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Background We proposed that the behaviors that demonstrate compassionate care in the intensive care unit (ICU) can be self-assessed and improved among ICU clinicians. Literature showing views of intensivists about their own compassionate care attitudes is missing. Methods This was an observational, prospective, cross-sectional study. We surveyed clinicians who are members of professional societies of intensive care using the modified Schwartz Center Compassionate Care Scale® (SCCCS) about their self-reported compassionate care. A modified SCCCS instrument was disseminated via an email sent to the members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine between March and June 2021. Results Three hundred twenty-three clinicians completed the survey from a cohort of 1000 members who responded (32.3% response rate). The majority (54%) of respondents were male physicians of 49 (+ − 10 SD) years of age and 19 (12 + − SD) years in practice. The mean SCCCS was 88.5 (out of 100) with an average score of 8 for each question (out of 10), showing a high self-assessed physician rating of their compassionate care in the ICU. There was a positive association with age and years in practice with a higher score, especially for women ages 30–50 years ( P  = 0.03). Years in practice was also independently associated with greater compassion scores ( p  < 0.001). Lower scores were given to behaviors that reflect understanding perspectives of families and patients and showing caring and sensitivity. In contrast, the top scores were given to behaviors that included conducting family discussions and showing respect. Conclusion Physicians in the ICU self-score high in compassionate care, especially if they are more experienced, female, and older. Self-identified areas that need improvement are the humanistic qualities requiring sensitivity, such as cognitive empathy, which involves perspective-taking, reflective listening, asking open-ended questions, and understanding the patient’s context and worldview. These can be addressed in further clinical and ICU quality improvement initiatives.

Renal cell carcinoma has a tendency for vascular invasion and may extend into the inferior vena cava and even into the right-sided cardiac chambers. It has been reported that nephrectomy with thrombectomy can provide immediate palliation of symptoms with 5-year survival rates of up to 72% in the absence of nodal or distant metastasis. The location of the tumor dictates the anesthetic and surgical approach, as extension into the heart often necessitates cardiac surgical involvement. Renal cell carcinoma with vena cava tumor thrombus extending into the right cardiac chamber usually requires cardiopulmonary bypass and occasionally deep hypothermic circulatory arrest for surgical resection, and anesthetic approach should be tailored to each individual case. Thorough preoperative evaluation and the commitment of a multidisciplinary surgery team are indispensable. •Renal cell carcinoma may extend into the right-sided cardiac chambers.•Cardiopulmonary bypass with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest may be needed.•The anesthetic approach should be considered on a case-by-case basis.•Multidisciplinary discussions will favor optimal perioperative outcomes.

To assess anesthesiologists’ familiarity with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and American College of Surgeons (ACS) guidelines on Advance Directives in the perioperative setting. Single-center, 4-question anonymous survey. Urban academic medical center. Up to 34 subjects responded to each question. Familiarity with the ASA and ACS guidelines on Advance Directives in the perioperative setting ranged from 45% to 100%. There was inadequate familiarity with components of the ASA and ACS guidelines on advance directives in the perioperative setting. Larger studies are required to assess anesthesiologists' familiarity with national society guidelines that directly affect patient care. Future work should investigate best practices for guideline implementation, and consequences of poor adherence to national guidelines.

Thinking of “culture” as a process in which tensions between social values are resolved, rather than as a fixed state, may help U.S. health care leaders envision an approach to transforming organizational culture to support the improvement of economic value.

