Critical care clinics
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Critical care clinics · Jan 2021
ReviewCritical Care of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients.
Life-threatening complications are frequent after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), and optimum critical care is essential to ensuring good outcomes. The immunologic consequences of HSCT result in a markedly different host response to critical illness. Infection is the most common cause of critical illness but noninfectious complications are frequent. ⋯ Pattern recognition can facilitate anticipation and early intervention in post-HSCT critical illness. HSCT critical care is a multidisciplinary endeavor. Continued investigation and focus on process improvement will continue to improve outcomes.
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Critical care clinics · Jan 2021
ReviewDelirium Assessment in Critically Ill Older Adults: Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Older adults are particularly vulnerable during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, because higher age increases risk for both delirium and COVID-19-related death. Despite the health care system limitations and the clinical challenges of the pandemic, delirium screening and management remains an evidence-based cornerstone of critical care. This article discusses practical recommendations for delirium screening in the COVID-19 pandemic era, tips for training health care workers in delirium screening, validated tools for detecting delirium in critically ill older adults, and approaches to special populations of older adults (eg, sensory impairment, dementia, acute neurologic injury).
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Critical care clinics · Jan 2021
ReviewIntensive Care Unit Organization and Interdisciplinary Care for Critically Ill Patients with Cancer.
Patients with cancer are at high risk of developing acute critical illness requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Critically ill patients with cancer have complex medical needs that can best be served by a multidisciplinary ICU care team. This article provides an overview of the current state-of-the-art in multidisciplinary care for critically ill patients with cancer. Better integration of multidisciplinary critical care into the continuum of care for patients with cancer offers the prospect of further improvements in the outcomes of patients with cancer.
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Critical care clinics · Jan 2021
ReviewEvidence-Based Communication with Critically Ill Older Adults.
Communication is a critical component of patient-centered care. Critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients are unable to speak and this condition is frightening, frustrating, and stressful. ⋯ Older adults are at higher risk for communication impairments in the ICU because of pre-illness communication disorders and cognitive dysfunction that often accompanies or precedes critical illness. Assessing communication disorders and developing patient-centered strategies to enhance communication can lessen communication difficulty and increase patient satisfaction.
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Critically ill patients with cancer are vulnerable to infections because of the underlying malignancy, tumor-directed therapy, immunosuppression, breaches in mucosa or skin, malnutrition, and other factors. Neutropenia remains the most important risk factor for infection. ⋯ Pneumonias are the leading cause of infection in patients with cancer admitted to the intensive care unit. Consideration of opportunistic pathogens in the differential diagnosis is important in patients with impaired cellular and/or humoral immunity or compromised splenic function.