Establish an NIH-Funded Study
Paul E. Wischmeyer, MD, EDIC, FASPEN, FCCM, has a highly personal understanding of the challenges of recovering from an intensive care unit (ICU) stay...
SCCM Member Efforts in Ukraine
Rom A. Stevens, MD, FCCM, and Robert Kerr, MD, were planning to spend this past April sailing off the west coast of Alaska. The two retired Navy capta...
SCCM Member Creates Telehealth Nonprofit to Help Ukrainians
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Jarone Lee, MD, MPH, FCCM, like so many others, wanted to help the Ukrainian people. But beyond donating money or supplie...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Impact of a Machine Learning Early Warning Score on Hospital Mortality
Common causes of death in hospitals, such as sepsis and respiratory failure, are treatable and benefit from early intervention. Machine learning algor...
Discovery and SARI-PREP Have Roles in Preparing for Next Pathogen Outbreak
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed major gaps in the U.S. healthcare system, prompting the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Cente...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Professional Development Despite ICU Burnout and Staff Shortages
This Concise Critical Appraisal describes two articles that illuminate the associations among the COVID-19 pandemic, clinician well-being, and burnout...
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 ...
SCCM Humanitarian Efforts in Ukraine
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has quickly become historic for its magnitude. The conflict has also led to crisis within the Ukrainian hea...
Concise Critical Appraisal: COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Burnout Critical Care Professions Differently
The COVID-19 pandemic created a new challenging environment in which healthcare workers must survive. Before the pandemic, healthcare workers experien...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Continued Rise of Venous Thromboembolism Across US Children’s Hospitals
Has the rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in children changed over time? A 2009 study reported a 70% increase in VTE in acutely and chronically ill...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Temperature Management After Cardiac Arrest
Recently published guidelines have replaced the recommendations on temperature management after cardiac arrest included in the 2021 post-resuscitation...
Best Practices for Mentorship and Burnout Mitigation
More than 75% of healthcare professionals have self-reported burnout as well as increased frustration and feeling overwhelmed at work. Andrea Sik...
AHRQ Releases New Experience-Based Toolkit for Intensive Care Units
The new Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Toolkit for Preventing CLABSI and CAUTI in ICUs offers customizable tools and training resou...
SCCM ICU Heroes: The Love Army
The ICU Heroes Award recognizes that patients and families are an integral part of intensive care unit (ICU) care. The award is given to an ICU patien...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Quality Improvement Intervention on Sleep and Delirium
Does your hospital use a checklist or bundle to minimize risk factors for delirium? Delirium is common in surgical and medical intensive care units (I...
Five Years of Discovery, the Critical Care Research Network
Several years before the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted healthcare worldwide, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) launched a task force to identi...
2022 Critical Care Congress Plenary: Health System Readiness 2.0
Brendan G. Carr, MD, MA, MS, will address some of the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and how health systems can prepare during the Peter Safar Mem...
Leapfrog Dashboard Tracking of Postoperative Sepsis: An Opportunity for Quality Improvement
This article describes the new Leapfrog quality metrics and their methodology, focusing on postoperative sepsis identification and the potential impac...
Increased Mental Disorder Diagnoses in Children After Invasive Mechanical Ventilation
This Concise Critical Appraisal highlights an article in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine that sought to determine the association between in...
An Update on SCCM Relief Efforts in Ukraine
SCCM President Sandra L. Kane-Gill, PharmD, MSc, FCCP, FCCM, provides an update on the SCCM emergency response efforts in Ukraine.
2022 Critical Care Congress Plenary: What Has COVID-19 Taught Us About ECMO?
Peta M.A. Alexander, MBBS, FRACP, FCICM, will present the Max Harry Weil Memorial Lecture titled, "What Has COVID-19 Taught Us About ECMO?&q...
Effect of Bougie Versus Endotracheal Tube With Stylet on Successful Tracheal Intubation
Tracheal intubation is a high-risk procedure that is frequently performed in the emergency department and intensive care unit. Failure of first-pass s...
SCCM Releases PANDEM Guidelines for Critically Ill Children and Infants
Emphasize importance of continual assessment, nonpharmacologic interventions, and family involvement. The PANDEM guidelines for children and infants w...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Vasopressin and Methylprednisolone for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Although several trials have examined in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), only two trials in the past decade have examined the use of vasopressin and g...
2022 Critical Care Congress Thought Leaders: Critical Care Nurses and COVID-19
John J. Gallagher, DNP, RN, CCNS, CCRN-K, TCRN, RRT, FCCM, will bring his experiences and teaching enjoyment to SCCM's 2022 Critical Care Congress...
2022 Critical Care Congress Thought Leaders: Genetics and Genomics
During the 2022 Critical Care Congress, Karin Reuter-Rice, PhD, NP, FAAN, FCCM, will talk about precision health, and specifically the role omic techn...
Managing Moral Distress During a Pandemic
To help understand what moral distress looks like and how to manage and prevent it, the Society of Critical Care Medicine recently hosted the webcast ...
COVID-19 Experiences from the Front Lines
With the average rate of daily new cases of COVID-19 on the rise, and the delta and omicron variants causing concern, the Society of Critical Care Med...
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 specia...
