Portal vein pulsatility is associated with the cumulative fluid balance: A post hoc longitudinal analysis of a prospective, general intensive care unit cohort.

Background: Previous studies have explored tools for evaluating the effects of positive fluid balance, with recent emphasis, and controversies, on venous ultrasound parameters and composite scores. The portal vein pulsatility index and the renal venous pattern have emerged as the most promising indicators of volume-induced venous congestion. But in the general intensive care unit (ICU), numerous factors influence cardiovascular homeostasis, affecting venous function.

High VExUS grades are linked to cardiac function in general ICU patients.

Background: Even though initially considered as a new standard in systemic venous congestion assessment, the semi-quantitative Doppler ultrasound-based Venous Excess Ultrasound Grading System (VExUS) showed inconsistent associations with outcomes in general intensive care unit (ICU) patients. It is unclear why VExUS is so effective in predicting outcomes in some cohorts and not in others. The determinants of higher VExUS have not been studied in a general ICU cohort.

Risk factors and prognostic value of endotoxemia in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: There is increasing evidence regarding the association between endotoxemia and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction (MI). During the acute phase of MI, endotoxemia might increase inflammation and drive adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. We aimed to explore the risk factors and prognostic value of endotoxemia in patients admitted for acute MI.

Pre-operative maintenance of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors is not associated with acute kidney injury in cardiac surgery patients with cardio-pulmonary bypass: a propensity-matched multicentric analysis.

We investigated the effects of the maintenance of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) the day of the surgery on the incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) and cardiac events in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We performed a multicentric observational study with propensity matching on 1,072 patients treated with ACE inhibitors. We collected their baseline demographic data, comorbidities, and operative and postoperative outcomes.

Clinical Effectiveness of Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) Block versus Local Anesthesia Wound Infiltration for Postoperative Pain Relief After Laparoscopic Appendicectomy in Children: A Study Protocol for a Multicenter Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Phase III Trial.

Purpose: Postoperative pain relief after laparoscopic appendicectomy is a key determinant of early rehabilitation in children. Recent guidelines recommend performing either a transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block or local anesthesia (LA) wound infiltration as part of multimodal postoperative analgesia after appendectomy. To date, the clinical effectiveness of TAP block versus LA wound infiltration has never been compared.

Pulsatile Femoral Vein Doppler Pattern is a Parameter of Venous Congestion in ICU Patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate if the presence of a pulsatile femoral vein pattern is an indicator of venous congestion in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: Three medico-surgical university-affiliated ICUs.

Exploring congestion endotypes and their distinct clinical outcomes among ICU patients: A post-hoc analysis.

Background: In the intensive care unit (ICU) patients, fluid overload and congestion are associated with worse outcomes. Because of the heterogeneity of ICU patients, we hypothesized that there may exist different endotypes of congestion. The aim of this study was to identify endotypes of congestion and their association with outcomes.

Association between left ventricular systolic function parameters and myocardial injury, organ failure and mortality in patients with septic shock.

Background: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is inconsistently associated with poor outcomes in patients with sepsis. Newer parameters such as LV longitudinal strain (LVLS), mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) and LV longitudinal wall fractional shortening (LV-LWFS) may be more sensitive indicators of LV dysfunction, but are sparsely investigated. Our objective was to evaluate the association between five traditional and novel echocardiographic parameters of LV systolic function (LVEF, peak tissue Doppler velocity at the mitral valve (s´), LVLS, MAPSE and LV-LWFS) and outcomes in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with septic shock.

Should the Vasoactive Inotropic Score be a Determinant for Early Initiation of VA ECMO in Postcardiotomy Cardiogenic Shock?

Objectives: The authors investigated the role of early venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) implantation in patients with postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock (PCS) on mortality and morbidity when integrating vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) and type of catecholamine support.

Design: A retrospective, multicenter, observational study with propensity-weight matching.

Setting: Four university-affiliated intensive care units.

Inflammation and oxidative stress markers in type 2 diabetes patients with Advanced Carotid atherosclerosis.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major global health issue and a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis in T2DM patients has been associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and oxidative stress. Identifying molecular features of atherosclerotic plaques in T2DM patients could provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of the disease.

Protocol Study for the Evaluation of Non-Opioid Balanced General Anaesthesia in Cardiac Surgery with Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Randomised, Controlled, Multicentric Superiority Trial (OFACAR Study).

