A study in the European Journal of Pediatrics associated the use of surfactant with improvements in aeration in the right lung more than the left lung in extremely preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. "We hypothesize that surfactant probably reaches the right side more easily and the basal regions of the lung to a greater extent than the apical ones, leading to focal heterogeneous air distribution that might reflect a combination of both over-expanded and collapsed alveoli, observations that warrant continued future studies," researchers wrote.

A study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society found acetaminophen use was associated with a 6% absolute reduction in delirium risk among critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. The retrospective study of 17,818 patients found a dose-dependent relationship, with delirium risk plateauing at about 40% coverage of the ICU stay.

Home automatic external defibrillators may help improve survival in cases of shockable cardiac arrest, but they are not currently cost-effective, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. The cost per quality-adjusted life-year was $4.5 million, exceeding the $200,000 threshold for cost-effectiveness. Researchers noted that about 70% of the more than 300,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year occur at home and less than 10% of people survive to hospital discharge.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans are developing a health care plan as the government shutdown approaches one month. Expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies are a key issue in the shutdown. Johnson criticized the subsidies and called for reforms instead of extending what he sees as a flawed system.

University Hospital of Liège in Belgium is training ICU staff in aviation-based Crew Resource Management to improve patient safety and teamwork, inspired by a conference presentation from French Boeing 747 Capt. Arnaud Maillé. The initial training of 24 doctors and nurses aims to create communication leads who can identify and address errors, with plans to expand the program.

The risk of Staphylococcus aureus infection was higher for patients in hospital rooms with multiple beds, researchers reported at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America .The risk was 9 times higher in four-bed rooms and 3.5 times higher in two-bed rooms, compared with single-bed rooms.

CorVent Medical has introduced the CorVision intelligent ventilation platform, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve outcomes for critically ill, ventilated patients. The platform integrates with hospital electronic medical record systems and telemedicine networks to enhance critical care decision-making and efficiency. CorVent plans to submit a 510(k) application to the FDA next month.