A tidal volume of 7 mL/kg PBW or higher may be safe for COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has revived the debate on the optimal tidal volume during acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Some experts recommend 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight (PBW) for all patients, while others suggest 7-9 mL/kg PBW for those with compliance >50 mL/cmHO. We investigated whether a tidal volume ≥ 7 ml/kg PBW may be safe in COVID-19 patients, particularly those with compliance >50 mL/cmHO.

Effect of decreasing PEEP on hyperinflation and collapse in COVID-19: A computed tomography study.

Background: High positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP>10 cmHO) is commonly used in mechanically ventilated hypoxemic patients with COVID-19. However, some epidemiological and physiological studies indirectly suggest that using a lower PEEP may primarily and beneficially decrease lung hyperinflation in this population. Herein we directly quantified the effect of decreasing PEEP from 15 to 10 cmHO on lung hyperinflation and collapse in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19.

Early Hospital Discharge on Day Two Post Robotic Lobectomy with Telehealth Home Monitoring: A Pilot Study.

Despite the adoption of enhanced recovery programs, the reported postoperative length of stay after robotic surgery is 4 days even in highly specialized centers. We report preliminary results of a pilot study for a new protocol of early discharge (on day 2) with telehealth home monitoring after robotic lobectomy for lung cancer. All patients with a caregiver were discharged on postoperative day 2 with a telemonitoring device if they satisfied specific discharge criteria.

Lung response to prone positioning in mechanically-ventilated patients with COVID-19.

Background: Prone positioning improves survival in moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) unrelated to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This benefit is probably mediated by a decrease in alveolar collapse and hyperinflation and a more homogeneous distribution of lung aeration, with fewer harms from mechanical ventilation. In this preliminary physiological study we aimed to verify whether prone positioning causes analogue changes in lung aeration in COVID-19.

Transparent decision support for mechanical ventilation using visualization of clinical preferences.

Background: Systems aiding in selecting the correct settings for mechanical ventilation should visualize patient information at an appropriate level of complexity, so as to reduce information overload and to make reasoning behind advice transparent. Metaphor graphics have been applied to this effect, but these have largely been used to display diagnostic and physiologic information, rather than the clinical decision at hand. This paper describes how the conflicting goals of mechanical ventilation can be visualized and applied in making decisions.

Circulating Skeletal Troponin During Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation and Their Association to Diaphragmatic Function: A Pilot Study.

Patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) may need mechanical ventilation (MV), which can lead to diaphragmatic dysfunction and muscle wasting, thus making difficult the weaning from the ventilator. Currently, there are no biomarkers specific for respiratory muscle and their function can only be assessed trough ultrasound or other invasive methods. Previously, the fast and slow isoform of the skeletal troponin I (fsTnI and ssTnI, respectively) have shown to be specific markers of muscle damage in healthy volunteers.

Respiratory Drive in Patients with Sepsis and Septic Shock: Modulation by High-flow Nasal Cannula.

Background: Experimental and pilot clinical data suggest that spontaneously breathing patients with sepsis and septic shock may present increased respiratory drive and effort, even in the absence of pulmonary infection. The study hypothesis was that respiratory drive and effort may be increased in septic patients and correlated with extrapulmonary determinant and that high-flow nasal cannula may modulate drive and effort.

Methods: Twenty-five nonintubated patients with extrapulmonary sepsis or septic shock were enrolled.

Time course of risk factors associated with mortality of 1260 critically ill patients with COVID-19 admitted to 24 Italian intensive care units.

Purpose: To evaluate the daily values and trends over time of relevant clinical, ventilatory and laboratory parameters during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay and their association with outcome in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19).

Methods: In this retrospective-prospective multicentric study, we enrolled COVID-19 patients admitted to Italian ICUs from February 22 to May 31, 2020. Clinical data were daily recorded.

Short-term health-related quality of life, physical function and psychological consequences of severe COVID-19.

Background: Survivors of severe COVID-19 are at risk of impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and persistent physical and psychological disability after ICU and hospital discharge. The subsequent social burden is a major concern. We aimed to assess the short-term HRQoL, physical function and prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms of invasively mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients treated in our ICU.

Return to Work After Coronavirus Disease 2019 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Intensive Care Admission: Prospective, Case Series at 6 Months From Hospital Discharge.

Objectives: Joblessness is common in survivors from critical care. Our aim was to describe rates of return to work versus unemployment following coronavirus disease 2019 acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring intensive care admission.

Design: Single-center, prospective case series.

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.

Nasal high flow higher than 60 L/min in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: a physiological study.

Background: Nasal high flow delivered at flow rates higher than 60 L/min in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure might be associated with improved physiological effects. However, poor comfort might limit feasibility of its clinical use.

Methods: We performed a prospective randomized cross-over physiological study on 12 ICU patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.

Gravitational distribution of regional opening and closing pressures, hysteresis and atelectrauma in ARDS evaluated by electrical impedance tomography.

Background: The physiological behavior of lungs affected by the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) differs between inspiration and expiration and presents heterogeneous gravity-dependent distribution. This phenomenon, highlighted by the different distribution of opening/closing pressure and by the hysteresis of the pressure-volume curve, can be studied by CT scan, but the technique expose the patient to radiations, cannot track changes during time and is not feasible at the bedside. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) could help in assessing at the bedside regional inspiratory and expiratory mechanical properties.

Personalized Positive End-Expiratory Pressure in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Comparison Between Optimal Distribution of Regional Ventilation and Positive Transpulmonary Pressure.

