Duration Of Mechanical Ventilatory Support Research Articles

Does Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy Have a Role in the Treatment of Severe Coronavirus-19 Patients?

"We wanted to evaluate the efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment in Covid-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Sixteen (66.7%) male and 8 (33.3%) female adult severe Covid-19 patients who were treated with IVIG in the tertiary ICU between April 2020 and October 2021 at Ankara City Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The median age of the patients was 63 (interquartile range (IQR):19). The patients were evaluated in terms of laboratory values and clinical results before and after IVIG treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between survived and deceased Covid-19 patients treated with IVIG in terms of age, gender, the onset of symptoms, presence of concomitant diseases, APACHE-II scores, duration of mechanical ventilator support, and length of stay in the ICU. When the laboratory values before and after IVIG treatment were compared, a significant decrease was identified only in alanine transaminase levels (p=0.01). However, there was a statistically significant difference in mortality in 5 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome who all survived (p=0.001). IVIG treatment was effective in Covid-19 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome. However, IVIG treatment did not have a statistically significant effect on pre and post-treatment laboratory values, morbidity, and mortality of severe Covid-19 patients in the ICU "

Invasive brain tissue oxygen and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring versus ICP-only monitoring in pediatric severe traumatic brain injury.

Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability and death in the pediatric population. While intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is the gold standard in acute neurocritical care following pediatric severe TBI, brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2) monitoring may also help limit secondary brain injury and improve outcomes. The authors hypothesized that pediatric patients with severe TBI and ICP + PbtO2 monitoring and treatment would have better outcomes than those who underwent ICP-only monitoring and treatment. Patients ≤ 18 years of age with severe TBI who received ICP ± PbtO2 monitoring at a quaternary children's hospital between 1998 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. The relationships between conventional measurements of TBI were evaluated, i.e., ICP, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and PbtO2. Differences were analyzed between patients with ICP + PbtO2 versus ICP-only monitoring on hospital and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) length of stay (LOS), length of intubation, Pediatric Intensity Level of Therapy scale score, and functional outcome using the Glasgow Outcome Score-Extended (GOS-E) scale at 6 months postinjury. Forty-nine patients, including 19 with ICP + PbtO2 and 30 with ICP only, were analyzed. There was a weak negative association between ICP and PbtO2 (β = -0.04). Conversely, there was a strong positive correlation between CPP ≥ 40 mm Hg and PbtO2 ≥ 15 and ≥ 20 mm Hg (β = 0.30 and β = 0.29, p < 0.001, respectively). An increased number of events of cerebral PbtO2 < 15 mm Hg or < 20 mm Hg were associated with longer hospital (p = 0.01 and p = 0.022, respectively) and PICU (p = 0.015 and p = 0.007, respectively) LOS, increased duration of mechanical ventilation (p = 0.015 when PbtO2 < 15 mm Hg), and an unfavorable 6-month GOS-E score (p = 0.045 and p = 0.022, respectively). An increased number of intracranial hypertension episodes (ICP ≥ 20 mm Hg) were associated with longer hospital (p = 0.007) and PICU (p < 0.001) LOS and longer duration of mechanical ventilation (p < 0.001). Lower minimum hourly and average daily ICP values predicted favorable GOS-E scores (p < 0.001 for both). Patients with ICP + PbtO2 monitoring experienced longer PICU LOS (p = 0.018) compared to patients with ICP-only monitoring, with no significant GOS-E score difference between groups (p = 0.733). An increased number of cerebral hypoxic episodes and an increased number of intracranial hypertension episodes resulted in longer hospital LOS and longer duration of mechanical ventilator support. An increased number of cerebral hypoxic episodes also correlated with less favorable functional outcomes. In contrast, lower minimum hourly and average daily ICP values, but not the number of intracranial hypertension episodes, were associated with more favorable functional outcomes. There was a weak correlation between ICP and PbtO2, supporting the importance of multimodal invasive neuromonitoring in pediatric severe TBI.

Clinical Value of Metagenomics Next-Generation Sequencing in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Patients with Severe Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia: A Nested Case-Control Study.

BackgroundMetagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is more efficient in identifying pathogens responsible for pneumonia. However, whether these patients ultimately benefit from this improvement remains unknown.MethodsIn this retrospective, nested, case–control study, patients with severe hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) who had undergone mNGS of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid while in our intensive care unit from March 2017 to December 2020 (n = 33) were matched in a ratio of 1 to 2 (n = 66) by sex, age, comorbidities, immune status, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, severity of pulmonary infection, and use of extracorporeal life support with patients who had undergone conventional microbiological testing only. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality; secondary outcomes being length of intensive care unit stay, duration of mechanical ventilation support, 7-day and 28-day mortality, and efficacy of treatment of pulmonary infection.ResultsIn the CMT group, 17 patients (25.8%) had negative results, whereas only one (3.0%) had negative results in the mNGS group (P < 0.001). After receipt of microbiology results, antibiotics were altered in 23/33 patients (70.0%) in the mNGS group, but in only 29/66 (43.9%) in the CMT group (P = 0.016). Pulmonary infection-related findings improved in 20/33 patients (60.6%) in the mNGS group in the subsequent 7 days, but in only 25/66 (37.9%) in the CMT group (P = 0.032). However, the 28-day (33.3% vs 31.2%, P = 1.0) and 90-day (48.5% vs 45.5%, P = 0.78) mortality rates did not differ significantly between the two groups. These findings were supported by Cox-regression and Kaplan–Meier survival curve analyses.ConclusionmNGS is helpful in the treatment of severe HAP but does not improve medium or long-term survival rates, especially in patients with severe comorbidities.

Effects of fish oil-containing nutrition supplementation in adult sepsis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundSepsis is life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Although fish oil has been used as an immunonutritional preparations for the treatment of sepsis patients, there is still controversy as to whether it is beneficial to them. We systematically reviewed published clinical trial data to evaluate the effectiveness of fish oil-containing nutrition supplementation in sepsis patients.MethodsA systematic search was undertaken in PubMed, Embase, Chinese Biomedicine Database, the Cochrane Library and the China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database to obtain clinical controlled trails. RCTs on nutrition therapy containing fish oil among adult sepsis patients were selected for analysis in comparison with routine therapy.ResultsTwenty-five published trials were included in the meta-analysis. Fish oil-containing nutrition supplementation reduced the mortality compared with the control group (relative risk (RR) 0.74, I2 = 0%). Fish oil also shortened the ICU stay (MD −3.57 days; 95% CI −4.54, −2.59; p<0.00001; I2 = 76%), hospital stay (MD −9.92 days; 95% CI −15.37, −4.46; p = 0.0004; I2 = 91%) and the duration of mechanical ventilation support (MD −2.26; 95% CI −4.27, −0.26; p = 0.03; I2 = 83%). A subgroup analysis based on the route of administration revealed that parenteral administration of fish oil could reduce mortality in septic patients (RR =0.68, I2 = 0%), but no significant difference in mortality was observed in the fish oil group administered by enteral route (RR = 0.80, I2 = 0%). No statistically significant publication biases were detected for the above clinical endpoints (p>0.05).ConclusionsParenteral nutrition containing fish oil could significantly decrease mortality in sepsis patients while enteral administration could not. Fish oil-containing nutrition supplementation.

Determining Factors for Independent Walking in Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery: Differences between Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting, Heart Valve Surgery, and Aortic Surgery.

Physical deconditioning often occurs during the acute phase after cardiovascular surgery, and unassisted walking is required to achieve independence, to manage cardiac diseases, and to prevent recurrences. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of independent walking after cardiovascular surgery. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in patients who underwent cardiovascular surgeries (total of 567 patients): 153 in the coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) group, 312 in the heart valve surgery group, and 102 in the aortic surgery group. We evaluated the effect of each surgery group on the cardiac rehabilitation (CR) progression. The factors associated with independent walking were age, renal diseases, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, and post-operative respiratory complications in the CABG group. In the heart valve surgery group, the factors were New York Heart Association functional classification, renal and respiratory diseases, ICU length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilatory support, and post-operative cardiovascular and respiratory complications. In the aortic surgery group, these were ICU length of stay and acute kidney injury. The CR progression in patients who underwent aortic surgery was significantly longer than those who underwent CABG and heart valve surgery (p < 0.001). New intervention strategies are needed for patients with prolonged ICU stays.

