Early Versus Late Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Early initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) effect on survival and renal recovery of critically ill patients is still uncertain. We aimed to systematically review current evidence comparing outcomes of early versus late initiation of RRT in critically ill patients. METHODS: We searched the Medline (via Pubmed), LILACS, Science Direct, and CENTRAL databases from inception until November 2016 for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) or observational studies comparing early versus late initiation of RRT in critically ill patients. The primary outcome was mortality. Duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, and renal function recovery were secondary outcomes. Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) were used for the primary outcome. RESULTS: Sixty-two studies were retrieved and analyzed, including 11 RCTs. There was no difference in mortality between early and late initiation of RRT among RCTs (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52-1.19; I2 = 63.1%). Trial sequential analysis of mortality across all RCTs achieved futility boundaries at both 1% and 5% type I error rates, although a subgroup analysis of studies including only acute kidney injury patients was not conclusive. There was also no difference in time on mechanical ventilation, ICU and hospital LOS, or renal recovery among studies. Early initiation of RRT was associated with reduced mortality among prospective (OR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.49-0.96; I2 = 85.9%) and retrospective (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41-0.92; I2 = 90.9%) observational studies, both with substantial heterogeneity. However, subgroup analysis excluding low-quality observational studies did not achieve statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Pooled analysis of randomized trials indicates early initiation of RRT is not associated with lower mortality rates. The potential benefit of reduced mortality associated with early initiation of RRT was limited to low-quality observational studies.

Diagnosis of nonventilated hospital-acquired pneumonia: how much do we know?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe the current knowledge about clinical and microbiological diagnosis of nonventilated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP). RECENT FINDINGS: NV-HAP is emerging as a new challenge for clinicians, particularly because VAP incidence has been decreasing. The clinical diagnosis of NV-HAP uses the classical clinical symptoms and signs. However standard evaluation of their accuracy and the evaluation of new criterion (e.g. lung ultrasound) must be conducted particularly in NV-HAP patients. The use of sputum must be encouraged in patients with NV-HAP, assuring its lower respiratory tract representativeness and quality. It is not clear that invasive approaches (e.g. BAL) are associated with improvements in patient-centred outcomes, and further research is needed to assure their correct indication, guaranteeing safety. Rapid diagnosis methods are promising in NV-HAP, particularly for the quick results and information about antibiotic resistance. SUMMARY: NV-HAP poses several barriers for diagnosis compared with VAP, and the available knowledge is limited. A call for further research in diagnosis of nonventilated HAP is urgent.

Prevalence of Ventilatory Conditions for Dynamic Fluid Responsiveness Prediction in 2 Tertiary Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUND: Dynamic parameters for fluid responsiveness obtained from heart-lung interaction during invasive mechanical ventilation require specific conditions not always present in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of these conditions in critically ill patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study in 2 medical-surgical ICUs. We evaluated whether it would be possible to measure dynamic indices of fluid responsiveness when fluid expansion was administered. We recorded whether the patients were in controlled invasive mechanical ventilation with tidal volume >8 mL/kg and without arrhythmias. The proportion of patients who fulfilled these conditions was recorded. A post hoc subgroup analyses by terciles of Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS3) were performed. RESULTS: A total of 826 fluid challenges were undertaken in 424 patients during the study. The use of controlled mechanical ventilation with tidal volume > 8 mL/kg and without arrhythmias occurred in only 2.9% of the patients at the time of fluid challenge episodes. There was an increase in the prevalence of these conditions as the severity of the patients also increased: lower tercile of SAPS3 (0%), intermediate tercile (2%), and higher tercile (6.9%; P < .01 Pearson chi-square test). CONCLUSIONS: Respiratory-dependent dynamic parameters for predicting fluid responsiveness in ICU may have restricted applicability in daily practice, even in more severe patients, due to low prevalence of required conditions.

