Lung ultrasound for the early diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia: an international multicenter study.

Purpose: To analyze the application of a lung ultrasound (LUS)-based diagnostic approach to patients suspected of COVID-19, combining the LUS likelihood of COVID-19 pneumonia with patient's symptoms and clinical history.

Methods: This is an international multicenter observational study in 20 US and European hospitals. Patients suspected of COVID-19 were tested with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab test and had an LUS examination.

Mildly elevated lactate levels are associated with microcirculatory flow abnormalities and increased mortality: a microSOAP post hoc analysis.

Background: Mildly elevated lactate levels (i.e., 1-2 mmol/L) are increasingly recognized as a prognostic finding in critically ill patients.

Comparison Between Doppler-Echocardiography and Uncalibrated Pulse Contour Method for Cardiac Output Measurement: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Objectives: Echocardiography and pulse contour methods allow, respectively, noninvasive and less invasive cardiac output estimation. The aim of the present study was to compare Doppler echocardiography with the pulse contour method MostCare for cardiac output estimation in a large and nonselected critically ill population.

Design: A prospective multicenter observational comparison study.

The role of side stream dark field microvasculature imaging in a rare case of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal endocarditis complicated by heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Sidestream dark field (SDF) imaging allows direct visualization of microvascular architecture and function. We examine the role of an SDF imaging device in visualizing the sub-lingual microvasculature as a surrogate for splanchnic microperfusion. We demonstrate good correlation between current monitoring techniques and the SDF imaging device in a rare case of vancomycin-resistant enterococcal (VRE) sepsis along with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).

International study on microcirculatory shock occurrence in acutely ill patients.

Objectives: Microcirculatory alterations are associated with adverse outcome in subsets of critically ill patients. The prevalence and significance of microcirculatory alterations in the general ICU population are unknown. We studied the prevalence of microcirculatory alterations in a heterogeneous ICU population and its predictive value in an integrative model of macro- and microcirculatory variables.

Ventricular mass: a clinical and surgical conundrum.

Cardiac tumours are rare in occurrence. The authors report a patient who presented with a history of recurrent transient ischemic attacks and cerebrovascular accidents. During rehabilitation he was incidentally diagnosed with a large left ventricular mass which was excised successfully with good clinical outcome.