Latest news with #ICU
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong man, 50, left in coma for days after nurse failed to switch on ventilator
A 50-year-old heart disease patient at Queen Mary Hospital has spent several days in coma after a nurse failed to switch on his ventilator for a few minutes in a suspected medical blunder, the Post has learned. Advertisement A source told the Post that the Hospital Authority should have promptly disclosed the July 21 incident as the severity of the matter was of grave public interest, adding that any delay was unjustifiable. 'The patient's heartbeat had stopped after he was deprived of his oxygen supply for a few minutes as the nurse failed to switch on the ventilator following the completion of mucus suction procedures,' the insider said. 'A deprivation of oxygen is highly likely to result in brain damage. The patient quickly suffered a cardiac arrest, requiring immediate resuscitation ... He still remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit [ICU].' Public hospitals in Hong Kong are required to report serious medical incidents to the head office within 24 hours, according to Hospital Authority policy. Advertisement While the information is reported internally, some incidents may also be disclosed publicly, depending on factors such as severity, public health impact, improvement measures and the need to maintain public trust.
Medscape
2 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Inhaled Isoflurane Matches Midazolam in Critically Ill Kids
TOPLINE: Inhaled isoflurane demonstrated noninferior sedation efficacy compared with intravenous midazolam in critically ill children aged 3-17 years on mechanical ventilation, while also lowering opioid requirements and time to extubation along with maintaining an acceptable safety profile. METHODOLOGY: Amid safety concerns over intravenous midazolam, inhaled isoflurane has emerged as an alternative sedative for critically ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation. However, supporting evidence remains limited. Researchers conducted a randomized phase 3 trial (IsoCOMFORT) across multiple pediatric ICUs to assess whether inhaled isoflurane was noninferior to intravenous midazolam as an alternate sedative strategy. They included 92 children who were critically ill and required invasive mechanical ventilation and sedation for ≥ 12 hours. They were randomly assigned to either inhaled isoflurane (n = 59; mean age, 8.1 years; 63% boys) or intravenous midazolam (n = 33; mean age, 7 years; 61% boys). At baseline after randomization, depth of sedation was assessed using the COMFORT Behavior scale, and children were assigned to light (score, 17-22), moderate (score, 11-16), or deep (score, 6-10) sedation target. Sedatives were titrated accordingly for up to 48 ± 6 hours during the treatment period. The primary outcome was the percentage of time maintaining adequate sedation within prescribed COMFORT Behavior scale target range — without rescue sedation, assessed every 2 hours over 12-48 hours. TAKEAWAY: Isoflurane maintained sedation within the COMFORT Behavior target range for a greater proportion of time (68.94%) than midazolam (62.37%), with a mean difference of 6.57 percentage points (95% CI, -8.99 to 22.13), confirming isoflurane's noninferiority to midazolam. The opioid requirements were lower in the isoflurane group (least squares mean dose, 2.1 μg/kg/h) than in the midazolam group (least squares mean dose, 4.6 μg/kg/h; P = .0004). Additionally, the time for extubation was significantly shorter with isoflurane (median, 0.75 hours) than with midazolam group (median, 1.09 hours). One child in each arm experienced treatment-related severe hypotension; three children receiving isoflurane discontinued due to adverse events, however, there were no treatment-related deaths. IN PRACTICE: 'Based on [the study] results and on the regulatory support from the EMA [European Medicines Agency], inhaled sedation can be regarded as a therapeutic option for sedation during mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Jordi Miatello, PhD, from the IHU-SEPSIS Comprehensive Sepsis Centre and Paediatric Intensive Care in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France, and Alba Palacios-Cuesta, MD, from the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid, Spain. It was published online on July 15, 2025, in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. LIMITATIONS: This study excluded children younger than 3 years, limiting the generalizability of the findings to younger pediatric ICU patients. The choice of inhaled sedative, as sevoflurane has replaced isoflurane for general anesthesia in many countries. Lastly, masking only the COMFORT Behavior assessor, rather than the entire clinical team, could lead to bias in outcome assessment. DISCLOSURES: This study was funded by Sedana Medical, Stockholm, Sweden. Few authors received honoraria from the funding organization for participation in the IsoCOMFORT Study Steering Committee. Two authors were employees of the funding organization. Two authors also reported being consultant with other pharmaceutical organizations. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Three ICU patients die at Jalandhar civil hospital, families blame fault in oxygen supply