One-year survival and resource use after critical illness: impact of organ failure and residual organ dysfunction in a cohort study in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we evaluated the impacts of organ failure and residual dysfunction on 1-year survival and health care resource use using Intensive Care Unit (ICU) discharge as the starting point. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study, including all adult patients discharged alive after at least 72 h of ICU stay in a tertiary teaching hospital in Brazil. The starting point of follow-up was ICU discharge. Organ failure was defined as a value of 3 or 4 in its corresponding component of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, and residual organ dysfunction was defined as a score of 1 or 2. We fit a multivariate flexible Cox model to predict 1-year survival. RESULTS: We analyzed 690 patients. Mortality at 1 year after discharge was 27%. Using multivariate modeling, age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, organ dysfunctions and albumin at ICU discharge were the main determinants of 1-year survival. Age and organ failure were non-linearly associated with survival, and the impact of organ failure diminished over time. We conducted a subset analysis with 561 patients (81%) discharged without organ failure within the previous 24 h of discharge, and the number of residual organs in dysfunction remained strongly associated with reduced 1-year survival. The use of health care resources among hospital survivors was substantial within 1 year: 40% of the patients were rehospitalized, 52% visited the emergency department, 90% were seen at the outpatient clinic, 14% attended rehabilitation outpatient services, 11% were followed by the psychological or psychiatric service and 7% used the day hospital facility. Use of health care resources up to 30 days after hospital discharge was associated with the number of organs in dysfunction at ICU discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Organ failure was an important determinant of 1-year outcome of critically ill survivors. Nevertheless, the impact of organ failure tended to diminish over time. Resource use after critical illness was elevated among ICU survivors, and a targeted action is needed to deliver appropriate care and to reduce the late critical illness burden.

Relationship between acid-base status and inflammation in the critically ill.

INTRODUCTION: There is a complex interplay between changes in acid-base components and inflammation. This manuscript aims to explore associations between plasma cytokines and chemokines and acid-base status on admission to intensive care. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study in a 13-bed ICU in a tertiary-care center in Brazil. 87 unselected patients admitted to the ICU during a 2-year period were included. We measured multiple inflammatory mediators in plasma using multiplex assays and evaluated the association between mediator concentrations and acid-base variables using a variety of statistical modeling approaches, including generalized linear models, multiadaptive regression splines and principal component analysis. RESULTS: We found a positive association between strong ion gap (SIG) and plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)6, 8, 10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF); whereas albumin was negatively associated with IL6, IL7, IL8, IL10, TNF and interferon (IFN)α. Apparent strong ion difference (SIDa) was negatively associated with IL10 and IL17. A principal component analysis including SAPS 3 indicated that the association between acid-base components and inflammatory status was largely independent of illness severity, with both increased SIG and decreased SIDa (both drivers of acidosis) associated with increased inflammation. CONCLUSION: Acid-base variables (especially increased SIG, decreased albumin and decreased SIDa) on admission to ICU are associated with immunological activation. These findings should encourage new research into the effects of acid-base status on inflammation.

Early sedation and clinical outcomes of mechanically ventilated patients: a prospective multicenter cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Sedation overuse is frequent and possibly associated with poor outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, the association of early oversedation with clinical outcomes has not been thoroughly evaluated. The aim of this study was to assess the association of early sedation strategies with outcomes of critically ill adult patients under mechanical ventilation (MV). METHODS: A secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective cohort conducted in 45 Brazilian ICUs, including adult patients requiring ventilatory support and sedation in the first 48 hours of ICU admissions, was performed. Sedation depth was evaluated after 48 hours of MV. Multivariate analysis was used to identify variables associated with hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 322 patients were evaluated. Overall, ICU and hospital mortality rates were 30.4% and 38.8%, respectively. Deep sedation was observed in 113 patients (35.1%). Longer duration of ventilatory support was observed (7 (4 to 10) versus 5 (3 to 9) days, P = 0.041) and more tracheostomies were performed in the deep sedation group (38.9% versus 22%, P = 0.001) despite similar PaO2/FiO2 ratios and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) severity. In a multivariate analysis, age (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.02; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00 to 1.03), Charlson Comorbidity Index >2 (OR 2.06; 95% CI, 1.44 to 2.94), Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 (SAPS 3) score (OR 1.02; CI 95%, 1.00 to 1.04), severe ARDS (OR 1.44; CI 95%, 1.09 to 1.91) and deep sedation (OR 2.36; CI 95%, 1.31 to 4.25) were independently associated with increased hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Early deep sedation is associated with adverse outcomes and constitutes an independent predictor of hospital mortality in mechanically ventilated patients.

