Current opinion in critical care
-
With a potentially life-threatening course, acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases requiring hospitalization and often necessitating intensive care. Based on recent insights and recommendations, this review provides an overview on clinical management of AP patients with a focus on intensive care unit care. ⋯ New evidence and recent international consensus direct the current management of AP toward a tailored, multidisciplinary and less invasive therapy with complementary roles for hepatologists, intensivists, radiologists, and surgeons.
-
To summarize the current knowledge of pathophysiology and ventilatory management of acute respiratory failure in COVID-19. ⋯ Given the lack of evidence-based specific ventilatory strategies and a large amount of literature showing pathophysiological features similar to non-COVID-19 ARDS, evidence-based lung-protective ventilatory strategies should be pursued in all patients with COVID-19 ARDS.
-
Progress has been made in our understanding of gut dysfunction in critical illness. This review will outline new findings and give perspectives based on previous knowledge and concurrent advances in nutrition. ⋯ Gut dysfunction is associated with poor outcomes, but it remains uncertain whether strategies to improve gut function will influence survival and recovery.
-
To provide an evidence-based approach to improve first pass success in tracheal intubation while maintaining patient safety in the critically ill. ⋯ Recognizing the challenges and using the appropriate interventions to improve first pass tracheal intubation success, while maintaining patient safety are essential during tracheal intubation in critically ill patients. This review will provide recommendations based on the current evidence, various guidelines and expert opinion in the field. Further research will help us better understand the best strategies to improve patient outcomes.