Bougie vs. Endotracheal Tube with Stylet on Successful Intubation

Bougie vs. Endotracheal Tube with Stylet on Successful Intubation

Among critically ill adults undergoing tracheal intubation, use of a bougie did not significantly increase the incidence of successful intubation on the first attempt compared with use of an endotracheal tube with stylet. Among... read more

Feed Intolerance Reversal by Prokinetics Improves Survival in Critically Ill Cirrhosis Patients

Feed Intolerance Reversal by Prokinetics Improves Survival in Critically Ill Cirrhosis Patients

Feed intolerance (FI) is common in critically-ill cirrhosis patients and non-resolution carries high mortality. Early recognition and treatment with prokinetics is recommended to improve short-term survival. Of the 1,030... read more

Improving Outcomes in Patients with Difficult Airways

Improving Outcomes in Patients with Difficult Airways

Evidence indicates that the airway community has successfully conquered the anatomically difficult airway, as these patients are managed safely with a low incidence of morbidity and mortality. In contrast, the literature... read more

Prone Position in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

Prone Position in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

The use of prone position (PP) during invasive mechanical ventilation was first reported more than 45 years ago as a mean to improve oxygenation in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Improved oxygenation... read more

Lower vs. Higher Oxygenation Targets in ICU Patients with Severe Hypoxemia

Lower vs. Higher Oxygenation Targets in ICU Patients with Severe Hypoxemia

Among adult ICU patients with severe hypoxemia, a lower oxygenation target (8 kPa) did not improve survival or HRQoL at 1 year as compared to a higher oxygenation target (12 kPa). We obtained 1‑year vital status for... read more

Arterial Carbon Dioxide and Acute Brain Injury in VA-ECMO

Arterial Carbon Dioxide and Acute Brain Injury in VA-ECMO

Acute brain injury (ABI) occurs frequently in patients receiving venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). We examined the association between peri-cannulation arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) and... read more

Critical COVID-19 Pneumonia Determinants

Critical COVID-19 Pneumonia Determinants

SARS-CoV-2 infection is benign in most individuals but, in approx. 10% of cases, it triggers hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia, which becomes critical in ˜3% of cases. The ensuing risk of death (˜1%) doubles every five years... read more

Treating Hypoxia in Discharged COVID-19 Patients

Treating Hypoxia in Discharged COVID-19 Patients

The ICU technique of placing a hypoxic patient in a prone position is being widely used to care for COVID-19 patients in respiratory distress to improve oxygenation and possibly to avoid intubation. The COVID-19 pandemic... read more

Oxygenation Responses Mechanisms to Proning and Recruitment in COVID-19 Pneumonia

Oxygenation Responses Mechanisms to Proning and Recruitment in COVID-19 Pneumonia

In unresolving COVID-19 pneumonia, the respiratory mechanics and the gas-exchange response to prone positioning and recruitment largely depend on the following two factors: perfusion dysregulation and the amount of consolidated... read more

HIV and COVID-19 Increased Risk of Severe Outcomes

HIV and COVID-19 Increased Risk of Severe Outcomes

People living with HIV with detectable HIV viraemia, chronic comorbidities, and some subpopulations could be at increased risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. These groups should be prioritised in clinical management and... read more

ARDS vs. PseudoARDS – Failure of the Berlin Definition

ARDS vs. PseudoARDS – Failure of the Berlin Definition

True ARDS might be defined as a histological diagnosis involving diffuse alveolar damage throughout the lungs (characterized by hyaline membrane formation and thickening of the alveolar walls). PseudoARDS refers to patients... read more

Dexamethasone 12 mg vs. 6 mg for COVID-19 Patients with Severe Hypoxia

Dexamethasone 12 mg vs. 6 mg for COVID-19 Patients with Severe Hypoxia

Among patients with COVID-19 and severe hypoxia, dexamethasone 12 mg did not result in statistically significantly more days alive without life support at 28 days than dexamethasone 6 mg. However, the confidence interval... read more

A Rational Approach on the use of ECMO in Severe Hypoxemia

A Rational Approach on the use of ECMO in Severe Hypoxemia

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a helpful intervention in patients with severe refractory hypoxemia either because mechanical ventilation cannot ensure adequate oxygenation or because lung protective... read more

Breath-holding as a Novel Approach to COVID-19 Risk Stratification

Breath-holding as a Novel Approach to COVID-19 Risk Stratification

Despite considerable progress, it remains unclear why some patients admitted for COVID-19 develop adverse outcomes while others recover spontaneously. Clues may lie with the predisposition to hypoxemia or unexpected absence... read more