Right ventricle free wall longitudinal strain screening of lung transplant candidates.

Background: Lung transplant (LUTX) candidates have subclinical right ventricular (RV) dysfunction, which has not yet been assessed by speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE)-derived RV free-wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS). To evaluate the prevalence of RV dysfunction by RVFWLS and its relationship with conventional RV echocardiographic indexes in LUTX candidates.

Methods: In a single-center prospective observational cohort study, from January 2021 to March 2023 consecutive LUTX candidates underwent cardiac catheterization, radionuclide ventriculography, standard and STE.

Outcomes of corticosteroid therapy in patients with viral community-acquired pneumonia.

Aim: The objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic effects of corticosteroids in adult patients hospitalized with viral community-acquired pneumonia.

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data collected prospectively from November 1996 to June 2024. All adult patients with viral community-acquired pneumonia were enrolled.

Early serum biomarkers to characterise different phenotypes of primary graft dysfunction after lung transplantation: a systematic scoping review.

Background: Lung transplantation (LUTX) is often complicated by primary graft dysfunction (PGD). Plasma biomarkers hold potential for PGD phenotyping and targeted therapy. This scoping review aims to collect the available literature in search of serum biomarkers for PGD phenotyping.

Portal hypertension-like pattern in coronavirus disease 2019 acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Objectives: Although respiratory failure is the most common feature in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), abdominal organ involvement is likewise frequently observed. To investigate visceral and thoracic circulation and abdominal organ damage in COVID-19 patients.

Materials And Methods: A monocentric observational study was carried on.

Corticosteroids in sepsis and community-acquired pneumonia.

Sepsis and septic shock, which are often caused by pneumonia, impact millions of people every year. Despite adequate antibiotic therapy, mortality remains high, up to 45% in septic shock, which is characterized by an inappropriate, excessive immune response of the host. Moreover, critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency often coexists.

Impact of Positive End-Expiratory Pressure and FiO on Lung Mechanics and Intrapulmonary Shunt in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with ARDS Due to COVID-19 Pneumonia.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of inspired oxygen fraction (FiO) and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on gas exchange in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19. Two FiO (100%, 40%) were tested at 3 decreasing levels of PEEP (15, 10, and 5 cmHO). At each FiO and PEEP, gas exchange, respiratory mechanics, hemodynamics, and the distribution of ventilation and perfusion were assessed with electrical impedance tomography.

Incidence of asymptomatic catheter-related thrombosis in intensive care unit patients: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Catheter-related thrombosis (CRT) incidence, rate, and risk factors vary in literature due to differences in populations, catheters, diagnostic methods, and statistical approaches. The aim of this single-center, prospective, observational study was to assess incidence, incidence rate (IR), cumulative incidence, and risk factors by means of IR ratio (IRR) of asymptomatic CRT in a non-oncologic Intensive Care Unit (ICU) population. CRT development was assessed daily by means of ultrasound screening.

Incidence, microbiological and immunological characteristics of ventilator-associated pneumonia assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage and endotracheal aspirate in a prospective cohort of COVID-19 patients: CoV-AP study.

Background: No univocal recommendation exists for microbiological diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Sampling of either proximal or distal respiratory tract likely impacts on the broad range of VAP incidence between cohorts. Immune biomarkers to rule-in/rule-out VAP diagnosis, although promising, have not yet been validated.

Hemodynamic failure and graft dysfunction after lung transplant: A possible clinical continuum with immediate and long-term consequences.

Introduction: The postoperative hemodynamic management after lung transplant (LUTX) is guided by limited evidence. We aimed to describe and evaluate risk factors and outcomes of postoperative vasoactive support of LUTX recipients.

Methods: In a single-center retrospective analysis of consecutive adult LUTX, two cohorts were identified: (1) patients needing prolonged vasoactive support (>12 h from ICU admission) (VASO+); (2) or not (VASO-).

Potential benefits of using an energy-dense, high-protein formula enriched with β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, fructo-oligosaccharide, and vitamin D for enteral feeding in the ICU: A pilot case-control study in COVID-19 patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential benefits of using an energy-dense, high-protein (HP) formula enriched with β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB), fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), and vitamin D (VitD) for enteral feeding in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This was a nested case-control multicenter study. Mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 in whom enteral nutrition was not contraindicated and receiving an energy-dense, HP-HMB-FOS-VitD formula (1.

