What causes death in sepsis patients and how to prevent it
Sepsis is the primary individual cause of admission in Intensive Care Units in Brazil. However, it is possible to get a different impression when considering sepsis data separately. On the other hand, we must think that, behind every primary diagnosis of
How to assess ICU efficiency for sepsis patients
Sepsis is one of the main causes of admission in Intensive Care Units in Brazil. When we look at clinical diagnoses, sepsis, regardless of its source, accounts for up to 35% of ICU admissions. We should also consider that
ICU Organization: staffing and processes for patient care under MV
When we evaluated patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) in Brazilian Intensive Care Units, we noted that, before the pandemic, they represented around 15% of patients in private Intensive Care Units and 30% in public Intensive Care Units. During the
Checklist for patients on mechanical ventilation: does this strategy work?
When we talk about patients on mechanical ventilation (MV), we are referring to a category of critically ill patients, with high complexity and elevated morbidity and mortality, in which ventilatory support is a means of maintaining the patient's
How to prevent Intensive Care Unit-acquired weakness: decrypting MV “bundles”
Patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) have high mortality rates, and, even among survivors, morbidity is significant. In Brazil, the average duration of mechanical ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit is around one week,
Do you have 3 minutes during your day to help reduce infection risk and ICU acquired complications?
How can you do this effectively and, in an evidence, based manner? Several studies have shown that the use of bedside checklists can increase adherence to measures to prevent serious events, such as VAP, ICS, and DVT, and reduce
How to evaluate my ICU’s performance?
Why evaluate my ICU’s performance? A useful and commonly used definition of quality is often based on the conceptual structure of Donabedian, in which the measurement of health quality is related to structure, process, and results. Thus, making measuring the time
[Article] The Importance of Estimating a Patient’s ICU Length of Stay
Why estimate the length of stay at an ICU? In a scenario where there is increasing pressure to increase efficiency in the hospital sector, safely reducing hospitalization times, especially for ICU patients, is a strategy that has been widely
[Article] Top 5 Priorities for a New ICU Director During the First Year
During the first year, the ICU director should take a snapshot of the ICU situation and invest time and resources to acquire good and real data that will drive priorities of care and management. After that, implementation of basic protocols
[Article] We need to be prepared for new outbreaks and health crises: a perspective for ICUs
During the years 2020 and 2021, the SARS-COV2 (COVID-19) pandemic generated an unprecedented number of patients with severe pneumonia, requiring hospitalization and intensive care. In these months we observed the saturation and collapse of health systems and the high
Lucas Garcia
Bruno Stefan