Effects of Glucocorticoids on Postoperative Delirium in Adult Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Delirium is a common neurologic complication after cardiac surgery and is associated with a poor prognosis. Several studies have explored the effects of glucocorticoids on postoperative delirium (POD). However, conclusion have been inconsistent. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effects of glucocorticoids on POD in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library/Central, and Web of Science from inception to January 28, 2021. Randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of perioperative glucocorticoids administration on the incidence of POD in adults (≥18 years of age) undergoing cardiac surgery were included. The primary outcome of incidence of POD was assessed using the risk ratio (RR) with a fixed-effects model. Secondary analyses included the severity or duration of delirium, mortality at 30 days, length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay, duration of mechanical ventilatory support, the incidence of myocardial injury, new atrial fibrillation, renal and respiratory failure, postoperative infection and stroke, and the level of glucose and inflammatory factors. A total 4 trials (n=8448 patients) were included. Glucocorticoids did not significantly reduce the incidence of POD (RR=0.99; 95% CI, 0.86-1.14) but increased the risk of myocardial injury (RR=1.22; 95% CI, 1.08-1.38), decreased the duration of mechanical ventilatory support (mean difference, -0.83; 95% CI, -1.32 to -0.34), and led to a tendency toward short length of ICU stay (mean difference, -0.22; 95% CI, -0.47 to -0.03). No significant differences were observed in other secondary outcomes. The perioperative administration of glucocorticoids did not reduce the incidence of POD in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery but might be associated with shorter duration of mechanical ventilatory support and a tendency toward a shorter length of ICU stay. Furthermore, we found that glucocorticoids may increase the rate of myocardial injury but have no effects on other clinical outcomes. International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews identifier: CRD42021233458.

The Feasibility of Objective Sleep-Quality Assessment in an ICU Setting

Background: Sleep disruptions frequently occur in hospitalized patients, especially with critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients. Severely altered sleep architectures result in unclassifiable sleep stages as listed by the conventional Rechtschaffen and Kales (R&amp;K) criteria, and a new classification for sleep scoring including atypical sleep (AS) and pathological wakefulness (PW) has recently been proposed. Objective: To demonstrate the feasibility of performing objective sleep qualification in patients receiving mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory failure. Materials and Methods: In the present prospective cohort study, polysomnography was performed in 38 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory failure at the respiratory care unit (RCU) of Siriraj Hospital between February and December 2017. Their sleep stages were analyzed by conventional rules and the new classifications of AS and PW. The associations between the presence of AS or PW and the patients’ characteristics were analyzed. Correlations between sleep quality and clinical parameters were also determined. Results: Most of the patients had poor sleep quality with median sleep efficiency (IQR) of 35.9% (18.5, 62.3) and significantly decreased slowwave sleep [median (IQR) 0.4% (0.00, 5.70)] and REM [median (IQR) 1.3% (0.00, 6.43)]. According to the new classifications, 14 out of 38 (prevalence of 36.8%) mechanically ventilated patients had AS. The prevalence of PW and either AS or PW were 36.8% and 52.6%, respectively. A higher baseline respiratory rate was observed among patients who had either AS or PW at 24 versus 20 breaths/minute (p=0.02), while a longer duration of mechanical ventilator support was found in patients with PW at nine versus five (p=0.003). Patient-ventilator asynchrony was also noted in all patients. Conclusion: Sleep quality among critically ill and mechanically ventilated patients was severely disturbed. A higher prevalence of AS and PW were noted. The technical feasibility of sleep recording in Thai intensive care unit (ICU) settings was established. Keywords: Polysomnography, Atypical sleep, ICU

Influence of ADRB1, ADRB2, and COMT Genetic Polymorphisms on Postoperative Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Cardiac Valve Surgery

PurposeThe aim of this study is to prospectively investigate the influence of ADRB and COMT gene polymorphisms on postoperative outcomes of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. MethodsThis prospective cohort study included 223 patients undergoing elective cardiac valve surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. Demographic information, intraoperative data, postoperative data, and blood samples were collected. Patients were genotyped for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ADRB1 rs1801253, ADRB2 rs1042713, and COMT rs4680. Major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) were used as the primary outcome to evaluate the postoperative prognosis of patients. Secondary outcomes included the duration of mechanical ventilatory support, intensive care unit stay, postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative need of inotropic or vasoactive agents. FindingsThe overall incidence of MACCEs was 15.2%. Among 3 SNP loci, only different genotyped carriers of ADRB2 rs1042713 had statistically significant differences in the incidence of MACCEs (P = 0.005), especially for acute kidney injury (P = 0.023). The proportions of postoperative norepinephrine demand of patients carrying the AA genotype of ADRB2 rs1042713 (P = 0.016) and the AG genotype of COMT rs4680 (P = 0.018) were low. The duration of mechanical ventilatory support (P = 0.034) and postoperative hospital stay (P = 0.045) of patients carrying the AG genotype of COMT rs4680 was shortest. After multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that the G allele carriers of ADRB2 rs1042713 had a higher risk of MACCEs (AG vs AA genotype: odds ratio [OR] = 4.348; 95% CI, 1.529–12.359, P = 0.006; GG vs AA genotype: OR = 3.722; 95% CI, 1.060–13.071; P = 0.040), in particular with acute kidney injury (AG vs AA genotype: OR = 5.273; 95% CI, 1.093–25.451; P = 0.038; GG vs AA genotype: OR = 7.533; 95% CI, 1.275–44.522; P = 0.026). There was no SNP-SNP interaction found among the 3 SNPs with multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis. ImplicationThe ADRB2 rs1042713 polymorphism might be related to prognosis of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Patients carrying the G allele of ADRB2 rs1042713 had a higher risk of developing MACCEs, especially acute kidney injury. chictr.org.com identifier: ChiCTR1800015105.

