https://medicalxpress.com/critical-care-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Critical care medicine A scientific review published in the NEJM Evidence journal, coordinated by the D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), evaluated outcomes of adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in middle-income countries. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-exposes-major-inequalities-outcomes-community.html Wed, 27 May 2026 15:20:24 EDT news699111662 Researchers from the University of Otago—Faculty of Medicine—Christchurch Ōtautahi are calling for improved long-term psychological support for survivors of major trauma after landmark studies reveal many patients in Aotearoa New Zealand are struggling to access appropriate follow-up care. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-expose-hidden-toll-trauma-recovery.html Wed, 27 May 2026 11:00:10 EDT news699093661 A new Penn Nursing study suggests that the specific sedatives used during critical illness in early childhood may have long-term implications for a child's neurocognitive development. Martha A.Q. Curley, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health, and the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, co-led the study with R. Scott Watson, MD, from Seattle Children's Hospital. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-sedative-choice-pediatric-intensive-term.html Tue, 19 May 2026 19:20:01 EDT news698429641 A UK-wide trial, managed by Warwick Medical School, finds that online rehabilitation at home can meaningfully improve quality of life for some intensive care survivors. The iRehab Trial tested an online rehabilitation program for people recovering at home after being on a ventilator in intensive care. The trial was conducted across 52 NHS hospitals and managed by Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, with leadership from Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-clinical-trial-online-home-recovery.html Tue, 19 May 2026 16:40:08 EDT news698421122 A B.C.-led clinical research team is behind a study that could help improve care for critically ill patients in intensive care units worldwide. Researchers from Royal Columbian Hospital and Simon Fraser University have published findings in JAMA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-clinical-trial-safer-critically-ill.html Tue, 19 May 2026 15:40:04 EDT news698415601 A smart-technology wearable wristband device may be able to automatically detect cardiac arrest, which could lead to faster medical assistance and increased survival odds when cardiac arrest occurs outside of a hospital, according to new research published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-smart-technology-wearable-wristband-cardiac.html Tue, 19 May 2026 05:00:03 EDT news698325422 Giving whole blood or the component parts of blood are equally effective options for paramedics and emergency medical technicians to use in treating patients with severe, traumatic bleeding before arriving at the hospital, according to a large, nationwide trial directed by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC clinicians and scientists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-prehospital-trauma-flexible-option-blood.html Mon, 18 May 2026 15:10:02 EDT news698325241 A new study from scientists at the University of California San Diego in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, and other institutions, demonstrates that an artificial intelligence-powered CPR coaching agent can outperform 911 dispatchers in guiding bystanders through cardiopulmonary resuscitation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-powered-cpr-outperforms-dispatchers.html Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:08 EDT news698056769 A French woman infected in the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung, a doctor at the Paris hospital caring for the sickened passenger said Tuesday. The outbreak has now reached 11 total reported cases, 9 of which have been confirmed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-french-hantavirus-patient-critically-ill.html Wed, 13 May 2026 05:20:01 EDT news697864992 An early warning system for sepsis, one of the deadliest infections for hospital patients, has been approved for use by the FDA, one of the first AI-based medical tools to get clearance. The tool, developed by Johns Hopkins University researchers and now commercialized by Bayesian Health, detects sepsis hours faster than doctors and has reduced deaths by nearly 20%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-fda-early-sepsis.html Tue, 12 May 2026 11:40:07 EDT news697804201 A Hiroshima University study of more than 31,000 patients found that pneumonia occurred more often after breathing tubes were removed than during ventilation, with most cases developing within a 1–2 week window after surgery. The findings suggest this under-recognized condition may be a distinct clinical entity linked to swallowing dysfunction and that early assessment and intervention, including identification of high-risk patients, may be key to prevention and improved outcomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-extubation-pneumonia-distinct-condition-surgery.html Thu, 07 May 2026 09:56:07 EDT news697366516 Severe bleeding after trauma can rapidly become life-threatening. In a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, Marcus Wannberg examines how the body's coagulation system begins to fail early after injury, which injuries most often lead to fatal bleeding, and how high-risk injuries can be identified. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-qa-body-clotting-severe-trauma.html Wed, 06 May 2026 15:40:08 EDT news697299481 Platelets, which allow blood to clot, can save patients in danger of bleeding to death from traumatic injuries. But donated platelets can only be given to patients in a hospital and last only a few days at room temperature to a few weeks when refrigerated. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dried-artificial-platelets-shelf-stable.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:20:01 EDT news696603226 In neurological intensive care, it is understood that the brain cannot wait. As the most sensitive organ in the human body, it can sustain irreversible damage after just a few minutes of severe hypoxia. By comparison, a muscle can withstand hours without oxygen. To prevent neuronal damage, action must be taken quickly and precisely. In this scenario, medical decisions are often based on the indicators displayed on the monitors in the intensive care unit (ICU). Clinical experience can bring disconcerting surprises: even when the parameters indicate stability, the brain may still be suffering. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-noninvasive-skull-sensor-brain-injuries.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:20:02 EDT news696523141 A major study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Nemours Children's Health, and Children's National Hospital and involving an extensive network of medical centers across the United States and abroad, found that different types of crystalloid fluid resuscitation were equally effective for staving off the most serious adverse kidney events after the treatment of pediatric patients with suspected septic shock. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-large-international-similar-efficacy-safety.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:01 EDT news696175648 A new fiber probe developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin delivers two major innovations in health monitoring to help both patients around the world and the clinicians who care for them. The probe can track three key biomarkers simultaneously, enabling faster, minimally invasive patient monitoring. All that in a tiny package—the probe is the smallest of its kind with a diameter of only 1.1 millimeters. