American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2020
ReviewTracheal Intubation in the Critically Ill: Where We Came From and Where We Should Go.
Tracheal intubation is commonly performed in critically ill patients. Unfortunately, this procedure also carries a high risk of complications; half of critically ill patients with difficult airways experience life-threatening complications. The high complication rates stem from difficulty with laryngoscopy and tube placement, consequences of physiologic derangement, and human factors, including failure to recognize and reluctance to manage the failed airway. ⋯ There are three actions that should be implemented to reduce the risk of danger: 1) preintubation assessment for potential difficulty (e.g., MACOCHA score); 2) preparation and optimization of the patient and team for difficulty-including using a checklist, acquiring necessary equipment, maximizing preoxygenation, and hemodynamic optimization; and 3) recognition and management of failure to restore oxygenation and reduce the risk of cardiopulmonary arrest. This review describes the history of emergency airway management and explores the challenges with modern emergency airway management in critically ill patients. We offer clinically relevant recommendations on the basis of current evidence, guidelines, and expert opinion.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2020
Multicenter Study Observational StudyPredictive Accuracy of the Quick Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment Score in Brazil: A Prospective Multicenter Study.
Rationale: Although proposed as a clinical prompt to sepsis based on predictive validity for mortality, the Quick Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score is often used as a screening tool, which requires high sensitivity. Objectives: To assess the predictive accuracy of qSOFA for mortality in Brazil, focusing on sensitivity. Methods: We prospectively collected data from two cohorts of emergency department and ward patients. ⋯ Using a qSOFA score greater than or equal to 2 as a screening tool for sepsis may miss patients who ultimately die. Using a qSOFA score greater than or equal to 1 or adding lactate to a qSOFA score greater than or equal to 1 may improve sensitivity. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03158493).
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2020
ReviewStatic and Dynamic Contributors to VILI in Clinical Practice: Pressure, Energy, and Power.
Ventilation is inherently a dynamic process. The present-day clinical practice of concentrating on the static inflation characteristics of the individual tidal cycle (plateau pressure, positive end-expiratory pressure, and their difference [driving pressure, the ratio of Vt to compliance]) does not take into account key factors shown experimentally to influence ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). These include rate of airway pressure change (influenced by flow amplitude, inspiratory time fraction, and inspiratory inflation contour) and cycling frequency. ⋯ Understanding the principles of VILI energetics may provide valuable insights and guidance to intensivists for safer clinical practice. In this interpretive review, we highlight that the injuring potential of the inflation pattern depends upon tissue vulnerability, the number of intolerable high-energy cycles applied in unit time (mechanical power), and the duration of that exposure. Yet, as attractive as this energy/power hypothesis for encapsulating the drivers of VILI may be for clinical applications, we acknowledge that even these all-inclusive and measurable ergonomic parameters (energy per cycle and power) are still too bluntly defined to pinpoint the precise biophysical link between ventilation strategy and tissue injury.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Apr 2020
Letter Comparative StudySex Disparities and Functional Outcomes after Critical Illness.