Application of Modified Ventilator Bundle and Its Effect on Weaning and Ventilation Days among Critical Ill Patients

Context: Modified ventilator bundle is the group of interventions supported by evidence to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia and other related complications that commonly occurred in mechanically ventilated patients. Furthermore, it helps in reducing the mortality rates and hospital length of stay.&#x0D; Aim: The current study aimed to apply a modified ventilator bundle and evaluate its effect on weaning and ventilation days among critically ill patients.&#x0D; Methods: A quasi-experimental research (study/control group) design was utilized. This study was conducted at the following critical care units (surgical, medical, and cardiac care units) affiliated to Bani Suief University Hospital in Bani Suief city, Egypt. A Purposive sample of 100 mechanically ventilated patients was divided into two groups. The study group included patients who received a modified ventilator bundle, while the control group included patients who received routine hospital nursing care. Data collection tools included two tools. The first tool is a patient assessment record, and the second tool is the weaning process assessment checklists using burns wean assessment program score.&#x0D; Results: 68.0% of the study group, compared with only (40.0%) of the control group, had a shorter duration of mechanical ventilation support between (4- 6) days with mean ± SD of 6.1 ± 1.6 and 7.3 ± 1.9, respectively after modified bundle implementation with statistical significance differences (p-value 0.005). The study group of patients obtained higher weaning scores than the control group according to burns weaning scores. &#x0D; Conclusion: The study group demonstrated higher weaning scores and shorter ventilation support duration than the control group. Developing a simplified and comprehensive training associated with demonstrative booklet, including information about ventilator-associated pneumonia, components of modified ventilator bundle, and its importance for ventilated patients to improve nurses' knowledge and practice. Furthermore, replicating the current study on a larger probability sample from different geographical locations to generalize results.

Ventilator Weaning and Respiratory Complications on The Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit Following Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

To determine duration of mechanical ventilator support and need for tracheostomy as well as incidence of pneumonia in patients admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation unit following acute cervical spinal cord injury.

Early mobilization for children in intensive therapy: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction:Intensive care units focus primarily on life support and treatment of critically ill patients, but there are many survivors with complications, such as generalized muscle disorders, functional disability and reduced quality of life after hospital discharge, resulting from prolonged stays in these units. The current evidence suggests that early mobilization-based rehabilitation (exercise initiated immediately after the patient's significant physiological changes have stabilized) in critically ill adults can alleviate these complications from immobility and critical illness. However, there are a lack of practice guidelines, conflicting perceptions about safety, and knowledge gaps about benefits in the critically ill paediatric population. Therefore, we aim to assess the effects of early mobilization for children in intensive therapy.Methods and analysis:Systematic searches will be carried out in Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Excerpta Medica database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Latin American and Caribbean Centre on Health Sciences Information, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature and physiotherapy evidence database databases at a minimum without date or language restrictions for relevant individual parallel, cross-over and cluster randomized controlled trials. In addition, a search will also be carried out in the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and in the clinical trial registries of ClinicalTrials.gov, looking for any on-going randomised controlled trials that compare early mobilization with any other type of intervention. Two review authors will independently perform data extraction and quality assessments of data from included studies, and any disagreements will be resolved by discussion or by arbitration. The primary outcomes will be mortality and adverse events. Secondary outcomes will include duration of critical care (days), duration of mechanical ventilation support, muscle strength, pain and neuropsychomotor development. The Cochrane handbook will be used for guidance. If the results are not appropriate for a meta-analysis in RevMan 5 software (e.g., if the data have considerable heterogeneity and are drawn from different comparisons), a descriptive analysis will be performed.Ethics and dissemination:This protocol was prospectively registered at Open Science Framework and approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the Federal University of Sao Paulo (8543210519). We intend to update the public registry used in this review, report any important protocol amendments and publish the results in a widely accessible journal.Registration:osf.io/ebju9.

