Critical Care Nursing

There is no simple answer to the question of “should we treat fever and how?” Fever is a potent immune response that can be protective for some ICU patients, especially when therapeutic options are limited. Fever also comes at a significant metabolic cost, which critically ill patients may, or may not be able to tolerate. I will review the physiology of fever, discuss the costs, benefits of fever in adult critically ill populations, present available fever management strategies. While there is no simple answer, we can make more informed decisions about how and when to treat fever in critical illness.

This talk will review current evidence on the prevalence and manifestations of post-intensive care (PICS) and post-sepsis syndrome (PSS) and will explore links with prolonged critical illness and post-COVID19 syndrome. Current advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of PICS will be discussed, including the role of immune and macrophage dysfunction, as well as their implications for the management of PICS. Evidence on approaches to improve long-term outcomes after critical illness will be presented, and gaps in the literature and practice implications will be discussed.

The provision of end-of-life care remains a significant component of work in intensive care settings. Over the last decade, this area of practice has gained increased attention with a substantial increase in research, however, gaps remain. This presentation will focus on what is known and not known about end-of-life care in intensive care settings and provide recommendations to advance future practice and research.

This talk will review the current evidence about the benefits of interprofessional ICU teams to patient care and outcomes. We will review the integral team members, data that supports how they work together effectively and discuss gaps in our understanding to optimize ICU human resource investment and improve patient care and outcomes.

This lecture will provide an overview of the physiological adaptions of pregnancy pertinent to critical care management. Our understanding of COVID-19 in pregnancy and the effects on the mother and baby will be summarised. Key elements of the care of pregnant women in ICU, including mechanical ventilation, prone positioning, assessment of fetal wellbeing and medical treatment will be discussed.