Lung ultrasound in pneumonia: a guide for effective implementation.

In patients with pneumonia, lung ultrasound is a useful diagnostic and monitoring tool and has been proven to be superior to physical examination and chest X-ray in terms of feasibility and diagnostic accuracy. Guidelines do not address lung ultrasound as part of the diagnostic workup or as monitoring tool which is surprising. This article provides a succinct overview on the currently available evidence on efficacy and utility of lung ultrasound in patients with a clinical suspicion of pneumonia.

Socioeconomic status and adherence to COVID-19 preventative measures in Australia: A national cohort study.

Issue Addressed: The uptake of recommended preventative measures is a critical concern for protecting the public against COVID-19 outbreaks and future pandemics. However, it is unclear to what extent COVID-19 preventative measures were followed in Australia. This study aims to determine adherence level to COVID-19 preventative measures in 2021, and whether these were associated with socioeconomic status (SES).

The Potential Use and Value of a Wearable Monitoring Bracelet for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Qualitative Study Investigating the Patient and Health Care Professional Perspectives.

Background: The occurrence of exacerbations has major effects on the health of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Monitoring devices that measure (vital) parameters hold promise for timely identification and treatment of exacerbations. Stakeholders' perspectives on the use of monitoring devices are of importance for the successful development and implementation of a device.

Post-COVID-19 recovery and geriatric rehabilitation care: a European inter-country comparative study.

Purpose: There is variation in organization of geriatric rehabilitation across Europe. The purpose of this study was to describe the selection criteria for referral to geriatric rehabilitation, care provided, and recovery trajectories of post-COVID-19 patients referred to geriatric rehabilitation in Europe.

Methods: This observational cohort study included 723 patients in 59 care facilities for geriatric rehabilitation across 10 countries.

Hemorrhagic Shock from Acute Variceal Bleeding Caused by Sarcoidosis: A Case Report.

Sarcoidosis is a disease of unknown etiology, characterized by noncaseating granulomas. Generally, the condition primarily manifests in the lungs. Extrapulmonary involvement is common, but localization in the gastrointestinal system is rare.

Incidence of catheter-related thrombosis and its association with outcome in critically ill patients: A prospective observational study.

Background: Incidence of central venous catheter (CVC)-related thrombosis in critically ill patients remains ambiguous and its association with potential hazardous sequelae unknown. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the epidemiology of CVC-related thrombosis; secondary aims were to assess the association of catheter-related thrombosis with catheter-related infection, pulmonary embolism and mortality.

Methods: This was a single-center, prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary intensive care unit (ICU) in the Netherlands.

Long-term outcomes of older adults with acute COVID-19 following inpatient geriatric rehabilitation: a prospective cohort study from the Republic of Ireland.

Background: There is a paucity of research reporting the long-term outcomes of older adults who have completed geriatric rehabilitation following COVID-19.

Aim: The primary aim of this study is to describe the long-term functional outcomes of a cohort of older adults with acute COVID-19 who have completed inpatient geriatric rehabilitation.

Methods: This is a subgroup analysis of Irish data from a pan-European prospective cohort study.

The Impact of Delirium on Recovery in Geriatric Rehabilitation after Acute Infection.

Objectives: Delirium is common during acute infection in older patients and is associated with functional decline. Geriatric rehabilitation (GR) can help older patients to return to their premorbid functional level. It is unknown whether delirium affects GR outcomes in patients with acute infection.

Correlation between Serum Biomarkers and Lung Ultrasound in COVID-19: An Observational Study.

Serum biomarkers and lung ultrasound are important measures for prognostication and treatment allocation in patients with COVID-19. Currently, there is a paucity of studies investigating relationships between serum biomarkers and ultrasonographic biomarkers derived from lung ultrasound. This study aims to assess correlations between serum biomarkers and lung ultrasound findings.

Use of Lung Ultrasound in the New Definitions of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Increases the Occurrence Rate of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Objectives: To assess the effect of incorporating bilateral abnormalities as detected by lung ultrasound (LUS) in the Kigali modification and the New Global definition of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) on the occurrence rate of ARDS.

