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Critical care medicine news
Decision support guidelines safely reduce unnecessary testing for very sick children, study finds
Clinicians often collect an endotracheal aspirate culture (EAC) from patients of all ages with breathing tubes to check mucus for signs of bacterial infection, a complication that can be deadly. Historically, however, clinical ...
Aug 18, 2026
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Chilled platelets could safely expand lifesaving supply to bleeding patients, trial shows
In a thoughtfully designed adaptive clinical trial, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physician-scientists demonstrated that the U.S. could triple or quadruple the supply of platelets available to help save patients ...
Aug 17, 2026
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Wearable sensors and AI could monitor blood pressure in ICU
Wearable sensors coupled with AI can generate blood pressure readings nearly as accurately as the invasive and risky arterial lines relied on in intensive care units and operating rooms, new work by Johns Hopkins University ...
Aug 17, 2026
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Sepsis survivors show widely varied vaccine responses in clinical trial
People who have survived sepsis don't respond to vaccines in the same way as those who haven't had sepsis, according to new clinical trial results. The findings suggest more work is needed to understand why the vaccine-related ...
Aug 14, 2026
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BathMat trial shows promise in cutting ICU workload while improving care for critically ill patients
An innovative inflatable repositioning device developed by researchers and clinicians at the University of Bath and Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust could significantly reduce the number of staff required ...
Aug 13, 2026
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How heatstroke kills—it can still be deadly after your body cools down
Europe is in the grip of yet another deadly heat wave. Over 10,000 excess deaths were recorded during late June 2026 alone—and the toll keeps climbing.
Aug 10, 2026
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Trial focuses on duration of therapeutic hypothermia for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
Each year, more than 250,000 people in the United States experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Approximately 90% of patients do not survive.
Aug 6, 2026
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Nurse-led initiative reduces unplanned extubations
A nurse-led initiative at a New Jersey hospital reversed an upward trend of unplanned extubation rates in its medical intensive care unit (MICU) and maintained the improvement for five years, according to an article published ...
Aug 3, 2026
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ICU design guidelines highlight how hospital environments shape patient care and safety
International guidelines developed with contributions from a Texas A&M University College of Nursing researcher confirm the importance of thoughtful intensive care unit (ICU) design and encourage the involvement of nurses ...
Jul 30, 2026
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AI tool helps detect patient deterioration earlier, reducing hospital deaths
Researchers from RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School found that an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled early warning system helped identify hospitalized patients at risk of rapid clinical decline ...
Jul 29, 2026
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Doctors need an AI model they can understand, says researcher
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms is increasingly under scrutiny. After all, they can already do a great deal, and even more is promised. But what exactly lies under the hood of an AI model? For some ...
Jul 29, 2026
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Can AI help doctors have difficult conversations with critically ill patients in end-of-life care?
When a patient is admitted to a hospital emergency room with a life-threatening medical condition, the first order of business is to get that patient to a stable state. After that happens, it is standard medical practice ...
Jul 22, 2026
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'Cellular behavioromics' reveals how immune cells swarm during sepsis
Despite the best efforts of intensive care unit (ICU) staff and physicians and the most advanced life support, Dr. Bryan Yipp, witnesses many deaths in the ICU attributed to sepsis. "Sepsis is the body's overwhelming immune ...
Jul 21, 2026
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Collaborative process clarifies ICU admissions from ED
From the emergency department (ED) to the intensive care unit (ICU), a clear, collaborative admission process at a Tennessee hospital cut in half the time newly admitted critically ill patients waited to receive specialized ...
Jul 15, 2026
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Trial finds combined exercise-nutrition intervention safe but not more effective in ICU
A new national clinical trial is helping reshape the future of recovery research for critically ill patients, providing important new evidence about how rehabilitation and nutrition interventions should be delivered during ...
Jul 13, 2026
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Normal oxygen levels can miss severe breathlessness driven by carbon dioxide
A study led by biomedical scientist Erica Heinrich at the University of California, Riverside, highlights a critical gap in how clinicians detect and treat breathing distress (dyspnea), particularly in patients on ventilators. ...
Jul 12, 2026
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Aid for brain-bleed recovery receives expedited review
A noninvasive neuromodulation technology has received Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reducing a dangerous narrowing of blood vessels in the brain that can follow a brain ...
Jul 7, 2026
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IV vitamin C might boost recuperation among trauma patients
People who've been severely injured in an accident might have a lower risk of death if doctors pump them full of vitamin C, a new evidence review says.
Jul 7, 2026
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Common mucus-clearing treatments don't help ICU patients breathe easier and may cause harm, clinical trial finds
For patients struggling to breathe because of acute respiratory failure, clearing mucus from the airways is a routine part of treatment. Mucoactive agents are widely used for this purpose. But after years of clinical use, ...
Anion gap remains pragmatic target during diabetic ketoacidosis treatment and resolution
Patients experiencing life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) require quick action, diligent care and close monitoring as they receive insulin infusions and other medical interventions to bring their blood glucose and ...
Jul 2, 2026
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome patients improve with experimental monoclonal antibody treatment
Doctors have few options for patients who develop a life-threatening lung condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. A frequent cause of death during the COVID-19 pandemic, ARDS occurs when an inflammatory ...
Jul 1, 2026
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High-dose IV vitamin C may lower risks of death and sepsis in trauma patients
High doses of intravenous (IV) vitamin C may lower the risk of death and sepsis in trauma patients, as well as shorten hospital stays, a review of the available evidence published online in the journal BMJ Military Health ...
Jun 30, 2026
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A 13-second eye test may help predict recovery of consciousness after severe brain injury
A simple bedside eye test may help predict recovery of consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries, according to new research presented at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress 2026.
Jun 27, 2026
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Biomarkers could help identify ICU patients at risk of chronic critical illness
New research, published in The Journal of Immunology, identifies biomarkers of a distinct immune profile that could be used to identify patients at risk for chronic critical illness (CCI) on admission to the intensive care ...
Jun 25, 2026
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Leveraging AI can reduce time and resources in how physicians approach sepsis care
In a new clinical study from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers and physicians at UC San Diego Health have found that by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), they could develop more ...
Jun 25, 2026
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