Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2024
ReviewMeeting complex multidimensional needs in older patients and their families during and beyond critical illness.
To highlight the emerging crisis of critically ill elderly patients and review the unique burden of multidimensional morbidity faced by these patients and caregivers and potential interventions. ⋯ The current article is an overview of the outcomes of older survivors of critical illness, putative interventions to mitigate the long-term morbidity of patients, and the consequences for families and caregivers. A multimodal longitudinal approach designed to follow patients for one or more years may foster a better understanding of multidimensional morbidity faced by vulnerable older patients and families and provides a detailed understanding of recovery trajectories in this unique population to optimize outcome, goals of care directives, and ongoing informed consent to ICU treatment.
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For augmented intelligence (AI) tools to realize their potential, critical care clinicians must ensure they are designed to improve long-term outcomes. This overview is intended to align professionals with the state-of-the art of AI. ⋯ Plans for long-term management of ICU survivors must account for the development of a holistic follow-up system that incorporates AI across multiple platforms. A tiered post-ICU screening program may be established wherein AI tools managed by ICU follow-up clinics provide appropriate assistance without human intervention in cases with less pathology and refer severe cases to expert treatment.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2024
ReviewAcute diarrhea in the hospitalized immunocompromised patient: what is new on diagnostic and treatment?
This article aims to provide an intuitive framework for diagnosing and managing healthcare-associated diarrhea (HCAD) in the immunocompromised (IC) host. ⋯ Diarrhea is a common complication in hospitalized IC patients and is associated with significant morbidity and rare mortality. The advent of new diagnostics, such as GI multiplex PCR panels, holds promise in facilitating the detection of recognized pathogens and may allow for improved outcomes using pathogen-targeted therapy.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2024
ReviewA practical approach to preparing your ICU for epidemics and pandemics.
Major outbreaks of infectious diseases, including epidemics and pandemics, are increasing in scope and frequency, threatening public health and straining the capacity of health systems worldwide. High-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs), including highly pathogenic respiratory viruses and viral hemorrhagic fevers, are both contagious and virulent, and these pathogens thus are topics of special concern for pandemic planning. ⋯ Pandemics and HCIDs are a significant threat to global health, and ICUs play a major role in the care of affected patients. Critical care professionals must work to ensure that our hospitals are prepared to identify and care for these patients in advance of the next emergency.