Critical Care Nursing

This talk will review current evidence on the prevalence and manifestations of post-intensive care (PICS) and post-sepsis syndrome (PSS) and will explore links with prolonged critical illness and post-COVID19 syndrome. Current advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of PICS will be discussed, including the role of immune and macrophage dysfunction, as well as their implications for the management of PICS. Evidence on approaches to improve long-term outcomes after critical illness will be presented, and gaps in the literature and practice implications will be discussed.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the world.  The rapid diagnosis and treatment of the underlying source are paramount to ensuring optimal patient outcomes.  This lecture will overview the pathophysiology, risk factors, and immediate diagnostic/treatment priorities when caring for these patients.  Utilizing case studies, a review of possible sequelae with pre-emptive and reactive medical interventions will occur.  

The provision of end-of-life care remains a significant component of work in intensive care settings. Over the last decade, this area of practice has gained increased attention with a substantial increase in research, however, gaps remain. This presentation will focus on what is known and not known about end-of-life care in intensive care settings and provide recommendations to advance future practice and research.

This talk will review the current evidence about the benefits of interprofessional ICU teams to patient care and outcomes. We will review the integral team members, data that supports how they work together effectively and discuss gaps in our understanding to optimize ICU human resource investment and improve patient care and outcomes.

This talk will define hypoxia and the oxygen cascade and outline a programme of research carried out in healthy volunteers to further our understanding of hypoxia’s effect on human physiology. It will present some of the ongoing research focussed on optimising oxygen therapy and it will identify things to consider when caring for the hypoxic patient.

By the end of this lecture, the attendee will be able to:

1. Discuss historical trends for patient management with ECMO 2. Describe the physiological basis of ECMO therapy and oxygenation 3. Review recently published data regarding the need for mechanical ventilation with ECMO therapy

By the end of this lecture, the attendee will be able to:

1. Differentiate between VV and VA ECMO support
2. Describe the impact of the COVID19 virus and the increased need for higher level support for patients
3. Discuss recently published literature regarding outcomes with the use of ECMO therapy for COVID19 patients

In this talk I will discuss current thinking in terms of the epidemiology of weaning and current definitions i.e. who are we weaning. I will discuss weaning methods including spontaneous breathing trials, weaning protocols and automated weaning modes including the evidence supporting these weaning tools. I will highlight recent evidence on the role of non-invasive ventilation for weaning. Finally I will discuss weaning in patients experiencing prolonged mechanical ventilation.

The methods of co-design are not yet used extensively in healthcare. Using the example of recent work to enhance patient safety, this presentation illustrates adaptation and use of principles and strategies to undertake human-centered co-design to create a novel solution for a complex knowledge translation problem in acute healthcare.

This talk will address the impact of a critically ill child admitted to an adult ICU. The talk will cover the physical and psycho-social needs of children including the child’s family needs. Controversial issues will be discussed such as 24/7 visiting of parents, parental presence during invasive procedures and CPR, and shared decision-making with (difficult) parents of care and treatment options.