Intraoperative prophylactic and therapeutic non-invasive ventilation: a systematic review.

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been used to prevent or to treat perioperative acute respiratory failure (ARF). Intraoperative prophylactic and therapeutic use of NIV could be of interest to patients with anticipated difficulty in postoperative weaning from mechanical ventilation or to patients refusing tracheal intubation. Intraoperative NIV might also be useful when deep sedation is required, as this can cause respiratory depression. PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library were searched for pertinent studies. Inclusion criteria were NIV use during surgery and adult patients; the exclusion criteria were NIV application only in the preoperative or postoperative periods, paediatric patients, NIV applied as negative pressure ventilation. Thirty papers including 618 patients were included for final analysis. Intraoperative therapeutic NIV to treat ARF was reported for 92 patients and in all those cases, including six Caesarean sections, surgery was completed uneventfully. Intraoperative prophylactic NIV to avoid ARF was described in 24 patients with severe respiratory limitation and in 502 healthy patients during deep sedation. Three patients could not be successfully ventilated due to upper airway obstruction, but no further complication was reported. Intraoperative NIV appears feasible, safe, and potentially useful, particularly when tracheal intubation is best avoided. However, high-quality, randomized studies are required.

Percutaneous tracheostomy, a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is a common procedure in intensive care units and the identification of the best technique is very important. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized studies comparing different PDT techniques in critically ill adult patients to investigate if one technique is superior to the others with regard to major and minor intraprocedural complications. METHODS: BioMedCentral and other database of clinical trials were searched for pertinent studies. Inclusion criterion was random allocation to at least two PDT techniques. Exclusion criteria were duplicate publications, nonadult studies, and absence of outcome data. STUDY DESIGN: Population, clinical setting, and complications were extracted. RESULTS: Data from 1130 patients in 13 randomized trials were analyzed. Multiple dilators, single-step dilatation, guide wire dilating forceps, rotational dilation, retrograde tracheostomy, and balloon dilation techniques were always performed in the intensive care unit. The different techniques and devices appeared largely equivalent, with the exception of retrograde tracheostomy, which was associated with more severe complications and more frequent need of conversion to other techniques when compared with guide wire dilating forceps and single-step dilatation techniques. Single-step dilatation technique was associated with fewer failures than rotational dilation, and fewer mild complications in comparison with balloon dilation and guide wire dilating forceps (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Among the six analyzed techniques, single-step dilatation technique appeared the most reliable in terms of safety and success rate. However, the number of available randomized trials was insufficient to confidently assess the best PDT technique.

Non-invasive ventilation in cardiac surgery: a concise review.

Mild to severe respiratory dysfunction is still a common issue after cardiac surgery. Postoperative respiratory complications are associated with prolonged hospitalization and worse survival. In this high-risk surgery, non-invasive ventilation could have relevant positive effects. The present narrative concise review aims to summarize available data on the role of non-invasive ventilation before and after cardiac surgery. Non-invasive ventilation exerts its main effects on the pulmonary and on the cardiovascular systems.  Non-invasive ventilation can be applied to prevent acute respiratory failure; it can also be prescribed as a curative tool to treat an established postoperative acute respiratory failure. Non-invasive ventilation could also be applied to wean patients from mechanical ventilation. When applied as a preventive tool, the main scope is the prevention of pneumonia by resolving or preventing atelectasis. So far, limited (but encouraging) data are available: its routine use in all patients to prevent postoperative acute respiratory failure cannot be recommended. Non-invasive ventilation to treat postoperative acute respiratory failure has been evaluated more extensively. A failure rate from 10 to 55% was reported. Safety appears preserved, with no relevant hemodynamic complication reported. Non-invasive ventilation has also been applied during percutaneous aortic valve implant in patients unable to lie supine due to severe respiratory limitation and orthopnea. In conclusion, non-invasive ventilation has the potential to be very useful before and after cardiac surgery. So far, results are promising but available data are limited. Training and experience are essential to obtain positive results and to avoid complications.