The Year in Critical Care: Everything Else
Wrapping the 2025 with posts on PE, hemorrhages, surgery, and more
Brain death imaging tests are unreliable (INDex study)
To help make the diagnosis of brain death, specialized brain imaging tests are endorsed in many U.S. hospitals’ policies for patients who cannot complete an apnea test or other key aspects of the exam.
PE & DVT prevention for cancer patients (API-CAT trial)
Patients with cancer who develop pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis have the highest rates of recurrence. As many as 20-25% of people with active cancer will experience a second PE or DVT in the first 12 months after their first event.
Should "provoked" PEs get prolonged anticoagulation?
Increasing evidence shows that most people who experience pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis (collectively called venous thromboembolism) that is not clearly caused by a transient risk factor are at elevated risk for recurrence after treatment with anticoagulants.
Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement for Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation (TRISCEND II trial)
Transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) and mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) have emerged as lower-morbidity options for selected patients with severe aortic stenosis or mitral regurgitation. Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement has proved to be more challenging.