Critical Care Evidence Updates – March 2025

Randomised Controlled Trials

A phase III, randomized, controlled noninferiority trial to study the efficacy and safety of imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam (IMI/REL) vs piperacillin/tazobactam (PIP/TAZ) in patients with hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP)  International Journal of Infectious Diseases

A randomised, open-label trial of nebulised unfractionated heparin in patients mechanically ventilated for COVID-19  Anaesthesia and Intensive Care

Adjunctive Sedation with Dexmedetomidine for the Prevention of Severe Inflammation and Septic Encephalopathy: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study  Critical Care Medicine

Artificial Intelligence Guided Bronchoscopy is Superior to Human Expert Instruction for the Performance of Critical-Care Physicians: A Randomized Controlled Trial  Critical Care Medicine

Care guided by tissue oxygenation and haemodynamic monitoring in off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (Bottomline-CS): assessor blind, single centre, randomised controlled trial  BMJ

Detection of hypovolemia by non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring during major surgery using Ringer´s solution, 5% albumin, or 20% albumin as infusion fluid: a post-hoc analysis of a randomized clinical trial  Critical Care

Effect of manual decongestive therapy on cardiac preload in critically ill patients: a randomized controlled trial  Annals of Intensive Care

Effects of adjunctive milrinone versus placebo on hemodynamics in patients with septic shock: a randomized controlled trial  Annals of Medicine

Effects of vitamin D3 supplementation on the recovery of hospitalized burn patients: a randomized double-blind controlled trial  BMC Nutrition

Efficacy and safety of gastrodin in preventing postoperative delirium following cardiac surgery: a randomized placebo controlled clinical trial  Critical Care

High-dose intravenous vitamin C reduce C-reactive protein levels, fluid retention, and APACHE II scores in patients with moderately severe acute pancreatitis: a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study  Annals of Intensive Care

Inhaled Sedation in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome – The SESAR Randomized Clinical Trial  JAMA

Low-Intensity vs Moderate-Intensity Anticoagulation for Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: The Strategies for Anticoagulation During Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Pilot Trial  Chest Journal

Remote ischaemic pre-conditioning, kidney injury, and outcomes after coronary angiography and intervention: a randomized trial  European Heart Journal

Routine anaesthesia ward-based patient visits in surgery: 1-year outcomes of the TRACE randomized clinical trial  British Journal of Surgery

Vasopressin and Steroids in addition to Adrenaline in Cardiac Arrest (VAST-A) – A Randomised Pilot Study  Resuscitation

 

Other Guidance/Reports

2025 Concise Clinical Guidance: An ACC Expert Consensus Statement on the Evaluation and Management of Cardiogenic Shock: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee  Journal of the American College of Cardiology

 A consensus of European experts on the definition of ventilator-associated pneumonia recurrences obtained by the Delphi method: the RECUVAP study  Intensive Care Medicine

American Society of Hematology living guidelines on use of anticoagulation for thromboprophylaxis for patients with COVID-19: executive summary  Blood Advances

Blood Culture–Negative Endocarditis: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association: Endorsed by the International Society for Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases  Journal of the American Heart Association

Consensus statements on end-of-life care in ICU – A Scandinavian multidisciplinary Delphi study  Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica

European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) 2025 clinical practice guideline on fluid therapy in adult critically ill patients: part 2—the volume of resuscitation fluids  Intensive Care Medicine

Management of SARS-CoV-2 Infection-Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Polish Association of Epidemiologists and Infectiologists, for 2025  Journal of Clinical Medicine

Management of severe acute encephalopathy in the ICU: an expert consensus statement from the french society of intensive care medicine  Annals of Intensive Care

Parenteral nutritional support in surgical patients: expert consensus statements regarding intravenous lipid emulsions containing omega-3 fatty acids  Frontiers in Nutrition

Protocol for the development of NHMRC-endorsed guidelines for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation using GRADE methodology  Critical Care and Resuscitation

The Australasian Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition: Consensus statements on refeeding syndrome  Nutrition and Dietetics

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2024  Journal of Intensive Care

The Japanese Critical Care Nutrition Guideline 2024  Journal of Intensive Care

Transfusion of Fresh Frozen Plasma and Platelets in Critically Ill Adults: An American College of Chest Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline  Chest Journal

Midline Venous Catheter vs Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter for Intravenous Therapy

A Randomized Clinical Trial  JAMA Network Open

Nudging Clinicians to Promote Serious Illness Communication for Critically Ill Patients – A Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial  JAMA Internal Medicine

Practical Anemia Bundle and Hemoglobin Recovery in Critical Illness – A Randomized Clinical Trial  JAMA Network Open

Primary Research

A framework and analytical exploration for a data-driven update of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score in sepsis  Critical Care and Resuscitation

 

A Retrospective Cohort Study of the Role of Palliative Care Consultation for Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation  Journal of Intensive Care Medicine

Ability of diastolic arterial pressure to better characterize the severity of septic shock when adjusted for heart rate and norepinephrine dose  Annals of Intensive Care

Accuracy between ICU admission and discharge diagnoses in non-survivors: A retrospective cohort study  Journal of Critical Care

Acute kidney injury detection with additional point-of-care creatinine vs central laboratory serum creatinine measurement in critically ill patients  Journal of Critical Care

Admissions, mortality and financial burden associated with acute hospitalisations for sepsis between 2006 and 2018: A national population-level study  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Alterations in the renin-angiotensin system during septic shock  Annals of Intensive Care

Amikacin use in critically ill patients requiring renal replacement therapy: the AMIDIAL-ICU study  Annals of Intensive Care

An international observational study validating gene-expression sepsis immune subgroups  Critical Care

