Critical Care Alert – June 1, 2011

June 1, 2011

• Special Feature: Use of Therapeutic Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest

  When patients sustain a sudden cardiac arrest, they require immediate life-saving therapies to restart cardiac function and prevent secondary anoxic brain injury.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Should We Look at the Stomach with Ultrasound Prior to Intubation?

  Bedside ultrasound is increasingly being performed in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a variety of purposes including guiding volume resuscitation, central line placement, and marking pleural fluid collections for drainage.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Long-Term Psychological Effects of Critical Illness

  The authors investigated whether intra-ICU clinical psychological support could impact anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates in patients 1 year after ICU discharge.

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• Abstract & Commentary: Does COPD Worsen Outcomes When Mechanical Ventilation is Required for Other Reasons?

  Rodríguez and colleagues report on a prospectively enrolled cohort of 235 consecutive patients admitted to two ICUs in Spain who required mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours and had indications for ventilatory support other than respiratory infection or acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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• Pharmacology Watch: Women's Health Issue — Adverse Medication Effects

  In this issue: Calcium supplements and MI; birth control pills and VTE; ACE inhibitors and breast cancer risk; spending on pharmaceuticals; and FDA actions.

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• Clinical Briefs in Primary Care supplement

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