Cruising the Literature: Top Articles in Critical Care
Monday, Oct. 1
1:30–2:20 p.m.
SDCC, Room 7A

Having critically ill patients remain in the emergency department for exceedingly long periods has become commonplace. In fact, the amount of critical care that emergency physicians deliver has risen by more than 200 percent over the past decade. But during the early hours of illness many detrimental processes begin; it is a crucial time when lives can be saved or lost.

In order to prevent unnecessary morbidity and mortality, emergency physicians must be knowledgeable about recent literature pertaining to critically ill patients’ care. During his presentation, “Cruising the Literature: Top Articles in Critical Care,” Michael Winters, MD, MBA, FACEP, professor of emergency medicine and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, will make it his mission to update emergency physicians.

Dr. Winters will discuss commonly encountered conditions such as fluid resuscitation, corticosteroids for septic shock, rapid sequence intubation, vasopressors, point-of-care ultrasound, cardiac arrest, and post-cardiac arrest care.

“I will share potential practice changing information from articles on these topics,” he said. For example, “Should we use more balanced fluids for resuscitation? Which patients, if any, should receive corticosteroids when experiencing septic shock? Should we continue to administer epinephrine for cardiac arrest patients? What are the latest evidence-based guidelines for managing pain and anxiety in critically ill patients?”

“Emergency physicians can immediately implement the information I’ll discuss,” said Dr. Winters, who is Editor-in-Chief of ACEP’s textbook Emergency Department Resuscitation of the Critically Ill, which just released its second edition.

Karen Appold is a journalist based in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.