Matthew Semler

December 10, 2025

Sedative choice could improve outcomes for breathing tube patients

It’s the first study to demonstrate cardiovascular risks of high doses of ketamine (low blood pressure, arrhythmia), side effects that have not been well studied in the past.

By Craig Boerner
June 13, 2024

Multicenter study identifies method of preoxygenation that prevents hypoxemia and cardiac arrest during emergency tracheal intubation

Preoxygenation is the administration of supplemental oxygen prior to the start of a procedure to increase the content of oxygen in the lung and decrease the risk of hypoxemia

By Nancy Humphrey
December 19, 2023

Three from VUMC elected to ASCI

Three physician scientists from Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been elected this year to membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies.

By Bill Snyder
July 18, 2023

VUMC receives $7 million award from PCORI to compare breathing tube sedation

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $7 million, five-year funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to compare two sedatives used to place breathing tubes in the emergency department or intensive care unit.

By Nancy Humphrey
June 16, 2023

Study shows video laryngoscope increases successful intubation on first attempt

A Vanderbilt study study comparing the two types of laryngoscopes used in tracheal intubation of critically ill patients showed that the use of a video laryngoscope increased successful intubation on the first attempt, compared to the use of a direct laryngoscope, the standard approach for almost a century.

By Nancy Humphrey
Wesley Self, MD, MPH
February 2, 2023

Study of two sepsis interventions finds identical outcomes

Vanderbilt University Medical Center had a leading role in a large national study designed to compare two early interventions in the treatment of patients with sepsis, the body’s severe response to an uncontrolled infection.

By Nancy Humphrey
January 26, 2023

VUMC establishes novel Center for Learning Healthcare

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has established a first-of-its-kind Center for Learning Healthcare that will bring together clinicians, health system operations leaders and researchers to generate evidence in the course of health care delivery to continuously improve the quality, value and safety of health care offered to patients.
By Nancy Humphrey
October 24, 2022

Vanderbilt study finds that the most common oxygen saturation targets for hospitalized patients appear equally safe and effective

A Vanderbilt study looked at the oxygen saturation target that results in optimal outcomes — number of days alive and free of mechanical ventilation — in 2,500 critically ill adults receiving mechanical ventilation.
By Nancy Humphrey
October 11, 2022

Skin pigment affects oxygen monitor

Black patients in the ICU were more likely to have low or high blood oxygen levels than white patients, even when a pulse oximeter indicated 92-96% oxygen saturation, Vanderbilt researchers found.
By Sarah E. Glass
June 20, 2022

Study finds administering IV fluids during emergency tracheal intubation does not lower cardiac arrest risk

Rapidly administering IV fluids to critically ill adults undergoing emergency tracheal intubation does not significantly decrease chances of hypotension (low blood pressure) and cardiac arrest, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led study shows.
By Nancy Humphrey
April 13, 2022

Best way to place patients on breathing machines studied

Starting on April 4, Vanderbilt providers initiated the “Randomized Trial of Sedative Choice for Intubation” (RSI) study to determine whether ketamine or etomidate is better for preventing low blood pressure, low oxygen levels, serious heart problems, or even death for severely ill patients undergoing intubation.
By Kylie Avery
December 15, 2021

Study finds similar success rates with two devices for breathing tube placement

Two devices for placing a breathing tube during critical illness had similar success rates for intubation on the first attempt, according to a study published Dec. 8 in JAMA.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 14, 2021

Five land ASCI Young Physician-Scientist Awards

Five Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty members have received Young Physician-Scientist Awards from the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), an elite honor society of physician-scientists.
By Bill Snyder
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