Prognostic and Predictive Biomarkers in COVID-19 Patients Treated with Tocilizumab

Multiple biomarkers prognostic for clinical outcomes were confirmed in COVACTA. Ferritin was identified as a predictive biomarker for the effects of tocilizumab in the COVACTA patient population; high ferritin levels were... read more

High-Flow Oxygen Therapy vs. Conventional Oxygen Therapy on Invasive Mechanical Ventilation in COVID-19 Patients

Among patients with severe COVID-19, use of high-flow oxygen through a nasal cannula significantly decreased need for mechanical ventilation support and time to clinical recovery compared with conventional low-flow oxygen... read more

Pressure Support vs. Spontaneous Ventilation during Anesthetic Emergence – Effect on Postoperative Atelectasis

The incidence of postoperative atelectasis was lower in patients undergoing either laparoscopic colectomy or robot-assisted prostatectomy who received pressure support ventilation during emergence from general anesthesia... read more

Non-invasive vs. Invasive Respiratory Management Strategies in AHRF Patients

When performing non-invasive ventilation among patients with de novo acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure (AHRF), it is important to avoid excessive tidal volume and lung injury. Although pressure support is needed for... read more

Rapidly Progressive Brain Atrophy in Septic ICU Patients

Many ICU patients with severe sepsis who developed prolonged mental status changes and neurological sequelae showed signs of brain atrophy. Patients with rapidly progressive brain atrophy were more likely to have required... read more

Semiquantitative Assessment of RFV with a Modified Subcostal Echocardiographic View

In patients presenting with RVF in the ICU (or in situations where the apical echocardiographic view is suboptimal for tricuspid annular assessment), SEATAK can be an alternative to TAPSE. Further research is needed to validate... read more

Facemask vs. Helmet – Noninvasive Ventilation

We use Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) to treat various disease processes, such as acute hypercapnic and hypoxemic respiratory failure, post-extubation failure, and neuromuscular diseases. Data supports NIV use in some conditions,... read more

Effectiveness of Therapeutic Heparin vs. Prophylactic Heparin on COVID-19 Patients

In moderately ill patients with covid-19 and increased D-dimer levels admitted to hospital wards, therapeutic heparin was not significantly associated with a reduction in the primary outcome but the odds of death at 28 days... read more

Weaning Methods From Mechanical Ventilation in Adult Patients

In general consideration, our study provided evidence that weaning with proportional assist ventilation has a high probability of being the most effective ventilation mode for patients with mechanical ventilation regarding... read more

The Unsung Heroes: Respiratory Therapists

Working day after day, year after year, in a busy high acuity ICU, we all have become a "second family." The public doesn't hear much about respiratory therapists, especially during this COVID nightmare. But they have... read more

Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients: Long-term Survival Study

The long-term survival of mechanically ventilated patients with severe COVID-19 reaches more than 50% and may help to provide individualized risk stratification and potential treatments. 868 patients were included (median... read more

Impact on Mental, Physical and Cognitive functioning of a Critical care sTay during the COVID-19 pandemic

The ongoing pandemic could affect the duration, variety and severity of the mental, physical, and cognitive impairments intensive care unit (ICU) survivors and their families frequently present. We aim to determine the impact... read more

Carbapenem Antibiotics for the Empiric Treatment of Nosocomial Pneumonia

Carbapenem-based empiric regimens were associated with lower mortality rates compared with non-carbapenems, largely driven by trials of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The mortality effect was not observed in trials... read more

Brain–lung Interactions and Mechanical Ventilation in Patients with Isolated Brain Injury

During the last decade, experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that isolated acute brain injury (ABI) may cause severe dysfunction of peripheral extracranial organs and systems. Of all potential target organs... read more

Longitudinal Respiratory Subphenotypes in COVID-19 Patients with ARDS

COVID-19-related ARDS has no consistent respiratory subphenotype. Patients diverged from a fairly homogenous to a more heterogeneous population, with trajectories of ventilatory ratio and mechanical power being the most discriminatory.... read more

Validation of RSBI Displayed by the Ventilator vs. Standard Technique in Patients with Readiness for Weaning

The ventilator significantly overestimates the RSBI value compared to the standard technique by Wright spirometer. The average RSBI vent value among 5 time points (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 s) was found to best correlate with... read more

COVID-19 and Anticoagulation: Full Dose or Prophylactic Dose?

In CRITICALLY ILL patients with COVID-19, an initial strategy of therapeutic-dose anticoagulation is not associated with a greater probability of survival to hospital discharge or a greater number of days free of cardiovascular... read more

Balanced Solution vs. 0.9% Saline Solution Fluid Treatment in Critically Ill Patients

Among critically ill patients requiring fluid challenges, use of a balanced solution compared with 0.9% saline solution did not significantly reduce 90-day mortality. The findings do not support the use of this balanced... read more

Continuous Pneumatic Regulation of Tracheal Cuff Pressure to Decrease VAP in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

Continuous regulation of cuff pressure of the tracheal tube using a pneumatic device was not superior to routine care in preventing Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients with severe trauma. A total of 434 patients... read more

RECOVERY-RS trial finds CPAP reduces need for invasive ventilation in hospitalised COVID-19 patients

The NIHR-supported Respiratory Strategies in COVID-19; CPAP, High-flow, and Standard Care (RECOVERY-RS) trial has demonstrated that treating hospitalised COVID-19 patients who have acute respiratory failure with continuous... read more

Discordance Between Respiratory Drive and Sedation Depth in Critically Ill Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation

Sedation depth is not a reliable marker of respiratory drive during critical illness. Respiratory drive can be low, moderate, or high across the range of routinely targeted sedation depth. 56 patients undergoing 197 bedside... read more

Higher ICU Sepsis Case Volume Associated with Significantly Lower Hospital Mortality

In this cohort study of 273,001 patients with sepsis at 231 ICUs in the UK, a higher annual sepsis case volume in the ICU was associated with significantly lower hospital mortality, and this association had no significant... read more