SUMMARY
Abbasali Akhoundi, M.D., is interested in pain management and advanced devices in the intensive care unit (ICU). He has studied acute pain management. Researchers have to conduct more studies to find new drugs and methods to improve patients' pain management.
Dr. Akhoundi currently works on complications of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), which is mostly used for acute kidney injury (AKI) in the ICU.
With better detection of complications of CRRT, clinicians will be better able to protect patients. Also, cooperation with engineers and scientists will allow the design of a new device that has the highest compatibility with patients in future.
Focus areas
- Searching for better procedures to control patients' pain in ICUs
- Participating in a project on the complications of CRRT
- Working on an electronic surveillance "sniffer" for early detection and intervention of AKI
- Studying gender differences in the sepsis mortality rate in the ICU
- Participating in a project on the epidemiology of AKI in ICUs
Significance to patient care
In the pain field, new drugs and methods could improve patients' quality of life during their ICU stays and after discharge. A better explanation of the complications of CRRT could help clinicians more feasibly manage patients with fewer complications during critical situations.
An electronic AKI "sniffer" will help physicians with earlier and more efficient detection of AKI as well as lead to better outcomes for the disease.
There are confusing data available regarding gender differences related to the outcome of sepsis. The present project will investigate the differences between male and female patients with sepsis who are hospitalized in ICUs. The proposed retrospective study will add to the steady foundation for further substantial research to investigate the sex hormones, genes, and humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and their influences on sepsis prevalence and fatality rate in both male and female septic patients.