Factors associated with carbon dioxide transfer in an experimental model of severe acute kidney injury and hypoventilation during high bicarbonate continuous renal replacement therapy and oxygenation membrane support.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors influencing carbon dioxide transfer in a system that integrates an oxygenation membrane in series with high-bicarbonate continuous veno-venous hemodialysis in hypercapnic animals. METHODS: In an experimental setting, we induced severe acute kidney injury and hypercapnia in five female Landrace pigs. Subsequently, we initiated high (40mEq/L) bicarbonate continuous veno-venous hemodialysis with an oxygenation membrane in series to maintain a pH above 7.25. At intervals of 1 hour, 6 hours, and 12 hours following the initiation of continuous veno-venous hemodialysis, we performed standardized sweep gas flow titration to quantify carbon dioxide transfer. We evaluated factors associated with carbon dioxide transfer through the membrane lung with a mixed linear model. RESULTS: A total of 20 sweep gas flow titration procedures were conducted, yielding 84 measurements of carbon dioxide transfer. Multivariate analysis revealed associations among the following (coefficients ± standard errors): core temperature (+7.8 ± 1.6 °C, p < 0.001), premembrane partial pressure of carbon dioxide (+0.2 ± 0.1/mmHg, p < 0.001), hemoglobin level (+3.5 ± 0.6/g/dL, p < 0.001), sweep gas flow (+6.2 ± 0.2/L/minute, p < 0.001), and arterial oxygen saturation (-0.5 ± 0.2%, p = 0.019). Among these variables, and within the physiological ranges evaluated, sweep gas flow was the primary modifiable factor influencing the efficacy of low-blood-flow carbon dioxide removal. CONCLUSION: Sweep gas flow is the main carbon dioxide removal-related variable during continuous veno-venous hemodialysis with a high bicarbonate level coupled with an oxygenator. Other carbon dioxide transfer modulating variables included the hemoglobin level, arterial oxygen saturation, partial pressure of carbon dioxide and core temperature. These results should be interpreted as exploratory to inform other well-designed experimental or clinical studies.

Validation of a low-cost continuous renal replacement therapy dialysate fluid controller for experimental purposes.

BACKGROUND: Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) support is crucial for critically ill patients and it is underexplored in specific situations. Experimental CRRT offers a means to gain insights into these scenarios, but the prohibitive cost of CRRT machines limits their accessibility. This study aimed to develop and validate a low-cost and precise dialysate controller for experimental CRRT. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate a commendable level of precision in affluent flow control, with a robust correlation (R2 = 0.99) for continuous flow and a strong correlation (R2 = 0.95) for intermittent flow. Additionally, we observed acceptable agreement with a bias = 3.4 mL (upper limit 95% = 43.9 mL and lower limit 95% = - 37 mL) for continuous flow and bias = - 20.9 mL (upper limit 95% = 54 mL and lower limit 95% = - 95.7 mL) for intermittent flow, in this way, offering a precise CRRT dose for the subjects. Furthermore, we achieved excellent precision in the cumulative ultrafiltration net (UFnet), with a bias = - 2.8 mL (upper limit 95% = 6.5 mL and lower limit 95% = - 12 mL). These results remained consistent even at low affluent flow rates of 8, 12, and 20 mL/min, which are compatible with CRRT doses of 25-30 mL/kg for medium-sized animals. Moreover, the acceptable precision of our findings persisted when the dialysate controller was subjected to high filter dialysate chamber pressure for an extended duration, up to 797 min. CONCLUSIONS: The low-cost dialysate controller developed and tested in this study offers a precise means of regulating CRRT in experimental settings. Its affordability and accuracy render it a valuable instrument for studying CRRT support in unconventional clinical scenarios, particularly in middle-income countries' experimental ICU laboratories.

Eleven years impact of a stepwise educational program on healthcare associated infections and antibiotics consumption in an intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Hospital acquired infections (HAI) and liberal use of broad-spectrum antibiotics are common in intensive care unit(ICU)s of low-middle income countries. We investigated the long-term association of a stepwise multifaceted educational program with the incidence of HAIs and antibiotics use in a Brazilian ICU. We also evaluated the program's cost impact. METHODS: We retrieved data from a prospective daily collected database of a twelve bedrooms ICU, all admitted patients within a period of eleven years were enrolled. FINDINGS: From 03/15/2007 to 09/11/2019, we admitted 3059 patients where 2406 (79%) survived the ICU stay. Median age was 51 years-old, and median SAPS3 was 53. The initial density of catheter related blood infection (4.3 events / 1000 patients-day), urinary tract infection (9.2 event / 1000 patients-day) and ventilator associated pneumonia (54.9 events / 1000 patients-day) felt during the observed period to (0.35 events / 1000 patients-day), (0 events / 1000 patients-day), and (1.5 events / 1000 patients-day) respectively. The days of antibiotic therapy also decreased from 797.9 days of therapy / 1000 patients day to 292.3 days of therapy / 1000 patients day. The total cost per patient also decreased. The adjusted mortality rate was steady during the studied period from 23.2% to 22.9%. INTERPRETATION: A stepwise multifaceted educational program is an effective way to reduce hospital-associated infections, improve the rational use of antibiotics, and reduce costs. This impact occurred in a long term, and is probably consistent.

