Critical Matters

Due to advancements in medical and surgical care, the survival of patients with congenital conditions into adulthood has dramatically increased. However, as these individuals transition to adulthood, their unique physiology, chronic complications, and evolving care needs create significant challenges for their management when they are admitted to adult intensive care units (ICUs). This episode wil...

February 7-14 marks the observance of Congenital Heart Disease Awareness Week. In this podcast episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti provides a unique perspective on adult congenital heart disease, drawing from his journey as a lifelong patient. He offers reflections shaped by his own experiences with complex adult congenital heart disease, including insights gained from a recent medical procedure that gran...

Acute kidney injury is a frequent complication of critical illness, and a subgroup of these patients will require renal replacement therapy. In this episode. Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses optimizing renal replacement therapy in the ICU. He is joined by Dr. Michael J. Connor, Jr., a practicing intensivist and nephrologist. He is a professor and senior physician of critical care medicine and nephrolo...

In this episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses rational fluid therapy. He is joined by Dr. Adrian Wong, a practicing intensive care medicine and anesthesia physician. Dr. Wong is a consultant and clinical lead at King’s College Hospital, London. He also serves as a committee member for the Intensive Care Society FUSIC, examiner for the European Diploma of Intensive Care Medicine, on the executive c...

This episode of Critical Matters will close 2024 with a year in review. Dr. Sergio Zanotti is going solo and will discuss a couple of relevant clinical guidelines and review five clinical trials. To close, he'll share some of his favorite books for 2024. Additional Resources: Critical Care Management of Patients Post Cardiac Arrest (AHA/NCS): Hirsch KG, Abella BS, Amorim E, et al. Critical Care Ma...

In this episode Dr. Zanotti discusses the current role of pulmonary artery catheters in critical care medicine. He is joined by Dr. Steven Hollenberg a critical care and cardiology physician. Dr. Hollenberg is a professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and director of cardiac intensive care at the Emory Heart & Vascular Center. Additional resources: Pulmonary Artery Catheter Us...

In this episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses the application of behavioral economics to clinical practice, specifically choice framing in ICU goals-of-care Meetings. He is joined by Dr. Joanna Hart, a pulmonary critical care physician and assistant professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is also a core faculty member of the P...

In this episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses the management of critically ill patients after cardiac surgery, focusing on the clinical management of two important complications: hemorrhage and cardiac arrest. He is joined by Dr. Christopher Noel, a critical care attending at Cooper University Healthcare. Dr. Noel is also an assistant professor of medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan Univers...

In this episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discuss the management of critically ill patients undergoing hyperglycemic emergencies. He is joined by Dr. George Willis, a practicing emergency medicine physician. Dr. Willis is an Associate Professor and Associate Program Director for Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where he also serves as Vice Chair of Facu...

This episode, Dr. Sergio Zanotti discusses music and critical illness and explores the topic through the lens of his guest – Andrew Schulman. Andrew is the first musician to be accepted as a professional Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) member. He is a member of the SCCM ICU Liberation Committee, where he met and had the opportunity to work with Dr. Zanotti. Andrew and his wife Wendy, are...

In this episode of Critical Matters, Dr. Zanotti discusses the use of intravenous albumin in critical care. He is joined by Dr. Jeannie Callum, Director of Transfusion Medicine and Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at Queens University in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Callum’s research focuses on blood utilization, hemostasis in the bleeding patient, and transfusion-related errors. She has rece...

Much attention has been paid to targeted temperature management (TTM) in post-cardiac arrest patients. The evidence for this practice continues to evolve, and previous episodes of Critical Matters have covered this topic. In this episode, Dr. Zanotti focuses on other aspects of Neurological Support in the ICU for post-cardiac arrest patients. He is joined by Dr. Edilberto Amorin, a neurologist wit...

Hypotension and shock are both recognized as complications post-cardiac surgery. Some patients may develop more severe shock refractory to fluids and catecholamines. This response is also known as today's podcast episode, topic: vasoplegia after cardiac surgery. For this discussion, Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. Iqbal Ratnani, an intensivist who practices at the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and...

We pulled out another favorite out this week - Dr. Zanotti's deep-dive on tracheostomy emergencies. Tracheostomies are common in ICU patients. Every intensivist should be capable of recognizing and providing initial management to potentially serious complications associated with tracheostomies. Dr. Zanotti is joined by Drs. Laura Bontempo and Sara Manning, emergency physicians and educators with a...

Today, we are revisiting one of our favorite episodes from last year - The Forgotten Patient. Dr. Zanotti focuses on the loved ones and families of critically ill patients and explores the topic through the lens of a cardiac arrest co-survivor. His guest is Kristin Flanary, a cognitive neuroscientist and social psychologist. Kristin is a co-survivor of cancer(twice) and a co-survivor of sudden car...

In this episode, Dr. Zanotti covers temporary pacing in the ICU. He is joined by Dr. Christopher Noel, a Critical Care Attending at Cooper University Healthcare, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. In addition, Dr. Noel is the Associate Program Director for the Critical Care Medicine Fellowship and the Director of the Medical Student Critical Care C...

Disturbances in neurological function due to primary neurological disorders or organ failure from critical illness are common in patients admitted to the ICU. In this episode, Dr. Zanotti discusses the neurological physical exam in the ICU. He is joined by Dr. Adam Rizvi, a neurologist with Neurocritical care and vascular neurology fellowship training who currently practices critical care, neurocr...

This is the second part in our series discussing temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS). Part one, covered different types of devices for tMCS, pathophysiology of shock, clinical indications, and general considerations for critical care clinicians. In Part 2, Dr. Zanotti covers a more detailed discussion of medical management and troubleshooting of patients on tMCS. He is again joined by...

In the first part of this two-part series, Dr. Zanotti is joined by Bindu Akkanti, MD, an associate professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at UTHealth Houston. Together, they discuss temporary mechanical circulatory support, an increasingly vital modality in treating cardiogenic shock and other subsets of critically ill patients in shock. Dr. Akkanti is the Medic...

With over 700 modes of mechanical ventilation available today, it can be overwhelming to find the best application of technology at the bedside. Focused on goal-directed mechanical ventilation, this discussion covers the taxonomy of mechanical ventilation modes and provides a framework for a rational approach at the bedside. Dr. Zanotti is joined by Dr. Eduardo Mireles-Cabodevila, Director of the...

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...