Annals of the American Thoracic Society
-
Rationale: Prior approaches to measuring healthcare capacity strain have been constrained by using individual care units, limited metrics of strain, or general, rather than disease-specific, populations. Objectives: We sought to develop a novel composite strain index and measure its association with intensive care unit (ICU) admission decisions and hospital outcomes. Methods: Using more than 9.2 million acute care encounters from 27 Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Penn Medicine hospitals from 2013 to 2018, we deployed multivariable ridge logistic regression to develop a composite strain index based on hourly measurements of 22 capacity-strain metrics across emergency departments, wards, step-down units, and ICUs. ⋯ Strain was also not meaningfully associated with patient characteristics. Conclusions: Hospital strain, measured by a novel composite strain index, is strongly associated with ICU admission among patients with sepsis and/or ARF. This strain index fulfills the assumptions of a strong within-hospital instrumental variable for quantifying the net benefit of admission to the ICU for patients with sepsis and/or ARF.
-
Background: Survivors of critical illness may experience physical-function deficits after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge. In-ICU cycle ergometry may facilitate early mobilization and decrease functional impairment. Objective: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand the effect of in-ICU leg-cycle ergometry on patient-important and clinically relevant outcomes. ⋯ The adverse event rate in cycling sessions was 0.16% across studies (10 studies; 5 of 3,117 sessions; very low certainty). Conclusions: Cycling initiated in the ICU is probably safe; however, we did not find any differences in physical function, MV duration, LOS, QoL, or mortality compared with those not receiving cycling. Rigorously designed RCTs are needed to improve precision and further investigate the effect of cycling on patient-important outcomes.
-
Rationale: Dynamic collapse of the tracheal lumen (tracheomalacia) occurs frequently in premature neonates, particularly in those with common comorbidities such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The tracheal collapse increases the effort necessary to breathe (work of breathing [WOB]). However, quantifying the increased WOB related to tracheomalacia has previously not been possible. ⋯ Conclusions: Neonatal subjects with tracheomalacia have increased energy expenditure compared with neonates with normal airways, and CPAP may be able to attenuate the increase in respiratory work. Subjects with tracheomalacia expend more energy on the tracheal-resistive component of WOB alone than nontracheomalacia patients expend on the resistive WOB for the entire respiratory system, according to previously reported values. CFD may be able to provide an objective measure of treatment response for children with tracheomalacia.
-
Rationale: Diaphragm function is a key determinant of dyspnea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, it is rarely assessed in clinical practice. Lung hyperinflation can also impair diaphragm function. Ultrasound can assess the activity, function, and force reserve of the diaphragm. ⋯ Ultrasound assessment of the diaphragm in COPD provides important functional information. Clinical trial registered with the Thai Clinical Trials Registry (TCTR20160411001). Registered 31 April 5, 2016.