A team of investigators at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) wants to improve patient outcomes in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) settings by silencing audible medical alarms in hospital rooms.

Among the thousands of scientists and their supporters who participated in Saturday’s March for Science in Nashville and in Washington, D.C., were several faculty members from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University.

Vanderbilt investigators are probing the response to a bacterial toxin as a clinical assessment of immune function.

The department of Anesthesiology has created a new training program, the Fellowship in Perioperative Medicine, set to launch in July. The multidisciplinary 12-month program has slots for up to four fellows, and is open to physicians who’ve completed residency in either Anesthesiology or General Surgery.

A study conducted by researchers in the Department of Anesthesiology found a clinical information systems protocol, developed by the department’s Vanderbilt Perioperative Information Management Systems (VPIMS) developer group, improved management of blood glucose during the intraoperative period, resulting in reduced instances of hyperglycemia as well as a reduction in surgical site infections in diabetic patients and those with impaired glucose control following surgical procedures.

Although nitrous oxide was less effective than epidural anesthesia for pain management during labor, mothers who used nitrous oxide were equally satisfied with their childbirth experience.

The signaling molecule IL-15 promotes septic shock, a life-threatening condition involving organ injury caused by infection.