A critical and evidence based glance at some of the major publications in Critical Care in 2011

SummaryTreatment of critically ill poses increasing constraint on most countries due to the surging cost, global financial crisis, aging population, and ongoing technical and pharmacological options and advances. Evidence based strategies will not only benefit patients by providing the most well documented and rational treatments but also has the potential to reduce the overall cost of treatments considerably. Despite increasing focus on evidence based treatments of critically ill, there is still a considerable gap between our treatment strategies and the level of evidence. Strict and critical assessment of the published literature will ultimately reduce the introduction of harmful or insufficient interventions while at the same time enhancing the introduction of beneficial interventions with a more rapid pace. In this paper, I will provide a snapshot overview of some of the major publications of the previous year through this periscope in regards to the topics Activated Protein C, Tight glycaemic control, Hypothermia for neuroprotection after cardiac arrest.