Cardiogenic shock in patients with active onco-hematological malignancies: A multicenter retrospective study.

Purpose: Onco-hematological (OH) patients face significant cardiovascular risks due to malignancy and drug toxicity. Data are limited on the characteristics and outcomes of OH patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) in intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 214 OH patients with CS across 22 ICUs (2010-2021).

Intracranial complications in adult patients with severe pneumococcal meningitis: a retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Background: We aimed to investigate the association of intracranial complications diagnosed on neuroimaging with neurological outcomes of adults with severe pneumococcal meningitis.

Methods: We performed a retrospective multicenter study on consecutive adults diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis requiring at least 48 h of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and undergoing neuroimaging, between 2005 and 2021. All neuroimaging were reanalyzed to look for intracranial complications which were categorized as (1) ischemic lesion, (2) intracranial hemorrhage (3) abscess/empyema, (4) ventriculitis, (5) cerebral venous thrombosis, (6) hydrocephalus, (7) diffuse cerebral oedema.

Contribution and evolution of respiratory muscles function in weaning outcome of ventilator-dependent patients.

Background: The present study was designed to investigate the evolution and the impact of respiratory muscles function and limb muscles strength on weaning success in prolonged weaning of tracheotomized patients. The primary objective was to determine whether the change in respiratory muscles function and limb muscles strength over the time is or is not associated with weaning success.

Methods: Tracheotomized patients who were ventilator dependent upon admission at a weaning center were eligible.

Nasal High Flow to Modulate Dyspnea in Orally Intubated Patients.

Rationale: High flow therapy reduces dyspnea in acute respiratory failure but the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated.

Objectives: To compare dyspnea, airway occlusion pressure (P) and inspiratory work with and without nasal high flow (NHF, FiO 21%, temperature 31°C) in intubated patients under pressure support ventilation and during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT).

Methods: Dyspnea (numerical rating scale, NRS and Mechanical Ventilation - Respiratory Distress Observational Scale, MV-RDOS), P, esophageal pressure, respiratory muscles EMG, arterial blood gas were compared in intubated patients on pressure support ventilation presenting a dyspnea-NRS > 3 during two sequences: 1) pressure support ventilation with NHF at 0 L/min followed by 30, 50 and 60 L/min (the last three were randomized) and 2) a SBT with NHF at 0 and 50 L/min (randomized).

How to prevent and how to treat dyspnea in critically ill patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation.

Purpose Of Review: To summarize current data regarding the prevalence, risk factors, consequences, assessment and treatment of dyspnea in critically ill patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation.

Recent Findings: In intubated patients, dyspnea is frequent, perceived as intense, and associated with unfavorable outcomes such as immediate and unbearable distress (e.g.

Multimodal physiological correlates of dyspnea ratings during breath-holding in healthy humans.

Introduction And Objectives: Dyspnea is associated with fear and intense suffering and is often assessed using visual analog scales (VAS) or numerical rating scales (NRS). However, the physiological correlates of such ratings are not well known. Using the voluntary breath-holding model of induced dyspnea, we studied healthy volunteers to investigate the temporal relationship between dyspnea, the neural drive to breathe assessed in terms of involuntary thoracoabdominal movements (ITMs) and neurovegetative responses.

Causes, management, and prognosis of severe gastrointestinal bleedings in critically ill patients with pancreatic cancer: A retrospective multicenter study.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a leading cause of intensive care unit (ICU) admission in pancreatic cancer patients.

Aims: To analyze causes, ICU mortality and hemostatic treatment success rates of GI bleeding in pancreatic cancer patients requiring ICU admission.

Methods: Retrospective multicenter cohort study between 2009 and 2021.

Case 327: Exogenous Lipoid Pneumonia.

A 58-year-old male patient with an active smoking status was admitted twice to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary referral thoracic center for severe hypercapnic acute respiratory failure and persistent bilateral chest radiograph opacities that were unchanged over the course of the two ICU admissions within a 3-month period. The patient had obesity (body mass index, 36), stage 3 vascular chronic renal insufficiency, and hebephrenic schizophrenia treated with haloperidol, carbamazepine, and cyamemazine. He reported chronic dyspnea on exertion, which worsened for 6 months.

Low dose of morphine to relieve dyspnea in acute respiratory failure: the OpiDys double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Background: Morphine relieves dyspnea in various clinical circumstances. Whether or not this applies to patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) for acute respiratory failure (ARF) is unknown. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of low-dose morphine on dyspnea in patients admitted to the ICU for ARF.

