Thoracic epidural analgesia in intensive care unit patients with acute pancreatitis: the EPIPAN multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background: Findings from preclinical studies and one pilot clinical trial suggest potential benefits of epidural analgesia in acute pancreatitis. We aimed to assess the efficacy of thoracic epidural analgesia, in addition to usual care, in improving clinical outcomes of intensive care unit patients with acute pancreatitis.

Methods: A multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled trial including adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of acute pancreatitis upon admission to the intensive care unit.

Risk factors and events in the adult intensive care unit associated with pain as self-reported at the end of the intensive care unit stay.

Background: The short-term and long-term consequences of the most frequent painful procedures performed in the ICU are unclear. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with pain-related discomfort perceived by critically ill patients during the whole ICU stay as self-reported by patients at the end of their ICU stay.

Methods: The study involved 34 ICUs.

Implementation of French Recommendations for the Prevention and the Treatment of Hospital-acquired Pneumonia: A Cluster-randomized Trial.

Background: We determined whether an audit on the adherence to guidelines for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) can improve the outcomes of patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods: This study was conducted at 35 ICUs in 30 hospitals. We included consecutive, adult patients hospitalized in ICUs for 3 days or more.

Personalised mechanical ventilation tailored to lung morphology versus low positive end-expiratory pressure for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in France (the LIVE study): a multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Background: The effect of personalised mechanical ventilation on clinical outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains uncertain and needs to be evaluated. We aimed to test whether a mechanical ventilation strategy that was personalised to individual patients' lung morphology would improve the survival of patients with ARDS when compared with standard of care.

Methods: We designed a multicentre, single-blind, stratified, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial enrolling patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS in 20 university or non-university intensive care units in France.

Assessment of patients' self-perceived intensive care unit discomforts: Validation of the 18-item version of the IPREA.

Background And Aims: We reported the validation of the 18-item version of the 'Inconforts des Patients de REAnimation (IPREA)' questionnaire that includes 2 new items exploring feeling depressed and shortness of breath during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay.

Methods: The validation process was integrated in a multicenter, cluster-randomized, controlled, two-parallel group study built to assess the effectiveness of a tailored multicomponent program for reducing self-perceived discomfort in the ICU. All patients aged 18 years or older who survived an ICU stay of 3 calendar days or more were eligible for inclusion.

Tailored multicomponent program for discomfort reduction in critically ill patients may decrease post-traumatic stress disorder in general ICU survivors at 1 year.

Purpose: Reducing discomfort in the intensive care unit (ICU) should have a positive effect on long-term outcomes. This study assessed whether a tailored multicomponent program for discomfort reduction was effective in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at 1 year in general ICU survivors.

Methods: This study is a prospective observational comparative effectiveness cohort study involving 30 ICUs.

A tailored multicomponent program to reduce discomfort in critically ill patients: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Critically ill patients are exposed to stressful conditions and experience several discomforts. The primary objective was to assess whether a tailored multicomponent program is effective for reducing self-perceived discomfort.

Methods: In a cluster-randomized two-arm parallel trial, 34 French adult intensive care units (ICUs) without planned interventions to reduce discomfort were randomized, 17 to the arm including a 6-month period of program implementation followed by a 6-month period without the program (experimental group), and 17 to the arm with an inversed sequence (control group).

Epidural analgesia in critically ill patients with acute pancreatitis: the multicentre randomised controlled EPIPAN study protocol.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in its most severe forms. Most patients with severe AP require intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation, frequently for more than 7 days, which is associated with the worst outcome. Recent increasing evidence from preclinical and clinical studies support the beneficial effects of epidural analgesia (EA) in AP, such as increased gut barrier function and splanchnic, pancreatic and renal perfusion, decreased liver damage and inflammatory response, and reduced mortality.

Epidural analgesia in the intensive care unit: An observational series of 121 patients.

Background: Epidural analgesia (EA) has been more investigated during the perioperative period than in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Recent studies support beneficial effects for EA beyond analgesia itself. However, data on feasibility and safety are still lacking in the ICU.