Opioid-free anaesthesia (OFA) is general anaesthesia based on the use of several non-opioid molecules that aim to have an analgesic effect, decrease the sympathetic response, decrease hormonal stress, and decrease the inflammatory response during surgery. Although this approach to anaesthesia is regularly used in clinical practice, it remains a novel approach. The literature on this anaesthesia modality finds a number of positive effects on cardiac, respiratory, and cognitive function but no randomised study evaluated these effects during cardiac surgery where there is a high incidence of postoperative complications.

Effect of norepinephrine on the vascular waterfall and tissue perfusion in vasoplegic hypotensive patients: a prospective, observational, applied physiology study in cardiac surgery.

Background: Norepinephrine is a commonly used drug for treating vasoplegic acute circulatory failure in ICU. The prediction of norepinephrine macro- and micro-circulatory response is complicated by its uneven receptors' distribution between the arterial and the venous structures, and by the presence of a physiological vascular waterfall (VW) that disconnects the arterial and the venous circulation in two pressure systems. The objectives of this study were to describe the VW in patients with arterial hypotension due to vasodilatory circulatory shock, and its behavior according to its response to norepinephrine infusion.

Prevalence of systemic venous congestion assessed by Venous Excess Ultrasound Grading System (VExUS) and association with acute kidney injury in a general ICU cohort: a prospective multicentric study.

Background: The importance of assessing venous congestion in ICU patients is widely acknowledged, but its study is hampered by the lack of a practical evaluation tool. The Venous Excess Ultrasound Grading System (VExUS), based on a semi-quantitative combined ultrasound assessment, has been associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) in cardiac ICU patients. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of congestion using VExUS in general ICU patients, and to evaluate the association between VExUS, AKI and death.

Expiratory abdominal muscle thickness, a new point of care ultrasound measure for respiratory muscle mass in the intensive care unit: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Even if expiratory muscles are key muscles in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, the association between their thickness and mortality has never been assessed. This study aimed to determine whether expiratory abdominal muscle thickness assessed by ultrasonography (US) was associated with 28-day mortality in ICU patients.

Basic Procedures: US expiratory abdominal muscle thickness was measured within the first 12 h after ICU admission.

A norepinephrine weaning strategy using dynamic arterial elastance is associated with reduction of acute kidney injury in patients with vasoplegia after cardiac surgery: A post-hoc analysis of the randomized SNEAD study.

Study Objective: To evaluate the impact of a dynamic arterial elastance guided norepinephrine weaning strategy on the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with vasoplegia after cardiac surgery.

Design: A post-hoc analysis of a monocentric randomized controlled trial.

Setting: A tertiary care hospital in France.

Diuretics depletion improves cardiac output and ventriculo-arterial coupling in congestive ICU patients during hemodynamic de-escalation.

Purpose: Congestion was shown to hamper organ perfusion, but the exact timing of diuretic initiation during hemodynamic de-escalation in shock is unclear. The aim of this study was to describe the hemodynamic effects of diuretic initiation in the stabilized shock.

Methods: We performed a monocentric, retrospective analysis, in a cardiovascular medico-surgical ICU.

Endotoxemia in Acute Heart Failure and Cardiogenic Shock: Evidence, Mechanisms and Therapeutic Options.

Acute heart failure and cardiogenic shock are frequently occurring and deadly conditions. In patients with those conditions, endotoxemia related to gut injury and gut barrier dysfunction is usually described as a driver of organ dysfunction. Because endotoxemia might reciprocally alter cardiac function, this phenomenon has been suggested as a potent vicious cycle that worsens organ perfusion and leading to adverse outcomes.

Balanced Nonopioid General Anesthesia With Lidocaine Is Associated With Lower Postoperative Complications Compared With Balanced Opioid General Anesthesia With Sufentanil for Cardiac Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Propensity Matched Cohort Study.

Background: There are no data on the effect of balanced nonopioid general anesthesia with lidocaine in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The main study objective was to evaluate the association between nonopioid general balanced anesthesia and the postoperative complications in relation to opioid side effects.

Methods: Patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass between 2019 and 2021 were identified.

Epidemiology, risk factors and outcomes of norepinephrine use in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: a multicentric prospective study.

Background: The present study was designed to describe the prevalence of norepinephrine use, the factors associated with its use, and the incidence of postoperative complications according to norepinephrine use, in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

Method: We performed a prospective, multicenter, observational study in 4 University-affiliated medico-surgical cardiovascular units. We analyzed all patients treated with cardiac surgery after excluding pre-ECMO surgery, LVAD implantation, heart transplantation and intra-operative hemorrhage.