Empiric antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia in adult patients: a systematic review and a network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this network meta-analysis is to identify the empiric antibiotic (Em-ATB) with the highest probability of being the best (HPBB) in terms of (1) cure rate and (2) mortality rate in hospitalised patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) . METHOD: Inclusion criteria: (1) adult patients (>16 years old) diagnosed with CAP that required hospitalisation; (2) randomised to at least two different Em-ATBs, (3) that report cure rate and (4) are written in English or Spanish. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: (1) ambiguous antibiotics protocol and (2) published exclusively in abstract or letter format. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Cochrane and citation reviews from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2018. Risk of bias: Cochrane's tool. Quality of the systematic review (SR): A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews-2. Certainity of the evidence: Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: frequentist method performed with the 'netmeta' library, R package. RESULTS: 27 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) from the initial 41 307 screened citations were included. Regarding the risk of bias, more than one quarter of the studies presented low risk and no study presented high risk in all domains. The SR quality is moderate. For cure, two networks were constructed. Thus, two Em-ATBs have the HPBB: cetaroline 600 mg (two times a day) and piperacillin 2000 mg (two times a day). For mortality, three networks were constructed. Thus, three Em-ATBs have the HPBB: ceftriaxone 2000 mg (once a day) plus levofloxacin 500 (two times a day), ertapenem 1000 mg (two times a day) and amikacin 250 mg (two times a day) plus clarithromycin 500 mg (two times a day). The certainity of evidence for each results is moderate. CONCLUSION: For cure rate, ceftaroline and piperaciline are the options with the HPBB. However, for mortality rate, the options are ceftriaxone plus levofloxacin, ertapenem and amikacin plus clarithromycin. It seems necessary to conduct an RCT that compares treatments with the HPBB for each event (cure or mortality) (CRD42017060692).

Right-side colectomy with complete mesocolic excision vs conventional right-side colectomy in the treatment of colon cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis aims to investigate the role of complete mesocolic excision (CME) in the treatment of right-side colon cancer when compared with standard right-side hemicolectomy, focusing on oncological outcomes, mortality and morbidity rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed on MEDLINE and EMBASE archives, including studies on CME in right-side colon cancer. Primary outcomes were five-year disease-free survival and five-year overall survival. Secondary outcomes investigated were mortality and morbidity rates, intraoperative blood loss, anastomotic leakage, postoperative ileus, day of postoperative flatus, pulmonary infection, duration of hospital stay and number of lymph nodes harvested. RESULTS: Seventeen studies have been included in this meta-analysis for a total of 3918 patients. The five-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) results improved in the CME group with respect to conventional right-side colectomy with an OR 1.88 (95% CI 1.02-3.45) and OR 2.77 (95% CI 1.33-5.74), respectively. The incidence of mortality and morbidity was comparable between the two groups. Moreover, conventional surgery time was faster than CME (MD 33.69 min, 95% CI 12.79-54.59), while no significant differences were reported in mean blood loss and hospital stay. Furthermore, the CME group showed a higher mean number of harvested lymph nodes (MD 7.08 lymph nodes 95% CI 4.90-9.27). CONCLUSION: Complete mesocolic excision of the right-side colectomy improves oncological outcomes without increasing mortality and morbidity rates compared to standard right-side hemicolectomy. CME should therefore be routinely performed in the treatment of right-side colon cancer.

Identification of novel metabolomic biomarkers in an experimental model of septic acute kidney injury.

