Bedside Selection of Positive End Expiratory Pressure by Electrical Impedance Tomography in Patients Undergoing Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support: A Comparison between COVID-19 ARDS and ARDS from Other Etiologies.

Background: The interest in protective ventilation strategies and individualized approaches for patients with severe illness on veno venous extracorporeal support has increased in recent years. Wide heterogeneity exists among patients with COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (C-ARDS) and ARDS from other etiologies (NC-ARDS). EIT is a useful tool for the accurate analysis of regional lung volume distribution and allows for a tailored ventilatory setting.

Bag valve resuscitator versus Mapleson C circuit during manual ventilation: A bench top study.

Background: Manual ventilation is life saving in critically ill patients. The lack of airway pressure monitoring makes it operator and device dependent. In this bench top-study, we compared a self- inflating bag valve resuscitator and a Mapleson C circuit during manual ventilation performed by critical care nurses under normal and pathologic conditions, with a special focus on delivered positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP).

Feasibility and physiological effects of prone positioning in non-intubated patients with acute respiratory failure due to COVID-19 (PRON-COVID): a prospective cohort study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging advanced health systems, which are dealing with an overwhelming number of patients in need of intensive care for respiratory failure, often requiring intubation. Prone positioning in intubated patients is known to reduce mortality in moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. We aimed to investigate feasibility and effect on gas exchange of prone positioning in awake, non-intubated patients with COVID-19-related pneumonia.

Is there a relationship between dopamine and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment?

Dopamine and its receptors have been widely studied in the neurological conditions and in the retina. In this study, we evaluated the possible role of dopamine in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) by comparing the amount of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), a surrogate index of retinal dopamine levels, in the vitreous sample of patients affected by RRD with those affected by macular pucker and vitreous hemorrhage. Our results showed that significantly higher levels of DOPAC were found in the vitreous sample of patients affected by RRD compared with those affected by vitreous hemorrhage and macular pucker (P = 0.