Adverse events leading to intensive care unit admission in a low-and-middle-income-country: A prospective cohort study and a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Adverse events (AE) are frequent in critical care and could be even more prevalent in LMIC due to a shortage of ICU beds and Human resources. There is limited data on how relevant AE are among the reasons for ICU admission, being all of which published by High-Income-Countries services. Our main goal is to describe the rate of adverse events-related ICU admissions and their preventability in a LMIC scenario, comparing our results with previous data. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study, during a one-year period, in two general ICUs from a tertiary public academic hospital. Our exposure of interest was ICU admission related to an AE in adult patients, we further characterized their preventability and clinical outcomes. We also performed a systematic review to identify and compare previous published data on ICU admissions due to AE. RESULTS: Among all ICU admissions, 12.1% were related to an AE (9.8% caused by an AE, 2.3% related but not directly caused by an AE). These ICU admissions were not associated with a higher risk of death, but most of them were potentially preventable (70.9% of preventability rate, representing 8.6% of all ICU admissions). The meta-analysis resulted in a proportion of ICU admissions due to AE of 11% (95% CI 6%-16%), with a preventability rate of 54% (95% CI 42%-66%). CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective cohort, adverse events were a relevant reason for ICU admission. This result is consistent with data retrieved from non-LMIC as shown in our meta-analysis. The high preventability rate described reinforces that quality and safety programs could work as a tool to optimize scarce resources.

Prevalence and predictors of confirmed infection in patients receiving empiric antimicrobials in the intensive care unit: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Infection diagnosis in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) is a challenge given the spectrum of conditions that present with systemic inflammation, the illness severity and the delay and imprecision of existing diagnostic methods. We hence sought to analyze the prevalence and predictors of confirmed infection after empirical antimicrobials during ICU stay. METHODS: retrospective cohort of prospectively collected ICU data in an academic tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. We included all adult patients given a new empirical antimicrobial during their ICU stay. We excluded patients using prophylactic or microbiologically guided antimicrobials. Primary outcome was infection status, defined as confirmed, probable, possible, or discarded. In a multivariable analysis, we explored variables associated with confirmed infection. RESULTS: After screening 1721 patients admitted to the ICU from November 2017 to November 2022, we identified 398 new antimicrobial prescriptions in 341 patients. After exclusions, 243 antimicrobial prescriptions for 206 patients were included. Infection was classified as confirmed in 61 (25.1%) prescriptions, probable in 39 (16.0%), possible in 103 (42.4%), and discarded in 40 (16.5%). The only factor associated with infection was deltaSOFA (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.36, p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Suspected infection in the ICU is frequently not confirmed. Clinicians should be aware of the need to avoid premature closure and revise diagnosis after microbiological results. Development and implementation of new tools for faster infection diagnosis and guiding of antimicrobial prescription should be a research priority.

Long-term mortality after critical care: what is the starting point?

Mortality is still the most assessed outcome in the critically ill patient and is routinely used as the primary end-point in intervention trials, cohort studies, and benchmarking analysis. Despite this, interest in patient-centered prognosis after ICU discharge is increasing, and several studies report quality of life and long-term outcomes after critical illness. In a recent issue of Critical Care, Cuthbertson and colleagues reported interesting results from a cohort of 439 patients with sepsis, who showed high ongoing long-term mortality rates after severe sepsis, reaching 61% at 5 years (from a starting point of ICU admission). Follow-up may start at ICU admission, after ICU discharge, or after hospital discharge. Using ICU admission as a starting point will include patients with a wide range of illness severities and reasons for ICU admission. As a result, important consequences of the ICU, such as rehabilitation and reduced quality of life, may be diluted in an unselected population. ICU discharge is another frequently used starting point. ICU discharge is a marker of better outcome and reduced risk for acute deterioration, making this an interesting starting point for studying long-term mortality, need for ICU readmission, and critical illness rehabilitation. Finally, using hospital discharge as the starting point will include patients with the minimal requirements to sustain an adequate condition in a non-monitored environment but will add a ?survivors bias?; that is, patients who survive critical illness are a special group among the critically ill. In this commentary, we discuss the heterogeneity in long-term mortality from recent studies in critical care medicine ? heterogeneity that may be a consequence simply of changing the follow-up starting point ? and propose a standardized follow-up starting point for future studies according to the outcome of interest.

