intensive care

From left: 1) Colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a human cell infected with H3N2 flu virus (gold filamentous particles). 2) Scanning electron micrograph of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) virions (colorized blue) that are shedding from the surface of human lung epithelial cells. 3) Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus particles (gold).

Health & Safety

Experts are concerned Thanksgiving gatherings could accelerate a 'tripledemic'

11:07am November 22, 2022

by Rob Stein

As the holiday approaches, infectious disease specialists are bracing for the possibility that big family get-togethers and travel will propel the spread of RSV, flu and COVID-19.

ECMO is the highest level of life support — beyond a ventilator, which pumps oxygen via a tube through the windpipe into the lungs. Instead, the ECMO process basically functions as a heart and lungs outside of the body — routing the blood via tubing t

Across The COVID-Ravaged South, High-Level Life Support Is Difficult To Find

5:00am September 06, 2021

by Blake Farmer

ECMO, the highest level of mechanical life support, functions as a temporary heart and lungs for some of COVID-19's sickest patients. But the waitlist is too long for many patients who need it.

Sepsis, which is sometimes called blood poisoning, is essentially the body's overreaction to an infection.

Health & Safety

Vitamin C Fails Again As Treatment For Sepsis

2:26pm February 24, 2021

by Richard Harris

Sepsis is one of the most common causes of death for hospitalized patients. The search for an effective treatment has been frustrating.

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Hospital workers move a patient into the prone (face down) position, which can help increase the lung capacity of some COVID-19 patients. The medical team was photographed Nov. 19 at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Health & Safety

'It's So Much Worse Than Before.' Dread And Despair Haunt Nurses Inside LA's ICUs

12:23pm December 24, 2020

by Jackie Fortier

As hospitals struggle with the patient surge in Los Angeles County, their ICU nurses are overwhelmed by the physical demands and emotional toll of caring for the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients.

Physical and occupational therapists carry bags of personal protective equipment on their way to the room of a COVID-19 patient in a Stamford Hospital intensive care unit in Stamford, Conn., on April 24. This "prone team" turns over COVID-19 to help them

Health & Safety

Hospital ICUs Are Adapting To COVID-19 At 'Light Speed'

4:01pm May 05, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

With COVID-19 becoming a critical focus in hospital intensive care units, nurses, doctors and other caregivers have had to shift gears to protect staff and save patients.

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ICU capabilities vary not only from hospital to hospital, but also from region to region. Some parts of the country have far more critical care beds by population than others.

ICU Bed Capacity Varies Widely Nationwide. See How Your Area Stacks Up

7:47pm March 25, 2020

by Robert Benincasa

An NPR analysis of the nation's 100,000 ICU beds finds some communities can accommodate far more critically ill patients than others, signaling potential disparities in care in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Babies of moms who are in the ICU with severe flu have a greater chance of being born premature and underweight.

Severe Flu Raises Risk Of Birth Problems For Pregnant Women, Babies

10:30pm January 10, 2019

by Patti Neighmond

Pregnant women in intensive care with severe cases of the flu have a higher risk of giving birth to babies prematurely. The risk of breathing problems for the baby is also substantially higher.

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Randy and Karen O'Burke together at their son's home in Hendersonville, Tenn., last week. "Apparently, I'm pretty much of a miracle," Randy says.

How To Prevent Brain-Sapping Delirium In The ICU

9:21am October 11, 2018

by Richard Harris

People who suffer from prolonged delirium in the hospital are likely to develop long-term mental problems like dementia. Doctors have come up with techniques they say can reduce delirium in the ICU.

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While Baby Duke Brothers stayed in the NICU, his parents could watch over him via web cam.

Health & Safety

Cameras On Preemies Let In Families, Keep Germs Out

5:02am May 28, 2018

by Blake Farmer

Some hospitals are putting cameras in their neonatal intensive care units to reduce the number of people — and germs — from entering. But some NICU staff may not want to be watched around the clock.

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Rosemary Grant is a registered nurse and helps coordinate sepsis care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The center's goal, she says, is to get a patient who might be developing sepsis antibiotics within three hours.

Synergy Between Nurses And Automation Could Be Key To Finding Sepsis Early

6:45pm February 22, 2018

by Richard Harris

A bedside computer loaded with software that tracks vital signs in the ICU can pick up early warning patterns, specialists say. But it takes a human care provider to sort the signal from the noise.

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