The case for patient safety is obvious; no one would argue in favor of harming patients. Since the launch of the paper To Err is Human, patient safety has been on the forefront of public health policymakers' priorities. Yet, 20 years later, while progress has been made, harm to patients is still a reality, daily, in health systems over the world. As countries reform their health systems, the national health programs must ensure not only the integration of universal health coverage (UHC) but also that the health coverage provided is safe. To this point, new models of care must be designed and implemented, and organizations should aim to achieve high-reliability care, similar to other industries that keep a solid safety record. This can be achieved by aiming for high-reliability organization principles, ensuring empowerment of patients as codesigners of health care, workforce safety to ensure safety of patients, and UHC without harm and proper regulation of digital health to avoid unintended adverse consequences. Since the past 20 years, the knowledge gap on patient safety has been shortened and therefore the health-care community holds a firm foundation for starting to implement evidence-based strategies that ensure safe care. The Jeddah Declaration on Patient Safety, 2019, is an actionable document that provides guidance to policy- and decision-makers globally that aim to achieve UHC free of harm. Nevertheless, given the high-level of complexity of health-care systems and its vulnerability to error, the question is what is the way forward toward a safer provision of care? How can the year 2019 be the watershed moment for the health-care industry?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, and nonirritant gas; it is the most common cause of poisoning and poisoning-related death. The main mechanism of CO toxicity is ischemic hypoxia secondary to hypoxemia. The heart is the major target organ of acute CO poisoning. Cardiac failure is the most common cardiac presentation; however, other cardiovascular manifestations include arrhythmia, pulmonary edema, and myocardial infarction. Recovery time from CO-induced cardiomyopathy varies from 4 days to 6 weeks. To our knowledge, there are a limited number of reported cases that demonstrated successful extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in adult and pediatric patients with CO poisoning and multiple organ failure. We present our experience with a case we think that it is the first case to be published for a patient with acute CO poisoning received both circulatory and respiratory support (hybrid venoarterial-venous ECMO).

Fluid restriction strategies may reduce morbidity and mortality in critical care patients and are currently trending as preliminary data showed encouraging results. A positive fluid balance was related to increase morbidity and mortality in a variety of disorders (i.e., sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and postsurgical cases) as well as resulted in an increased rate of complications observed in the intensive care unit setting. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been managed thus far in terms of fluid resuscitation under the concept of general trauma resuscitation recommendations that favored euvolemia above all fluid balance states. Notwithstanding, scarce data exist to clarify details about fluid management strategies in TBI such as the desirable fluid balance per se and/or its impact on patients' outcomes. We, therefore, reviewed previously published data and concluded in an observational manner (by creating a visual display model) that a highly positive and/or a negative fluid balance may have a detrimental impact on the prognosis of TBI patients. Accordingly, well-designed randomized controlled trials are clearly required to investigate further and in detail the most efficacious fluid administration strategies in TBI contributing thus in the rapidly expanding field of neurocritical care.

Intensive care unit (ICU) cost analysis has not been extensively addressed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have implemented cost analysis (2015–2016) at the largest polyvalent ICU of the Kingdom (King Saud Medical City). Our block model analysis assimilated both modified Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS) and Omega scoring points to evaluate the overall cost; while, specific utilization elements were included in such as medication, procedural, laboratory, radiology, physiotherapy, nursing/physician, and overhead/other costs. The overall cost (Saudi Riyals [SAR]/ICU patient/day) averaged for TISS/Omega scores and adjusted for 2015–2016 inflation rates was approximately 23.269 (TISS: 167 points; Omega: 173 points generating predictive costs scores which were approximating the aforementioned score [R² validated 0.91 and 0.90, respectively, all P < 0.005). Thereafter, we have applied effective antibiotic stewardship program and control of procedural supplies, novel administration policies, diversification of the ergonomy and clinical orientation, early mobilization of patients, increase of by-the-bed critical care ultrasound applications and decrease in the length of stay. The cost was reduced to 19.800 SAR (15%) in 2017–2018 that is comparable to international standards. Preliminary follow-up cost analysis (2019) is confirming projections of stabilizing the ICU cost <18.000 SAR (4790 USD)/patient/day. Our budget-cut policy has provided the department with a vital investment space to integrate new therapeutic technologies.

Pressure injury (PI) is common in critically ill patients and is largely preventable. Prevention of PI in the intensive care unit (ICU) depends on routine risk assessment and implementation of preventive measures, such as adequate nutritional support, proper positioning and repositioning, mobilization, proper skin care, use of appropriate pressure-redistributing surfaces, and application of skin protective dressings. The available evidence suggests that a multifaceted approach is usually required. In addition, there is a need for high-quality studies to guide PI prevention in ICU patients.

The use of machine learning (ML) applications in the intensive care units (ICUs) has surged over the last two decades. This is the result of the digital transformation that many health-care organizations have implemented. Data that are generated in the process of intensive care have more volume, velocity, and value than data generated in any other general hospital's department. This characteristic of ICUs makes them attractive environments for developing models that require rich dataset. ML has been used to develop clinical decision support system (CDSS) that could make informative decisions without requiring prior in-depth knowledge about the roots of the disease or common characteristics of the patients. The adoption of ML-based CDSS in ICUs is continuously increasing as ML algorithms achieve high levels of accuracy in descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive decisions. This article reviews some of the applications of ML in ICUs. This article will show examples of how ML was used for outcome predictions, such as predicting mortality and readmission. Examples in this article also include using ML for diagnostic and image recognition purposes. This review will discuss the use of ML for monitoring ICU patients, whether monitoring their physical safety with artificial intelligence vision detection algorithms, monitoring their continuous bedside measurements, or monitoring the administration and dosage of their medications. All these examples show that ML-based CDSS are on the path for a journey full of innovative and creative solutions that will increase the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of critical care.