Design: Post hoc analysis of a previously published prospective cohort study.

Setting: An academic mixed medical-surgical ICU.

The diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound to determine PiCCO-derived extravascular lung water in invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 ARDS.

Background: Lung ultrasound (LUS) can detect pulmonary edema and it is under consideration to be added to updated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) criteria. However, it remains uncertain whether different LUS scores can be used to quantify pulmonary edema in patient with ARDS.

Objectives: This study examined the diagnostic accuracy of four LUS scores with the extravascular lung water index (EVLWi) assessed by transpulmonary thermodilution in patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 ARDS.

Course of fear of falling after hip fracture: findings from a 12-month inception cohort.

Objectives: To examine the course of fear of falling (FoF) up to 1 year after hip fracture, including the effect of prefracture FoF on the course.

Design: Observational cohort study with assessment of FoF at 6, 12 and 52 weeks after hip fracture.

Setting: Haaglanden Medical Centre, the Netherlands.

Monitoring of pulmonary involvement in critically ill COVID-19 patients - should lung ultrasound be preferred over CT?

Background: It is unclear if relevant changes in pulmonary involvement in critically ill COVID-19 patients can be reliably detected by the CT severity score (CTSS) and lung ultrasound score (LUSS), or if these changes have prognostic implications. In addition, it has been argued that adding pleural abnormalities to the LUSS could improve its prognostic value. The objective of this study was to compare LUSS and CTSS for the monitoring of COVID-19 pulmonary involvement through: first, establishing the correlation of LUSS (± pleural abnormalities) and CTSS throughout admission; second, assessing agreement and measurement error between raters for LUSS, pleural abnormalities, and CTSS; third, evaluating the association of the LUSS (± pleural abnormalities) and CTSS with mortality at different timepoints.

How to Conduct International Geriatric Rehabilitation Research?

With an ageing global population and an increasing focus on aging in place, the number of people in need of geriatric rehabilitation (GR) is rapidly increasing. As current GR practice is very heterogenous, cross-country comparisons could allow us to learn from each other and optimise the effectiveness of GR. However, international GR research comes with many challenges.

Concise Versus Extended Lung Ultrasound Score to Monitor Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

Background: Lung ultrasound (LUS) can be used to monitor critically ill patients with COVID-19, but the optimal number of examined lung zones is disputed.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study. The objective was to investigate whether concise (6 zones) and extended (12 zones) LUS scoring protocols are clinically equivalent in critically ill ICU subjects with COVID-19.

The Impact of Thoracic Ultrasound on Clinical Management of Critically Ill Patients (UltraMan): An International Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of thoracic ultrasound (TUS) examinations on clinical management in adult ICU patients.

Design: A prospective international observational study.

Setting: Four centers in The Netherlands and Italy.

Evaluating the feasibility, experiences, facilitators of and barriers to carers and volunteers delivering Namaste Care to people with dementia in their own home: a qualitative interview study in the UK and the Netherlands.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility, facilitators of and barriers to delivering Namaste Care by volunteers and family carers to community-dwelling people with dementia, and to map family carers and volunteers' experiences with the programme.

Design: Qualitative interview study with two phases: (1) preparation phase; (2) pilot phase.

Setting: Private residences of community-dwelling people with dementia in the UK and the Netherlands.

Lung ultrasound to predict gas-exchange response to prone positioning in COVID-19 patients: A prospective study in pilot and confirmation cohorts.

Purpose: To examine whether lung ultrasound prior to prone positioning can predict the resulting gas-exchange response.

Materials And Methods: This is a prospective observational study on critically-ill COVID-19 patients with a pilot and confirmation cohort. Lung ultrasound examinations were performed before prone positioning and gas-exchange parameters were recorded before and after position change.

Systematic review of measurement properties of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in geriatric rehabilitation.

Purpose: The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) is used to inventory problems experienced by the patient to set goals and evaluate treatment. We aimed to make a systematic overview of measurement properties for people in geriatric rehabilitation.

Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched for psychometric studies investigating content validity, construct validity, responsiveness, or reliability of the COPM in geriatric rehabilitation populations aged ≥ 60 years.