This discussion of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ 2025 guidance explores how death is defined, diagnosed and confirmed. It considers neurological criteria, evolving technology and the practical and ethical questions these changes raise for emergency and intensive care teams.
This second collection of research from The Big Sick 2025 brings together brief appraisals of trials covering transfusion in brain injury, preoxygenation, sepsis care and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The post considers what the findings might mean for practice and where uncertainty remains.
Conference ReportsCritical Care
We are back at the TBS (The Big Sick) Conference in Zermatt, exploring key research papers that challenge critical care practices. Highlights include arterial blood pressure monitoring, intra-arrest DBP in cardiac arrest, SAPBs for rib fractures, the DanGer shock trial, and double sequential defibrillation timing.
Does prehospital emergency anaesthesia shorten the path to intubation for trauma patients? This appraisal compares prehospital and emergency-department RSI in a retrospective study, examining treatment timelines, patient differences and why earlier intervention does not by itself establish better outcomes.
This podcast reflects on four days at the London Trauma Conference 2024, from cardiac arrest and prehospital critical care to trauma in older patients. The discussion also considers clinician wellbeing, training and the human side of caring for injured patients.
Chris Bishop discusses the emerging use of VA ECMO for cardiovascular failure after trauma in this Tactical Trauma 2024 podcast. The interview considers patient selection after haemorrhage control, bleeding risks and the limited experience available to guide this approach.
Practical perspectives on trauma care and team leadership.
Explore the series →