The aim of this study is the identification of metabolomic biomarkers of sepsis and sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) in an experimental model. Pigs were anesthetized and monitored to measure mean arterial pressure (MAP), systemic blood flow (QT), mean pulmonary arterial pressure, renal artery blood flow (QRA), renal cortical blood flow (QRC), and urine output (UO). Sepsis was induced at t = 0 min by the administration of live Escherichia coli ( n = 6) or saline ( n = 8). At t = 300 min, animals were killed. Renal tissue, urine, and serum samples were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Principal component analyses were performed on the processed NMR spectra to highlight kidney injury biomarkers. Sepsis was associated with decreased QT and MAP and decreased QRA, QRC, and UO. Creatinine serum concentration and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) serum and urine concentrations increased. NMR-based metabolomics analysis found metabolic differences between control and septic animals: 1) in kidney tissue, increased lactate and nicotinuric acid and decreased valine, aspartate, glucose, and threonine; 2) in urine, increased isovaleroglycine, aminoadipic acid, N-acetylglutamine, N-acetylaspartate, and ascorbic acid and decreased myoinositol and phenylacetylglycine; and 3) in serum, increased lactate, alanine, pyruvate, and glutamine and decreased valine, glucose, and betaine concentrations. The concentration of several metabolites altered in renal tissue and urine samples from septic animals showed a significant correlation with markers of AKI (i.e., creatinine and NGAL serum concentrations). NMR-based metabolomics is a potentially useful tool for biomarker identification of sepsis-induced AKI.

Correlations between physiological parameters related with kidney function and minute-by-minute urine output.

AIM: Recently, devices capable of measuring minute-by-minute urine output (UOm) have become available. It is not known how UOm correlates with physiological parameters in normal conditions and in disease states characterized by vascular dysfunction. This paper analyzes correlations between UOm and physiological parameters related to kidney perfusion to provide some insight about UOm pathophysiological interpretation and its relationship with renal blood flow. METHODS: We studied 14 male pigs were anesthetized, tracheostomized, and mechanically ventilated. Mean systemic blood pressure (PART ), mean pulmonary artery blood pressure (PPA ), carotid artery blood flow (QCA ), as well as total (QREN ), cortical (QCOR ) and medullary (QMED ) renal blood flows, and the renal resistive index (RRI) were measured or calculated. Animals received an intravenous dose of live E. coli for the induction of sepsis (septic group), or an equivalent amount of normal saline (nonseptic group). Three groups were studied: nonseptic (n = 6) and septic (n = 4), both receiving for resuscitation NaCl 0.9% at 4 mL/kg per h; and septic (n = 4), receiving for resuscitation NaCl 0.9% at 17 mL/kg per h. Animals were monitored for 5 h after the induction of sepsis. RESULTS: In septic animals, UOm was strongly positively correlated with QREN (Kendall's τ = 0.770, P < 0.05), QCOR (τ = -0.566, P < 0.05) and QMED (τ = 0.632, P < 0.05); and negatively correlated with PPA (τ = -0.524, P < 0.05) and RRI (τ = -0.672, P < 0.05). Control animals exhibited weaker correlations. CONCLUSION: UOm is a good physiological surrogate marker of total and regional renal blood flows and vascular resistance, particularly under septic conditions, probably reflecting glomerulo-tubular dysfunction in sepsis.

Comparison of the Berlin definition for acute respiratory distress syndrome with autopsy.

RATIONALE: A revised definition of clinical criteria for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the Berlin definition, was recently established to classify patients according to their severity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of these clinical criteria using diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) at autopsy as the reference standard. METHODS: All patients who died and had a clinical autopsy in our intensive care unit over a 20-year period (1991-2010) were included. Patients with clinical criteria for ARDS were identified from the medical charts and were classified as mild, moderate, or severe according to the Berlin definition using PaO2/FiO2 oxygenation criteria. Microscopic analysis from each pulmonary lobe was performed by two pathologists. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 712 autopsies analyzed, 356 patients had clinical criteria for ARDS at time of death, classified as mild (n = 49, 14%), moderate (n = 141, 40%), and severe (n = 166, 46%). Sensitivity was 89% and specificity 63% to identify ARDS using the Berlin definition. DAD was found in 159 of 356 (45%) patients with clinical criteria for ARDS (in 12, 40, and 58% of patients with mild, moderate, and severe ARDS, respectively). DAD was more frequent in patients who met clinical criteria for ARDS during more than 72 hours and was found in 69% of those with severe ARDS for 72 hours or longer. CONCLUSIONS: Histopathological findings were correlated to severity and duration of ARDS. Using clinical criteria the revised Berlin definition for ARDS allowed the identification of severe ARDS of more than 72 hours as a homogeneous group of patients characterized by a high proportion of DAD.

