Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Jun 2021
ReviewDriving pressure monitoring during acute respiratory failure in 2020.
Assess the most recent studies using driving pressure (DP) as a monitoring technique under mechanical ventilation and describe the technical challenges associated with its measurement. ⋯ The DP is easy to obtain and should be incorporated as a minimal monitoring technique under mechanical ventilation.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Jun 2021
ReviewInhaled gases as novel neuroprotective therapies in the postcardiac arrest period.
The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances about inhaled gases as novel neuroprotective agents in the postcardiac arrest period. ⋯ Inhaled gases, as Xe, Ar, NO, and H2 have consistently shown neuroprotective effects in experimental studies. Ventilation with these gases appears to be well tolerated in pigs and in preliminary human trials. Results from phase 2 and 3 clinical trials are needed to assess their efficacy in the treatment of postcardiac arrest brain injury.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Jun 2021
ReviewClinical use of peripheral perfusion parameters in septic shock.
Current goals of resuscitation in septic shock are mainly a fixed volume of fluids and vasopressors to correct hypotension and improve tissue perfusion indicated by decreasing lactate levels. ⋯ Septic shock patients with normal peripheral perfusion represent a different clinical phenotype of patients that might benefit from limited resuscitation efforts. Parameters of peripheral perfusion could be used to guide the individualization of patients with septic shock.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Jun 2021
ReviewCirculating biomarkers to assess cardiovascular function in critically ill.
Circulatory shock is one of the most common reasons for ICU admission. Mortality rates in excess of 40% necessitate the rapid identification of high-risk patients, as well as the early assessment of effects of initiated treatments. There is an unmet medical need for circulating biomarkers that may improve patient stratification, predict responses to treatment interventions and may even be a target for novel therapies, enabling a better biological rationale to personalize therapy. ⋯ From a molecular perspective, shock represents a highly heterologous syndrome, in which multiple unique pathways are dysregulated. Assessment of the status of these pathways with circulating biomarkers may provide a unique opportunity to detect specific phenotypes and implement personalized medicine in the treatment of circulatory shock.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Oct 2021
ReviewCoronavirus disease 2019 respiratory failure: what is the best supportive care for patients who require ICU admission?
Currently, there is no cure for SARS-CoV-2 infection, yet hospital mortality rates for COVID-19 have improved over the course of the pandemic and may be due in part to improved supportive care in the ICU. This review highlights the evidence for and against various ICU supportive therapies for the treatment of critically ill patients with COVID-19. ⋯ In general, the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the benefits of standard supportive care for respiratory failure and in particular, recent advances in ARDS treatment. Prone ventilation of nonintubated patients, an approach that was adopted early in the pandemic, is associated with improvement in oxygenation, but its impact on clinical outcome remains unclear. Otherwise, prone mechanical ventilation and avoidance of excessive tidal volumes, conservative fluid management, antibiotic stewardship and early evaluation for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) -- basic tenants of severe respiratory infections and ARDS care -- remain at the core of management of patients with severe COVID-19.