Respiratory care
-
[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.
-
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.