Inflammatory and transudative B-line patterns on lung ultrasound: a brief communication.

Lung ultrasonic B-lines have high accuracy in diagnosing extravascular lung water (ELW) but have not been systematically subcategorized to differentiate the varied etiologies of ELW. This brief communication describes subcategories of B-lines into "inflammatory" and "transudative" patterns, based on their location, pleural morphology and associated subpleural pathologies. This subcategorization was derived using information from trainees undergoing lung ultrasound training in the program, pathophysiological principles and their corresponding ultrasound correlates.

A historical timeline of the development and evolution of medical diagnostic ultrasonography.

Diagnostic ultrasonography has evolved to become an indispensable imaging tool that permits non-invasive evaluation of the whole body. In this narrative review, we present a historical timeline of the invention, development, and evolution of diagnostic medical ultrasound. It includes interesting fun facts that may help the reader identify with many of the incredible researchers in this field.

Mutations in linker-2 of KLF1 impair expression of membrane transporters and cytoskeletal proteins causing hemolysis.

The SP/KLF family of transcription factors harbour three C-terminal C2H2 zinc fingers interspersed by two linkers which confers DNA-binding to a 9-10 bp motif. Mutations in KLF1, the founding member of the family, are common. Missense mutations in linker two result in a mild phenotype.

Clinical application of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation: A scoping review.

Impaired respiratory function secondary to acute or chronic respiratory disease poses a significant clinical and healthcare burden. Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) is used in various clinical settings to treat excessive airway secretions, pulmonary atelectasis, and impaired gas exchange. Despite IPV's wide use, there is a lack of clinical guidance on IPV application which may lead to inconsistency in clinical practice.

Remi-fent 1-A pragmatic randomised controlled study to evaluate the feasibility of using remifentanil or fentanyl as sedation adjuncts in mechanically ventilated patients.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a prospective randomised controlled trial (pRCT) comparing remifentanil and fentanyl as adjuncts to sedate mechanically ventilated patients.

Design: Single-center, open-labelled, pRCT with blinded analysis.

Setting: Australian tertiary intensive care unit (ICU).

The value of right ventricular to pulmonary arterial coupling in the critically ill: a National Echocardiography Database of Australia (NEDA) substudy.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) function is tightly coupled to afterload, yet echocardiographic indices of RV function are frequently assessed in isolation. Normalizing RV function for afterload (RV-PA coupling) using a simplified ratio of tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE)/ tricuspid regurgitant velocity (TRV) could help to identify RV decompensation and improve risk stratification in critically ill patients. This is the first study to explore the distribution of TAPSE/TRV ratio and its prognostic relevance in a large general critical care cohort.

Risk factors for mortality in severe COVID-19: Exploring the interplay of immunomodulatory therapy and coinfection.

Patients with severe clinical manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present particular diagnostic and management challenges to critical care physicians, including identifying and responding to concurrent bacterial and fungal coinfections. This study evaluates risk factors for in-hospital mortality in patients admitted to the intensive care unit with severe COVID-19 during circulation of the B.1.

Genetic and Immunohistochemistry Tools to Visualize Rat Macrophages In Situ.

Macrophages contribute to many aspects of development and homeostasis, innate and acquired immunity, immunopathology, and tissue repair. Every tissue contains an abundant resident macrophage population. Inflammatory stimuli promote the recruitment of monocytes from the blood and their adaptation promotes the removal of the stimulus and subsequent restoration of normal tissue architecture.

Zilebesiran, an RNA Interference Therapeutic Agent for Hypertension.

Background: Angiotensinogen is the sole precursor of angiotensin peptides and has a key role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Zilebesiran, an investigational RNA interference therapeutic agent with a prolonged duration of action, inhibits hepatic angiotensinogen synthesis.

Methods: In this phase 1 study, patients with hypertension were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive either a single ascending subcutaneous dose of zilebesiran (10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 mg) or placebo and were followed for 24 weeks (Part A).

Evaluation of RNAi therapeutics VIR-2218 and ALN-HBV for chronic hepatitis B: Results from randomized clinical trials.

Background & Aims: Current therapy for chronic hepatitis B virus (cHBV) infection involves lifelong treatment. New treatments that enable HBV functional cure would represent a clinically meaningful advance. ALN-HBV and VIR-2218 are investigational RNA interference therapeutics that target all major HBV transcripts.

