Critical Matters

Outcomes after critical illness

ECPR

The podcast explores the use of Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR) in critical care medicine, focusing on its application during refractory cardiac arrest. Dr. Adam Green, an intensivist at Cooper University Healthcare, explains ECPR's role in supporting circulation and oxygenation when conventional CP...

Transfusion of platelets and FFP in the ICU

The podcast addresses the variability in transfusion practices of platelets and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) in critically ill patients. Dr. Angel Coz Yataco, a pulmonary critical care physician and lead author of the American College of Chest Physicians Clinical Practice Guidelines, explains the guideline development pro...

Management of pneumonia in the ICU

In this episode of Critical Matters, Dr. Sergio Zanotti interviews Dr. Andre Kalil, an expert in critical care and infectious diseases, about managing pneumonia in critically ill patients. The discussion covers the definitions of different types of pneumonia, including community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acqui...

Enteral Nutrition in the ICU

The science of hope

Mechanical Ventilation for Severe Asthma

Severe asthma exacerbations require a precise mechanical ventilation strategy focused on mitigating dynamic hyperinflation and auto-PEEP. Because airway resistance can increase significantly, the primary goal is controlled hypoventilation, which prioritizes adequate expiratory time over normalizing carbon dioxide level...

PADIS Guidelines Update

TEE in Cardiac Arrest

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) offers critical care clinicians superior imaging resolution and actionable diagnostic data for patients in cardiac arrest or shock, particularly when surface imaging is limited by mechanical ventilation or chest wall pathology. Unlike transthoracic echocardiography, TEE allows for...

AI in Critical Care

Challenging dogma in the ICU (Part II)

Adult congenital disease in the ICU

The podcast addresses the increasing number of adults with congenital conditions needing intensive care, a growing population due to medical advancements. Intensivists should be aware of this group, as their chronic illnesses and baselines differ significantly from typical adult ICU patients with conditions like athero...

Lessons from the wrong side of the heart

Optimizing renal replacement therapy in the ICU

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in the intensive care unit requires a strategic approach to renal replacement therapy (RRT) that balances the kidney’s functional capacity against systemic metabolic demands. Dr. Michael Connor, an intensivist and nephrologist, emphasizes that timing for RRT initiation remains nuanced, with th...

Rational Fluid Therapy

In this episode of Critical Matters, Dr. Sergio Zanotti interviews Dr. Adrian Wong about rational fluid therapy in critically ill patients. Dr. Wong discusses the importance of fluid management, advocating for a move away from the knee-jerk administration of fluids and towards considering them as therapeutic agents usi...

2024 Year in Review

Return of the PAC

Choice Framing in ICU Goals of Care Meetings

ICU decision-making and choice framing are explored with Dr. Joanna Hart, a pulmonary critical care physician. The discussion centers on how clinicians present options to patient families and how unrecognized biases can influence these high-stakes decisions. Dr. Hart explains decision architecture, highlighting that no...

Management of Complications Post-Cardiotomy

In this episode of Critical Matters, Dr. Sergio Zanotti interviews Dr. Christopher Noel about the medical management of post-cardiotomy complications in the ICU, focusing on post-operative bleeding and cardiac arrest. Dr. Noel provides an overview of the causes and risk factors for post-cardiotomy bleeding, emphasizing...

Hyperglycemic Emergencies