CHANDIGARH: Three patients on ventilator support at the Civil Hospital here died late on Sunday night after a sudden disruption in oxygen supply reportedly due to a technical fault at the hospital's trauma centre ICU. The incident has triggered a political storm and prompted the Punjab government to initiate an inquiry. The families of the deceased alleged that their loved ones lost their lives because oxygen supply was snapped due to a glitch in the hospital's central system. They claimed the hospital failed to act swiftly, leading to the deaths. Hospital authorities, however, denied the allegations, maintaining that there was only a temporary dip in oxygen pressure and that backup cylinders were made functional 'within no time.' Medical Superintendent Dr Raj Kumar Baddhan confirmed the formation of a nine-member committee to probe the incident. 'There was an oil leak in the oxygen plant which caused a technical fault and disrupted supply for some time. The issue was fixed, but unfortunately, the patients could not be saved,' he said. Senior Medical Officer Vinay Anand said, 'There was a dip in pressure, but the backup system was activated immediately. The main plant was also restored during the same time.' He dismissed the families' allegations, asserting that 'the causes of death have been documented in each patient's medical file.' Sources said the deceased included a snakebite victim, a young man admitted for drug overdose, and a TB patient — all of whom were on ventilator support at the time of the incident. Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh said a team from Chandigarh would visit the hospital to investigate the matter. 'The glitch happened during a change in oxygen supply. We will wait for the committee's findings,' he added. Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal said that an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of death, and any further action will be based on the report's outcome. Meanwhile, Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma visited the hospital and slammed the Aam Aadmi Party-led state government for the incident. 'This is a complete failure of the healthcare system. The government made many promises before the elections but has failed to deliver. A full and transparent investigation is needed,' he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
"A UTI Can Be Completely Asymptomatic": Doctors Are Spilling Shocking Truths About Our Bodies That We Were Never Taught In School
We recently surprised a lot of you with these body facts that medical professionals say most people don't know, and it turns out a lot of our readers are healthcare experts who have more to add to the list! So, here are 15 more things you may not know about your own body but should: 1."In older women, a UTI can be completely asymptomatic. I'm a bladder cancer survivor and very tuned in to my bladder health. I was feeling very run down but had absolutely no UTI symptoms. I went to the emergency department for something unrelated, where I passed out and had to be resuscitated multiple times. I had become septic from an unknown bladder infection, and my husband had to watch me die and be revived in the emergency room at least three times. A super star emergency team saved my life, and I was put in the ICU without much hope of recovery. I spent six days hospitalized, and every day I thank God and those medical professionals for letting me go back to my family. PLEASE learn from my frightening experience!" —charmingcaptain114 Related: 2."Your optometrist asks what medications you take because your eyes are part of your body and can be affected by systemic diseases. You can lose vision from diabetes, hypertension, autoimmune disorders, etc. It amazes me when people leave off medications they are taking, and I say, 'So, you aren't taking any medications at all?' And then the person has an entire list, explaining that they didn't mention them because 'they don't affect my eyes.' This is wrong." —Anonymous, 52 Wisconsin 3."Never EVER boil breast milk. By doing this, you destroy all the nutrients, and it basically becomes as nutritious as water." —u/SuspiciousLemur 4."As a Navy corpsman and now Physician Assistant, I have always told my male patients that smoking can cause erectile dysfunction. That gets their attention more than strokes or heart attacks." —Anonymous Related: 5."Women continue to build bone mass until age 30. That is why it is important that you get enough calcium when you are young. It affects bone density and helps prevent osteoporosis." —Anonymous, 74 Ohio 6."I'm an ENT. Please bring earplugs to loud concerts and shows. Please don't listen to music on your earbuds/headphones too loudly. Your hearing doesn't regenerate, and you put yourself at a higher risk of developing tinnitus (ringing in your ears) and hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound)." —u/hapabeauty 7."Grapefruit juice can mess with a lot of meds, so you might want to avoid it while you're taking them." —Maya Related: 8."Type 2 diabetes is more serious than most people realize. I work as a doctor in hemodialysis, and most of the cases are due to diabetic nephropathy. It also affects your eyes, nerves, immune system, etc. Simple life changes can help prevent