Automatic Tube Compensation During Spontaneous Breathing Trials.

BACKGROUND: Automatic tube compensation (ATC) is an option available in any ICU ventilator that compensates for the resistive pressure drop due to the endotracheal tube. The goal of the present study was to compare ATC to other patient triggered modes of support in terms of spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) and extubation success. METHODS: Two authors (JB and PCF), independently and blinded to each other, searched through PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane from inception-May 26, 2021, with the following search terms entered as MeSH terms in all fields: "Automatic Tube Compensation." INCLUSION CRITERIA: randomized studies that included subjects > 16 y old undergoing an SBT. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: crossover studies, pediatric studies, animal studies, or experimental studies on test lungs or on computer simulation; other languages than French, Spanish, or English; studies not published in a full-text format (eg, abstract or letter); and reviews. A frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted with the aim to investigate the effectiveness of ATC on SBT and extubation outcomes. SBT was defined as successful if patients could tolerate the SBT based on predetermined criteria, whether it was followed by extubation. Successful extubation was defined as the absence of re-intubation, noninvasive ventilation, or signs of respiratory distress within the 48 h after extubation. The pooled analyses used random-effect models, and the effect size was expressed as relative risk or mean difference for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. P-scores were used to rank all treatments and to identify the intervention with the highest probability of being the best. RESULTS: Of the 234 retrieved papers, 7 met the inclusion criteria. In terms of SBT success, ATC100+PEEP < 7.5 and PS10+PEEP < 7.5 were superior to T-piece. Likewise, PS10+PEEP < 7.5 was the intervention with the highest probability of being the best (P-score: 0.90). In terms of extubation success, ATC100+PEEP < 7.5 cm H2O was significantly better than PEEP < 7.5 and T-piece. Likewise, it had the highest probability of being the best (P-score= 0.90). CONCLUSIONS: ATC is the modality with the highest probability of extubation success but not in terms of SBT success.

Safety and Efficacy of Devices Delivering Inhaled Antibiotics among Adults with Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis: A Systematic Review and a Network Meta-Analysis.

It remains unknown whether the type of aerosol generating device is affecting efficacy and safety among non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) adults. The proposal of this network meta-analysis (NMA) is to evaluate effectiveness and safety of inhaled antibiotics administered via dry powder inhaler (DPI) and via nebulizers (SVN) among adult patients with NCFB. Inclusion criteria were randomized-controlled trials, adults (≥18 years) with NCFB, and inhaled antibiotics administered via DPI as intervention. Search strategy was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library from 2000 to 2019. Sixteen trials (2870 patients) were included. Three trials (all ciprofloxacin) used DPIs and thirteen used SVN (three ciprofloxacin). Both DPI and SVN devices achieved similar safety outcomes (adverse events, antibiotic discontinuation, severe adverse events, and bronchospasm). Administration of ciprofloxacin via DPI significantly improved time to first exacerbation (87 days, 95% CI 34.3-139.7) and quality of life (MD -7.52; 95% CI -13.06 to -1.98) when compared with via SVN. No other significant differences were documented in clinical efficacy (at least one exacerbation, FEV1% predicted) and microbiologic response (bacterial eradication, emergence of new potential pathogens, and emergence of antimicrobial resistance) when comparing devices. Our NMA documented that time to first exacerbation and quality of life, were more favorable for DPIs. Decisions on the choice of devices should incorporate these findings plus other criteria, such as simplicity, costs or maintenance requirements.

