Critical Care Evidence Updates – March 2026

Randomised Controlled Trials

Clinical and Immunologic Effects of Extracorporeal Cytokine Removal in Patients with Septic Shock: A Randomized Controlled Trial  Shock  

Effect of a Lower Vs. Higher Positive End-Expiratory Pressure Strategy on Clinically Relevant Outcomes in ICU Patients Without Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Bayesian Re-analysis of the REstricted Vs. Liberal Positive End-Expiratory Pressure in Patients Without Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RELAx) Randomized Clinical Trial  Critical Care Medicine

Effect of Continuous High-Frequency Oscillation Therapy on Lung Aeration in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Impaired Consciousness – A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial  Chest

Effect of the extubation predictive score (ExPreS) on reintubation in the ICU: a randomized controlled trial  Critical Care

Effects of a Combined Lifestyle Intervention on Recovery of ICU Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial  Critical Care Medicine

Efficacy and safety of remimazolam tosylate for sedation in ICU patients: a multicenter, randomized, phase 2 study  Journal of Intensive Medicine

Impacts of time pressure during the ICU handover safety check of critical care nurses: A randomised eye-tracking analysis  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

Polymyxin B haemoadsorption in endotoxic septic shock (Tigris): a multicentre, open-label, Bayesian, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial  The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Protocol summary and statistical analysis plan for the bone loss prevention with zoledronic acid or denosumab in critically ill adults (BONE ZONE) trial  Critical Care and Resuscitation

Short-term light sedation with remimazolam besylate versus propofol in the ICU (SHOSREB): a multicentre, randomized, single-blind, controlled trial  Intensive Care Medicine

Sivelestat and Incidence of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome After Cardiovascular Surgery – A Randomized Clinical Trial  JAMA Network Open

The impact of bronchoscopy on the safety of percutaneous tracheostomy: a randomized controlled trial  Critical Care

Other Guidance/Reports

Evidence-based, cost-effective management of necrotizing soft tissue infection: An algorithm of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery emergency general surgery algorithms work group  The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Executive Summary: Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines on Caring for Older Adults in the ICU  Critical Care Medicine

Expert consensus–based clinical practice guidelines for Care and weaning procedures in tracheostomized ICU patients after invasive mechanical ventilation: a joint statement by the Intensive Care Physiotherapy Society (SKR) and the French Intensive Care Society (SRLF)  Annals of Intensive Care

Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines for the Administration of Neuromuscular Blockade in Adults With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome  Critical Care Medicine

Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines for the Allocation of Critical Care Resources to Adults During Crisis-Level Shortages  Critical Care Medicine

Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines on Caring for Older Adults in the ICU  Critical Care Medicine

The society for vascular surgery clinical practice guideline on the management of blunt thoracic aortic injury: A focused update  Journal of Vascular Surgery

Primary Research

A Phase 2, Randomized, Clinical Trial of Inhaled Nitric Oxide for Acute Severe Right Heart Failure With Pulmonary Hypertension (PHiNO Study)  Circulation Journal

Adverse events as key risk factors for in-hospital mortality in intensive care units  Critical Care

Association between acute kidney injury and delirium in critically ill patients: a retrospective cohort study using two independent databases  Critical Care

Association between obesity and kidney outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury receiving continuous renal replacement therapy: a secondary analysis of the multicenter CRRTnet study  Critical Care

Association of Hypercapnic and Nonrespiratory Acidemia With Hospital Mortality in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Sepsis: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study  Critical Care Medicine

Automated CT segmentation of kidneys successfully quantifies changes in total kidney volume in ICU patients, a retrospective cohort study  BMC Nephrology

Barriers and enablers to penicillin allergy assessment and testing in the intensive care unit: A mixed-methods study  Journal of Critical Care

Behavioral nudges and targeted education as sustainability strategies to reduce hazardous waste generation in intensive care and perioperative settings: a prospective interventional study  Journal of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Critical Care

Ceragenin-Coated Endotracheal Tubes for the Reduction of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Prospective, Longitudinal, Crossover, Interrupted Time, Implementation Study (CEASE VAP Study)  Critical Care Explorations

Clinical practice in using corticosteroids and adjunctive sepsis therapies at the bedside among European ICUs: an ESICM-endorsed survey  Intensive Care Medicine Experimental

Critical Care Management of the Patient with Pulmonary Hypertension  Journal of Intensive Care Medicine  

Critical illness at extreme age: outcomes and clinical characteristics of centenarian ICU admissions in Australia and New Zealand  Critical Care

