Respiratory care
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The utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for cardiopulmonary support continues to increase globally, with > 190,000 ECMO cases reported to the international Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry. The present review aims to synthesize important contributions to the literature surrounding the management of mechanical ventilation, prone positioning, anticoagulation, bleeding complications, and neurologic outcomes for infants, children, and adults undergoing ECMO in 2022. Additionally, issues related to cardiac ECMO, Harlequin syndrome, and anticoagulation during ECMO will be discussed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation of a Closed Suction System with Integrated Tube Scraping Technology: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Endotracheal tube (ETT) scraping or sweeping refers to mucus removal from an ETT that can increase airway resistance. The study objective was to evaluate the effect of ETT scraping on the duration of mechanical ventilation, time to first successful spontaneous breathing trial (SBT), duration of hospital stay, and occurrence of ventilator-associated events (VAEs). ⋯ ETT suctioning plus scraping, compared to ETT suctioning alone, did not significantly improve the duration of mechanical ventilation, time to first successful SBT, length of hospital stay, and VAEs. These study findings do not support the routine use of ETT scraping for mechanically ventilated patients.
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Diaphragm atrophy has been observed in subjects who undergo invasive mechanical ventilation. We propose a new method to assess for respiratory muscle (RM) changes in subjects who undergo invasive mechanical ventilation by assessing for changes in respiratory muscles through computed tomography (CT). ⋯ We demonstrated that serial analysis of respiratory muscle CSA through CT chest scans can be a method to assess for respiratory muscle atrophy in subjects undergoing mechanical ventilation. Future prospective studies involving larger populations are needed to better understand how this method can be used to predict outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients.
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Several studies have suggested that high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is useful for respiratory support after extubation in subjects with COVID-19 pneumonia, whereas 18% subsequently needed to undergo re-intubation. This study aimed to evaluate whether the breathing frequency (f)-ratio of oxygen saturation (ROX) index, which has been shown to be useful for predicting future intubation, is also useful for re-intubation in subjects with COVID-19. ⋯ The ROX index in the early phase of HFNC therapy after extubation was useful for predicting re-intubation with high accuracy in mechanically ventilated subjects with COVID-19. Close observation for patients with < 7.44 ROX index just after extubation may be warranted because of their high risk for re-intubation.
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An understanding of the research process is an essential skill for designing a study and developing the research protocol. Poor study design can lead to fatal flaws in research methodology, ultimately resulting in rejection for publication or limiting the reliability of the results. Following the steps of the research process and devising the research question and hypothesis prior to study initiation can avoid common problems encountered with research questions and study design. ⋯ Utilization of the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (PICO) format helps to structure the question as well as refine and narrow the focus from a broad topic. The hypothesis is derived from the research question and is used to determine the experiments or interventions that will answer the question. This aim of this paper is to provide guidance for developing research questions and forming a testable hypothesis through application of the FINER criteria and the PICO process.