Pulse wave velocity is a new predictor of acute kidney injury development after off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.

Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is the simple, non-invasive, gold-standard method for assessing arterial stiffness. However, baPWV has been shown to be associated with renal dyfunction, with a few reports demonstrating an association between baPWV and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) among surgical patients. We retrospectively analyzed preoperative baPWV data that were prospectively collected from 164 patients who underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) between April 2013 and July 2019 (mean age: 66.2 ± 10.3 years, 29.3% females). Primarily, baPWV was investigated as an independent predictor of postoperative AKI development; secondarily, the patients were divided into high and low PWV groups according to the optimal baPWV cut-off value. Postoperative complications, mortality, and mid-term survival were compared between the two groups. AKI developed in 30 patients (18.3%). Univariate analysis showed that AKI was significantly associated with baPWV (20.2±7.3 vs. 16.2±2.8 m/s, p < 0.001), age, preoperative serum creatinine, and EuroSCORE. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed baPWV as independently associated with postoperative AKI even after adjustment for preoperative creatinine, old age (> 75 years), hypertension, diabetes under insulin therapy, and EuroSCORE. Moreover, area under the curve (AUC) analysis indicated that PWV can predict AKI better than preoperative creatinine levels (AUC, 0.781 [95% confidence interval, 0.688-0.874] vs. 0.680 [0.568-0.792]). The group-dividing baPWV cut-off value for AKI was 19 m/s. There were no 30-day mortality. The in-hospital mortality rates in the high and the low PWV groups were 2.2% (n = 1) and 0.8% (n = 1), respectively (p = 0.484). Midterm survival rates were not different between the two groups, but the rate of composite neurologic complication composed of stroke and delirium, was higher, and rate of mechanical ventilatory support was longer, in the high PWV group. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity was an independent predictor of postoperative AKI following off-pump CABG, and high baPWVs may affect the composite neurologic outcome and the duration of mechanical ventilatory support.

Pharmacological Treatments for Delirium in Critically Ill Adults

What effects do pharmacological treatments for delirium have on the duration of delirium in critically ill adults?Delirium is one of the most common behavioral manifestations of acute brain dysfunction in patients in intensive care units (ICUs), affecting up to 80% of those who are critically ill.1 Delirium is characterized by inattention, altered consciousness, and disorganized thinking, and it is associated with various serious adverse outcomes including hospital and ICU mortality, longer duration of mechanical ventilator support, prolonged ICU and hospital stays, and long-term cognitive impairment.2 For this reason, nurses must appropriately manage delirium to minimize adverse outcomes.Treatment options include both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions, although serious illness often requires a pharmacological treatment. The effectiveness of such regimens vary and are not standardized internationally.2 The most common pharmacological interventions are antipsychotic medications, yet published evidence provides mixed support for their use. A Cochrane systematic review by Burry et al3 compared the 6 main types of medications and assessed their impact on delirium in critically ill patients.This summary describes the review by Burry et al,3 which included data from 14 randomized controlled trials with a combined total of 1844 participants. The review explored 1 primary outcome: Duration of delirium (ie, the time from when delirium was identified until it resolved) measured in days.The randomized controlled trials evaluated by Burry et al3 compared various medications with placebo:The review also evaluated various secondary outcomes:Burry et al3 independently assessed the risk of bias in each study, including selection, performance, detection, attrition, reporting, and publication biases. They resolved any disagreements by reviewing and discussing the data together.The authors used medians and means with 95% CIs as measures of treatment effects among various comparisons and outcomes. They used the internationally approved Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach to determine the quality of evidence for each outcome. This approach assigns a level of high, moderate, low, or very low regarding the confidence of an outcome or conclusion: (1) high, which indicates that further research is very unlikely to change the confidence in the conclusion; (2) moderate, which means that further research is likely to have an important impact on the confidence in the conclusion and may change it; (3) low, which indicates that further research is very likely to have an important impact on the confidence in the conclusion and is likely to change it; and (4) very low, which means the conclusion is uncertain.4When each drug class was directly compared with a placebo, only the α2-adrenergic agonist dexmedetomidine reduced the duration of delirium; the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine prolonged the duration. Both of these results are based on findings from a single small study. The other drugs, when compared with placebo, did not change delirium duration. In addition, the results did not indicate that any drug reduced the duration of coma, the length of stay, or mortality, nor did the drugs improve long-term cognitive outcomes. Some results did show that dexmedetomidine shortened the duration of mechanical ventilation.The following points provide additional detail about the main results of this systematic review.Delirium continues to be a challenge in the critical care setting, and health care teams continue to use pharmacological interventions to treat it. The main outcomes explored in the systematic review by Burry et al3 suggest that the α2-adrenergic agonist dexmedetomidine may help shorten the duration of both delirium and mechanical ventilation, but those results are based on the findings of only a single small study. No other pharmacological intervention—including antipsychotics, the medication most commonly prescribed for treating delirium—had any effect on delirium duration or on any of the secondary outcomes.One key result was that the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine was associated with harm and a longer stay in the ICU; as such, clinicians should advocate against and carefully consider its use for treating delirium in patients in the ICU. One study showed advantages to using dexmedetomidine to treat delirium in such patients, but additional evidence is needed to fully support this. Health care teams should evaluate the options and make the most appropriate clinical decision on the basis of the best available evidence. The results of ongoing studies such as the international work from the group Del-COrS (Development of core outcome sets for effectiveness trials of interventions to prevent and/or treat delirium) may provide further insight into and guidance regarding delirium management.5Advocating for the best evidence-based treatment is an important part of our role as nurses caring for critically ill patients. We must always consider the best available evidence and understand the feasibility, appropriateness, meaningfulness, and effectiveness of any intervention to determine whether it is appropriate for our particular patient.

