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Life
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Advances in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine
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Advances in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 2540

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yu-Jang Su

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Toxicology Division, Department of Emergency Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei 10449, Taiwan
2. Department of Nursing, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
3. Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan
4. MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing, and Management, Taipei 11260, Taiwan
Interests: emergency medicine; toxicology; elderly; trauma; infectious disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Advances in emergency and critical care medicine have led to progress regarding the management of these critical patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit. We now face a multitude of problems such as aging and a growing elderly population, and must employ time-saving techniques such as Point-of-Care-Testing (POCT) and other concepts such as time is muscle and time is brain. Regarding damage control, it is essential that lives are saved after major trauma; this can be achieved by using testing methods and skills that can be applied to these injured people. In novel transmitted and infectious diseases, rapid testing and innovative therapeutic regimens or protocols are essential in facing these new infections. There are some indicators that can be used to judge the inflammatory process, such as the white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and monocyte distribution width.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect articles, reviews and opinion pieces that address advances in emergency and critical care medicine.

Cutting-edge research includes new concepts and innovative perspectives on emergency and critical care.

Dr. Yu-Jang Su
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • emergency medicine
  • critical care
  • trauma
  • infectious diseases
  • elderly

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 421 KB  
Article
The Development of a Scoring System for Acute Variceal Bleeding Risk in Cirrhotic Patients in Emergency Departments
by Wei-Yu Lin, Chia-Lung Kao, Yi-Jia Liu, Peng-Peng Chang and Ming-Yuan Hong
Life 2026, 16(4), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/life16040665 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 261
Abstract
Objective: To identify independent clinical predictors of acute variceal bleeding (AVB) in cirrhotic patients and to develop a rapid, non-invasive scoring system to facilitate objective risk stratification and resource prioritization in emergency departments (EDs). Methods: This retrospective study focused on the development of [...] Read more.
Objective: To identify independent clinical predictors of acute variceal bleeding (AVB) in cirrhotic patients and to develop a rapid, non-invasive scoring system to facilitate objective risk stratification and resource prioritization in emergency departments (EDs). Methods: This retrospective study focused on the development of a scoring system based on the international normalized ratio of prothrombin time (PT INR) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) hemodialysis (HD) status to aid in predicting acute variceal bleeding. Results: In our study involving 319 patients, we report an association between a prolonged PT INR (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.03–2.91; p = 0.038) and the absence of ESRD (p < 0.001) and an increased risk of variceal bleeding. The resulting risk-scoring system, while preliminary, ranges from 2 to 14 points and shows promise, with an AUC of 0.89 suggesting its utility in emergency departments. Conclusions: This scoring system, although in its early stages, may be a beneficial tool in emergency care for patients with cirrhosis. Its practicality and potential efficiency could aid in better patient management. However, broader validation in diverse clinical settings is essential to confirm its applicability and effectiveness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine)
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12 pages, 1223 KB  
Article
Monocyte Distribution Width as a Biomarker for Predicting Bacteremia: A Retrospective Study in the Emergency Department
by Tse-Hao Chen, Yu-Jang Su, Wei-Hsiang Liao, Weide Tsai, Ding-Kuo Chien, Wen-Han Chang and Chyi-Huey Bai
Life 2026, 16(1), 178; https://doi.org/10.3390/life16010178 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 484
Abstract
Blood culture is the diagnostic gold standard for bacteremia in the emergency department (ED), but its turnaround time can delay appropriate antimicrobial therapy, highlighting the need for rapid, accessible biomarkers. We retrospectively analyzed adult ED patients from July 2023 to June 2024 who [...] Read more.
Blood culture is the diagnostic gold standard for bacteremia in the emergency department (ED), but its turnaround time can delay appropriate antimicrobial therapy, highlighting the need for rapid, accessible biomarkers. We retrospectively analyzed adult ED patients from July 2023 to June 2024 who underwent blood culture testing and had complete data for monocyte distribution width (MDW), white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Discrimination was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and diagnostic accuracy using sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR); combined models were compared with net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). Among 19,325 patients, 2011 (10.4%) had positive blood cultures. MDW had the highest AUROC (0.760) versus CRP (0.730), NLR (0.695), and WBC (0.642); at a cut-off of 22, MDW showed 0.72 sensitivity, 0.68 specificity, and DOR 5.46. The best combined model was MDW+NLR (AUROC 0.785; DOR 6.39; NRI 0.428; IDI 0.770). MDW is a rapid and effective marker for identifying bacteremia in the ED, and performance improves when combined with NLR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine)
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14 pages, 2066 KB  
Article
Association Between Serum Ionized Calcium Levels and Neurological Outcomes in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
by Shin Young Park, Hyun-Soo Zhang, Incheol Park, Je Sung You and Yoo Seok Park
Life 2025, 15(12), 1889; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15121889 - 10 Dec 2025
Viewed by 857
Abstract
Despite advances in post-cardiac arrest care, mortality and poor neurological outcomes remain common after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Calcium imbalance is characteristic of post-cardiac arrest syndrome, but its prognostic role is unclear. We retrospectively analyzed 421 OHCA patients treated with targeted temperature management [...] Read more.
Despite advances in post-cardiac arrest care, mortality and poor neurological outcomes remain common after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Calcium imbalance is characteristic of post-cardiac arrest syndrome, but its prognostic role is unclear. We retrospectively analyzed 421 OHCA patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM) (2011–2023). pH-adjusted ionized calcium levels were measured at 0, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Associations with 30-day neurological outcomes and mortality were assessed using multivariable logistic regression with two-stage maximum likelihood estimation. Higher baseline-adjusted ionized calcium levels were significantly associated with better neurological outcomes (Cerebral Performance Category 1–2) and lower 30-day mortality, regardless of calcium infusion or clinical covariates. Each 0.01-unit increase corresponded to 17% lower odds of unfavorable neurological outcome (odds ratio [OR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76–0.90) and 10% lower mortality (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.84–0.96). Incorporating longitudinal calcium measurements improved predictive accuracy, raising the area under the curve for neurological outcomes from 0.843 to 0.919. Early post-ROSC ionized calcium levels were independently associated with neurological outcomes and mortality in patients with OHCA treated with TTM. Serial ionized calcium monitoring may serve as a prognostic marker, warranting prospective evaluation of therapeutic implications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine)
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