Clinical outcomes of patients requiring ventilatory support in Brazilian intensive care units: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Contemporary information on mechanical ventilation (MV) use in emerging countries is limited. Moreover, most epidemiological studies on ventilatory support were carried out before significant developments, such as lung protective ventilation or broader application of non-invasive ventilation (NIV). We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, outcomes and risk factors for hospital mortality and failure of NIV in patients requiring ventilatory support in Brazilian intensive care units (ICU). METHODS: In a multicenter, prospective, cohort study, a total of 773 adult patients admitted to 45 ICUs over a two-month period requiring invasive ventilation or NIV for more than 24 hours were evaluated. Causes of ventilatory support, prior chronic health status and physiological data were assessed. Multivariate analysis was used to identifiy variables associated with hospital mortality and NIV failure. RESULTS: Invasive MV and NIV were used as initial ventilatory support in 622 (80%) and 151 (20%) patients. Failure with subsequent intubation occurred in 54% of NIV patients. The main reasons for ventilatory support were pneumonia (27%), neurologic disorders (19%) and non-pulmonary sepsis (12%). ICU and hospital mortality rates were 34% and 42%. Using the Berlin definition, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was diagnosed in 31% of the patients with a hospital mortality of 52%. In the multivariate analysis, age (odds ratio (OR), 1.03; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 1.03), comorbidities (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.28 to 3.17), associated organ failures (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.20), moderate (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.10 to 3.35) to severe ARDS (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.01 to 4.41), cumulative fluid balance over the first 72 h of ICU (OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.39 to 4.28), higher lactate (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.50), invasive MV (OR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.32 to 5.39) and NIV failure (OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 1.74 to 8.99) were independently associated with hospital mortality. The predictors of NIV failure were the severity of associated organ dysfunctions (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.34), ARDS (OR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.10 to 4.82) and positive fluid balance (OR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.02 to 4.30). CONCLUSIONS: Current mortality of ventilated patients in Brazil is elevated. Implementation of judicious fluid therapy and a watchful use and monitoring of NIV patients are potential targets to improve outcomes in this setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01268410.

Physicochemical analysis of blood and urine in the course of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients: a prospective, observational study.

BACKGROUND: Sequential physicochemical alterations in blood and urine in the course of acute kidney injury (AKI) development have not been previously described. We aimed to describe these alterations in parallel to traditional renal and acid-base parameters. METHODS: One hundred and sixty eight consecutive critically ill patients with no previous kidney disease, who had an indwelling urinary catheter at ICU admission and who remained with the catheter for at least two days without dialysis were included. A sample of blood and spot urine were collected simultaneously, once daily, until catheter removal or dialysis requirement. Traditional acid-base and renal parameters were sequentially evaluated in parallel to blood and urinary physicochemical parameters. Patients were classified during this period as having or not AKI and, for patients with AKI, duration (transient or persistent) and severity (creatinine-based AKIN stage) were evaluated. RESULTS: One hundred and thirteen patients (67.3%) had AKI: 92 at ICU admission and 21 during the observation period. AKI development was characterized in blood by increased values of phosphate and unmeasured anions (SIG), decreased albumin, and in urine by decreased values of sodium (NaU), chloride (ClU) as well as high urinary strong ion difference (SIDu). These alterations began to occur before AKI diagnosis, and they reverted in transient AKI but remained in persistent AKI. NaU, ClU and albumin decreased, and phosphate, SIG and SIDu increased with AKI severity progression. NaU and ClU values increased again when AKIN stage 3 was reached. CONCLUSIONS: Simultaneous physicochemical analysis of blood and urine revealed standardized alterations that characterize AKI development in critically ill patients. These alterations paralleled AKI duration and severity. Future studies should consider including sequential evaluation of urine biochemistry as part of the armamentarium for AKI diagnosis and management.