Baseline pulmonary hypertension in heart transplant recipients: 9 years of experience at Almazov National Medical Research Centre

Objective: to assess the impact of baseline pulmonary hypertension (PH) on early and long-term outcomes following heart transplantation (HT). Materials and methods. From January 2010 to December 2018, 112 HTs were carried out. Based on right heart catheterization results, all recipients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 with PH (n = 76; mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) ≥25 mm Hg), Group 2 – without PH (n = 36; MPAP &lt;25 mm Hg). The average age of Group 1 patients was 46.4 ± 14.9 years, baseline pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) was 3.5 ± 1.5 Wood units, PVR after reversion test (nitric oxide – 80 ppm, iloprost 20 μg) – 2.8 ± 1.0 Wood units, systolic PAP (sPAP) – 50.1 ± 13.4 mm Hg. The average age in Group 2 was 47.3 ± 12.2 years, baseline PVR – 2.1 ± 0.8 Wood units, sPAP – 27.4 ± 5.3 mm Hg. The dynamics in indicators of early postoperative period (duration of mechanical ventilatory support, use of vasodilators and inotropic support and the length of stay in intensive care unit (ICU), 30-day mortality) and long-term post-HT echocardiography results were assessed. Results. Due to acute right-ventricular failure (RVF) developing after heart transplantation, veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) was done in 8 patients (11%) from Group 1 and one patient (3%) from Group 2. Presence of PH did not affect duration of mechanical ventilatory support, inotropic support, and length of stay in ICU. Levosimendan therapy in the early postoperative period was more often performed in Group 1 (n = 29) than in Group 2 (n = 6) (p = 0.048). Nitric oxide inhalation was also more often administered in Group 1 (n = 54); Group 2 (n = 7), (p = 0.003). Sildenafil therapy after HT was comparable in both groups Group 1 (n = 25); Group 2 (n = 6), (p = 0.048). In early post-HT stages, 14 patients died, 30-day mortality was comparable in both groups (p = 0.12). Six months after HT, no differences were found in the sPAP (p = 0.21) and PVR (p = 0.07) levels. Conclusion. Patients with baseline PH after HT have a more severe early postoperative period, including a higher RVF incidence, with the need for ECMO implantation. A PVR level &gt;3.5 Wood units is not a threshold for HT. Patients with baseline PVR &gt;3.5 Wood units following HT show comparable results with patients without baseline PH. This allows such patients (baseline PVR &gt;3.5 Wood units) to be considered for inclusion in the heart transplant waiting list. In addition, 30-day mortality and duration of mechanical ventilatory support after HT in patients with and without baseline PH did not differ. Regardless of the baseline level of sPAP and PVR, all patients showed improvement in these parameters after HT. Six months after HT, no differences were found in sPAP and PVR levels in the patients, regardless of whether there was baseline PH or not.