Pretreatment with adalimumab reduces ventilator-induced lung injury in an experimental model. / Tratamento prévio com adalimumabe reduz lesão pulmonar induzida por ventilação mecânica em um modelo experimental.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether adalimumab administration before mechanical ventilation reduces ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). METHODS: Eighteen rats randomized into 3 groups underwent mechanical ventilation for 3 hours with a fraction of inspired oxygen = 0.40% including a low tidal volume group (n = 6), where tidal volume = 8mL/kg and positive end-expiratory pressure = 5cmH2O; a high tidal volume group (n = 6), where tidal volume = 35mL/kg and positive end-expiratory pressure = 0; and a pretreated + high tidal volume group (n = 6) where adalimumab (100ug/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 24 hours before mechanical ventilation + tidal volume = 35mL/kg and positive end-expiratory pressure = 0. ANOVA was used to compare histological damage (ATS 2010 Lung Injury Scoring System), pulmonary edema, lung compliance, arterial partial pressure of oxygen, and mean arterial pressure among the groups. RESULTS: After 3 hours of ventilation, the mean histological lung injury score was higher in the high tidal volume group than in the low tidal volume group (0.030 versus 0.0051, respectively, p = 0.003). The high tidal volume group showed diminished lung compliance at 3 hours (p = 0.04) and hypoxemia (p = 0,018 versus control). Pretreated HVt group had an improved histological score, mainly due to a significant reduction in leukocyte infiltration (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: Histological examination after 3 hours of injurious ventilation revealed ventilator-induced lung injury in the absence of measurable changes in lung mechanics or oxygenation; administering adalimumab before mechanical ventilation reduced lung edema and histological damage.

Comparative study between total and subtotal gastrectomy for distal gastric cancer: Meta-analysis of prospective and retrospective studies. / Estudio comparativo entre la gastrectomía total y subtotal en el cáncer distal de estómago: metaanálisis de estudios prospectivos y retrospectivos.

There is no clear agreement on the type of gastrectomy to be used (either total [TG] or distal [DG]) in middle or distal gastric cancer, especially when it is undifferentiated or Lauren diffuse type. In this meta-analysis, we intend to define which of the 2techniques should be recommended, based on survival, morbidity and mortality rates. Prospective and retrospective studies comparing both techniques have been included for a total of 6303 patients (3,641 DG and 2,662 TG). DG was significantly associated with fewer complications, fewer anastomotic fistulae, and less perioperative mortality. The number of lymph nodes in DG was significantly lower, but always above 15. Finally, even the 5-year survival of DG was also higher. Therefore, DG, as long as a safety margin is obtained and regardless of the histological type, should be performed in surgery for distal stomach cancer.

Hospital Mortality and Effect of Adjusting PaO2/FiO2 According to Altitude Above the Sea Level in Acclimatized Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation. A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: (i) Analyze the effect of altitude above the sea level on the mortality rate in patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation. (ii) Validate the traditional equation for adjusting PaO2/FiO2 according to the altitude. DESIGN: A prospective, observational, multicenter and international study conducted during August 2016. PATIENTS: Inclusion criteria: (i) age between 18 and 90 years old, (ii) admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) situated at the same altitude above the sea level (AASL) in which the patients has stayed, at least, during the previous 40 days and (iii) received invasive MV for at least 12h. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All variables were registered the day of intubation (day 0). Patients were followed until death, ICU discharge or day 28. PaO2/FiO2 ratio was adjusted by the AASL according to: PaO2/FiO2*(barometric pressure/760). Categorical variables were compared with χ2 and Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test. Continuous variables with Mann-Whitney. Correlation between continuous variables was analyzed graphically and analytically. Logistic regression model was constructed to identify factors associated to mortality. Kapplan-Meier method was used to estimate the probability of survival according to the altitude. A 2-side p value <0.05 was consider significant. RESULTS: 249 patients (<1500m n=55; 1500 to <2500m n=20; 2500 to <3500m n=155 and ≥3500m n=19) were included. Adjusted and non-adjusted PaO2/FiO2 were correlated with several respiratory and non respiratory variables. None discordances between non adjusted and adjusted PaO2/FiO2 were identified. However, several correlations were appreciated only in patients situated <1500m or in >1500m. Seventy-nine patients died during the ICU stayed (32%). The mortality curve was not affected by the altitude above the sea level. Variables independently associated to mortality are: PEEP, age, systolic arterial blood pressure, and platelet count. AUROC: 0.72. CONCLUSION: In acclimatized patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation, the traditional equation for adjusting PaO2/FiO2 according the elevation above the sea level seems to be inaccurate and the altitude above the sea level does not affect the mortality risk.

