Respiratory care
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CPAP and noninvasive ventilation (NIV) offer an alternative to intubation and mechanical ventilation in the treatment of acute and chronic respiratory disorders commonly encountered in infants and children. There are many distinct challenges associated with the application, management, and safety of CPAP and NIV in the pediatric population. ⋯ More recently, high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) has emerged as an alternative to CPAP and NIV. Evidence related to the use of CPAP, NIV, and HFNC is included in this review.
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The Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC) has provided the critical care community with the first pediatric-focused definition for ARDS. The PALICC recommendations provide guidance on conventional ventilator management, gas exchange goals, use of high-frequency ventilation, adjunct management approaches, and the application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for pediatric ARDS (PARDS). Although outcomes for PARDS have improved over the past decade, mortality and morbidity remain significant. ⋯ Improvements in prognostication and stratification of disease severity may help to guide therapeutic interventions. Improved comparisons between patients and studies may help to promote future clinical investigations. Hopefully, the recommendations provided by PALICC, in terms of defining and managing ARDS, will stimulate additional research to better guide therapy and further improve outcomes for critically ill infants and children with ARDS.
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Pediatric lung transplant is a viable option for treatment of end-stage lung disease in children, with > 100 pediatric lung transplants reported to the Registry of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation each year. Long-term success is limited by availability of donor organs, debilitation as a result of chronic disease, impaired mucus clearance resulting from both surgical and pharmacologic interventions, increased risk for infection resulting from immunosuppression, and most importantly late complications, such as chronic lung allograft dysfunction. Opportunities for investigation and innovation remain in all of these domains: (1) Ex vivo lung perfusion is a promising technology with the potential for increasing the lung donor pool, (2) evolving extracorporeal support strategies coupled with effective rehabilitation will effectively bridge critically ill patients to transplant, and most importantly, (3) research efforts intended to increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of chronic lung allograft dysfunction will ultimately lead to the development of effective therapies to prevent or treat the variety of chronic lung allograft dysfunction presentations.