Current opinion in critical care
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Feb 2025
ReviewHow to prevent and how to treat dyspnea in critically ill patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation.
To summarize current data regarding the prevalence, risk factors, consequences, assessment and treatment of dyspnea in critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation. ⋯ As opposed to pain, dyspnea has often been overlooked in terms of detection and management, resulting in its significant underestimation in daily practice. When it is diagnosed, dyspnea can be relieved through straightforward interventions, such as adjusting ventilator settings. Assessing dyspnea in patients undergoing invasive mechanically ventilated may be challenging, especially in noncommunicative patients (RRBS). Implementing a systematic dyspnea assessment in routine, akin to pain, could serve as a first step to reduce RRBS and prevent potential severe psychological consequences. In addition to pharmacological treatments like opioids, a promising approach is to modulate both the sensory (air on the face, trigeminal nerve stimulation) and the affective (relaxing music, hypnosis, directed empathy) components of dyspnea.
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Curr Opin Crit Care · Feb 2025
ReviewSpontaneous breathing-induced lung injury in mechanically ventilated patients.
Recent experimental and clinical studies have suggested that spontaneous effort can potentially injure the lungs. This review summarizes the harmful effects of spontaneous breathing on the lungs during mechanical ventilation in ARDS and suggests potential strategies to minimize spontaneous breathing-induced lung injury. ⋯ Several potential strategies, including neuromuscular blockade, partial paralysis, phrenic nerve blockade, sedatives, PEEP, and prone positioning, could be useful to minimize spontaneous breathing-induced lung injury.
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This narrative review discusses the mechanisms connecting gut dysbiosis to adverse clinical outcomes in critically ill patients and explores potential therapeutic strategies. ⋯ The microbiota plays an important role in shaping outcomes for critically ill patients. According to evidence, alterations in the gut and lung microbiota are associated with disease severity, mortality, and overall patient recovery. Evolving research opens possibilities for personalized medicine by tailoring treatments based on individual microbiota profiles, though clinical applications are still developing.