Airway Pathological Alterations Selectively Associated With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Diffuse Alveolar Damage - Narrative Review.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a frequent and life-threatening entity. Recently, it has been demonstrated that diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), which is considered the histological hallmark in spite of presenting itself in only half of living patients with ARDS, exerts a relevant effect in the ARDS outcome. Despite the fact that the bronchial tree constitutes approximately 1% of the lung volume, discovering a relation between DAD and bronchial tree findings could be of paramount importance for a few reasons; (a) it could improve the description of ARDS with DAD as a clinical-pathological entity, (b) it could subrogate DAD findings with the advantage of their more accessible and safer analysis and (c) it could allow the discovery of new therapeutic targets. This narrative review is focused on pathological airway changes associated to Diffuse Alveolar Damage in the context of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It is organized into five sections: main anatomical and functional features of the human airway, why it is necessary to study airway features associated to DAD in patients with ARDS, pathological airway changes associated with DAD in animal models of ARDS, pathological airway changes associated with DAD in patients with ARDS, and the newest techniques for studying the histology of the bronchial tree and lung parenchyma.

What have we learned from network meta-analyses applied to critical care?

It is widely accepted in modern medicine that medical decisions must be supported by scientific evidence. Identifying the best intervention when several options are available constitute a great challenge for every clinician. Traditional meta-analysis (TMA) allows summarizing evidence from studies that compare the same two interventions for one event (head to head studies or direct comparisons). Network meta-analysis (NMA) is a relatively new procedure that allows to compare multiple interventions for one event, even when non-head to head studies have been conducted (indirect evidence). Other advantages of NMA include increasing the accuracy of the results and ranking all the interventions according to their effectiveness. These features are of paramount importance as: 1) they summarize information from events (e.g. diseases or outcomes) that has more than two possible interventions (e.g. treatments or procedures); 2) they strengthen the level of guideline recommendations; and 3) they identify new hypotheses based on indirect comparison. As this is a narrative review, all manuscripts have been selected from PubMed according to our best knowledge with the aim to illustrate different features, options or applications of NMA in critical care. First, we provide a description of the usefulness, interpretation, assumptions and main plots related to NMAs. Second, we analyzed some examples of NMAs related to critical care medicine. Third, we include a pragmatic approach about how results from NMAs can improve the clinical practice as well an R script with a database to conduct an NMAs and reproduce figures and tables that have been shown here. As a conclusion, NMA is an established, robust, objective and reproducible statistic technique that has been applied to several critical care areas. Clinical practice guidelines have started to include NMA evidence to support their recommendations. In future years, it seems highly probable that this technique will increase it applicability in almost all areas of critical care medicine.

Predicting the Impact of Diffuse Alveolar Damage through Open Lung Biopsy in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome-The PREDATOR Study.

The aim of this retrospective and international study is to identify those clinical variables associated with diffuse alveolar damage (DAD), and to explore the impact of DAD on hospital mortality risk. Inclusion criteria were: adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) undergoing open lung biopsy (OLB) during their intensive care unit (ICU) management. The main end-points were: DAD and hospital mortality. In the training (n = 193) and validation cohorts (n = 65), the respiratory rate (odd ratio (OR) 0.956; confidence interval (CI) 95% 0.918; 0.995) and coronary ischemia (OR 5.974; CI95% 1.668; 21.399) on the day of ARDS had an average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.660 (CI95% 0.585; 0.736) and 0.562 (0.417; 0.706), respectively. PEEP (OR 1.131; CI95% 1.051; 1.218) and coronary ischemia (OR 6.820; CI95% 1.856; 25.061) on the day of OLB had an average AUROC of 0.696 (CI95% 0.621; 0.769) and 0.534 (CI95% 0.391; 0.678), respectively, to predict DAD. DAD (OR 2.296; CI95% 1.228; 4.294), diabetes mellitus requiring insulin (OR 0.081; CI95% 0.009; 0.710) and the respiratory rate (OR 1.045; CI95% 1.001; 1.091) on the day of ARDS had an average AUROC of 0.659 (CI95% 0.583; 0.737) and 0.513 (CI95% 0.361; 0.664) to predict hospital mortality and DAD (OR 2.081; CI95% 1.053; 4.114), diabetes mellitus requiring insulin (OR 0.093; CI95% 0.009; 0.956), PaCO2 (OR 1.051; CI95% 1.019; 1.084), and platelets count (OR 0.999; CI95% 0.999; 0.999) the day of OLB had an average AUROC of 0.778 (CI95% 0.710; 0.843) and 0.634 (CI95%0.481; 0.787) to predict hospital mortalty in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. In conclusion, DAD could not to be predicted clinically and was significantly associated with hospital mortality.