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-tiny-fiber-probe-key-biomarkers.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:20:07 EDT news696174781 Findings from the Can Escalation Reduce Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality in Cardiogenic Shock (CERAMICS) registry demonstrate that early use of a small heart pump improves outcomes in patients experiencing a severe form of heart failure called cardiogenic shock after suffering from a heart attack and undergoing a stenting procedure. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-survival-patients-cardiogenic.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:40:04 EDT news696153757 A new study on sepsis training in Ghana builds on prior research showing the impact of Annenberg Hotkeys, a free platform developed in 2020. It is being used in other medical settings—and its co-creator sees potential in nonmedical uses. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-free-medical-telesimulation-platform-children.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:40:01 EDT news696075312 Cultures of silence among health care professionals remain a significant threat to patients and health care innovation, according to results from a national survey of more than 3,500 clinicians and health care administrators. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-silence-health-communication-failures-threaten.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:20:04 EDT news695984641 Thyroid hormones play a fundamental role in cardiovascular function. They influence how the heart responds to adrenaline, how the heart uses energy and how constricted or relaxed blood vessels are. However, their effect on the strength of cardiac contraction is less understood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-thyroid-hormone-contribute-heart-dysfunction.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:10:01 EDT news695493601 Home is often where recovery begins after being hospitalized for a serious illness. But for some people, it may also be where gaps in care arise. In a recent study, Yale School of Medicine's Snigdha Jain, MD, MHS, and colleagues found that social factors, such as income and education, can be associated with whether an older adult receives home-based rehabilitation services after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. The findings are published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-icu-older-adults-home-based.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:40:05 EDT news695483154 A new study exposes challenges in reversing opioid overdoses with naloxone when potent synthetic drugs like fentanyl and sufentanil are involved, according to a study published in the May 2026 issue of Anesthesiology. The findings raise important alarms for health care professionals and the public as the opioid crisis continues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-limitations-naloxone-reversing-overdoses-powerful.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:40:01 EDT news695305133 A QUT-led pilot study has shown the use of a relatively simple and cost-effective method of monitoring the presence of infectious disease-causing bacteria in intensive care units and their sites of transmission. The collaborative project between QUT, University of Southern Queensland, University of Queensland and St Vincent's Private Hospital in Toowoomba has demonstrated the power of academia and hospitals working together to address the critical problem of hospital-acquired infections. The paper is published in the journal Microbial Genomics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-effective-combat-icu-drug-resistant.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:20:07 EDT news694865822 A new study from the University of Minnesota Medical School has demonstrated that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) can rapidly reverse systemic inflammation and improve survival in patients with fulminant Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection—a life-threatening condition characterized by a sepsis-like state. The findings are published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-treatment-protocol-deadliest-cases-difficile.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 17:20:03 EDT news694711441 Language barriers may be particularly harmful in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), where families encounter challenging, often life-changing medical decisions. In many hospitals, a member of the health care team, and not the family, decides when to use interpretation services. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-pediatric-icu-communication-families-access.html Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:10:02 EDT news694337587 Assessing health literacy levels soon after hospital admission and adjusting discharge instructions accordingly helped reduce readmission rates for pediatric patients after heart surgery and improve caregiver satisfaction scores at a California children's hospital, according to a study published in Critical Care Nurse. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-health-literacy-discharge-readmission.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:00:03 EDT news694258383 For decades, Chicago's South Side neighborhoods have experienced high rates of firearm violence, making speedy access to expert trauma care a matter of life and death. A recent study in JAMA Surgery helps quantify the impact of critical care: the opening of the University of Chicago Medicine's Level 1 trauma center in 2018 was associated with a nearly 4% reduction in firearm mortality, thanks to faster and closer emergency treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-trauma-center-gunshot-minutes-deaths.html Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:00:22 EDT news693760786 Older adults are much more likely to become seriously ill from flu or COVID because aging lung cells can drive excessive immune responses, according to a new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco. The findings enhance the understanding of the inflammation that accompanies aging, explaining how an otherwise minor cough can sometimes send an elderly person to the hospital. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-covid-flu-older-lungs-harder.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:00:08 EDT news693827949 An international team of experts recently came together to update sepsis care guidelines for adults for the first time since 2021. The updates have profound implications for the management of sepsis, which is responsible for approximately 11 million deaths per year worldwide. Co-led by U-M's Hallie Prescott, M.D. and Massimo Antonelli, M.D. of Catholic University in Rome, Italy, the 69-person panel reviewed research, concentrating on areas of care that may have new evidence supporting a change in practice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-surviving-sepsis-guidelines-harness-life.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 19:30:01 EDT news693734977 When someone gets a bad infection, the body's immune system rushes in to fight the germs. But sometimes this defense system becomes too strong and starts hurting the person's own tissues and organs. This condition, known as sepsis, is still one of the leading causes of death in hospitals worldwide. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-pp4-protein-body-overreacting-severe.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:40:01 EDT news693586742