Critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Forum
-
Multicenter Study Observational Study
Timing and causes of death in severe COVID-19 patients.
Previous studies reporting the causes of death in patients with severe COVID-19 have provided conflicting results. The objective of this study was to describe the causes and timing of death in patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ In our multicenter observational study, COVID-19-related MODS and secondary infections were the two leading causes of death, among severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU.
-
Multicenter Study
Evaluation of thiamine as adjunctive therapy in COVID-19 critically ill patients: a two-center propensity score matched study.
Thiamine is a precursor of the essential coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate required for glucose metabolism; it improves the immune system function and has shown to reduce the risk of several diseases. The role of thiamine in critically ill septic patient has been addressed in multiple studies; however, it's role in COVID-19 patients is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of thiamine as an adjunctive therapy on mortality in COVID-19 critically ill patients. ⋯ Thiamine use as adjunctive therapy may have potential survival benefits in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Additionally, it was associated with a lower incidence of thrombosis. Further interventional studies are required to confirm these findings.
-
Prolonged ventilatory support is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Partial support modes, especially pressure support ventilation, are frequently used in clinical practice but are associated with patient-ventilation asynchrony and deliver fixed levels of assist. Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA), a mode of partial ventilatory assist that reduces patient-ventilator asynchrony, may be an alternative for weaning. However, the effects of NAVA on weaning outcomes in clinical practice are unclear. ⋯ Our study suggests that the NAVA mode may improve the rate of weaning success compared with other partial support modes for difficult to wean patients.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Non-invasive ventilation versus high-flow nasal oxygen for postextubation respiratory failure in ICU: a post-hoc analysis of a randomized clinical trial.
In intensive care units (ICUs), patients experiencing post-extubation respiratory failure have poor outcomes. The use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) to treat post-extubation respiratory failure may increase the risk of death. This study aims at comparing mortality between patients treated with NIV alternating with high-flow nasal oxygen or high-flow nasal oxygen alone. ⋯ In patients with post-extubation respiratory failure, NIV alternating with high-flow nasal oxygen might not increase the risk of death. Trial registration number The trial was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov with the registration number NCT03121482 the 20th April 2017.