Early Tracheostomy in Ventilated COVID-19 Patients Reduces VAP Incidence

Tracheostomy can reduce mechanical ventilation (MV) duration, ICU and hospital length of stay (LOS), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) risk in critically ill patients. The timing of tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients... read more

Non-Intensive Care Unit Feasibility for Ambulatory VV-ECMO Patients

Our data suggests that ambulatory veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) patients may tolerate less than ICU level of care and may even progress to outpatient management as ECMO technology continues to... read more

Outcomes and inflammation changes in different types of immunocompromised patients with critically ill COVID-19 admitted to ICU

Critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU exhibit distinct clinical outcomes based on their immunosuppression status, with cancer patients facing the highest mortality rate due to variations in inflammatory responses... read more

Resuscitation Arterial Waveform Quantification and Outcomes in Pediatric Patients

Providing physiologically adequate CPR for pediatric single ventricle patients palliated with Bidirectional Glenn (BDG) or Fontan physiology is challenging. Only 27% of Fontan patients survived to hospital discharge with... read more

Veno-Arterial-Venous ECMO in a Patient Undergoing Dialysis and Having Cardiopulmonary Failure Due to COVID-19

COVID-19 can cause cardiomyopathy, a rare cardiovascular disorder that can lead to cardiogenic shock. The cardiac and respiratory symptoms may not occur simultaneously, and it is possible to switch to veno-arterial-venous... read more

ECMO in the Adult Patient (Core Critical Care)

ECMO in the Adult Patient (Core Critical Care)

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is developing rapidly, and is now part of the toolkit for the management of all patients with severe respiratory or cardiac failure. Clinicians of all disciplines are in need of... read more

Outcomes of ECMO in ARDS in Pediatric Trauma Patients

Among children who suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) complications following trauma, the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) failed to show any association with mortality benefit. More... read more

Conservative or Liberal Oxygen Targets in Patients on VA-ECMO

In adults receiving VA-ECMO in the ICU, a conservative compared to a liberal oxygen strategy did not affect the number of ICU-free days to day 28, nor any other measurable patient outcomes up to 6 months after ICU admission.... read more

Low-Frequency Ventilation May Facilitate Weaning in ARDS Treated with ECMO

Low-frequency ventilation is comparable to conventional protective ventilation in patients with ARDS who have been treated with ECMO. However, low-frequency ventilation may support weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation... read more

Early Reapplication of Prone Position During VV-ECMO for ARDS

A combination of prone positioning (PP) and venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is safe, feasible, and associated with potentially improved survival for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).... read more

Pressure Support Ventilation During ECMO Support in Patients with ARDS

In the initial phases of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) support for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), ultraprotective controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) is typically employed... read more

Emergency and Prophylactic ECMO for Patients Undergoing Valve-in-Valve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation with Small Surgical Bioprosthesis

Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) using veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is widely implemented as a rescue device in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Although prophylactic... read more

Device Associated Complications in the ICU

Although mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU) has declined over time, ICU associated complications remain common, affecting up to a half of critically ill patients and resulting in increased mortality, longer hospital... read more

Navigating the Complexity of ECMO and Positioning in ARDS Treatment

We read with great interest the network meta-analysis by Sud et al. comparing venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO), prone positioning, and supine mechanical ventilation in patients with severe hypoxemic... read more

Prevalence and Survival of Prolonged VV ECMO for ARDS

The understanding of prolonged venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) in the setting of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is evolving and durations of support once considered extreme are now commonplace.... read more

Immunosuppression Not Associated with a Higher Incidence of ICU-acquired Bacterial Bloodstream Infections

Immunosuppression Not Associated with a Higher Incidence of ICU-acquired Bacterial Bloodstream Infections

In this monocentric, retrospective observational cohort study, the incidence of ICU-acquired bacterial BSI was not different between immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised patients. This suggests that the clinical... read more

Improving Outcomes in Nosocomial Pneumonia

Improving Outcomes in Nosocomial Pneumonia

Nosocomial pneumonia (NP) represents a leading nosocomial infection and results in substantial morbidity and cost. Over the last several years, the evidence has evolved which directs our approach to NP. Specifically, the... read more