Best Practices for Managing Staff Shortages
In SCCM's webcast “Best Practices for Managing Staff Shortages,” a multiprofessional panel of experts discussed how staffing challenge...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Rapid Implementation of an Intensivist-Led VV ECMO Cannulation Program
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores an article published in Critical Care Medicine on a program at Cooper University Hospital in Camden,...
SCCM Donations Fund Tele-Critical Care Project
On August 14, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the nation of Haiti, killing more than 2200 people and leaving thousands of Haitians injured and in n...
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 vari...
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...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Epinephrine Dosing Intervals on Outcomes From Pediatric In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
The average annual incidence of pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) has recently been estimated at more than 15,000 cases. Survival rates for ...
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 - P...
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 p...
Remembering a Founder: Ake Grenvik, MD, PhD, MCCM
Ake Grenvik, MD, PhD, MCCM, a founding member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and one of the earliest pioneers of critical care, died ...
ICU Liberation: How Pharmacists Can Champion Change and Improve Outcomes
Joanna L. Stollings, PharmD, FCCP, FCCM, and Devin N. Holden, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, summarize how pharmacists can play an important role in the develop...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Awake Prone Positioning For COVID-19 Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores an article in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine that evaluated the efficacy of awake prone positioning t...
Prepare for a Surge of Pediatric Patients With COVID-19
With children going back to school, continued outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the upcoming flu season, it is important to prepare ...
An Update on SCCM Relief Efforts in Haiti
SCCM President Greg S. Martin, MD, MSc, FCCM, provides an update on the SCCM relief efforts in Haiti.
Updated Guidelines on Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Adults
Clostrididioides difficile infection (CDI) occurs in about 4% of ICU patients, causing fulminant colitis and death in nearly 60% of symptomatic critic...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Improving Training for Invasive Bedside Procedures
Invasive bedside procedures (IBPs) require a high degree of familiarity and skillful expertise. Yet effective and thorough bedside training can be hap...
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 w...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Cardiac Ultrasound in Pediatric Septic Shock Assessment
How can clinical information gleaned from focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) be used to augment clinical assessments in children with suspected septic s...
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 syste...
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine: What Clinicians Need to Know
In the past few weeks more than 7 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people in the Unit...
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&...
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 p...
Concise Critical Appraisal: Asynchronous and Distance Learning in the Age of COVID-19 and Beyond
The medical community has faced many challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including ensuring continued medical education in the face of so...
Achieving Buy-In for the ICU Liberation Campaign
As a bedside nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU), I did not have much understanding of the financial impact my care was having on the patients and ...
Discovery VIRUS Registry Outcomes and STOP-VIRUS ICU Learning Collaborative
The first outcomes of VIRUS were recently published in Critical Care Medicine. More than 20 manuscripts are being prepared for publication du...
Tocilizumab May Reduce Mortality in Certain COVID-19 Patients
Two recent trials suggest that immune-damping drugs such as tocilizumab may reduce mortality in patients with severe COVID-19.
Concise Critical Appraisal: Early Hemostatic Management of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy
This Concise Critical Appraisal delves into a study published in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine that sought to determine whether early hemost...
The Future of Sepsis Treatment
Sepsis continues to affect Americans and hospital patients across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates th...
Addressing Implicit Bias in the Critical Care Workforce
Implicit bias is an unconscious negative view of a group of people that can compromise relationships and, in the case of the medical community, stand ...
Donor-Funded Training Supports Fundamentals Courses in Rwanda
Learn how Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) members turned a passion for improving care into action by holding donor-funded training in resourc...
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 int...
President's Message: Research Triggers Thought...and Action!
SCCM is supporting transformative and informative research, encouraging thought and action through its grants, programs, sections, collaborative audit...
Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Cardiac Arrest
Does extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR) improve survival rates? This Concise Critical Appraisal reviews a study that sought to determ...
Fundamentals Courses Help Critically Ill Patients in Underserved Areas
Thanks to the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation, Gisselle Aguilar Sabillon, MD, recently led two Pediatric Fun...
Appropriate Antibiotic Delay in Bloodstream Infections: How Long Is Too Long?
Does delaying antibiotic treatment in patients with bloodstream infections have an effect on mortality? This Concise Critical Appraisal reviews a stud...
Mechanical Circulatory Support With ECPR
Does adding mechanical circulatory support to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) lead to better outcomes than ECMO alone? This Concise Critica...
SCCM Critical Care Workforce Update 2023
As an update to a 2019 workforce report, three committees from the Society of Critical Care Medicine evaluated critical care medicine’s continue...
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...
2024 ICU Heroes Award Winners
Independence Day is supposed to be a day of celebration, but for Cooper Roberts and Ian Azeredo, it was life changing. If it were not for their respec...
The Impact of Blood Culture Positivity on Community-Acquired Sepsis
This Concise Critical Appraisal delves into the impact of blood culture positivity on community-acquired sepsis and evaluates the epidemiology, resist...
World-Renowned Experts at the 2024 Critical Care Congress
SCCM is thrilled to bring world-renowned thought leaders to the 2024 Critical Care Congress to discuss innovative developments and hot topics in criti...
My First Congress: What to Know
Attending your first Critical Care Congress? Read on for some tips and tricks on navigating the meeting without becoming overwhelmed.
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 Ca...
SCCM Success at AMA House of Delegates Meetings
Society of Critical Care Medicine representatives to the American Medical Association House of Delegates provide an update on recent advocacy.
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 ent...