Of all the things about which I am called as a critical care specialist, I think I am called/notified about serum potassium levels the absolute most. For some reason, if the serum potassium level is below 4.0, I am expected to do something about…
Sepsis is a life-threatening bodily reaction to an infection. It is the most common diagnosis we see in the ICU. The definition of sepsis (previously known as septicemia) has gone through many iterations throughout the years. In…
There are times when a patient cannot maintain an adequate oxygen or carbon dioxide level, and they need a mechanical ventilator. The procedure to place a patient on invasive mechanical ventilation is intubation, which means placing a plastic tu…
It is quite typical that we critical care physicians place patients who are on invasive mechanical ventilation on acid suppression to prevent stress ulcer bleeding. It is usual practice. This is because critically ill patients are at risk for bl…
As a Critical Care Medicine specialist, I have two main fights against critical illness. The first, and main fight, is to try and treat the critical illness that brings the patient to the ICU. This is why I am there in the ICU. This is why I bec…
In a previous article, I discussed how, as a critical care specialist, I wage multiple battles in the ICU. Along with the primary battle against critical illness itself, one of the most important battles is the one against an ignoble death. This…
In my conversation with Dr. Greg Johnson, Chief Physician Executive of Unity Point Health and former CEO of Hospital Medicine for Sound Physicians, we touched upon health equity, and he quoted a maxim that I took to heart: "There is no quality w…
A patient arrives in the ICU after suffering a traumatic brain injury. He does not have decisional capacity as he is on invasive mechanical ventilation. He only has one sibling and no spouse or children. In the state of Illinois, therefore, his …
I came across an article in the NY Times about a TikTok video that claimed drinking alcohol may prevent you from getting food poisoning. The person in the video ate something she felt was questionable, and so she cited a study that suggested alc…
On October 4, the NY Times published an article entitled, "As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms."It recounted the growing number of dangers of cannabis use, especially as more and more states legalize its use, and the cannabis bei…