Mechanical Ventilation: Physiology and Practice

Mechanical Ventilation: Physiology and Practice

Mechanical ventilation is an essential life-sustaining therapy for many critically-ill patients. As technology has evolved, clinicians have been presented with an increasing number of ventilator options as well as an ever-expanding... read more

Fit-testing of N95/P2-masks to Protect Healthcare Workers

Fit-testing of N95/P2-masks to Protect Healthcare Workers

In the context of COVID-19, well fitted respirators e.g. N95/P2-masks are recommended as part of personal protective equipment when performing aerosol generating procedures. Fit-checking is recommended prior to donning... read more

Automated vs. Conventional Ventilation in the ICU

Automated vs. Conventional Ventilation in the ICU

Automated ventilation (AV) appears to reduce the incidence and severity of blood oxygen desaturation during daily nursing procedures (DNPs) in comparison to Conventional Ventilation (CV). Of the 265 included patients,... read more

Is it Safe to Look Yet?

Is it Safe to Look Yet?

As we start to move to the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like a moment to take stock. The country has gone through huge changes to our way of life over the last few months, and those changes have been mirrored... read more

Respiratory Strategies for Patients with Suspected or Proven COVID-19 Respiratory Failure

Respiratory Strategies for Patients with Suspected or Proven COVID-19 Respiratory Failure

The trial objective is to determine if Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) or High-Flow Nasal Oxygen (HFNO) is clinically effective compared to standard oxygen therapy in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. The... read more

Development of Persistent Respiratory Morbidity in Previously Healthy Children After ARF

Development of Persistent Respiratory Morbidity in Previously Healthy Children After ARF

Persistent respiratory morbidity develops in up to potentially 44% of previously healthy children less than or equal to 24 months old at follow-up after acute respiratory failure (ARF) requiring mechanical ventilation. This... read more

Presence of Genetic Variants Among Young Men With Severe COVID-19

Presence of Genetic Variants Among Young Men With Severe COVID-19

In this case series of 4 young male patients with severe COVID-19, rare putative loss-of-function variants of X-chromosomal TLR7 were identified that were associated with impaired type I and II IFN responses. These preliminary... read more

COVID-19: A Hypothesis Regarding the Ventilation-Perfusion Mismatch

COVID-19: A Hypothesis Regarding the Ventilation-Perfusion Mismatch

We believe that a severe V/Q mismatch underlies the pathophysiology of moderate to severe COVID-19 cases, in which downregulation of ACE2 secondary to viral endocytosis plays a key role. There is low V/Q ratio in areas of... read more

Difficult Bag-Mask Ventilation in Critically Ill Children Is Independently Associated With Adverse Events

Difficult Bag-Mask Ventilation in Critically Ill Children Is Independently Associated With Adverse Events

Difficult bag-mask ventilation is reported in approximately one in 10 PICU patients undergoing tracheal intubation. Given its association with adverse procedure–related events and oxygen desaturation, future study is warranted... read more

COVID-19 and AKI

COVID-19 and AKI

Recent reports from China, Italy, and the US indicate that there is a 25-37% incidence of AKI among critically ill COVID-19 patients (Singh 2020, Hirsch et al. 2020). In a study of 5,449 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, acute... read more

Exhaled Air Dispersion During Bag-mask Ventilation and Sputum Suctioning

Exhaled Air Dispersion During Bag-mask Ventilation and Sputum Suctioning

Mask ventilation and coughing during oro-tracheal suctioning produce aerosols that enhance nosocomial transmission of respiratory infections. We examined the extent of exhaled air dispersion from a human-patient-simulator... read more

COVID-19 – Effective Triage During a Pandemic

COVID-19 – Effective Triage During a Pandemic

The UK is likely on the brink of a major COVID-19 outbreak. About 6% to 10% of infected people are likely to be critically ill, most of whom will require ventilation support in an intensive care environment. Italy is already... read more

Ethnicity and Outcomes in Patients Hospitalised with COVID-19

Ethnicity and Outcomes in Patients Hospitalised with COVID-19

Preliminary studies suggest that people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds experience higher mortality from COVID-19 but the underlying reasons remain unclear. Prospective analysis of registry data... read more

Managing Theatre Processes for Planned Surgery Between COVID-19 Surges

Managing Theatre Processes for Planned Surgery Between COVID-19 Surges

As we emerge from the first pandemic surge, there is a widespread desire to restart planned surgery using patient pathways that seek to minimise COVID-19 risk to patients and healthcare workers (HCWs). Some hospitals... read more