Improving echographic monitoring of hemodynamics in critically ill patients: Validation of right cardiac output measurements through the modified subcostal window.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the usefulness of using the right ventricle outflow tract (RVOT) velocity-time integral (VTI) for echocardiographic monitoring of cardiac output compared to the gold standard, the VTI along the left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT). DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: A tertiary intensive care unit. PATIENTS: 100 consecutive patients. INTERVENTIONS: echocardiographic monitoring in critically ill patients. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: We used intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) to compare echocardiographic measurements of LVOT VTI through apical window with RVOT VTI through the parasternal and modified subcostal windows and to assess interobserver reproducibility. Preplanned post hoc analyses compared the ICC between ventilated and nonventilated patients. RESULTS: At the time of echocardiography, 44 (44%) patients were mechanically ventilated and 28 (28%) were receiving vasoactive drugs. Good-quality measurements were obtained through the parasternal short-axis and/or apical views in 81 (81%) patients and in 100 (100%) patients through the subcostal window. Consistency with LVOT VTI was moderate for RVOT VTI measured from the modified subcostal view (ICC 0.727; 95%CI: 0.62-0.808) and for RVOT VTI measured from the transthoracic view (0.715; 95%CI: 0.59-0.807). CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of RVOT VTI are moderately consistent with measurements of LVOT VTI. Adding the modified subcostal window allows monitoring RVOT VTI in all the patients of this selected cohort, even those under mechanical ventilation.

[Diaphragmatic pacemaker dysfunction and utility of diaphragmatic ultrasonography]. / Disfunción de marcapasos diafragmático y utilidad de la ecografía diafragmática.

Patients with spinal cord injuries above the C5 vertebrae have a high risk of respiratory complications, and complete spinal cord injures can require support with mechanical ventilation. In selected patients, implantation of a diaphragmatic pacemaker offers the possibility of breathing without mechanical support and reduces respiratory complications, increasing the patient's independence. Ultrasonography is a simple and non-invasive technique that may be useful in the differential diagnosis of thoracic diseases. We present the case of a patient with a traumatic cervical spinal cord injury, who underwent diaphragmatic pacemaker implantation. The use of ultrasound allowed rapid and reliable diagnosis of device malfunction. M-mode diaphragmatic ultrasonography is a simple and non-invasive technique that can be incorporated into routine clinical practice to diagnose diaphragm movement disorders.

[Valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy]. / Encefalopatia hiperamonemica inducida por acido valproico.

TITLE: Encefalopatia hiperamonemica inducida por acido valproico.

Ceftazidime-induced thrombocytopenia. / Trombocitopenia inducida por ceftazidima.

Ceftazidime is an antibiotic belonging to the group of third generation cephalosporins, frequently used in clinical practice for its broad antibacterial spectrum. A case report is presented on a 78-year-old man who entered the intensive care unit due to respiratory failure secondary to nosocomial pneumonia in the postoperative period of a laparoscopic hepatic bisegmentectomy for a hepatocarcinoma. It required invasive mechanical ventilation and was treated with ceftazidime, developing a progressive decrease in platelet count after the onset of this drug and after re-exposure to it, not coinciding with the introduction of other drugs. The adverse reaction was reported to the Spanish pharmacosurveillance system and according to the Naranjo algorithm the causal relationship was probable. Since no case of ceftazidime-induced thrombocytopenia was found in the literature, we consider knowledge of it relevant as an adverse effect to be taken into account given its potential severity, especially when it cannot be explained by other causes.