Breathlessness assessment, management and impact in the intensive care unit: a rapid review and narrative synthesis.

Background: Adults in the intensive care unit (ICU) commonly experience distressing symptoms and other concerns such as pain, delirium, and breathlessness. Breathlessness management is not supported by any ICU guidelines, unlike other symptoms.

Aim: To review the literature relating to (i) prevalence, intensity, assessment, and management of breathlessness in critically ill adults in the ICU receiving invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) and high-flow oxygen therapy, (HFOT), (ii) the impact of breathlessness on ICU patients with regard to engagement with rehabilitation.

Clues for improvement of research in objective structured clinical examination.

While objective clinical structured examination (OSCE) is a worldwide recognized and effective method to assess clinical skills of undergraduate medical students, the latest Ottawa conference on the assessment of competences raised vigorous debates regarding the future and innovations of OSCE. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive view of the global research activity on OSCE over the past decades and to identify clues for its improvement. We performed a bibliometric and scientometric analysis of OSCE papers published until March 2024.

Dyspnea is severe and associated with a higher intubation rate in de novo acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.

Background: Dyspnea is a key symptom of de novo acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. This study explores dyspnea and its association with intubation and mortality in this population.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.

[Non-invasive ventilation in acute respiratory failure of oncology-hematology patients: What are its current benefits and limitations?].

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a leading cause, along with sepsis, of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of patients with active cancer. Presenting variable clinical severity, ARF in onco-hematological patients has differing etiologies, primarily represented by possibly opportunistic acute infectious pneumonia (de novo hypoxemic ARF), and decompensation in chronic cardiac or respiratory diseases (e.g.

Case 327.

A 58-year-old man who was an active smoker was admitted twice to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary referral thoracic center for severe hypercapnic acute respiratory failure and persistent bilateral chest radiograph opacities that were unchanged over the course of the two ICU admissions within a 3-month period (Fig 1). He had obesity (body mass index, 36 kg/m), stage 3 vascular chronic renal insufficiency, and hebephrenic schizophrenia treated with haloperidol, carbamazepine, and cyamemazine. He reported chronic dyspnea on exertion, which worsened for 6 months.

Dyspnoea in acutely ill mechanically ventilated adult patients: an ERS/ESICM statement.

This statement outlines a review of the literature and current practice concerning the prevalence, clinical significance, diagnosis and management of dyspnoea in critically ill, mechanically ventilated adult patients. It covers the definition, pathophysiology, epidemiology, short- and middle-term impact, detection and quantification, and prevention and treatment of dyspnoea. It represents a collaboration of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM).

Neurophysiological basis of respiratory discomfort improvement by mandibular advancement in awake OSA patients.

Patients with obstructive sleep apneas (OSA) do not complain from dyspnea during resting breathing. Placement of a mandibular advancement device (MAD) can lead to a sense of improved respiratory comfort ("pseudo-relief") ascribed to a habituation phenomenon. To substantiate this conjecture, we hypothesized that, in non-dyspneic awake OSA patients, respiratory-related electroencephalographic figures, abnormally present during awake resting breathing, would disappear or change in parallel with MAD-associated pseudo-relief.

Critically Ill Patients with Visceral Nocardia Infection, France and Belgium, 2004-2023.

We studied 50 patients with invasive nocardiosis treated during 2004-2023 in intensive care centers in France and Belgium. Most (65%) died in the intensive care unit or in the year after admission. Nocardia infections should be included in the differential diagnoses for patients in the intensive care setting.

An Initial Investigation of Diaphragm Neurostimulation in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Background: Lung protective ventilation aims at limiting lung stress and strain. By reducing the amount of pressure transmitted by the ventilator into the lungs, diaphragm neurostimulation offers a promising approach to minimize ventilator-induced lung injury. This study investigates the physiologic effects of diaphragm neurostimulation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients.

Herpes Simplex Virus Hepatitis in Patients Requiring Intensive Care Unit Admission: A Retrospective, Multicenter, Observational Study.

The clinical features and short-term prognosis of patients admitted to the intensive care unit for herpes hepatitis are lacking. Of 33 patients admitted between 2006 and 2022, 22 were immunocompromised, 4 were pregnant women, and 23 died. Sixteen patients developed a hemophagocytic syndrome.

Clinical features and outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer requiring unplanned medical ICU admission: A retrospective multicenter study.

Background: We sought to describe the reasons for intensive care unit (ICU) admission and outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer requiring unplanned medical ICU admission.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective cohort study in five ICUs from 2009 to 2020. All patients with pancreatic cancer admitted to the ICU were included.