Newsletter 159

December 21st 2014

Welcome to the 159th 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.

It's a fantastic edition this week, ranging from major RCTs on stroke and traumatic brain injury, to methodological insights into the measurements we base our daily practice on, to a commentary on William Osler, a modern Father of Medicine. Changing to a more sombre topic, Christmas is an appropriate time to reflect on the incredible bravery of our colleagues in West Africa, tackling the Ebola virus disease epidemic so we don't have to. Healthcare workers fighting this outbreak are 103 times more likely to become infected than the general population, with predictable consequences. The Lancet has published a poignant account of some of these people, to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude.

This week's Topic of the Week is transport medicine, starting with a paper on aeromedical tranfer of the critically ill patient in tomorrow's Paper of the Day.

If you have any comments or ideas for how to improve the site or newsletter, or suggested topics to be covered, please get in touch at rob@criticalcarereviews.com.

Research: Randomized Controlled Trials | Meta Analyses | Observational Studies

Other: Guidelines & Position Statements | Editorials | Commentaries | Correspondence | Case Reports

Review Articles: Clinical | Non-Clinical I Basic Science

Upcoming Meetings

Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2015

It's now less than five weeks until the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2015, discussing the hottest trials of 2014. Studies being reviewed include the mechanical chest compression device studies CIRC and LINC; ALBIOS, investigating albumin in sepsis; TRISS, evaluating red cell transfusion thresholds in septic shock; OPTIMISE, looking at perioperative goal-directed haemodynamic therapy; SEPSISPAM, examining blood pressure targets in septic shock, PEITHO, exploring fibrinolysis in intermediate-risk PE, and a comparison of cerebral perfusion pressure-targeted therapy versus intracranial pressure-targeted therapy for raised intracranial pressure in paediatric CNS Infections. Chief investigators for three of the major RCTs presented at the Hot Topics Session of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine meeting in Barcelona in October are present to discuss their work (CALORIES, HARP 2, VITdAL-ICU), as is the chief investigator for TTM. 2014 is the year of the early goal-directed sepsis therapy studies, and the chief investigator for ProMISe will be on hand to discuss the results of ProCESS & ARISE, as well as give an insight into the yet to finish UK sepsis study ProMISe. If this wasn't enough, there are also review talks from world experts on early mobilisation, ECMO, airway management, sepsis and neuroprognostication post cardiac arrest. Regardless if you're a believer in, or skeptic of, evidence-based medicine, you'll be amazed by the discussion on this recent paper exposing the fragility of the science we base our practice on.

The programme is available and online registration is open. With a global array of speakers, including the chief investigators for some of the biggest studies of the past 12 months, this is one of the most contemporary meetings around. Register early and don't miss out. There are only a few remaining hotel rooms available, so you'll need to book them today. Please feel free to contact me if you're thinking about making the trip - it would be great to hear from you.

SMACC Chicago

The workshops for the SMACC conference are rapidly filling, so if you are going, and plan on attending one, you had best register soon. Some have already sold out! If you're interested in evidenced-based medicine, Simon Carley, Rick Body and I willl be reprising last year's workshop. Ken Milne, Scott Aberegg and David Newman will be joining us for a North American view of how to interpret the literature. If you haven't heard about the greatest critical care conference in the world, then you need to visit the SMACC website.

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Critical Care Horizons

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 in January 2015.

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

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