ICU Archives
Fleming reflects on a life of love, purpose as its end nears
Jun. 4, 2020—A month before his 49th birthday, Geoffrey Fleming, MD, had a biopsy of his liver to diagnose an unidentified metastatic disease that he already knew was “something bad.”
Rounding based on acuity helps preserve attention of clinicians
May. 21, 2020—Multidisciplinary teams conducting daily rounds in intensive care units will typically work their way down hallways, going from one patient to the next based on spatial proximity.
Vaccine study seeks to halt flu’s most severe side effects
Oct. 9, 2019—Vanderbilt University Medical Center is leading a multicenter national study to evaluate the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine for preventing the flu’s most serious side effects — admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), organ failure and death.
Researchers explore music’s effect on ICU patients, staff
Sep. 25, 2019—A group of Vanderbilt researchers is launching a pilot study on the effect of live music on patients, families and staff in the adult intensive care unit and is inviting musical members of the Vanderbilt community to help.
Mobility protocol yields positive results in pediatric ICU
Mar. 7, 2019—For years Kristina Betters, MD, assistant professor of Pediatric Critical Care at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has been aware of the value of getting patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) moving during their critical illnesses to prevent muscle breakdown, weakness and delirium.
Alzheimer’s proteins in ICU survivors
Mar. 27, 2018—The cognitive impairment that affects patients who survive a stay in the ICU does not appear to have a similar mechanism to Alzheimer’s disease, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
Medication safety in the ICU
Sep. 19, 2017—Facilitated reporting of medication-related events in the intensive care unit can provide opportunities for optimizing quality of care and patient safety.
Risk factors for delirium
Sep. 13, 2016—High levels of blood markers for vascular endothelial dysfunction were associated with longer periods of confusion in ICU patients, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
A bundle, a dashboard and lasting pneumonia reduction
Oct. 20, 2015—A “bundle” of electronically implemented care guidelines reduced intensive care unit patient complications related to mechanical ventilation.
Risk of death in the ICU
Oct. 15, 2015—The irregular heart rhythm atrial fibrillation increases the risk of death in patients in the intensive care unit.
Physical signs of depression common among ICU survivors
Apr. 17, 2014—Depression affects more than one out of three survivors of critical illness, according to a Vanderbilt study released in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and the majority of patients experience their symptoms physically rather than mentally.
Delirium increases long-term disability
Mar. 17, 2014—Patients who suffer a longer duration of delirium in the intensive care unit are more likely to experience long-term disability after discharge.
