Critical Care Reviews Newsletter

Welcome to the 694th Critical Care Reviews Newsletter, bringing you the best critical care research and open access articles from across the medical literature over the past seven days.

The highlights of this week's edition are randomised controlled trials on prothrombin complex concentrate vs frozen plasma for coagulopathic bleeding in cardiac surgery & care guided by tissue oxygenation and haemodynamic monitoring in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting; systematic reviews and meta analyses on associations between prophylactic IV antibiotics and outcomes in patients with acute severe brain injury who require mechanical ventilation & timing of continuous renal replacement therapy in patients with acute kidney injury; and observational studies on right ventricular strain and outflow tract velocity time integral in critically ill patients with pulmonary embolism & AI-guided precision parenteral nutrition for neonatal intensive care units.

There are also guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure & refeeding syndrome; narrative reviews on acute aortic dissection & sepsis management of the acute care surgery patient; editorials on the Doppler combined assessment of splanchnic perfusion and congestion in cardiogenic shock & the pulmonary artery catheter in modern anesthesiology and intensive care; and commentaries on the updated acute coronary syndromes guideline & whether liberal fluid therapy (compared to restrictive fluid therapy) should be used in children with septic shock.

If you only have time to read one review article this week, try this one on the safety of steroids in severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2025

The provisional scheduling for the Critical Care Reviews Meeting 2025 is now available. Twelve of the hottest trial results to be presented this year are on the programme. One-day, two-day and three-day in-person registrations are available. If you can't make it to Titanic Belfast, join us online, either as a virtual delegate to claim CPD/CME points, and support this not-for-profit meeting, or simply watch the free livestream. 

Wednesday, June 11th

• TARGET Protein - Augmented Administration of Enteral Protein to Critically Ill Adults
• TTM2 - Biomarkers of Brain Injury after Cardiac Arrest
• ENCOMPASS - Engagement and Collaborative Management to Proactively Advance Sepsis Survivorship 
• RESCUE 3 - Temporary Transvenous Diaphragm Pacing versus Standard of Care for Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation 

Thursday, June 12th

• UK-ROXS - Conservative Oxygenation in Critically ill Mechanically Ventilated Patients
• NOTACS - Nasal High-Flow Oxygen Therapy after Cardiac Surgery 
• ANH - Acute normovolemic hemodilution in cardiac surgery patients
• FLUID - Crystalloid FLUID Choices for Resuscitation of Hospital Patients 

Friday, June 13th

• GASTROSAM - Gastroenteritis Rehydration Of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition
• PRINCE - Ischaemic Preconditioning in Non Cardiac Surgery 
• PROMIZING - Proportional Assist Ventilation for Minimizing the Duration of Mechanical Ventilation 
• INdex - CT-Perfusion and CT-Angiography for Death by Neurologic Criteria
• John Hinds Lecture - "Ukuthola ubuhle"