Critical Matters

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti discusses the management of acute life-threatening asthma exacerbations in the ICU with this guest, Dr. Haney Mallemat, a physician trained in EM/IM and Critical Care. Dr. Mallemat is currently an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine at the Cooper Medical School at Rowan University. Additional Resources: How Not to Kill an Asthmatic – Present...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. Stephen Pastores to discuss the 2024 Focused Update: Guidelines on Use of Corticosteroids in Sepsis, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and Community-Acquired Pneumonia, published by the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Pastores is Program Director for Critical Care Medicine and Vice-Chair of Education for the Department of Anesthesiology and C...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti discusses the delicate balance of conflict resolution in healthcare. Conflict is common in our daily work in the ICU. Many clinicians avoid conflict and have negative feelings towards it. However, conflict, when managed appropriately, can lead to significant benefits for our patients and teams. Dr. Zanotti's discussion is based on a webinar he presented earlier this mo...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. Craig Rackley to discuss the role of ECMO – extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in supporting patients with acute respiratory failure. Dr. Rackley is a practicing pulmonary critical care physician and an associate professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. He is the medical director of Adult ECMO in the Duke Division of Pulmonary, All...

In this episode, we will discuss critical care management of acute neuromuscular disorders. We will focus on the Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Myasthenia Gravis. My guest is Dr. Kamran Athar, who is trained in critical care medicine and neurocritical care. He is a practicing neurointensivist at the Farber Institute for Neuroscience in Philadelphia. Dr. Athar is an assistant professor of Medicine and...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. Eddy Fan for a discussion about Respiratory Support in ARDS. Dr. Fan is an associate professor in the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is also a staff intensivist at the University Health Network/Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Fan is currently...

In this episode, we discuss the management of seizures in the intensive care unit. Our guest is Dr. Brandon Foreman – an internist and neurologist with fellowship training in epilepsy and Neurocritical care. Dr. Foreman is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Cincinnati Medical College. He is the Associate Director for Neurocritical Care Research. An excellent clinician, resear...

In this episode, we discuss the evaluation of fever in the adult ICU patient. We discuss updates from the recently published Society of Critical Care Medicine and Infectious Diseases Society of America clinical guidelines. My guest is Dr. Andre Kalil, a critical care and infectious disease physician. Dr. Kalil is a Professor in the Division of Infectious Disease and Director of Transplant Infectio...

In this episode, we discuss the topic of Brain Death / Death by Neurologic Criteria. We discuss updates from the recently published American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Pediatrics, Child Neurology Society, and Society of Critical Care Medicine clinical guidelines. Our Guest is Dr. David Greer. Dr. Greer is a neurologist with additional vascular neurology and neurocritical care traini...

In this episode, we will discuss Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI). My guest is Dr. Naomi O’Grady, a critical care and infectious disease physician at the National Institutes of Health. She is Chief of the Internal Medicine Service and an attending physician in the Clinical Center's Critical Care Medicine Department (CCMD). Her research focuses on strategies to reduce the inc...

To err is human. In today’s episode, we will discuss the science behind learning to fail, in other words: “failing well”. We will discuss our flawed relationship to failure, how to better understand failure, and how to learn from failure. I am joined by Amy Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. For the last 2 decades, she has studied the ele...

Organ transplantation has proven to be life-saving for thousands of patients and a growing number of disease processes. However, the gap between available organs for transplant and patients on organ transplant waiting lists continues to grow. In this episode, we will discuss the ICU management of the organ donor. Our guest is Dr. George Williams. He is a Professor of Anesthesiology, Critical Care...

In this episode of the podcast, we will discuss Hospital Sepsis Programs with the recently released CDC Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements document as an anchor. Our guest is Dr. Hallie Prescott, an Associate Professor in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan, and a staff physician at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Dr. Prescott’s primary focus of re...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti discusses advances in the management of cardiogenic shock. His guest is Dr. Jacob Jentzer, a cardiac intensivist trained in both Cardiology and Critical Care Medicine who practices full-time in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. As the Director of Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Research at Mayo Clinic, he is active in Intensive Care Unit pati...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti discusses the management of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) in the ICU. He is joined by Dr. Nanchal, a practicing critical care physician with an interest in liver disease. He is a Professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, at the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. Dr. Nanchal is also the lead author of the Society of Critical Car...

In this episode of Critical Matters, Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. Nitin Puri. As a critical care physician, Dr. Puri is the Division Head for Critical Care Medicine, and Co-Director for the Center for Critical Care Medicine at Cooper University Health System. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, in Camden, New Jersey. Together, they discuss medical...

In this episode of the podcast, we will discuss oncologic emergencies. Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. R Scott Stephens, a pulmonary/critical care physician and associate professor of medicine and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is the Director of Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Critical Care at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Cent...

In this episode, we will discuss the evaluation and initial management of acute disorders of consciousness in the ICU. Our guest is Dr. Cherylee Chang, a practicing neuro intensivist, a Professor of Neurology, and the Division Chief of Neurocritical Care, in the Department of Neurology, at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina. Additional Resources State-of-the-Art Evaluation of Acute Adult D...

In this episode, we will discuss prone position ventilation in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Despite clinical trials demonstrating a benefit on mortality, the adoption of prone position ventilation has been challenging. We will discuss the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on the use of prone position ventilation and lessons learned that can help increase the proper use of this treatm...

In this episode of Critical Matters, we discuss Central Nervous System (CNS) Infections. Our discussion focuses on the management of meningitis and encephalitis in the ICU. My guest is Dr. Catherine Albin, a neuro intensivist at the Emory Healthcare System in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Albin holds a faculty position as Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, in the Division of Neurocritical...

There is increased recognition of the right ventricle's pivotal role in health and disease. In this episode, we will discuss Right Ventricular Failure in the context of critical illness. Our guest is Dr. Ryan Tedford, a practicing cardiologist focusing on heart failure. Dr. Tedford is the Dr. Peter C. Gaze Endowed Chair in Heart Failure. He is a Professor of Medicine and Cardiology, Section Chief...

May is National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month, a time to celebrate our ICU teams and honor our patients. In this episode of the podcast, we will focus on the forgotten patient – the loved ones and families of critically ill patients. We will explore the topic through the lens of a cardiac arrest co-survivor. Our guest is Kristin Flanary, a cognitive neuroscientist and social psycho...

Transitions of care during a patient’s hospitalization are points of vulnerability with a high potential for harm. In this episode, we will discuss transitions of care from the ICU to the wards. We will explore the ICU-PAUSE framework and how it can be implemented to improve this critical process of care delivery in the ICU. Our guest is Dr. Lekshmi Santhosh, a practicing pulmonary critical care p...

Despite all the advances developed in critical illness, survivors of the ICU have a long journey to healing and recovery. In this episode of the podcast, we will discuss outcomes after critical illness. Our guest is Dr. Margaret Herridge, Professor of Medicine, Senior Scientist in Critical Care and Respiratory Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Herridge is also Director of Critical Care Re...

In this episode, we will discuss Mechanical Power and ventilator induced lung injury (VILI). Our guest is Dr. Jason Bartock, a practicing intensivist at Cooper Medical System in Camden, New Jersey. Dr. Bartock is faculty and Program Director of the Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, New Jersey. Additional Resources: Mechanical power: meaning, us...