Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life After Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life After Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

This study examined the long-term health-related quality of life in adult patients treated with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) for severe acute respiratory failure in Ireland. A retrospective, cross-sectional... read more

International PICU COVID-19 Collaboration Conference Call

International PICU COVID-19 Collaboration Conference Call

This episode is an international collaborative conference call hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Burns of Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Featured speakers are Drs. Daniel Barouch, Trevor Duke, and Robinder Khemani,... read more

Effects of Paracentesis on Hemodynamic Parameters and Respiratory Function in Critically Ill Patients

Effects of Paracentesis on Hemodynamic Parameters and Respiratory Function in Critically Ill Patients

Paracentesis in critically ill patients is safe regarding hemodynamic function, renal function and intervention-related complications. Furthermore, paracentesis in critically ill and mechanically ventilated patients results... read more

Prone Positioning in Nonintubated Patients with COVID-19 and Hypoxemic Acute Respiratory Failure

Prone Positioning in Nonintubated Patients with COVID-19 and Hypoxemic Acute Respiratory Failure

In this study of patients with COVID-19 and hypoxemic respiratory failure managed outside the ICU, 63% were able to tolerate PP for more than 3 hours. However, oxygenation increased during PP in only 25% and was not sustained... read more

Sharing Data is the Key to Unlocking Remdesivir Challenges

Sharing Data is the Key to Unlocking Remdesivir Challenges

Critical care teams should consider using remdesivir to treat patients with severe acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, but supply of the drug is limited and best practices for maximizing its effectiveness are not completely understood. The... read more

Global Effort to Collect Data on Ventilated Patients With COVID-19

Global Effort to Collect Data on Ventilated Patients With COVID-19

As the new chair of the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), John Fraser, MBChB, PhD, began talking with the group's members last November about why influenza affects some people worse... read more

Awake Proning for COVID-19

Awake Proning for COVID-19

Prone positioning improves oxygenation in spontaneous breathing nonintubated patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure: A retrospective study. This is a retrospective case series describing 15 non-intubated patients... read more

Predicting NIV Failure in Hypoxemic Patients

Predicting NIV Failure in Hypoxemic Patients

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is applied worldwide to patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure. It is often applied as an attempt to avoid invasive mechanical ventilation. However, the application of NIV is often... read more

Here’s a Lifesaving COVID-19 Test That Costs Almost Nothing

Here’s a Lifesaving COVID-19 Test That Costs Almost Nothing

The New York Times ran a fascinating op-ed on Monday, and I’m surprised that it hasn’t gotten more attention. Here’s the nickel summary: a hotshot ER doctor volunteered to spend time at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan... read more

COVID-19 Pneumonia: ARDS or Not?

COVID-19 Pneumonia: ARDS or Not?

Even though it can meet the ARDS Berlin definition, the COVID-19 pneumonia is a specific disease with peculiar phenotypes. Its main characteristic is the dissociation between the severity of the hypoxemia and the maintenance... read more

COVID-19 Evolving Indications for Intubation

COVID-19 Evolving Indications for Intubation

Hypoxemia and tachypnea should not be the sole indications for intubation, but rather a complete clinical assessment including work of breathing, mental status and increasing PaCO2 and/or acidosis. Based on experience... read more

Flow-controlled Ventilation Enhances Lung Aeration

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

Multi-Modal Characterization of the Coagulopathy Associated With ECMO

Multi-Modal Characterization of the Coagulopathy Associated With ECMO

The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO)-associated coagulopathy is a multifactorial and quickly developing syndrome. It is characterized by individual changes of coagulation parameters and platelets and is aggravated... read more

New Study on Prehospital Airway Control Trial Underway

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

Clinically Significant Pleural Effusion in ICU

Clinically Significant Pleural Effusion in ICU

Clinically significant pleural effusion (PLEFF)—defined by a depth greater than or equal to 2 cm in a drainable location on thoracic ultrasound together with a potential adverse effect on patient progress—was detected... read more

Conservative vs. Interventional Treatment for Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Conservative vs. Interventional Treatment for Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Although the primary outcome was not statistically robust to conservative assumptions about missing data, the trial provides modest evidence that conservative management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax was noninferior... read more

Impact of Levosimendan on Weaning from Peripheral VA-ECMO in ICU

Impact of Levosimendan on Weaning from Peripheral VA-ECMO in ICU

This study suggests that levosimendan might be associated with a beneficial effect on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) weaning in ICU patients. The difference in mortality among propensity-matched... read more