Articles: mechanical-ventilation.
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Elucidate how the degree of ventilator-induced lung injury due to atelectrauma that is produced in the injured lung during mechanical ventilation is determined by both the timing and magnitude of the airway pressure profile. ⋯ Low-Vt and airway pressure release ventilation represent markedly different strategies for the avoidance of ventilator-induced lung injury, primarily involving the manipulation of positive end-expiratory pressure and , respectively. can be based on exhalation flow values, which may provide a patient-specific approach to protective ventilation.
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Objective: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to regional and rural intensive care units (ICUs). Design, setting and participants: Retrospective database review using the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database for admissions between January 2009 and June 2019. Characteristics and outcomes of patients admitted to regional and rural ICUs were compared with metropolitan and tertiary ICUs. ⋯ Conclusions: Although illness severity is lower for patients admitted to regional/rural ICUs, hospital mortality after adjustment for a range of confounders is lower. Compared with tertiary ICUs, emergency admissions are more likely, which may have implications for surge capacity during pandemic illness, while mechanical ventilation is less frequently required. Regional/rural ICUs provide care to a substantial proportion of critically ill patients and have a crucial role in the support of regional Australians.
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Intensive care medicine · Dec 2020
ReviewCurrent and evolving standards of care for patients with ARDS.
Care for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has changed considerably over the 50 years since its original description. Indeed, standards of care continue to evolve as does how this clinical entity is defined and how patients are grouped and treated in clinical practice. In this narrative review we discuss current standards - treatments that have a solid evidence base and are well established as targets for usual care - and also evolving standards - treatments that have promise and may become widely adopted in the future. ⋯ Current standards in ventilation adjuncts include prone positioning in moderate-severe ARDS and veno-venous extracorporeal life support after prone positioning in patients with severe hypoxemia or who are difficult to ventilate. Pharmacotherapy current standards include corticosteroids for patients with ARDS due to COVID-19 and employing a conservative fluid strategy for patients not in shock; evolving standards may include steroids for ARDS not related to COVID-19, or specific biological agents being tested in appropriate sub-phenotypes of ARDS. While much progress has been made, certainly significant work remains to be done and we look forward to these future developments.
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Observational Study
Severe infection due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus: Experience of a tertiary hospital with COVID-19 patients during the 2020 pandemic.
To describe the clinical and respiratory characteristics of a cohort of 43 patients with COVID-19 after an evolutive period of 28 days. ⋯ Patients with COVID-19 require early IMV, a high frequency of ventilation in prone decubitus, and have a high incidence of failed HFO. The lack of improvement of PaO2/FiO2 at 7 days could be a prognostic marker. .
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Dec 2020
Observational StudyDiaphragmatic Dysfunction After Elective Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Observational Study.
To determine the incidence of postoperative diaphragm dysfunction as diagnosed by ultrasonography. ⋯ The incidence of postoperative diaphragm dysfunction after elective cardiac surgery is high and might contribute to prolonging ICU length of stay.