Patient care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) inevitably takes place around the clock. As a result, the contrast between day and night, which is so pervasive and prominent outside the hospital, is virtually absent in the ICU. Moreover, organ support and supportive care are typically administered with little regard to the time of day. Despite such care activities being critical for patients, these conditions provide weak and conflicting timing cues to the circadian clock, the endogenous biological timekeeper that serves to optimally synchronize 24-hour rhythms in behavior and physiology.
Read MoreModifications in ICU Design Affect Delirium & Circadian Melatonin /
We are thrilled to share that the first comprehensive research paper with data from the VITALITY study has been published in Critical Care Medicine. In this prospective observational cohort pilot study, we compared the outcome of 74 adult critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation with an expected ICU length of stay of at least 48 hours, treated in modified or standard rooms.
Read MorePodcast: Light & Color for the Critically Ill Patient /
Common sedation practice, as recently as in the 1980s and 1990s, mandated high levels of sedation to shield patients from the tolls of their acute illness and the related treatment. Evidence of the adverse effects that this form of sedation management on a patient’s cognition, morbidity, and mortality has led to a gradual but contnious shift in routine clinical practice. This newly emerged body of evidence has ultimately led to clinical guideline recommendations advocating for alert and cooperative patients. This podcast episode will take you on a journey of how we see light & color art supporting the ongoing transformation of critical care.
Read MoreLight Therapy for the ICU Patient: What's the Evidence? /
Circadian dysrhythmia affects the majority of ICU patients and has far-reaching effects on organ functioning. At the level of the central nervous system, circadian misalignment facilitates executive cognitive dysfunction and the development of ICU delirium. The pathophysiological mechanisms, especially in the cohort of critically ill patients, appear to be complex, multilayered and far from understood.
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