Days Alive and at Home After Critical Illness Hospitalization Among Older Adults and Its Association With Delivery of In-Hospital Rehabilitation  Critical Care Medicine

Deep white matter MRI predicts outcomes in coma of various etiologies: a cohort study  Critical Care

Development and Psychometric Testing of the Optimizing Context in Assessing Sedation in ICU (OCEAN-ICU) Instrument to Optimize Sedation Use in Intensive Care  Critical Care Explorations

Development of A Screening Tool to Predict Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) in Critically Ill Adults in a Prospective Cohort   Journal of Intensive Care Medicine  

Dexmedetomidine on supraventricular tachycardia in critical illness: a time-dependent propensity score matching study  Critical Care

Discontinuation of continuous kidney replacement therapy in patients with acute kidney injury: A pilot study  Journal of Critical Care

Effect of Vitamin C on the Prognosis of Patients with Acute Pancreatitis-Related Acute Kidney Injury Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Study  Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Effectiveness of toothbrushing as a replacement for chlorhexidine in oral care, combined with head elevation for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care units: interrupted time-series analysis  Critical Care

Epidemiology, ventilation, and outcomes of acute respiratory failure in immunocompromised patients from 103 intensive care units in 26 countries: a retrospective observational study  The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Evaluation of days alive out of hospital as an outcome after intensive care admission: a national retrospective cohort study  Critical Care

Exercising beyond recovery during ICU stay: A patient-centered approach to encourage exercise-related behavior change  Journal of Critical Care

Exploring the impact of occupational therapy provision in the intensive care unit: A UK single-centre service evaluation  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Factors associated with non-arrest events triggering code blue alerts: a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary hospital  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

ICU-acquired infection in neutropenic patients  Critical Care

Identification of a robust metabolic signature associated with hospital-acquired pneumonia and response to interferon-gamma treatment in critically ill patients  Critical Care

Impact of a clinical decision protocol on survival and neurological outcome following extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation  Journal of Intensive Care

Infectious complications of burns in the intensive care unit  Journal of Critical Care

Integrating intestinal microbiome and urinary metabolome data to predict secondary infection in critically ill patients  Critical Care

Lower quadriceps muscle mass assessed by ultrasound predicts intensive care unit mortality: A cohort study with prospective data collection  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

Lung and Venous Excess Ultrasound Correlation With Intracardiac Pressures Before and After Decongestion in Critically Ill Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure  Critical Care Explorations

Nurse education on sedation management in ECMO: A small-group training approach  Journal of Perioperative Practice

Oxidized albumin and its association with mortality in critically ill Covid-19 patients: a retrospective cohort study  Intensive Care Medicine Experimental

Perpetual observational study of the clinical and microbiological epidemiology of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Europe  Critical Care

Physiotherapy in deceased organ donation: A mixed methods study of current practice and perceptions amongst UK-based intensive care physiotherapists  Journal of the Intensive Care Society

Physiotherapy provision and practice: A EuropeAn Intensive CarE Unit (ICU) survey (PEAiCE) – A profile of ICU physiotherapy in Europe  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

Prognosis of critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury and high circulating dipeptidyl peptidase 3: a post hoc analysis of the AKIKI 2 trial  Critical Care

Propofol versus ketamine in rapid sequence intubation in critically ill patients: a prospective, randomized, controlled trial  Intensive Care Medicine

Ready for Donation, Not for Death: A Qualitative Study of Families’ Experience With Controlled Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death in Intensive Care  Critical Care Medicine

Sepsis-induced coagulopathy and outcomes – What about bleeding? A propensity score-matched study in critically ill patients with septic shock  Journal of Critical Care

Sex-related mortality differences in septic shock: A propensity score–matched study  Journal of Critical Care

Sex-Specific Differences in Tidal Volumes and Mortality of Mechanically Ventilated Patients  Critical Care Medicine

Sound levels in single vs. double bed ICU rooms: A high-resolution sound study  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing

Temperature Control After In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Outcomes From the Discover In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Cohort  Critical Care Medicine

The Safety of Hypertonic Saline Administration Through Midline Catheters  Journal of Intensive Care Medicine

Use of a Mixed Agent Prophylactic Laxative Regimen in the Medical Intensive Care Unit Leads to Reduced Length of Stay: A Single-Center Process Improvement Initiative  Journal of Intensive Care Medicine

VExUS-ED: Early venous congestion is associated with clinical fluid overload in patients with sepsis  Journal of Critical Care

Well-being and sense of security of intubated patients in intensive care units: a patient co-constructed dedicated scale Critical Care

Metadata

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