Effect of antibiotics administered via the respiratory tract in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the effect of antibiotics administered via the respiratory tract to prevent the ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated (MV) patients. METHODS: We searched relevant articles for trials that evaluated the impact of prophylactic antibiotics administered through the respiratory tract on the occurrence of VAP. The end-point was the occurrence of VAP in MV patients. RESULTS: We included 6 comparative trials involving 1158 patients (632 received prophylactic antibiotic). Our meta-analysis revealed that prophylactic antibiotics administered through the respiratory tract reduced the occurrence of VAP when compared to placebo or no treatment (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.34-0.84). This effect was seen when the antibiotics were given by nebulization (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.22-0.97), but not when they were administered by intratracheal instillation (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.28-1.15). We did not find a significant difference between the compared groups in the intensive care unit (ICU) mortality (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.64-1.25). Antibiotic prophylaxis did not impact occurrence of VAP due to multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogens (OR 0.67; 95% CI 0.17-2.62). CONCLUSIONS: Prophylactic antibiotics administered through the respiratory tract by nebulization reduce the occurrence of VAP, without a significant effect on either the ICU mortality or occurrence of VAP due to MDR pathogens.

What every intensivist should know about acute respiratory distress syndrome and diffuse alveolar damage. / O que todo intensivista deve saber a respeito da síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo e dano alveolar difuso?

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a challenging entity for the intensivist. The pathological hallmark of the acute phase is diffuse alveolar damage, which is present in approximately half of living patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. It is clear that respiratory support for acute respiratory distress syndrome has gradually been improving over recent decades. However, it is also evident that these procedures are beneficial, as they reduce lung injury and keep the patient alive. This could be interpreted as a time-gaining strategy until the trigger or causal or risk factor improves, the inflammatory storm decreases and the lung heals. However, all except two pharmacological treatments (neuromuscular blockers and steroids) were unable to improve the acute respiratory distress syndrome outcome. The hypothesis that pharmacological negative results may be explained by the histological heterogeneity of acute respiratory distress syndrome has been supported by the recent demonstration that acute respiratory distress syndrome with diffuse alveolar damage constitutes a specific clinical-pathological entity. Given that diffuse alveolar damage is a pathological diagnosis and that open lung biopsy (the most common technique to obtain lung tissue) has several side effects, it is necessary to develop surrogate biomarkers for diffuse alveolar damage. The aim of this narrative review is to address the following three topics related to acute respiratory distress syndrome: (a) the relationship between acute respiratory distress syndrome and diffuse alveolar damage, (b) how diffuse alveolar damage could be surrogated in the clinical setting and

A síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo é um desafio para o intensivista. A característica principal desta doença aguda é o dano alveolar difuso, presente em cerca de metade dos pacientes com a síndrome. É claro que o suporte respiratório à síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo tem melhorado gradualmente nas últimas décadas. É também evidente que todos estes procedimentos são benéficos, já que reduzem a lesão pulmonar e mantêm o paciente vivo. Isto deve ser interpretado como uma estratégia de ganho de tempo, até que o fator desencadeante ou de risco causal melhore, assim como a tempestade inflamatória diminua e o pulmão se cure. Por outro lado, todos - exceto dois tratamentos farmacológicos (bloqueadores neuromusculares e esteroides) - são incapazes de melhorar o desfecho da síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo. A hipótese de que os resultados farmacológicos negativos podem ser explicados pela heterogeneidade histológica da síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo tem sido apoiada pelas recentes demonstrações de que a síndrome com dano alveolar difuso tem característica clínico-patológica específica. O dano alveolar difuso é um diagnóstico patológico, e a biópsia pulmonar a céu aberto (a técnica mais comum para obtenção de tecido pulmonar) tem efeitos colaterais graves, sendo necessário que se desenvolvam biomarcadores substitutos para o dano alveolar difuso. O objetivo desta revisão é discutir três tópicos relacionados à síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo: o relacionamento entre a síndrome do desconforto respiratório agudo e o dano alveolar difuso; como o dano alveolar difuso pode ser representado no quadro clínico; e como o enriquecimento pode melhorar os resultados de estudos clínicos farmacológicos realizados com pacientes com a síndrome e com dano alveolar difuso.