Association of fasting in the first 72 h of intensive care unit stay with outcomes of critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Whether fasting early in critical illness course is acceptable is not clear and high-quality data on this topic are lacking. To generate equipoise for future clinical trials and bring additional data to current literature, we compared outcomes of patients fasted during the first 72 h of intensive care unit (ICU) stay to patients receiving any nutrition support during this period. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of a medical ICU from a tertiary academic center in Brazil. Adult patients treated between November 2017 and February 2022 with an ICU length of stay of ≥5 days were included. Baseline and daily data were retrieved from the prospectively collected administrative database. We did 1:1 propensity score matching to compare patients fasting for at least 72 h with controls. Primary outcome was hospital mortality and secondary outcomes were other resources' use. RESULTS: During the study period, 1591 patients were cared for in this ICU, of which 998 stayed ≥5 days. After excluding readmissions and propensity score matching, 93 patients in the fasting group were matched to 93 controls. Hospital mortality was similar between fasting and matched control groups (odds ratio = 1.04; 95% CI = 0.56-1.94; P > 0.99). Secondary outcomes were not different between groups, including length of stay, days on mechanical ventilation, and incidence of new infections. CONCLUSION: Withholding nutrition support in the first 72 h of ICU stay was not associated with worse outcomes in this cohort of severe critically ill patients.

Intensivist-led ultrasound-guided percutaneous tracheostomy: a phase IV cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe, with a larger number of patients in a real-world scenario following routine implementation, intensivist-led ultrasound-guided percutaneous dilational tracheostomy and the possible risks and complications of the procedure not identified in clinical trials. METHODS: This was a phase IV cohort study of patients admitted to three intensive care units of a quaternary academic hospital who underwent intensivist-led ultrasound-guided percutaneous tracheostomy in Brazil from September 2017 to December 2021. RESULTS: There were 4,810 intensive care unit admissions during the study period; 2,084 patients received mechanical ventilation, and 287 underwent tracheostomy, 227 of which were performed at bedside by the intensive care team. The main reason for intensive care unit admission was trauma, and for perform a tracheostomy it was a neurological impairment or an inability to protect the airways. The median time from intubation to tracheostomy was 14 days. Intensive care residents performed 76% of the procedures. At least one complication occurred in 29.5% of the procedures, the most common being hemodynamic instability and extubation during the procedure, with only 3 serious complications. The intensive care unit mortality was 29.1%, and the hospital mortality was 43.6%. CONCLUSION: Intensivist-led ultrasound-guided percutaneous tracheostomy is feasible out of a clinical trial context with outcomes and complications comparable to those in the literature. Intensivists can acquire this competence during their training but should be aware of potential complications to enhance procedural safety.

A randomized trial of noninvasive positive end expiratory pressure in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and hypoxemic respiratory failure.

BACKGROUND: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a pandemic disease commonly associated with respiratory infections, hypoxemia, and death. Noninvasive PEEP has been shown to improve hypoxemia. In this study, we evaluated the physiologic effects of different levels of noninvasive PEEP in hypoxemic AIDS patients. METHODS: Thirty AIDS patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure received a randomized sequence of noninvasive PEEP (5, 10, or 15 cm H(2)O) for 20 min. PEEP was provided through a facial mask with pressure-support ventilation (PSV) of 5 cm H(2)O and an F(IO(2)) of 1. Patients were allowed to breathe spontaneously for a 20-min washout period in between each PEEP trial. Arterial blood gases and clinical variables were recorded after each PEEP treatment. RESULTS: The results indicate that oxygenation improves linearly with increasing levels of PEEP. However, oxygenation levels were similar regardless of the first PEEP level administered (5, 10, or 15 cm H(2)O), and only the subgroup that received an initial treatment of the lowest level of PEEP (ie, 5 cm H(2)O) showed further improvements in oxygenation when higher PEEP levels were subsequently applied. The P(aCO(2)) also increased in response to PEEP elevation, especially with the highest level of PEEP (ie, 15 cm H(2)O). PSV of 5 cm H(2)O use was associated with significant and consistent improvements in the subjective sensations of dyspnea and respiratory rate reported by patients treated with any level of PEEP (from 0 to 15 cm H(2)O). CONCLUSIONS: AIDS patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure improve oxygenation in response to a progressive sequential elevation of PEEP (up to 15 cm H(2)O). However, corresponding elevations in P(aCO(2)) limit the recommended level of PEEP to 10 cm H(2)O. At a level of 5 cm H(2)O, PSV promotes an improvement in the subjective sensation of dyspnea regardless of the PEEP level employed.