this." —u/kingofneverland 9."Moles don't have to look odd, have irregular borders, be different colors, grow fast, crack and bleed, etc., to be skin cancer. Moles that look absolutely normal and have been on your body for years can be cancerous. Flaky patches of skin that mimic eczema or psoriasis can actually be skin cancer. A dark freckle can actually be skin cancer. A dark purplish stretch mark can be skin cancer. This is why it's so important to not only get yearly skin checks, but also check yourself every time you are naked. Make notes of the locations on your body and a detailed description of what each area looks like so you can track it." "About 25 years ago, I had two little moles on my left ear and asked to have them removed so I could get my ears double pierced. The doctor did the usual shaving procedure and sent the tissue out for testing (this is standard protocol). Imagine my shock when the doctor called a week later and said I needed to come in to talk about the results. My perfectly normal moles were stage 1 squamous cell carcinoma. They also took off a normal-looking mole on my left elbow, which turned out to be full of atypical cells (which often leads to cancer). Thankfully, the cancer was completely localized, and I didn't need chemo or radiation. 'Normal' isn't always what it seems." —henrylovedog 10."Antibiotics only work against bacteria; they are not some kind of wonderpotion that cures anything, and they should not always be given. Please stick to the prescription the doctor gives you. Even if you already feel better, don't just stop unless the doctor says you can stop. A lot of medication needs to be taken according to the prescription in order for it to be effective because you build up the dosage to an effective level. Stopping or not sticking to it really decreases effectiveness." —u/jonneyboy112 11."Tell us what drugs and alcohol you're on. We aren't gonna tell the cops, and we aren't gonna lecture you, but it might change the anesthesia we give you. Some of the stuff we give could kill you. So, if you drink a 30-pack a day, tell us." —u/CopyX Related: 12."Having wet hair in a cold room will not make you sick." —u/jbx_93 13."Just because you're skinny doesn't mean you're healthy. Sometimes I ask teens whom I treat what healthy foods they eat, and rarely do I get a right answer. I feel like the internet has so many fad diets, and some families rarely cook, so there are so many people who don't know basic nutrition facts." —u/Thornloki256 14."Alcohol is really, really bad for you. By binge drinking, you run the risk of developing stomach bleeds, intestinal bleeds, pancreatitis, liver disease, and/or liver failure, alcoholism, heart failure, seizures, stroke, osteoporosis, lung failure, the list goes on... Having 4 drinks spread out over a few hours can be JUST as fun as having 10 drinks in the same time span, AND you're not putting yourself at risk for massive organ failure and making yourself look like an idiot." —u/Mosessbro lastly: "Fevers are not always dangerous. In fact, they are your body's natural response to an illness. Always call your doctor first, but you might not need to rush to the emergency department at the first sight of one." —u/sms575 Did any of these surprise you? Let us know in the comments! Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Also in Internet Finds: Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Fundraiser for Edinburgh Hibs fan in 'intensive care' after taking unwell on trip
A fundraiser has been launched for an Edinburgh Hibs fan who took unwell while supporting his team in Denmark. Dougie Sneddon, also known as Uncle Dougie, was in Copenhagen to see his beloved team play against Midtjylland on July 24. However, after taking unwell Dougie was admitted to hospital and is currently in intensive care on a ventilator. READ MORE: Netflix viewers rush to watch 'compelling' BBC drama series set in Edinburgh READ MORE: Edinburgh St James Quarter worker claims 'things weren't being maintained' Hibs fans and friends of Dougie have since come together to raise funds for his family to cover healthcare costs. The message on the GoFundMe reads: "Hi all my name is Peter Manson. I am starting a fundraiser to help cover the cost of medical care and accommodation for a well known friend to many. "As some of you may know, Uncle Dougie ( Dougie Sneddon ) was over in Denmark to see his beloved team. Dougie become seriously ill and is a Danish Hospital and is in ICU and on a ventilator. "So the family need our donations to cover cost till they find out about insurance. Not like the UK everything must be covered first. Any funds I receive will be transferred to the family ASAP. "I will also take cash donations and keep a check of who donated it and mention them if they request it. Please share." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sentstraight to your messages. Many people on social media have shared their well wishes for Dougie who remains in hospital. One person said: "Get well soon Dougie. Sending love to you and your family at this difficult time." A second added: "Sorry to hear about Dougie. I had some great Masonic evenings with Dougie when we were in the Mark Wright Memorial Degree Team. "Get well soon brother." You can donate to the fundraiser here.
