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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 stored. He selects what he needs among the mannequins, defibrillators, ventilators, and other supplies, packs it all into his car, and hits the road.
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).
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores a meta-analysis showing that prone positioning is beneficial for patients meeting criteria for venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), especially when initiated within five days after ECMO initiation. When initiated within five days, patients had lower intensive care unit (ICU) mortality rates, higher likelihood of being discharged alive, shorter ECMO duration, and cumulative 90-day probability of being discharged from the ICU.
Is there an association between balanced versus unbalanced fluids and endothelial glycocalyx integrity in children with sepsis? This Concise Critical Appraisal offers insight into the vascular dysfunction that occurs in pediatric patients with sepsis or septic shock after receiving either balanced or unbalanced fluids.
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.
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.
Norma J. Shoemaker, RN, MN, FCCM, one of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) earliest nurse members and its first executive director, died March 8, 2023. She was 90.
SCCM President Vinay M. Nadkarni, MD, MS, FCCM, provides an overview on how the Society is prioritizing and rethinking ease, comfort, and cost of access to the Critical Care Congress when selecting future sites.
Learn how Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) members turned a passion for improving care into action by holding donor-funded training in resource-limited areas.
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 in the way of good healthcare. Learn how to approach and mitigate implicit bias.
Sepsis continues to affect Americans and hospital patients across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 1.7 million adult Americans develop sepsis each year1; this is more than the entire population of Phoenix, the fifth-largest city in the country.2 Approximately 270,000 of these patients die from sepsis.
The first outcomes of VIRUS were recently published in Critical Care Medicine. More than 20 manuscripts are being prepared for publication during the next several months. Additionally, sites have been invited to submit ancillary study ideas drawing on registry data. Of the 150 proposed, more than 60 have been approved. Join the registry today and contribute to this important data collection.
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 my hospital. I have since graduated with a master’s degree in nursing as a clinical nurse specialist and achieved a doctorate of nursing practice. Since moving into an operations role nearly three years ago, I have seen the financial impacts of care to which I had been oblivious for the first part of my career. I ask myself: How do I advocate for the best patient care while balancing costs to ensure a financially healthy organization? The answer: The ICU Liberation campaign.
The medical community has faced many challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including ensuring continued medical education in the face of social distancing guidelines and the increased workloads of faculty and trainees. This Concise Critical Appraisal explores an article published in ATS Scholar that sought to outline distance learning options and develop a practical framework for transitioning content to a virtual platform.
Invasive bedside procedures (IBPs) require a high degree of familiarity and skillful expertise. Yet effective and thorough bedside training can be haphazard or unattainable. Chest published a systematic review and meta-analysis that highlights gaps in research on IBP training in critical care. The study included four focus groups of pulmonary and critical care medicine faculty and fellows from four U.S. medical centers. The focus groups identified traits, behaviors, and context as common themes of effective teachers. This Concise Critical Appraisal takes a deep dive into the study and the takeaways for experts and novices seeking to improve procedural knowledge and increase patient safety.
SCCM President Greg S. Martin, MD, MSc, FCCM, provides an update on the SCCM relief efforts in Haiti.
This Concise Critical Appraisal explores an article in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine that evaluated the efficacy of awake prone positioning to prevent intubation or death in patients with severe COVID-19. This meta-trial used a new study design that allowed for the combination of six simultaneous national randomized, controlled, open-label trials.
Joanna L. Stollings, PharmD, FCCP, FCCM, and Devin N. Holden, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, summarize how pharmacists can play an important role in the development and implementation of each element of the ICU Liberation Bundle (A-F).
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 need of assistance.1 Beyond the casualties, 66 health facilities were either damaged or destroyed, putting an impossible burden on an already fragile healthcare system.1
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 Medicine (SCCM) asked members in states with high rates of infection to share their experience and advice. Here are some of their insights.