Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Postcardiotomy Cardiogenic Shock.

Postcardiotomy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (PC-ECMO), the most frequent indication for ECMO in the United States, is increasingly used as the first-line mechanical circulatory support in patients who are refractory to conventional treatment. Despite increasing use of PC-ECMO, limited evidence is available regarding its safety, efficacy, and optimal timing for initiation and weaning. The decision to use PC-ECMO often is made in the absence of robust clinical data, leading to variability in patient selection, management, and outcomes across different institutions.

Phenobarbital-Based Protocol for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in a Medical ICU: Pre-Post Implementation Study.

Unlabelled: We assessed the efficacy and safety of PB compared with benzodiazepine (BZD)-based protocols in treating AWS in MICU.

Design: Single-center, pre-post protocol implementation study.

Setting: The setting is a forty-bed MICU in a tertiary-level academic medical center.

Tocilizumab for treatment of patients with severe COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Tocilizumab was approved for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy induced cytokine release syndrome and it may provide clinical benefit for selected COVID-19 patients.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed hypoxic COVID-19 patients who were consecutively admitted between March 13, 2020 and April 19, 2020. Patients with lung infiltrates and elevated inflammatory markers received a single dose of tocilizumab if no contraindication was present.

Rare Presentation of Pulmonary Embolism Amidst Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era: Utility of Multiorgan Ultrasonography.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the underlying cause of a global crisis that the entire world is facing. It is a highly contagious viral infection, which is why social distancing seems to be effective. Its ability to survive on various surfaces and aerosolize necessitates very meticulous precautions, including airborne isolation for severely ill patients requiring mechanical ventilation.

Left Internal Mammary Artery Transection: A Rare Complication of Pericardiocentesis.

Pericardiocentesis is a procedure performed to aspirate fluid from the pericardial space. It is most often performed as an acute therapeutic procedure in cases of massive pericardial effusion or pericardial tamponade. Our case describes an unusual complication of pericardiocentesis leading to hemorrhagic pericardial effusion and hemodynamic compromise.