Comparing baseline characteristics between groups: an introduction to the CBCgrps package.

A usual practice in observational studies is the comparison of baseline characteristics of participants between study groups. The overall population can be grouped by clinical outcome or exposure status. A combined table reporting baseline characteristics is usually displayed, for the overall population and then separately for each group. The last column usually gives the P value for the comparison between study groups. In the conventional research model, the variables for which data are collected are limited in number. It is thus feasible to calculate descriptive data one by one and to manually create the table. The availability of EHR and big data mining techniques makes it possible to explore a far larger number of variables. However, manual tabulation of big data is particularly error prone; it is exceedingly time-consuming to create and revise such tables manually. In this paper, we introduce an R package called CBCgrps, which is designed to automate and streamline the generation of such tables when working with big data. The package contains two functions, twogrps() and multigrps(), which are used for comparisons between two and multiple groups, respectively.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Diffuse Alveolar Damage. New Insights on a Complex Relationship.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major clinical problem with high morbidity and mortality. Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) is considered the histological hallmark for the acute phase of ARDS. DAD is characterized by an acute phase with edema, hyaline membranes, and inflammation, followed by an organizing phase with alveolar septal fibrosis and type II pneumocyte hyperplasia. Given the difficulties in obtaining a biopsy in patients with ARDS, the presence of DAD is not required to make the diagnosis. However, biopsy and autopsy studies suggest that only one-half of patients who meet the clinical definition of ARDS also have DAD. The other half are found to have a group of heterogeneous disorders, including pneumonia. Importantly, the subgroup of patients with ARDS who also have DAD appears to have increased mortality. It is possible that the response of these patients to specific therapies targeting the molecular mechanisms of ARDS may differ from patients without DAD. Therefore, it may be important to develop noninvasive methods to identify DAD. A predictive model for DAD based on noninvasive measurements has been developed in an autopsy cohort but must be validated. It would be ideal to identify biomarkers or imaging techniques that help determine which patients with ARDS have DAD. We conclude that additional studies are needed to determine the effect of DAD on outcomes in ARDS, and whether noninvasive techniques to identify DAD should be developed with the goal of determining whether this population responds differently to specific therapies targeting the molecular mechanisms of ARDS.

Characteristics of microRNAs and their potential relevance for the diagnosis and therapy of the acute respiratory distress syndrome: from bench to bedside.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a complex disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. Biomarkers and specific pharmacologic treatment of the syndrome are lacking. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (∼ 19-22 nucleotides) noncoding RNA molecules whose function is the regulation of gene expression. Their uncommon biochemical characteristics (eg, their resistance to degradation because of extreme temperature and pH fluctuations, freeze-thaw cycles, long storage times in frozen conditions, and RNAse digestion) and their presence in a wide range of different biological fluids and the relatively low number of individual miRNAs make these molecules good biomarkers in different clinical conditions. In addition, miRNAs are suitable therapeutic targets as their expression can be modulated by different available strategies. The aim of the present review is to offer clinicians a global perspective of miRNA, covering their structure and nomenclature, biogenesis, effects on gene expression, regulation of expression, and features as disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets, with special attention to ARDS. Because of the early stage of research on miRNAs applied to ARDS, attention has been focused on how knowledge sourced from basic and translational research could inspire future clinical studies.