Various predictive models are used to estimate mortality in intensive care units, but one of the common ones—APACHE II—does not include the presence of delirium, even though delirium is associated with higher mortality in intensive care patients. A Dutch prospective cohort study in Critical Care was designed to find out whether inclusion of delirium, if present within 24 hours after admission to intensive care, improves the predictive value of the APACHE II score (2010;14:R146, doi:10.1186/cc9214). The bottom line is that it doesn’t.

A new iPhone app that started off as “just a bit of fun” may prove more innovative than its creators imagined. The iStethoscope application monitors the heartbeat through sensors in the phone and has been downloaded in droves since a free version was introduced (www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7971950/iPhone-app-to-replace-the-stethoscope.html, 1 September 2010). Minerva’s not sure if it’s the potential of the technology in the medical workplace that’s causing all the excitement, or whether it’s simply …