Full and simplified assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in covid-19 patients admitted to ICU: Feasibility, incidence, and association with mortality.

Purpose: Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is associated with poor outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). Nonetheless, precise reporting of LVDD in COVID-19 patients is currently lacking and assessment could be challenging.

Methods: We performed an echocardiography study in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU with the aim to describe the feasibility of full or simplified LVDD assessment and its incidence.

Right ventricular outflow tract Doppler flow analysis and pulmonary arterial coupling by transthoracic echocardiography in sepsis: a retrospective exploratory study.

Introduction: Right ventricular (RV) and pulmonary vascular dysfunction appear to be common in sepsis. RV performance is frequently assessed in isolation, yet its close relationship to afterload means combined analysis with right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) Doppler and RV-pulmonary arterial (RV-PA) coupling may be more informative than standard assessment techniques. Data on feasibility and utility of these parameters in sepsis are lacking and were explored in this study.

Echocardiography findings in COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units: a multi-national observational study (the ECHO-COVID study).

Purpose: Severely ill patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) develop circulatory failure. We aimed to report patterns of left and right ventricular dysfunction in the first echocardiography following admission to intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: Retrospective, descriptive study that collected echocardiographic and clinical information from severely ill COVID-19 patients admitted to 14 ICUs in 8 countries.

Criteria, Processes, and Determination of Competence in Basic Critical Care Echocardiography Training: A Delphi Process Consensus Statement by the Learning Ultrasound in Critical Care (LUCC) Initiative.

Background: With the paucity of high-quality studies on longitudinal basic critical care echocardiography (BCCE) training, expert opinion guidelines have guided BCCE competence educational standards and processes. However, existing guidelines lack precise detail due to methodological flaws during guideline development.

Research Questions: To formulate methodologically robust guidelines on BCCE training using evidence and expert opinion, detailing specific criteria for every step, we conducted a modified Delphi process using the principles of the validated AGREE-II tool.

Cell-Extrinsic Differentiation Block Mediated by EphA3 in Pre-Leukaemic Thymus Contributes to Disease Progression.

We recently characterised the () mouse as a model of T-cell pre-leukaemia, featuring thymocytes that can engraft in recipient animals and progress to T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL). However, loss of this engraftment ability by deletion of did not result in any loss of leukemogenesis activity. In the present study, we observe that thymocytes overexpress EPHA3, and we characterise thymocyte behaviour in mice with deletion of , which show a markedly reduced incidence of T-ALL.

Effect of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation on intensive care unit length of stay, the incidence of pneumonia and gas exchange in critically ill patients: A systematic review.

Background: Pulmonary complications such as pneumonia, pulmonary atelectasis, and subsequent respiratory failure leading to ventilatory support are a common occurrence in critically ill patients. Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) is used to improve gas exchange and promote airway clearance in these patients. The current evidence regarding the effectiveness of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation in critical care settings remains unclear.

Feasibility and safety of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation in spontaneously breathing, non-ventilated patients in critical care: A retrospective pilot study.

Background: Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation is used in various clinical settings to promote secretion clearance, reverse or treat atelectasis and improve gas exchange. Despite a few studies reporting the use of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation in critical care, the available data remain insufficient, contributing to weaker evidence toward its effectiveness. Also, there is a paucity of studies evaluating the safety and feasibility of intrapulmonary percussive ventilation application in critical care.

Renoprotective Effects of Small Interfering RNA Targeting Liver Angiotensinogen in Experimental Chronic Kidney Disease.

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Methodologic Quality of Guidelines for Training or Competence Processes for Basic Point-of-Care Echocardiography in Critical Care: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Background: The formulation of expert opinion guidelines has several sources of bias that may adversely affect their quality. To minimize bias, guideline creators must use rigorous methodology. There has been no appraisal of the methodologic quality of basic critical care echocardiography (BCCE) training/education guidelines.

Systolic dysfunction as evaluated by tissue Doppler imaging echocardiography and mortality in septic patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Septic induced cardiomyopathy has a wide spectrum of presentation, being associated with systolic and/or diastolic dysfunction. There is currently no evidence of association between left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and mortality in septic patients.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the association between systolic wave (s') obtained with Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) and mortality in septic patients.