Higher Mortality When Children on Mechanical Ventilation Are Cared for Outside ICUs: National Japanese Cohort Signals Need for Pediatric ICU Centralization
Posted inCritical Care news Pediatrics

Higher Mortality When Children on Mechanical Ventilation Are Cared for Outside ICUs: National Japanese Cohort Signals Need for Pediatric ICU Centralization

A national retrospective cohort of 129,375 mechanically ventilated children in Japan found most received care on general wards and that ward care was associated with higher in-hospital mortality than ICU care after propensity matching (6.4% vs 4.1%; OR 1.49). Findings raise systems-level questions about pediatric critical care capacity and centralization.
Phenylephrine Versus Norepinephrine in Acute Abdomen Surgery: Similar Clinical Outcomes but Different Early Renin Responses — Implications for Perioperative Hemodynamic Care
Posted inAnesthesiology Critical Care news

Phenylephrine Versus Norepinephrine in Acute Abdomen Surgery: Similar Clinical Outcomes but Different Early Renin Responses — Implications for Perioperative Hemodynamic Care

A randomized trial in 156 emergency acute-abdomen patients found phenylephrine and norepinephrine produced similar postoperative RAAS changes and complication rates; norepinephrine produced an early renin rise, while high preoperative renin predicted greater vasopressor needs and higher AKI incidence.
Frailty Amplifies Mortality Risk Across the PaO2/FiO2 Spectrum: Insights from a 497,185‑Patient ANZICS Cohort
Posted inCritical Care news Respiratory

Frailty Amplifies Mortality Risk Across the PaO2/FiO2 Spectrum: Insights from a 497,185‑Patient ANZICS Cohort

In a 497,185‑patient registry study, frailty (CFS ≥5) was common and associated with substantially higher in‑hospital mortality across all severities of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). The relationship between PaO2/FiO2 and death was nonlinear and distinctly separated by frailty category.
Why Emergency Medicine Residents Rarely Choose Surgical Critical Care — A Nationwide Survey and a Roadmap to Increase EM-SCC Matriculation
Posted inCritical Care Emergency Medicine news

Why Emergency Medicine Residents Rarely Choose Surgical Critical Care — A Nationwide Survey and a Roadmap to Increase EM-SCC Matriculation

A national survey of 111 emergency medicine trainees identifies limited exposure to surgical critical care, institutional and geographic factors, and program characteristics (ECMO, multidisciplinary teams) as key modifiable drivers of low EM matriculation into surgical critical care fellowships.
Paracetamol Lowers Cerebral Temperature Modestly but Meaningfully in Febrile Brain‑Injured Patients: Results of the NEUROTHERM Randomized Pharmacodynamic Trial
Posted inCritical Care Neurology news

Paracetamol Lowers Cerebral Temperature Modestly but Meaningfully in Febrile Brain‑Injured Patients: Results of the NEUROTHERM Randomized Pharmacodynamic Trial

In a double‑blind RCT of 99 febrile brain‑injured patients with intracerebral thermal probes, a single IV dose of paracetamol reduced mean cerebral temperature by 0.6°C versus placebo and kept cerebral temperature <38.5°C for a median 3.6 hours; one‑third of patients did not respond.
Nurse-Led Family Communication in the ICU: Modest Gains in Communication Quality and Shorter Hospital Stays — What Works and What We Still Don’t Know
Posted inCritical Care news Nursing & care

Nurse-Led Family Communication in the ICU: Modest Gains in Communication Quality and Shorter Hospital Stays — What Works and What We Still Don’t Know

A 2025 systematic review of nurse-led ICU family communication interventions found modest improvement in communication quality (SMD 0.26) and reduced hospital LOS (~3.9 days), but limited effects on psychological distress, satisfaction, ICU LOS, or mortality. Heterogeneity in models and implementers limits firm recommendations.
Precision Immunotherapy for Sepsis: ImmunoSep Trial Shows Early Organ‑Function Benefit with Targeted Anakinra or IFN‑γ
Posted inCritical Care Infectious Diseases news

Precision Immunotherapy for Sepsis: ImmunoSep Trial Shows Early Organ‑Function Benefit with Targeted Anakinra or IFN‑γ

The ImmunoSep randomized trial found that biomarker-guided immunotherapy (anakinra for macrophage activation‑like syndrome; interferon‑γ for sepsis‑induced immunoparalysis) improved organ dysfunction by day 9 versus placebo, though 28‑day mortality was unchanged. Safety signals require follow‑up.
Immediate Coronary Angiography After Out‑of‑Hospital Cardiac Arrest Without ST Elevation Shows No 1‑Year Survival Benefit — IPD Meta‑Analysis of COACT and TOMAHAWK
Posted inCardiology Critical Care news

Immediate Coronary Angiography After Out‑of‑Hospital Cardiac Arrest Without ST Elevation Shows No 1‑Year Survival Benefit — IPD Meta‑Analysis of COACT and TOMAHAWK

An individual patient data meta‑analysis of COACT and TOMAHAWK (n=1,031) found no 1‑year survival benefit to immediate coronary angiography versus delayed/selective angiography after out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) without ST‑elevation; no patient subgroup showed a clear differential benefit.