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In the ICUs of a well-staffed academic medical center committed to quality improvement, in which closed staffing, multidisciplinary rounds, and the daily use of checklists were already in place, implementation of a 24-hour ICU telemedicine system that was well accepted by the medical staff was associated with impressive improvements in adherence to best practice standards as well as with reductions in hospital mortality and lengths of stay.
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The authors advocate that cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging using specific criteria may be useful as a diagnostic tool for patients with stress cardiomyopathy at the time of acute clinical presentation.
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In this study, the authors attempt to develop a risk stratification score to predict bleeding in patients treated with warfarin oral anticoagulation.
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Intensivists experienced significantly less burnout, work-home life imbalance, and job distress under an interrupted schedule vs a continuous (half-month) schedule. ICU length of stay and mortality were non-significantly higher under continuous scheduling.
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ACEI/ARB therapy for AS; safety alert issued for dronedarone; statins and cancer risk; nesiritide and heart failure; and FDA actions.
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Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is now accepted as a disease-modifying therapy in patients with heart failure, left ventricular dysfunction, and intraventricular conduction defects. In this paper, Sipahi and colleagues review the data on the benefits of CRT in relationship to baseline QRS duration.
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High-dose loop diuretics are often necessary to reduce elevated filling pressures in patients with heart failure. However, they are known to activate neurohormonal mechanisms that may be harmful.
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In patients with severe valvular aortic stenosis (AS), ascending aortic dilatation is common, and is thought to be due to the alterations in flow caused by the stenotic valve.
