Tag: mechanical ventilation
A Better Way of Connecting Multiple Patients to a Single Ventilator
This differential multi-ventilation setup yields increased safety, monitoring and control for each connected patient. In an ideal world, no one treating patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) would have... read more
A Comparison of Albumin and Saline for Fluid Resuscitation in the ICU
In this randomized trial, we found that the use of 4 percent albumin or normal saline for intravascular volume resuscitation in a heterogeneous population of patients in the ICU resulted in equivalent rates of death from... read more
1 Million Ventilators Project
We need to develop a strategic reserve of 1,000,000+ emergency ventilators ASAP. These don't need to be fancy medical ventilators, they just need to work. In a pandemic, the limited existing ventilator supply and stockpile... read more
Splitting Ventilators to Provide Titrated Support to a Large Group of Patients
COVID-19 can out-strip the number of mechanical ventilators available to us. This has led to interest in using a single ventilator to support multiple patients. This post will review the theory and evidence regarding this... read more
Lung Ultrasonography Features of COVID-19 Pneumonia
As lung abnormalities may develop before clinical manifestations and nucleic acid detection, experts have recommended early chest computerized tomography (CT) for screening suspected patients. The high contagiousness... read more
COVID-19 Airway Management – The Role of Simulation
Health services around the world are faced with the challenge of preparing for the impact of COVID-19 on their communities as we all prepare for a potential global pandemic. I see a great role for simulation in process... read more
Decrease Delirium in Older ICU Adults Using Music
Researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Mayo Clinic are leading the first study to test whether exposure to music can decrease delirium in older adults who are receiving mechanical ventilation in the Intensive Care... read more
ICU Risk Factors and Outcomes for Each Delirium Subtype
Although included studies reported on many subtype-specific risk factors (hypoactive, hyperactive) and outcomes, heterogeneity in reporting and methodological quality limited the generalizability of the results and the evidence... read more
Respiratory Support for Patients with COVID-19 Infection
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than 50 countries so far this year. Xiaobo Yang and colleagues described in their single-centered, retrospective, observational study that 52 of 710 patients with confirmed... read more
Flow-controlled Ventilation Enhances Lung Aeration
Lung-protective ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) aims for providing sufficient oxygenation and carbon dioxide clearance, while limiting the harmful effects of mechanical ventilation. This study... read more
Validation of Neuromuscular Blocking Agent Use in ARDS
The use of Neuromuscular Blocking Agents (NMBA) could significantly decrease mortality in moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients and decrease the incidence of barotrauma during mechanical ventilation.... read more
Imaging Changes of Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia in Advanced Stage
The imaging changes of acute stage from a case of 75-year-old male patient with severe COVID-19 pneumonia combined acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic shock, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) who... read more
Harmful Effects of Mechanical Ventilation on Neurocognitive Functions
Whether mechanical ventilation (MV) induces neurotoxicity that can trigger or accelerate chronic cognitive disorders is controversial. The relationship between MV and neurocognitive impairment, that persisted at hospital... read more
New Study on Prehospital Airway Control Trial Underway
Emory University Department of Emergency Medicine and Grady Memorial Hospital will take part in a U.S. Department of Defense-funded clinical trial to compare different ways to help people with traumatic injuries breathe. The... read more
Respiratory Drive in the ARDS: Pathophysiology, Monitoring, and Therapeutic Interventions
Neural respiratory drive, i.e., the activity of respiratory centres controlling breathing, is an overlooked physiologic variable which affects the pathophysiology and the clinical outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome... read more
It’s Insane to Keep Using Mortality As a Primary Endpoint in Critical Care Trials
Mortality is an important endpoint, so we shouldn't ignore mortality trends entirely. However, the vast majority of these will be spurious. Thus, we should generally not change practice due to them. In the history of critical... read more
Coronavirus (2019-nCoV): Evidence Relevant to Critical Care
The 2019 Coronavirus outbreak was declared a global Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30th January 2020. In order to ensure immediate access to relevant systematic reviews, this Cochrane... read more
Ventilatory Support and Mechanical Properties of the Fibrotic Lung Acting as a “Squishy Ball”
The management of the patient with lung fibrosis in the ICU is a challenge for the intensivist. The lack of studies defining the mechanical ventilation strategy, and the different underlying etiologies, make it difficult... read more
Expiratory Muscle Dysfunction in Critically Ill Patients
The expiratory muscles are the "neglected component" of the respiratory muscle pump. Rather as the heart does not comprise only a left ventricle, but also a right one, the respiratory muscle pump is much more than just the... read more
The ABCDE Bundle Associated with Significant Reductions in Duration of Mechanical Ventilation
The focus on long-term consequences of critical illness has intensified with increasing ICU utilization and survivorship. Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) is increasingly recognized and has profound and long-lasting negative... read more
Clinical Decision Support Systems: Future or Present in ICU?
Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are today, a reality. More complex, useful systems will be developed in the near future, forging CDSS an essential part of ICU monitoring. However, we need to understand the algorithms... read more
Risk Factors for the Development of ARDS in Mechanically Ventilated Adults in Peru
In this study of mechanically ventilated patients, 31% of study participants had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) at some point during their ICU stay. Optimal lung-protective ventilation was not used in a majority... read more