Objectives: Different techniques exist to select personalized positive end-expiratory pressure in patients affected by the acute respiratory distress syndrome. The positive end-expiratory transpulmonary pressure strategy aims to counteract dorsal lung collapse, whereas electrical impedance tomography could guide positive end-expiratory pressure selection based on optimal homogeneity of ventilation distribution. We compared the physiologic effects of positive end-expiratory pressure guided by electrical impedance tomography versus transpulmonary pressure in patients affected by acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Dynamic bedside assessment of the physiologic effects of prone position in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients by electrical impedance tomography.

Background: Prone position (PP) improves acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) survival by reducing the risk of ventilation-induced lung injury. However, inter-individual variability is a hallmark of ARDS and lung protection by PP might not be optimal in all patients. In the present study, we dynamically assessed physiologic effects of PP by electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and identified predictors of improved lung protection by PP in ARDS patients.

Expiratory flow limitation in intensive care: prevalence and risk factors.

Background: Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) is characterised by a markedly reduced expiratory flow insensitive to the expiratory driving pressure. The presence of EFL can influence the respiratory and cardiovascular function and damage the small airways; its occurrence has been demonstrated in different diseases, such as COPD, asthma, obesity, cardiac failure, ARDS, and cystic fibrosis. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of EFL in patients requiring mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure and to determine the main clinical characteristics, the risk factors and clinical outcome associated with the presence of EFL.

Effects of inspiratory flow on lung stress, pendelluft, and ventilation heterogeneity in ARDS: a physiological study.

Background: High inspiratory flow might damage the lungs by mechanisms not fully understood yet. We hypothesized that increasing inspiratory flow would increase lung stress, ventilation heterogeneity, and pendelluft in ARDS patients undergoing volume-controlled ventilation with constant tidal volume and that higher PEEP levels would reduce this phenomenon.

Methods: Ten ARDS patients were studied during protective volume-controlled ventilation.

Noninvasive assessment of airflows by electrical impedance tomography in intubated hypoxemic patients: an exploratory study.

Background: Noninvasive monitoring of maximal inspiratory and expiratory flows (MIF and MEF, respectively) by electrical impedance tomography (EIT) might enable early recognition of changes in the mechanical properties of the respiratory system due to new conditions or in response to treatments. We aimed to validate EIT-based measures of MIF and MEF against spirometry in intubated hypoxemic patients during controlled ventilation and spontaneous breathing. Moreover, regional distribution of maximal airflows might interact with lung pathology and increase the risk of additional ventilation injury.

Increasing support by nasal high flow acutely modifies the ROX index in hypoxemic patients: A physiologic study.

The ROX (Respiratory rate-OXygenation) index is an early predictor of failure of nasal high flow (NHF), with lower values indicating higher risk of intubation. We measured the ROX index at set flow rate of 30 and 60 l/min in 57 hypoxemic patients on NHF. Patients with increased ROX index values at higher flow (n = 40) showed worse baseline oxygenation, higher respiratory rate and lower ROX index in comparison to patients with unchanged or decreased ROX index values (n = 17).

Nasal high flow: physiology, efficacy and safety in the acute care setting, a narrative review.

Nasal high flow (NHF) is a promising novel oxygen delivery device, whose mechanisms of action offer some beneficial effects over conventional oxygen systems. It is considered to have a number of physiological effects: it improves oxygenation, dynamic lung compliance, homogeneity and end expiratory lung volume; it decreases anatomical dead space and generates a positive airway pressure that can reduce respiratory rate, the work of breathing, and enhance patient comfort. NHF has been used as a prophylactic tool or as a treatment device mostly in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure such as pre-oxygenation before intubation, immunocompromised patients and acute heart failure.

Altered erythroid-related miRNA levels as a possible novel biomarker for detection of autologous blood transfusion misuse in sport.

Background: Autologous blood transfusion (ABT) is a performance-enhancing method prohibited in sport; its detection is a key issue in the field of anti-doping. Among novel markers enabling ABT detection, microRNAs (miRNAs) might be considered a promising analytical tool.

Study Design And Methods: We studied the changes of erythroid-related microRNAs following ABT, to identify novel biomarkers.

Fast skeletal troponin I, but not the slow isoform, is increased in patients under statin therapy: a pilot study.

Introduction: Statin therapy is often associated with muscle complaints and increased serum creatine kinase (CK). However, although essential in determining muscle damage, this marker is not specific for skeletal muscle. Recent studies on animal models have shown that slow and fast isoforms of skeletal troponin I (ssTnI and fsTnI, respectively) can be useful markers of skeletal muscle injury.

Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) level to prevent expiratory flow limitation during cardiac surgery: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial (EFLcore study).

Background: Lung dysfunction commonly occurs after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Randomized evidence suggests that the presence of expiratory flow limitation (EFL) in major abdominal surgery is associated with postoperative pulmonary complications. Appropriate lung recruitment and a correctly set positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) level may prevent EFL.

An open-loop, physiological model based decision support system can reduce pressure support while acting to preserve respiratory muscle function.

Purpose: To assess whether a clinical decision support system (CDSS) suggests PS and FIO maintaining appropriate breathing effort, and minimizing FIO.

Materials: Prospective, cross-over study in PS ventilated ICU patients. Over support (150% baseline) and under support (50% baseline) were applied by changing PS (15 patients) or PEEP (8 patients).

An Open-Loop, Physiologic Model-Based Decision Support System Can Provide Appropriate Ventilator Settings.

Objectives: To evaluate the physiologic effects of applying advice on mechanical ventilation by an open-loop, physiologic model-based clinical decision support system.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: University and Regional Hospitals' ICUs.