Prolonged preoperative fasting and prognosis in critically ill gastrointestinal surgery patients.

This study aimed to assess the influence of prolonged preoperative fasting on prognosis in elective surgery. A retrospective, controlled study involving patients admitted to our surgical intensive care unit who underwent a gastrointestinal operation under general anesthesia. Patients were divided into regular preoperative fasting time (n=57) and prolonged preoperative fasting time (n=73) groups. Clinical data were collected including patients' demographics, intraoperative and postoperative operation time, volume of blood loss, intensive care unit stay, hospital stay, postoperative complications and other factors. Patients in the regular preoperative fasting time group had less duration of mechanical ventilation support after surgery [245 (177, 450) min vs 315 (210, 812) min (p=0.021)] and the postoperative myocardial injuries (myocardial injury 2 cases vs 11 cases, p=0.038) and reoperation percentages (reoperation 0 cases vs 7 cases, p=0.044) were lower compared to the prolonged preoperative fasting time group. In addition, patients in the regular preoperative fasting time group presented with a significantly shorter period of postoperative fasting time [6.0 (5.0, 8.0) vs 8.0 (6.0, 13.0), p=0.005]. Prolonged preoperative fasting time led to unfavorable outcomes after gastrointestinal operations. Thus, reducing preoperative fasting time is likely to accelerate postoperative recovery in gastrointestinal surgery patients.

Outcomes of Macrolide Deescalation in Severe Community-acquired Pneumonia

PurposeCurrent data suggest potential benefits with β-lactam plus macrolide combination therapy for empiric treatment of intensive care unit (ICU) patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, it is unclear whether deescalation to β-lactam monotherapy in the absence of positive results on diagnostic tests, such as the BioFire FilmArray Respiratory Panel 2 (BioFire polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), affects clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between patients with negative BioFire PCR results deescalated to β-lactam monotherapy with those not deescalated. MethodsThis single-center, retrospective cohort study assessed the in-hospital mortality rates of critically ill adults with CAP treated for ≥48 h with combination β-lactam and azithromycin therapy. Additional end points included hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, duration of mechanical ventilatory support, 30-day readmission, and incidence of azithromycin-related adverse effects. FindingsA total of 94 patients were included: 53 in the deescalation group and 41 in the nondeescalation group. No difference was observed with respect to in-hospital mortality (2.4% vs 11.3%, P = 0.312), although patients in the deescalated group experienced shorter ICU (1.9 vs 3.4 days, P = 0.029) and hospital LOS (6 vs 7 days, P = 0.025). No differences were found between groups with respect to additional secondary end points. Simple logistic regression confirmed that deescalation was not associated with hospital mortality (odds ratio = 0.17, 95% CI, 0.02–1.70). ImplicationsIn this study of ICU patients with severe CAP and a negative BioFire PCR result, deescalation from combination β-lactam and macrolide therapy to β-lactam monotherapy was not associated with increased in-hospital mortality but was associated with decreased hospital and ICU LOS. Larger prospective studies are warranted to verify these findings.

Does the prognostic nutritional index have a predictive role in the outcomes of adult cardiac surgery?

ObjectiveMalnutrition is known to affect postoperative outcomes, but only a limited number of assessment methods are available for evaluating nutritional status before cardiac surgery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of the prognostic nutritional index for adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 374 patients aged more than 18 years who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the cutoff prognostic nutritional index, and these groups were compared with respect to early morbidity and mortality rates, intensive care unit stays, and long-term outcomes. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the risk factors of early outcomes. ResultsThe calculated cutoff value of the prognostic nutritional index was 46.13. Early mortality and morbidity were significantly more common in the high-risk group (9.0% vs 2.9%: P = .02, 58.0% vs 42.0%: P = .01). The median duration of mechanical ventilation support (18.0 vs 16.0 hours: P < .01) and intensive care unit stays (3.0 vs 2.0 days: P < .01) were also longer in the high-risk group. However, no significant intergroup difference was observed for the long-term clinical outcomes. Multivariate analysis showed that the prognostic nutritional index, age, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and aortic crossclamp time independently predicted early outcomes. Of these, only the prognostic nutritional index and age were significant preoperative variables (P = .01 and P < .01). ConclusionsThe prognostic nutritional index may be a useful preoperative nutrition screening tool for predicting the early clinical outcomes of adult patients after cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass.

