Impact of a visual aid on discordance between physicians and family members about prognosis of critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a visual aid on the discordance about prognosis between physicians and family members. METHODS: The study was performed in a general intensive care department with two 6-bed units. In the unit A, family members could consult a visual aid depicting day by day the evolution of global, hemodynamic, respiratory, renal and neurological conditions of the patient on a 10-point scale. In the unit B, they only received oral medical information. On day 7 of the ICU stay, the physician and family members estimated the prognosis of the patient among four proposals (life threatened; steady state but may worsen; steady state, should heal; will heal). Then we compared the rate of discordance about prognosis between physicians and family members in the two units. RESULTS: Seventy-nine consecutive patients admitted in the intensive care department and still present at day 7, their family members and physicians, were enrolled. Patients in the two units were comparable in age, sex ratio, reason for admission, SAPS II at admission and SOFA score at day 7. In the unit A, physician-family members discordance about prognosis occurred for 12 out of 39 patients (31%) vs. 22 out of 40 patients (55%) in the unit B (P=0.04). CONCLUSION: In our study, adding a visual aid depicting the evolution of the condition of critically ill patients day by day to classic oral information allowed the family to have an estimate of the prognosis less discordant with the estimate of the physician.

Modulation by Polymyxin-B Hemoperfusion of Inflammatory Response Related to Severe Peritonitis.

Conflicting results have been reported on the influence of Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion treatment on systemic inflammation markers. The aim of the study was to assess in a randomized control trial the influence on plasma cytokine concentrations of Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion in septic shock due to peritonitis. A panel of 10 pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines was measured in 213 patients with peritonitis-induced septic shock enrolled in the randomized trial ABDOMIX testing the impact of 2 Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion sessions with standard treatment. Gram-negative bacteria were identified in 69% of patients. In the overall population, baseline plasma cytokine concentrations were not different between the two groups. Circulating tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-10, IL-6, and IL-1RA decreased significantly over time in both groups (P <0.0001 for all in controls, and P = 0.0002, 0.003, and <0.0001 in patients treated with Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion). IL-17A decreased significantly in patients treated with Polymyxin B hemoperfusion (P = 0.045) but not in controls. At the end of the second Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion session or at corresponding time in controls, plasma levels of cytokines did not differ between the two groups. Similar results were found in the subgroup of patients with gram-negative peritonitis who completed two Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion sessions. These results do not support a significant influence of Polymyxin-B hemoperfusion on circulating cytokines assessed except for IL-17A which clinical significance remains to be elucidated.

Applicability of Pulse Pressure Variation during Unstable Hemodynamic Events in the Intensive Care Unit: A Five-Day Prospective Multicenter Study.

Pulse pressure variation can predict fluid responsiveness in strict applicability conditions. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical applicability of pulse pressure variation during episodes of patient hemodynamic instability in the intensive care unit. We conducted a five-day, seven-center prospective study that included patients presenting with an unstable hemodynamic event. The six predefined inclusion criteria for pulse pressure variation applicability were as follows: mechanical ventilation, tidal volume >7 mL/kg, sinus rhythm, no spontaneous breath, heart rate/respiratory rate ratio >3.6, absence of right ventricular dysfunction, or severe valvulopathy. Seventy-three patients presented at least one unstable hemodynamic event, with a total of 163 unstable hemodynamic events. The six predefined criteria for the applicability of pulse pressure variation were completely present in only 7% of these. This data indicates that PPV should only be used alongside a strong understanding of the relevant physiology and applicability criteria. Although these exclusion criteria appear to be profound, they likely represent an absolute contraindication of use for only a minority of critical care patients.

Early use of polymyxin B hemoperfusion in patients with septic shock due to peritonitis: a multicenter randomized control trial.

PURPOSE: To test whether the polymyxin B hemoperfusion (PMX HP) fiber column reduces mortality and organ failure in peritonitis-induced septic shock (SS) from abdominal infections. METHOD: Prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial in 18 French intensive care units from October 2010 to March 2013, enrolling 243 patients with SS within 12 h after emergency surgery for peritonitis related to organ perforation. The PMX HP group received conventional therapy plus two sessions of PMX HP. Primary outcome was mortality on day 28; secondary outcomes were mortality on day 90 and a reduction in the severity of organ failures based on Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores. PRIMARY OUTCOME: day 28 mortality in the PMX HP group (n = 119) was 27.7 versus 19.5% in the conventional group (n = 113), p = 0.14 (OR 1.5872, 95% CI 0.8583-2.935). Secondary endpoints: mortality rate at day 90 was 33.6% in PMX-HP versus 24% in conventional groups, p = 0.10 (OR 1.6128, 95% CI 0.9067-2.8685); reduction in SOFA score from day 0 to day 7 was -5 (-11 to 6) in PMX-HP versus -5 (-11 to 9), p = 0.78. Comparable results were observed in the predefined subgroups (presence of comorbidity; adequacy of surgery, <2 sessions of hemoperfusion) and for SOFA reduction from day 0 to day 3. CONCLUSION: This multicenter randomized controlled study demonstrated a non-significant increase in mortality and no improvement in organ failure with PMX HP treatment compared to conventional treatment of peritonitis-induced SS.