The role of hypoxia and inflammation in the regulation of iron metabolism and erythropoiesis in COVID-19: The IRONCOVID study.

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) can be considered as a human pathological model of inflammation combined with hypoxia. In this setting, both erythropoiesis and iron metabolism appear to be profoundly affected by inflammatory and hypoxic stimuli, which act in the opposite direction on hepcidin regulation. The impact of low blood oxygen levels on erythropoiesis and iron metabolism in the context of human hypoxic disease (e.

Use of high flow nasal cannula in patients with acute respiratory failure in general wards under intensivists supervision: a single center observational study.

Background: Few data exist on high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) use in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) admitted to general wards.

Rationale And Objectives: To retrospectively evaluate feasibility and safety of HFNC in general wards under the intensivist-supervision and after specific training.

Methods: Patients with ARF (dyspnea, respiratory rate-RR > 25/min, 150 < PaO/FiO < 300 mmHg during oxygen therapy) admitted to nine wards of an academic hospital were included.

Impact of dexamethasone on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: a propensity-matched cohort study.

Objective: To assess the impact of treatment with steroids on the incidence and outcome of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients.

Design: Propensity-matched retrospective cohort study from February 24 to December 31, 2020, in 4 dedicated COVID-19 Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Lombardy (Italy).

Patients: Adult consecutive mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients were subdivided into two groups: (1) treated with low-dose corticosteroids (dexamethasone 6 mg/day intravenous for 10 days) (DEXA+); (2) not treated with corticosteroids (DEXA-).

Early caloric deficit is associated with a higher risk of death in invasive ventilated COVID-19 patients.

Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional support management in mechanically ventilated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and explore the association between early caloric deficit and mortality, taking possible confounders (i.e. obesity) into consideration.

Pulmonary volume-feedback and ventilatory pattern after bilateral lung transplantation using neurally adjusted ventilatory assist ventilation.

Background: Bilateral lung transplantation results in pulmonary vagal denervation, which potentially alters respiratory drive, volume-feedback, and ventilatory pattern. We hypothesised that Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) ventilation, which is driven by diaphragm electrical activity (EAdi), would reveal whether vagally mediated pulmonary-volume feedback is preserved in the early phases after bilateral lung transplantation.

Methods: We prospectively studied bilateral lung transplant recipients within 48 h of surgery.

Hospital-Acquired Infections in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Background: Few small studies have described hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) occurring in patients with COVID-19.

Research Question: What characteristics in critically ill patients with COVID-19 are associated with HAIs and how are HAIs associated with outcomes in these patients?

Study Design And Methods: Multicenter retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data including adult patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to eight Italian hub hospitals from February 20, 2020, through May 20, 2020. Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate Weibull regression models were used to assess incidence, microbial cause, resistance patterns, risk factors (ie, demographics, comorbidities, exposure to medication), and impact on outcomes (ie, ICU discharge, length of ICU and hospital stays, and duration of mechanical ventilation) of microbiologically confirmed HAIs.

Prone position in intubated, mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19: a multi-centric study of more than 1000 patients.

Background: Limited data are available on the use of prone position in intubated, invasively ventilated patients with Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Aim of this study is to investigate the use and effect of prone position in this population during the first 2020 pandemic wave.

Methods: Retrospective, multicentre, national cohort study conducted between February 24 and June 14, 2020, in 24 Italian Intensive Care Units (ICU) on adult patients needing invasive mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure caused by COVID-19.

Right Ventricle Dysfunction in Patients With Adult Cystic Fibrosis Enlisted for Lung Transplant.

Knowledge of preoperative right heart function of adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) awaiting lung transplant (LUTX) is limited. The echocardiography of adult patients with CF enlisted for LUTX was retrospectively analyzed and compared with standards and invasive analyses (right heart catheterization, multigated radionuclide ventriculography). We included 49 patients (reported as mean ± standard deviation; 29 ± 9 years of age; forced expiratory volume in first second of expiration, 31% ± 11% predicted; lung allocation score, 36 ± 5; invasive mean pulmonary artery pressure, 17 ± 5 mm Hg; multigated radionuclide ventriculography right ventricle [RV] ejection fraction, 50% ± 9%).

Practical Clinical Application of an Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal System in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Acute on Chronic Respiratory Failure.

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 11 patients supported with a veno-venous low-flow extracorporeal carbon dioxide (CO2) removal (ECCO2R) device featuring a large gas exchange surface membrane lung (ML) (i.e., 1.