Respiratory care
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[Formula: see text] may be a reliable noninvasive alternative to the [Formula: see text] index. Furthermore, the ROX index (ie, the ratio of [Formula: see text] to breathing frequency) has been validated to predict high-flow nasal cannula failure in subjects under spontaneous breathing. However, these indices have not been tested in subjects with COVID-19 receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. This study aims to verify the correlation between both the ROX index and [Formula: see text] with [Formula: see text] and the ratio of [Formula: see text] to breathing frequency, and to determine the accuracy of the indices that use [Formula: see text] for the prediction of extubation failure in subjects with COVID-19. ⋯ The indices presented a good correlation in subjects with COVID-19 on invasive mechanical ventilation, and both the ROX index and [Formula: see text] can discriminate extubation failure in this population.
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Suspensions delivered via a pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) require shaking the canister before actuation to prevent drug sedimentation. We hypothesized that a shake-actuation delay of an albuterol hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) pMDI will increase and decrease delivered dose (DOSE) at the beginning and end of the canister's life, respectively, and that aerosol characteristics will remain unchanged with the delay. ⋯ A 30-s shake-actuation delay of an albuterol HFA pMDI increased and decreased delivered dose at the beginning and end of canister's life, respectively. Particle size characteristics at the end of the canister's life changed when the pMDI and pMDI/VHC were operated with a shake-actuation delay. Patients should re-shake the pMDI if it is not actuated immediately after shaking the canister.
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High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) has been used in the treatment of pediatric asthma, although high-quality data comparing HFNC to aerosol mask nebulizer are lacking. We hypothesized that HFNC would perform similarly to the aerosol mask for meaningful clinical outcomes in children with critical asthma. ⋯ HFNC performed similarly to aerosol mask in pediatric patients with critical asthma.
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Presenting research at national and international meetings is an important aspect of the practice of respiratory care. Our department regularly presented abstracts but few projects were written up as manuscripts. We also noted that we did not have a centralized strategy to evaluate individual projects and provide mentorship. To address these challenges, we formed a Research Committee that meets monthly. We hypothesized that the formation of this committee would be associated with an increase in published manuscripts. ⋯ The formation of a research committee was associated with an increase in the percentage of abstracts published as manuscripts.