A study of clinical presentation and outcome of patients with Guillain–Barré syndrome: A prospective observational study at a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated damage to the nerve roots and peripheral nerves which may require intensive care unit management and adequate techniques for airway protection and ventilation. Methods: Sixty four patients with GBS were studied from March 2017 to February 2018 with a detailed history of demographic and clinical data (age, gender, season, and antecedent events), functional disability bed on Hughes score, Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score at the time of admission. Final outcome was dichotomized to good (0–3) or bad (4–6) based on Hughes Disability Scale and was compared with different patient variables to find their association with patient outcome. Results: The mean age of the patients studied was 45.9 ± 15.9 years. There were 37 males. Axonal variety was predominant GBS variant (85%). Twenty-four patients required mechanical ventilation and nine patients underwent tracheostomy. In total, 7 patients expired and 15 patients were discharged from the hospital with severe disability. Twenty patients developed complications during their course of stay in hospital. In total, 12 out of 15 (80%) with low MRC score (0–20) and 22 out of 49 patients with high disability score (Hughes score 4 or 5) at admission had a bad outcome (P = 0.001 and P = 0.001), respectively. Conclusions: We concluded that, in our study, predictors of poor outcome at discharge were low MRC sum score at admission, high GBS disability score at admission, axonal variant GBS, longer duration of mechanical ventilator support, need for tracheostomy, and presence of complications, were associatedwith a poor outcome in patients with GBS.

Is it Possible to Implant HeartMate 3 Less Invasively? New Pump, New Approach.

HeartMate 3 (HM3) left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a compact, intrapericardial, centrifugal flow pump with a fully magnetically levitated rotor and a wide range of operation (2-10 L/min) to accommodate a broad range of clinical needs. We analyzed our experience with Heartware VAD (HVAD) and HM3 implantation through minimally invasive left thoracotomy (MILT) and upper minimal J sternotomy. Between March 2015 and October 2016, 31 patients who underwent LVAD implantation through MILT were included in this study. Twenty-three patients had HVAD (Group A) implantation, whereas 8 patients had HM3 (Group B). To compare outcomes of these pumps, measures were; mortality, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, duration of mechanical ventilatory support, blood loss and transfusion, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, right ventricular failure (RVF) and requirement of support with temporary devices, stroke, pump thrombosis, gastrointestinal bleeding and driveline infection rates. Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support profiles, Pennsylvania and Michigan Risk Scores, right ventricular stroke work index and central venous pressure/pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ratio did not differ between these two groups. There was no difference in the length of ICU stay (P = 0.056), post-operative blood product administration (P = 0.701), total time on mechanical ventilation (P = 0.386), RVF (P = 1) or duration of CPB (P = 0.836). In-hospital cerebrovascular event rate was 13% in Group A and 0% in Group B, respectively. The HM3 assist system can be successfully implanted with minimally invasive techniques. This technique has proved to be safe and reproducible, with good clinical outcomes. Further, large collaborative studies are needed to identify the advantages of this approach.

Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation Assistance Interacts Synergistically with Carbapenem for Clostridium difficile Infection in Critically Ill Patients.

Objectives: Interactions between mechanical ventilation (MV) and carbapenem interventions were investigated for the risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in critically ill patients undergoing concurrent carbapenem therapy. Methods: Taiwan’s National Intensive Care Unit Database (NICUD) was used in this analytical, observational, and retrospective study. We analyzed 267,871 intubated patients in subgroups based on the duration of MV support: 7–14 days (n = 97,525), 15–21 days (n = 52,068), 22–28 days (n = 35,264), and 29–60 days (n = 70,021). The primary outcome was CDI. Results: Age (>75 years old), prolonged MV assistance (>21 days), carbapenem therapy (>15 days), and high comorbidity scores were identified as independent risk factors for developing CDI. CDI risk increased with longer MV support. The highest rate of CDI was in the MV 29–60 days subgroup (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) = 2.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46–5.58; p < 0.02). Moreover, higher CDI rates correlated with the interaction between MV and carbapenem interventions; these CDI risks were increased in the MV 15–21 days (AHR = 2.58; 95% CI = 1.12–5.91) and MV 29–60 days (AHR = 4.63; 95% CI = 1.14–10.03) subgroups than in the non-MV and non-carbapenem subgroups. Conclusions: Both MV support and carbapenem interventions significantly increase the risk that critically ill patients will develop CDI. Moreover, prolonged MV support and carbapenem therapy synergistically induce CDI. These findings provide new insights into the role of MV support in the development of CDI.