Neck Swelling in a Critically Ill Patient With COVID-19-Related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome on Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Consider the Differential.

Neck swelling during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) usually heralds the development of potentially serious complications, including superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome, hematoma, and/or angioedema. In this case report, we describe a 43-year-old male patient who had received VV-ECMO support for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) acute respiratory distress syndrome. During his hospitalization, he developed acute onset of neck swelling after two weeks of VV-ECMO and two days after a tracheostomy. Clinical examination and investigations were performed to exclude ECMO-related SVC syndrome and tracheostomy-related complications. Consequently, it was discovered the patient had developed COVID-19-related subacute thyroiditis with enlargement of both thyroid glands. Conservative management, including the use of continued glucocorticoids, raising the head of the bed, and observing for complications of thyroiditis, was undertaken. Eventually, this patient's neck swelling resolved on its own, and he was eventually decannulated from ECMO several weeks later. Our case report highlights the differential diagnosis of neck swelling during VV-ECMO and considers the evaluation of different etiologies.

Esophageal Balloon-Directed Ventilator Management for Postpneumonectomy Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Postpneumonectomy patients may develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). There is a paucity of data regarding the optimal management of mechanical ventilation for postpneumonectomy patients. Esophageal balloon pressure monitoring has been used in traditional ARDS patients to set positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and minimize transpulmonary driving pressure (ΔP L), but its clinical use has not been previously described nor validated in postpneumonectomy patients. The primary objective of this report was to describe the potential clinical application of esophageal pressure monitoring to manage the postpneumonectomy patient with ARDS. DESIGN: Case report. Setting. Surgical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university-affiliated teaching hospital. Patient. A 28-year-old patient was involved in a motor vehicle collision, with a right main bronchus injury, that required a right-sided pneumonectomy to stabilize his condition. In the perioperative phase, they subsequently developed ventilator-associated pneumonia, significant cumulative positive fluid balance, and ARDS. Interventions. Prone positioning and neuromuscular blockade were initiated. An esophageal balloon was inserted to direct ventilator management. Measurements and Main Results. V T was kept around 3.6 mL/kg PBW, ΔP L at ≤14 cm H2O, and plateau pressure at ≤30 cm H2O. Lung compliance was measured to be 37 mL/cm H2O. PEEP was optimized to maintain end-inspiratory transpulmonary pressure (P L) < 15 cm H2O, and end-expiratory P L between 0 and 5 cm H2O. The maximal ΔP L was measured to be 11 cm H2O during the care of this patient. The patient improved with esophageal balloon-directed ventilator management and was eventually liberated from mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal targets for V T remain unknown in the postpneumonectomy patient. However, postpneumonectomy patients with ARDS may potentially benefit from very low V T and optimization of PEEP. We demonstrate the application of esophageal balloon pressure monitoring that clinicians could potentially use to limit injurious ventilation and improve outcomes in postpneumonectomy patients with ARDS. However, esophageal balloon pressure monitoring has not been extensively validated in this patient population.

Neurotensin increases mortality and mast cells reduce neurotensin levels in a mouse model of sepsis.

Sepsis is a complex, incompletely understood and often fatal disorder, typically accompanied by hypotension, that is considered to represent a dysregulated host response to infection. Neurotensin (NT) is a 13-amino-acid peptide that, among its multiple effects, induces hypotension. We find that intraperitoneal and plasma concentrations of NT are increased in mice after severe cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), a model of sepsis, and that mice treated with a pharmacological antagonist of NT, or NT-deficient mice, show reduced mortality during severe CLP. In mice, mast cells can degrade NT and reduce NT-induced hypotension and CLP-associated mortality, and optimal expression of these effects requires mast cell expression of neurotensin receptor 1 and neurolysin. These findings show that NT contributes to sepsis-related mortality in mice during severe CLP and that mast cells can lower NT concentrations, and suggest that mast cell-dependent reduction in NT levels contributes to the ability of mast cells to enhance survival after CLP.