The critical care literature 2016.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• Emergency physicians (EPs) are frontline providers for critically ill patients.
• Critical care hours in US emergency departments (EDs) have significantly increased.
• A substantial percentage of critically ill patients remain in the ED for over 6 hours.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review key advancements in critical care medicine published in 2016.
• To enhance EP knowledge of managing critically ill patients in the ED.
• To cover critical care topics including intracerebral hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, and sepsis.

Main Methods:

• Review of significant articles published in 2016.
• Focus on critical care relevant to emergency department practice.
• Synthesis of information on specific critical care conditions.

Main Results:

• Summarizes 2016 literature on intracerebral hemorrhage management.
• Highlights advances in traumatic brain injury care.
• Discusses anti-arrhythmic therapy in cardiac arrest and therapeutic hypothermia.
• Covers mechanical ventilation, sepsis, and septic shock in the ED.

Conclusions:

• Knowledge of recent critical care developments is vital for EPs.
• This review provides a concise summary of 2016 critical care advances.
• The findings support evidence-based practice for critically ill patients in the ED.