Prone Positioning of ARDS Patients

A prospective international observational prevalence study on prone positioning of ARDS patients: the APRONET (ARDS Prone Position Network) study. While prone positioning (PP) has been shown to improve patient survival in... read more

Prone Positioning of ARDS Patients

Variation of Poorly Ventilated Lung Units Measured by EIT to Dynamically Assess Recruitment

Assessing alveolar recruitment at different positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) levels is a major clinical and research interest because protective ventilation implies opening the lung without inducing overdistention.... read more

Variation of Poorly Ventilated Lung Units Measured by EIT to Dynamically Assess Recruitment

Mechanical Ventilation Strategies for the Surgical Patient

The understanding on the protective roles of tidal volume and PEEP settings against PPCs has rapidly expanded. During intraoperative ventilation, low tidal volumes are protective, the protective role of high levels of PEEP... read more

Mechanical Ventilation Strategies for the Surgical Patient

Effect of Lung Recruitment and Titrated PEEP vs Low PEEP on Mortality in Patients with ARDS

In patients with moderate to severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a strategy with lung recruitment and titrated Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) compared with low PEEP increased 28-day all-cause mortality.... read more

Effect of Lung Recruitment and Titrated PEEP vs Low PEEP on Mortality in Patients with ARDS

The Future of Mechanical Ventilation

The adverse effects of mechanical ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) arise from two main causes: unphysiological increases of transpulmonary pressure and unphysiological increases/decreases of pleural... read more

The Future of Mechanical Ventilation

Implementation of a Goal-Directed Mechanical Ventilation Order Set Improves Compliance

Implementation of a Goal-Directed Mechanical Ventilation Order Set Driven by Respiratory Therapists Improves Compliance With Best Practices for Mechanical Ventilation. Data regarding best practices for ventilator management... read more

Implementation of a Goal-Directed Mechanical Ventilation Order Set Improves Compliance

50 Years of Research in ARDS

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is critical in the management of many patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, MV can also cause ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). The selection of an appropriate... read more

50 Years of Research in ARDS

Pearls and Pitfalls in Comprehensive Critical Care Echocardiography

Comprehensive critical care echocardiography is a useful, rapid and non-invasive method to both diagnose pathology and monitor treatment response in the critically ill. Although growing dramatically in use around the world,... read more

Pearls and Pitfalls in Comprehensive Critical Care Echocardiography

Higher PEEP versus Lower PEEP Strategies for Patients with ARDS

Use of higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is unlikely to improve clinical outcomes among unselected patients with ARDS. We identified eight randomized trials comparing higher versus lower PEEP strategies, enrolling... read more

Higher PEEP versus Lower PEEP Strategies for Patients with ARDS

Ultrasound-guided Mechanical Ventilation

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is now a tool used worldwide, integrating clinical assessment of the critically ill. In this review, we focus on lung, diaphragm and cardiac ultrasound in the management of the mechanically... read more

Ultrasound-guided Mechanical Ventilation

Bi-level Ventilation: Who Needs it and Who Doesn't?

Bi-level ventilation is commonly used in patients with respiratory failure in the emergency department. This is a brief review of the indications for bi-level ventilation as well as a review of the complications of this popular... read more

Bi-level Ventilation: Who Needs it and Who Doesn't?

Mechanical Ventilation: Which Patients Benefit from High PEEP?

Among patients with hypoxaemia after cardiac surgery, the use of an intensive alveolar recruitment strategy compared with a moderate recruitment strategy resulted in less severe pulmonary complications during the hospital... read more

Mechanical Ventilation: Which Patients Benefit from High PEEP?

Opening pressures and atelectrauma in ARDS

Data show that the prerequisites of the open lung strategy are not satisfied using PEEP up to 15 cmH2O and plateau pressure up to 30 cmH2O. For an effective open lung strategy, higher pressures are required. Therefore,... read more

Opening pressures and atelectrauma in ARDS

Patients want to be heard loud and clear!

We congratulate ten Hoorn et al. on their systematic review of communication with ICU patients. Their work in defining an algorithm to assist improving communication options for these patients addresses a clear gap in patient-centred... read more

Patients want to be heard loud and clear!

Potentially modifiable factors contributing to outcome from acute respiratory distress syndrome

Higher PEEP, lower peak, plateau, and driving pressures, and lower respiratory rate are associated with improved survival from ARDS.... read more

Potentially modifiable factors contributing to outcome from acute respiratory distress syndrome

Limited predictability of maximal muscular pressure using the difference between peak airway pressure and positive end-expiratory pressure during proportional assist ventilation (PAV)

Deducing maximal muscular pressure from ΔP during PAV has limited accuracy. The extrapolated pressure time product from ΔP is usually less than the pressure time product calculated from oesophageal pressure tracing.... read more

Limited predictability of maximal muscular pressure using the difference between peak airway pressure and positive end-expiratory pressure during proportional assist ventilation (PAV)

Potentially modifiable factors contributing to outcome from acute respiratory distress syndrome: the LUNG SAFE study

Higher PEEP, lower peak, plateau, and driving pressures, and lower respiratory rate are associated with improved survival from ARDS.... read more

Potentially modifiable factors contributing to outcome from acute respiratory distress syndrome: the LUNG SAFE study