Dr. Craig Lilly of the University of Massachusetts Medical School told the Society of Critical Care Medicine's annual meeting that currently there isn't a way to determine who is at highest risk for vaping-associated respiratory distress syndrome, but offered guidance on how to identify and treat patients. Lilly called the guidance a transition document since there is not enough evidence to develop clinical guidelines, and said the protocol is based on opinion and real-world experience.

A study presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine's Critical Care Congress showed that 27.54% of 753,592 opioid overdoses in the US from 2005 to 2018 involved youths ages 18 and younger, with the rate of those with opioid exposure-related death increasing from 0.18% in 2005 to 0.28% in 2018, while the rate of those with opioid-related suicidal intent rose from 13.9% to 21.2% during the same period. However, researchers found that use of the overdose antidote naloxone only rose from 42.3% to 50.8% during the study period.

The Trump administration sent Congress a $2.5 billion supplemental funding request to support efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to the Office of Management and Budget. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the request is inadequate and the chamber will be advancing its own funding package.

The CDC reports that the number of flu cases and flu-related hospitalizations in the US this season totaled 29 million and 280,000, respectively, as of the week ending Feb. 15. CDC officials also report that there have been 16,000 flu-related fatalities, including 105 pediatric deaths, so far this season.

Children's Minnesota is expanding neonatal care through a connected health program with six area medical centers and hospitals, which will use a telemedicine platform to for audio-visual access to the hospital's Level IV neonatal clinicians.

A predictive algorithm reduced intraoperative hypotension duration and severity in patients undergoing elective, noncardiac surgery, according to a study published in JAMA and presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine's annual meeting. The intervention involves connecting a catheter placed in the radial artery to a pressure transducer equipped with early-warning software, and hemodynamic parameters were updated on a display in 20-second intervals.

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