Research

A 2020 appraisal of PEPTIC, comparing proton pump inhibitors with H2 receptor blockers for stress-ulcer prophylaxis in intensive care. The review examines mortality and gastrointestinal bleeding outcomes, treatment crossover and competing interpretations of a large pragmatic trial whose clinical implications were debated.

The final day of the 2019 Intensive Care Society State of the Art meeting, with discussions of cardiogenic shock services, sepsis treatment debates and recovery after critical illness. The report also explores blood cultures, oxygen exposure and the challenges of interpreting emerging research.

Day two of the 2019 Intensive Care Society State of the Art meeting explores fluids, blood-pressure targets and vasoactive treatment, alongside sustainability and staff wellbeing. Later sessions consider trauma systems, bleeding control, chest injury and the needs of older patients with major trauma.

Day-one highlights from the 2019 Intensive Care Society State of the Art meeting in Birmingham. Topics include personalised critical care, organ donation conversations, cardiac arrest research, skin and eye emergencies, and the difficult assessment of patients with decompensated liver disease.

The St Emlyn’s team reports from the opening day of RCEM’s 2019 scientific conference in Gateshead. Highlights include listening to parents’ concerns, paediatric ultrasound, concussion, early warning scores and the importance of sharing emergency medicine knowledge across countries.

Simon Carley selects papers from 2018–2019 for his RCEM conference talk, explaining why they might influence emergency medicine practice. Topics include paediatric seizures, cardiac arrest and pulmonary embolism in pregnancy, with links to fuller appraisals of the studies.