Neuromuscular-blocking agents (NMBAs) are a cornerstone in the management of critically ill patients. There is evidence supporting short course (<48 h) of paralysis for patients with moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome with PaO2/FiO2 ratio <150. Proper knowledge of these agents and their evidence-based use is fundamental. Health-care providers can play an important role in the regulation and the use of NMBAs in critically ill patients.

Quitting smoking abruptly can precipitate the nicotine withdrawal syndrome, characterized by psychological and physical components. Data from critically ill patients have shown that active smokers are more likely to suffer from psychomotor agitation, self-removal of tubes and catheters, need for physical restraint, and therefore usually require higher doses of sedatives, neuroleptics, and analgesic agents. Furthermore, smokers admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) experience delirium or agitation, which increases the length of hospital stay and the cost of medical care. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has been shown to be safe and effective in the outpatient setting in smokers who intended to quit. However, the management of nicotine withdrawal symptoms in critically ill patients is controversial. Several studies have identified that treating nicotine withdrawal symptoms with NRT can be beneficial while others suggest that it can potentially increase mortality in critically ill patients. In the absence of high-quality data, NRT cannot currently be recommended for routine use to prevent delirium or to reduce hospital or ICU mortality in critically ill smokers. From the currently available data, it seems that the use of NRT in critically ill patients should be limited to selected patients where the potential benefit clearly outweighs the risk. To establish definitive conclusions regarding the use of NRT in smokers admitted to the ICU, it is necessary to carry out well-designed prospective studies with a sample of adequate size to limit the confounding factors and biases present in the current retrospective observational studies.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and internationally. They are associated with increased length of stay, mortality, antibiotics cost, and overall hospital cost. About 250,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) occur in the US yearly, with a rate of 0.8 per CL-days and attributed mortality of 12%–25%. CLABSI constitutes 14.2%–38.5% of HAIs in the Kingdom, with rates varying from 2.2 to 29.7/1000 CL-days and crude device-associated mortality of 16.8%–41.9%. This article highlights the scope of the problem and outlines preventive strategies.

Delirium is common among intensive care unit (ICU) patients; studies showed that delirium is linked to poor outcomes. Few studies have discussed delirium in the Arabic-speaking patients' population. The Saudi Critical Care Trials Group (SCCTG) is a leading entity for research and quality at ICU in Saudi Arabia. The SCCTG has worked on advancing delirium prevention and management by establishing multiple quality improvement projects as well as conducting research. The aim of this review is to highlight the effort of the SCCTG to improve delirium care at the ICU in Saudi hospitals.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. The incidence of cancer is increasing worldwide with a huge burden on healthcare resources. Oncology patients require highly specialized care that is not widely available. In Saudi Arabia, data on cancer incidence are limited. Furthermore, many patients with cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages due to limited implementation of screening programs. This leads to difficulty in treating cancer patients and leads to families' dissatisfaction as well. Cancer patients require critical care services more frequently compared to other patients due to the nature of their disease and sometimes due to the complications of the treatment. Admitting patients with advanced cancer to critical care was debatable due to the poor outcome. However, the outcome of these patients has dramatically improved in the last decade, so no bias should be exercised when they need intensive care unit (ICU). In this review, we review the literature regarding the outcome of cancer patients admitted to the ICU focusing on Saudi Arabia.

Acinetobacter is a strictly aerobic Gram-negative coccobacillus that is commonly present in hospital environment. It is considered a major healthcare problem worldwide. It can lead to different forms of severe infections, especially in critically ill patients. The prevalence of Acinetobacter infections is increasing in Saudi Arabia ,also the pattern of its antimicrobial susceptibility is changing as. Multidrug resistance and even pandrug resistance is increasing in almost all regions. Infections due to Acinetobacter are associated with high mortality reaching up to 58% in severe bloodstream infection. Additional research on Acinetobacter infections in critically ill patients in Saudi Arabia is needed.

Acute critical illness is associated with proteolysis which leads to immunosuppression, poor wound healing, intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness, increased mortality, and delayed recovery. It has been suggested that exogenous protein should be supplemented in sufficient amounts to mitigate this protein loss. However, there is a continuing controversy regarding the optimal amount of protein that should be administered to critically ill patients and its impact on the outcomes. The current clinical practice guidelines recommend protein intake in the range of 1.2–2.5 g/kg per day. These guidelines are mostly based on observational studies and a few randomized controlled trials. In addition, small studies showed improvement in muscle mass or handgrip strength but with no effect on ICU mortality or length of stay due to small sample size and presence of confounders such as energy intake or due to heterogeneous population. On the other hand, there is some evidence suggesting that higher protein intake provided in the 1^st week of illness may actually cause harm due to inhibition of autophagy or increased ureagenesis. Therefore, there is a need for a well-designed randomized multicenter clinical trial to evaluate the optimal protein requirement in different phases of critical illness, in different subgroups, and in nutritionally high-risk patients.