Guidelines, protocols, and checklists (together called \"protocols\") can be immensely helpful in the clinical arena. However, clinicians and health care systems relying on protocols must assess whether benefits are being accrued, whether such \"benefits\" are real, and whether harm can be detected. These concerns are important because protocols (as opposed to drugs or other interventions) are seldom subjected to rigorous testing; instead, they are often implemented on the basis of belief or the results of simplistic \"before and after\" studies. We describe two concepts, \"protocol misalignment\" and \"protocol misattribution,\" and discuss how understanding these concepts might help improve outcome and prevent unanticipated harm. Ultimately, applying protocols to the same standards of proof as other interventions might increase insight and help ensure \"true\" patient benefit.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented pressure on healthcare system globally. Lack of high-quality evidence on the respiratory management of COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure (C-ARF) has resulted in wide variation in clinical practice. Methods Using a Delphi process, an international panel of 39 experts developed clinical practice statements on the respiratory management of C-ARF in areas where evidence is absent or limited. Agreement was defined as achieved when > 70% experts voted for a given option on the Likert scale statement or > 80% voted for a particular option in multiple-choice questions. Stability was assessed between the two concluding rounds for each statement, using the non-parametric Chi-square ( χ 2 ) test ( p  < 0·05 was considered as unstable). Results Agreement was achieved for 27 (73%) management strategies which were then used to develop expert clinical practice statements. Experts agreed that COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is clinically similar to other forms of ARDS. The Delphi process yielded strong suggestions for use of systemic corticosteroids for critical COVID-19; awake self-proning to improve oxygenation and high flow nasal oxygen to potentially reduce tracheal intubation; non-invasive ventilation for patients with mixed hypoxemic-hypercapnic respiratory failure; tracheal intubation for poor mentation, hemodynamic instability or severe hypoxemia; closed suction systems; lung protective ventilation; prone ventilation (for 16–24 h per day) to improve oxygenation; neuromuscular blocking agents for patient-ventilator dyssynchrony; avoiding delay in extubation for the risk of reintubation; and similar timing of tracheostomy as in non-COVID-19 patients. There was no agreement on positive end expiratory pressure titration or the choice of personal protective equipment. Conclusion Using a Delphi method, an agreement among experts was reached for 27 statements from which 20 expert clinical practice statements were derived on the respiratory management of C-ARF, addressing important decisions for patient management in areas where evidence is either absent or limited. Trial registration : The study was registered with Clinical trials.gov Identifier: NCT04534569.

Introduction. Mild hypotension is a well-recognized complication of intravenous pentobarbital; however fulminant cardiopulmonary failure has not been previously reported. Case Report. A 28-year-old woman developed pentobarbital-induced cardiopulmonary failure that was successfully treated with maximal medical management including arteriovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. She made an excellent cardiopulmonary and neurological recovery. Discussion and Conclusion. Pentobarbital is underrecognized as a potential cause of myocardial stunning. The mechanism involves direct myocardial depression and inhibition of autonomic neuroanatomical structures including the medulla and hypothalamus. Early recognition and implementation of aggressive cardiopulmonary support are essential to optimize the likelihood of a favorable outcome.

•The COVID-19 pandemic provided a natural experiment of global ability to match supply of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) resources to unprecedented need.•In the United States (US), a fragmented healthcare infrastructure struggled to meet local demands despite the country having many more ICU beds per capita than most of Europe.•Economically vulnerable populations likely suffered adverse outcomes as a result.•The more centrally planned French healthcare system was able to transfer patients between regions in an attempt to match ICU bed capacity to demand.•These lessons are important to future national health emergencies because, without being able to match supply to demand, ICU care must be rationed and existing approaches to allocation of ICU resources do not have the ability to determine accurately who will receive benefit.

Perioperative dexamethasone is commonly used to prevent nausea. It can also increase blood glucose levels, and recent concern about its blood glucose-elevating effect in humans has been raised. This study aimed to demonstrate relationships between dexamethasone administration and elevated perioperative blood glucose in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty. Retrospective study. Academic, orthopedic hospital. A total of 625 patients (18–99years) who underwent total hip or total knee arthroplasty with an ASA ≤3 were included in the study. Patients who received dexamethasone perioperatively were compared to those who did not receive dexamethasone. The primary outcome, which was any postoperative glucose >200mg/dl, was compared between groups using multiple logistic regression. Demographic information, intraoperative information, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, white blood cell count, medication use, and length of stay were also collected. Perioperative dexamethasone (median [1st quartile, 3rd quartile] dose=4 [4, 8] mg) was administered to 76% of patients. Only 5.6% (95% CI: 3.8–7.5) of patients had postoperative glucose levels >200mg/dl. After covariate adjustment, there was no evidence of a difference in odds of experiencing postoperative glucose levels >200mg/dl (odds ratio [95% CI]: 0.76 [0.28–2.07]; P=0.594) and maximum glucose levels (P=0.518) between groups. Dexamethasone-treated patients had greater changes in white blood cell count between baseline and postoperative days 0–1. There was no evidence of a difference in wound healing and length of stay between groups. There was no evidence of an association between perioperative dexamethasone administration and the odds of having postoperative glucose levels >200mg/dl or higher maximum glucose levels. However, these findings may not be generalizable to patients having different baseline characteristics or procedures. •Perioperative dexamethasone is not associated with postoperative glucose >200mg/dl.•Perioperative dexamethasone is not associated with higher maximum glucose levels.•WBC count between baseline and POD0–1 is greater with dexamethasone administration.•Use of dexamethasone appears to be safe in the orthopedic setting.