Crit Care Resusc
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The imprecision in prescribing of enteral nutrition in critically ill patients must result in occasions of overfeeding as well as underfeeding. Overfeeding could cause increased CO2 production and thus increased work of breathing and prolonged ventilator dependence. ⋯ Patients in the energy-dense feeding arm will receive 50% more calories and produce 52% more CO2 than patients in the standard feeding arm. The full TARGET study is ideally positioned to answer the practical clinical question of whether increased feeding in critically ill patients can be delivered without prolonging ventilator dependence.
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Anecdotal reports about bullying behaviour in intensive care emerged during College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) hospital accreditation visits. Bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment (BDSH) in the medical profession, particularly in surgery, were widely reported in the media recently. This prompted the College to formally survey its Fellows and trainees to identify the prevalence of these behaviours in the intensive care workplace. ⋯ The occurrence of BDSH appears to be common in the intensive care environment in Australia and New Zealand.
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Cerebral protection is a key priority during cardiac arrest (CA). However, current approaches are suboptimal. ⋯ During experimental CA, cerebral perfusion and cooling are possible by means of an ECMO circuit connected to the anterior cerebral circulation. Antegrade perfusion appears to be superior. Further investigations of the antegrade perfusion technique appear justified.