Association between mean hemodynamic variables during the first 24 h and outcomes in cardiogenic shock: identification of clinically relevant thresholds  Critical Care

Association of opioid utilization in the intensive care unit and opioid prescriptions at hospital discharge in opioid-naïve non-surgical patients who received enhanced oxygen therapy  Journal of Critical Care

Awake Prone Positioning in Adults With COVID-19 – An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis  JAMA Internal Medicine

Beyond Functional Outcomes: Exploring Quality of Life After Critical Illness – A Qualitative Study  Critical Care Medicine

Beyond Hemoglobin Thresholds: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis of RBC Transfusion Decisions in ICU Patients  Critical Care Medicine

Breakthrough fever in cardiac arrest patients without the use of a cooling device  The Journal of Emergency Medicine

Changes in gene expression in healthcare workers during night shifts: implications for immune response and health risks  Journal of Intensive Care

Characteristics and outcomes of auto-intoxicated patients admitted to the ICU: A retrospective cohort study  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Characteristics and outcomes of ECMO cannula-related infections: a European multicenter retrospective study  Annals of Intensive Care

Clinical outcomes and peripheral tissue oxygen saturation monitoring of the knee region by near-infrared spectroscopy in circulatory shock: a prospective observational cohort study  Critical Care

Clinical Performance of Spo₂/Fio₂ and Pao₂/Fio₂ Ratio in Mechanically Ventilated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Patients: A Retrospective Study  Critical Care Medicine

Clinical validation of pulmonary artery catheter use for continuous thermodilution cardiac output monitoring in VA-ECMO patients  Intensive Care Medicine

Complementary role of transcriptomic endotyping and protein-based biomarkers for risk stratification in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury  Critical Care

Corticosteroids for the management of severe community-acquired pneumonia: A UK-wide survey  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Critical Care Decisions After Large Core Cerebral Infarctions: A Secondary Analysis From the SELECT2 Trial  Annals of Neurology

Development and validation of intracranial hypertension prediction models based on radiomic features in patients with traumatic brain injury: an exploratory study based on CENTER-TBI data  Critical Care

Early Risk Stratification of Patients After Successfully Resuscitated Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Without ST-Segment Elevation—The Angiography After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Without ST-Segment Elevation (TOMAHAWK) Risk Score  Critical Care Explorations

End-of-life decision disparities according to the gross national income in critically ill patients: a secondary analysis of the ETHICUS-2 study  Annals of Intensive Care

Epidemiology of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in the ICU with contemporary consensus definitions  Critical Care

Erythropoietin in ICU patients receiving early red blood cell transfusions: A retrospective study of the impact on transfusion requirements  Journal of Critical Care

Eye movement detection using electrooculography and machine learning in cardiac arrest patients  Resuscitation

Factors Associated with Large Watery Stools after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest and their Relationship with Neurological Outcomes: A Retrospective Observational Study   Resuscitation Plus

Host Response Protein Biomarkers Indicative of Persistent Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients  Critical Care Explorations

ICU mortality of post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect complicated by cardiogenic shock: a retrospective multicentric cohort  Critical Care

Impact of comorbidities on management and outcomes of patients weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation: insights from the WEAN SAFE study  Critical Care

Incidence and risk factors of weaning-induced pulmonary oedema: results from a multicentre, observational study  Critical Care

Low-dose perineural dexamethasone in supraclavicular brachial plexus blocks: Optimising postoperative analgesia  Journal of Perioperative Practice

Low expression of CD39 on monocytes predicts poor survival in sepsis patients  Journal of Intensive Care

Machine learning-based identification of efficient and restrictive physiological subphenotypes in acute respiratory distress syndrome  Intensive Care Medicine Experimental

Machine learning models compared with current clinical indices to predict the outcome of high flow nasal cannula therapy in acute hypoxemic respiratory failure  Critical Care

Mean arterial pressure in critically ill adults receiving vasopressors: A multicentre, observational study  Critical Care and Resuscitation

Prevalence, Timing, and Predictors of Patients Who Had New and/or Updated Goals of Care While in ICU: A Multicenter Retrospective Study  Critical Care Medicine

Qualitative exploration of consultant level therapy practice in critical care  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Relative faecal abundance to predict extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales related ventilator‑associated pneumonia  Annals of Intensive Care

Risk factors for transitions and outcomes of subsyndromal delirium in the ICU: Post-hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter cohort study  Journal of Critical Care

Selective decontamination regimens in French ICUs: association with reduced infection and resistance emergence  Annals of Intensive Care

Structural and functional alteration of the gut microbiomes in ICU staff: a cross-sectional analysis  Critical Care

Subphenotyping prone position responders with machine learning  Critical Care

Study on the diagnostic role of exosome-derived miRNAs in postoperative septic shock and non-septic shock patients  Critical Care

The Case for Telemedicine-Enhanced Nighttime Staffing in a Neuro-ICU  Critical Care Explorations

The hemodynamic effects of IV paracetamol in intensive care patients  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

The Sedative and Haemodynamic effects Of Continuous Ketamine infusions on Intensive Care Unit patients (SHOCK-ICU): Investigating key outcomes, resource utilisation and staff decision-making: Clinical feasibility study protocol  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Time to Renal Replacement Therapy Initiation in Critically Ill Patients With Acute Kidney Injury: A Secondary Analysis of the Standard Versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) Trial  Critical Care Medicine

Understanding adherence and deviations in potassium replacement protocols: A mixed method study  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

Validation of the capnodynamic method to calculate mixed venous oxygen saturation in postoperative cardiac patients  Intensive Care Medicine Experimental

 

Metadata

Summary author: Rebecca Howes @ClinicalLibsPHU
Summary date:
Picture by: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash