Year in Review 2021: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiothoracic Critical Care

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• The year 2021 saw significant milestones in critical care, including the widespread availability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
• New variants of the virus presented ongoing challenges, requiring intensive resource management and novel therapeutic strategies.
• Despite these hurdles, critical care professionals continued to deliver high-quality patient care and advance clinical research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize key studies published in 2021 relevant to critical care.
• To highlight advancements specifically within cardiothoracic critical care.
• To address critical care themes including COVID-19, delirium, acute kidney injury, lung transplantation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and sepsis biomarkers.

Main Methods:

• A curated collection of critical care studies from 2021.
• Focus on research impacting cardiothoracic critical care.
• Inclusion of studies on emerging infectious diseases and established critical care challenges.

Main Results:

• Vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated high effectiveness against severe illness and hospitalization.
• Breakthroughs in novel therapies for coronavirus variants were achieved.
• Progress was made in understanding and managing delirium, acute kidney injury, lung transplant outcomes, ECMO applications, and sepsis biomarkers.

Conclusions:

• Critical care research continued to evolve rapidly in 2021, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Significant progress was made in cardiothoracic critical care and the management of various critical conditions.
• The reviewed studies underscore the resilience and innovation within the critical care community.