The Impact of Increased PEEP on Hemodynamics, Respiratory Mechanics, and Oxygenation in Pediatric ARDS.

BACKGROUND: PEEP is a cornerstone treatment for children with pediatric ARDS. Unfortunately, its titration is often performed solely by evaluating oxygen saturation, which can lead to inadequate PEEP level settings and consequent adverse effects. This study aimed to assess the impact of increasing PEEP on hemodynamics, respiratory system mechanics, and oxygenation in children with ARDS. METHODS: Children receiving mechanical ventilation and on pressure-controlled volume-guaranteed mode were prospectively assessed for inclusion. PEEP was sequentially changed to 5, 12, 10, 8 cm H2O, and again to 5 cm H2O. After 10 min at each PEEP level, hemodynamic, ventilatory, and oxygenation variables were collected. RESULTS: A total of 31 subjects were included, with median age and weight of 6 months and 6.3 kg, respectively. The main reasons for pediatric ICU admission were respiratory failure caused by acute viral bronchiolitis (45%) and community-acquired pneumonia (32%). Most subjects had mild or moderate ARDS (45% and 42%, respectively), with a median (interquartile range) oxygenation index of 8.4 (5.8-12.7). Oxygen saturation improved significantly when PEEP was increased. However, although no significant changes in blood pressure were observed, the median cardiac index at PEEP of 12 cm H2O was significantly lower than that observed at any other PEEP level (P = .001). Fourteen participants (45%) experienced a reduction in cardiac index of > 10% when PEEP was increased to 12 cm H2O. Also, the estimated oxygen delivery was significantly lower, at 12 cm H2O PEEP. Finally, respiratory system compliance significantly reduced when PEEP was increased. At a PEEP of 12 cm H2O, static compliance had a median reduction of 25% in relation to the initial assessment (PEEP of 5 cm H2O). CONCLUSIONS: Although it may improve arterial oxygen saturation, inappropriately high PEEP levels may reduce cardiac output, oxygen delivery, and respiratory system compliance in pediatric subjects with ARDS with low potential for lung recruitability.

Adrenal incidentaloma: Do patients with apparently nonfunctioning mass or autonomous cortisol secretion have similar or different clinical and metabolic features?

OBJECTIVE: Although there is growing evidence associating nonfunctioning adrenal incidentalomas (NFAI) with cardiovascular risk factors, there are limited data whether NFAI and autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) groups have similar or different clinical and metabolic features. The aim of this study is to compare cardiometabolic clinic parameters among patients with ACS and NFAI, as well as controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PATIENTS: Eighty nine NFAI, 58 ACS and 64 controls were evaluated. MEASUREMENTS: Diagnosis of NFAI (1 mg dexamethasone suppression test [1 mg-DST] ≤50 nmol/L [≤1.8 µg/dl]) and ACS (1 mg-DST > 50 nmol/L [> 1.8 µg/dl]) was established according to current guidelines. The control group was selected based on a normal adrenal imaging exam. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups regarding age, gender, ethnicity, menopause or body mass index. Patients with adrenal incidentaloma presented higher frequency of hypertension (74.1 vs. 57.8%; p = .02), resistant hypertension (45.4 vs. 9.4%; p < .001), dyslipidemia (80.1 vs. 63.9%; p = .01), as well as metabolic syndrome (84.2 vs. 61.7%; p = .001) compared to the controls, respectively. NFAI and ACS patients presented similar frequency of arterial hypertension (70.8 vs. 79.3%) and resistant hypertension (41.3 vs. 51.1%), dyslipidemia (79.3 vs. 81.5%) and metabolic syndrome (83.3 vs. 85.7%); also, levels of HbA1c were similar between the groups. Binary logistic regression showed that NFAI (p = .004) and ACS (p = .001) were independent predictors for resistant hypertension (p = .003); also, ACS was an independent predictor for metabolic syndrome (p = .04). CONCLUSIONS: NFAI and ACS presented a higher frequency of cardiometabolic morbidities in comparison with individuals with normal adrenal glands. Additionally, we demonstrated that both ACS and NFAI groups have similar cardiometabolic conditions.

"Inflammatory peritonitis in a child with COVID-19″.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by SARS-COV-2 coronavirus infection (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Although its most prevalent symptoms are respiratory, there are descriptions of gastrointestinal manifestations in children, but the presentation as an acute abdomen is rare. We report the case of a 6-month-old infant who was admitted with a diagnosis of intestinal obstruction and generalized peritonitis with no apparent cause, in whom a SARS-CoV-2 rt-PCR search was positive. We have not found descriptions of similar cases in the literature so far.

High-frequency oscillatory ventilation in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is an alternative mechanical ventilation mode proposed to reduce ventilator-induced lung injuries and improve clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of HFOV compared to conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) when used in children with hypoxemic respiratory failure. METHODS: The literature search was conducted to identify all studies published before December 2020. Eligible studies included a population aged between 28 days and 18 years old, presented original data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or observational studies, compared the use of HFOV with CMV. Meta-analyses of the pooled data were performed by using random-effects models with inverse-variance weighting. RESULTS: A total of 11 studies (2605 cases) were included, most of them evaluating patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. The mean age of participants was 8.2 months and the mean oxygenation index of those included in the RCTs was 24.4. The effect of HFOV on mortality was not significant, and clinically significant harm or benefit could not be excluded (risk ratio [RR], 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72 to 1.20). No significant difference between groups was found in duration of mechanical ventilation (-2.23; 95% CI, -5.07 to 0.61), treatment failure (RR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.08 to 1.02), and occurrence of barotrauma (RR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.39 to 1.99). CONCLUSION: The scarce evidence currently available does not allow us to conclude that HFOV has advantages over CMV and further studies are needed to clarify its role in the treatment of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in children.