Newsletter 155 / November 23rd 2014

 

Welcome

Welcome to the 155th Critical Care Reviews Newsletter, bringing you the best critical care research published in the past week, plus a wide range of free full text review articles, guidelines, commentaries, editorials, study critiques, correspondence and case reports from hundreds of clinical and scientific journals. There are no standout articles this week, with the highlights being the PARAMEDIC study, investigating the LUCAS-2 mechanical chest compression device during CPR, several papers on Ebola virus disease, acute pancreatitis and stroke. If you're a runner, you can find out whether this past-time is actually good for your heart or not.

This week's Topic of the Week  is Lung Ultrasound, starting with a paper on the sonographic diagnosis of pneumothorax in tomorrow's Paper of the Day.

Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2015

It's just 9 weeks until the 2015 Critical Care Reviews Meeting, being held in association with the Northern Ireland Intensive Care Society. This not-for-profit event will be held on Friday January 23rd, at the Galgorm Resort and Spa, outside Belfast, Northern Ireland. The event theme is to review the hottest trials of 2014, aiming to decide whether we should implement the results of these studies. On hand to provide genuine expert opinion will be the chief investigators for several of these trials, including TTM, VITdAL-ICU, CALORIES, ProMISe and HARP-2. In addition, another 8 major randomized controlled trials will be critiqued. Further talks include early mobilisation, ECMO, airway management, and neuroprognostication post cardiac arrest. Amazingly, if the embargo has lifted in time, we will also have the inside line on, and be one of the first worldwide to discuss, the new sepsis definitions. With chief investigators for three of the major RCTs presented at ESICM just last month, the chief investigator for the biggest critical care study of 2013, and the chief investigator for the third of the 2014 early goal-directed therapy sepsis studies, it's one of the most contemporary, focused meetings around - you won't want to miss it.

The impressive list of speakers includes Clifford Deutschman (USA), past president of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Niklas Nielsen (Sweden), Eddy Fan (Canada), Kathy Rowan (England), Karin Amrein, (Austria), Danny McAuley and Eamon McCoy (Northern Ireland), plus a host of local intensivists. In keeping with a FOAMed event, this is a not-for-profit meeting, with all talks being recorded and made freely available online shortly after. 

If you're a drive or short flight away, it would be great to have you come along. Travel on Thursday, attend the meeting on Friday and see some of the local landmarks over the weekend, before returning home on Sunday evening after a great winter break. On Saturday visit the North Coast: the World Heritage site Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Dunluce Castle and Bushmills Distillary, the oldest distillary in the world; while on Sunday experience Belfast: the new acclaimed Titanic Centre followed by a famous black taxi tour describing the troubled past of one of Europe's now most vibrant cities. The Galgorm Resort and Spa is one of Northern Ireland's premier hotels and is a 30 minute drive from Belfast International Airport.

Online registration is open and the programme is available as a download, with further information at the meeting webpage. As capacity is limited, don't wait to book your place and potentially miss out. Please feel free to contact me if you're thinking about making the trip - it would be great to hear from you.

The next SMACC conference will be held June 23rd to 26th, in Chicago, USA. Just like the Critical Care Reviews Meeting, this is a not-for-profit event, run by a team interested in sharing knowledge in a fun, modern way. It's a conference like no other. The amazing programme and registration are available on the SMACC website.

 

Critical Care Horizons is a fresh new voice in the critical care literature, offering thought-provoking, cutting-edge commentary and opinion papers, plus state-of-the-art review articles. The journal is free to publish with and free to read, opening authorship opportunity to all. The energetic editorial board consists of a deliberate mix of clinicians active in social media and world renowned academics, all driven by a desire to improve the care we offer our patients, and operate without financial gain or incentive. A call for papers has been issued, so if you have something interesting to say, and can say it in an engaging manner, please get in touch. The first issue will be released on January 1st 2015.

COI - I am the editor-in-chief of this new journal, but work in a voluntary capacity, as do all the editors.

 

Randomized Controlled Trials

Meta Analyses

Observational Studies