Effect of tracheal suctioning on aspiration past the tracheal tube cuff in mechanically ventilated patients.

BACKGROUND: This clinical study evaluated the effect of a suctioning maneuver on aspiration past the cuff during mechanical ventilation. METHODS: Patients intubated for less than 48 hours with a PVC-cuffed tracheal tube, under mechanical ventilation with a PEEP ≥5 cm H2O and under continuous sedation, were included in the study. At baseline the cuff pressure was set at 30 cm H2O. Then 0.5ml of blue dye diluted with 3 ml of saline was instilled into the subglottic space just above the cuff. Tracheal suctioning was performed using a 16-French suction catheter with a suction pressure of - 400 mbar. A fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed before and after the suctioning maneuver, looking for the presence of blue dye in the folds within the cuff wall or in the trachea under the cuff. The sealing of the cuff was defined by the absence of leakage of blue dye either in the cuff wall or in the trachea under the cuff. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were included. The size of the tracheal tube was 7-mm ID for 5 patients, 7.5-mm ID for 16 patients, and 8-mm ID for four patients. Blue dye was never seen in the trachea under the cuff before suctioning and only in one patient (4%) after the suctioning maneuver. Blue dye was observed in the folds within the cuff wall in 6 of 25 patients before suctioning and 11 of 25 after (p = 0.063). Overall, the incidence of sealing of the cuff was 76% before suctioning and 56% after (p = 0.073). CONCLUSIONS: In patients intubated with a PVC-cuffed tracheal tube and under mechanical ventilation with PEEP ≥5 cm H2O and a cuff pressure set at 30 cm H2O, a single tracheal suctioning maneuver did not increase the risk of aspiration in the trachea under the cuff. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01170156.

Interest of an objective evaluation of cough during weaning from mechanical ventilation.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate an objective measure of cough strength, the peak cough expiratory flow (PCEF), as a predictive criterion of success or failure of extubation. METHODS: Patients under mechanical ventilation for more than 24 h who successfully passed the spontaneous breathing trial were included in the study. Just before extubation, PCEF was measured with an electronic flowmeter. RESULTS: A total of 130 patients were included. The median duration of mechanical ventilation before extubation was 8 days (4-17). Fourteen patients (10.8%) failed extubation. The sole factor significantly associated with extubation failure was the measure of PCEF. The patients who did not cough at order had a higher rate of extubation failure than those who did (P = 0.03). The mean PCEF of patients who failed extubation (36.3 +/- 15 l/min) was significantly lower than the one of patients who succeeded (63.6 +/- 32 l/min) (P < 0.001). The optimal cut-off value of PCEF was 35 l/min. Overall, an inability to cough at order or a PCEF < or =35 l/min predicted extubation failure with a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 71%. The risk of extubation failure was 24% for the patients who did not cough at order or with a PCEF < or =35 l/min and 3.5% for those with a PCEF >35 l/min [RR = 6.9 (95% CI, 2-24); P = 0.002]. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the interest of measuring the PCEF to predict extubation outcome in patients having successfully passed the spontaneous breathing trial.

Prone position as prevention of lung injury in comatose patients: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: Comatose patients frequently exhibit pulmonary function worsening, especially in cases of pulmonary infection. It appears to have a deleterious effect on neurologic outcome. We therefore conducted a randomized trial to determine whether daily prone positioning would prevent lung worsening in these patients. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled study. SETTING: Sixteen-bed intensive care unit. PATIENTS: Fifty-one patients who required invasive mechanical ventilation because of coma with Glascow coma scores of 9 or less. INTERVENTIONS: In the prone position (PP) group: prone positioning for 4 h once daily until the patients could get up to sit in an armchair; in the supine position (SP) group: supine positioning. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The primary end point was the incidence of lung worsening defined by an increase in the Lung Injury Score of at least 1 point since the time of randomization. The secondary end point was the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). A total of 25 patients were randomly assigned to the PP group and 26 patients to the SP group. The characteristics of the patients from the two groups were similar at randomization. The incidence of lung worsening was lower in the PP group (12%) than in the SP group (50%) ( p=0.003). The incidence of VAP was 20% in the PP group and 38.4% in the SP group ( p=0.14). There was no serious complication attributable to prone positioning, however, there was a significant increase of intracranial pressure in the PP. CONCLUSION: In a selected population of comatose ventilated patients, daily prone positioning reduced the incidence of lung worsening.