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OBJECTIVES Echocardiographic right ventricular (RV) annular parameters are probably not as reliable to evaluate the surgical success in the postoperative period after pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), whereas RV end-diastolic/left ventricular end-diastolic area ratio (RVEDA/LVEDA ratio) could be more useful. This study examined the relationship between RV annular parameters or RVEDA/LVEDA ratio and ideal cardiac index (ICI), before and after PEA. METHODS Among 80 patients who underwent PEA, the relationships between RVEDA/LVEDA ratio (21 patients), or tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (32 patients), or systolic tricuspid annular velocity (55 patients) and ICI were modelled. RESULTS Forty-eight hours following PEA, mean pulmonary artery pressure decreased (26 ± 6 vs 46 ± 12 mmHg, P CONCLUSIONS Improved ICI and RVEDA/LVEDA ratio reflected the surgical success of PEA and lowering of total pulmonary resistances. In contrast to the RV/left ventricular area ratio, annular RV indices associated poorly with postoperative ICI. Recognizing this limitation is important in minimizing the overdiagnosis of RV dysfunction after PEA.

BACKGROUND Whether train-of-four (TOF) monitoring is more effective than clinical monitoring to guide neuromuscular blockade (NMB) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is unclear. We compared clinical monitoring alone or with TOF monitoring to guide atracurium dosage adjustment with respect to drug dose and respiratory parameters. METHODS From 2015 to 2016, we conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing clinical assessments every 2 hours with or without corrugator supercilii TOF monitoring every 4 hours in patients who developed ARDS (Pao2/Fio2

Purpose To investigate whether passive tilting added to a standardized rehabilitation therapy improved strength at Intensive Care Unit (ICU) discharge. Material and methods This single-center trial included patients admitted to an adult surgical ICU and ventilated for at least 3 days. Patients were randomized to daily standardized rehabilitation therapy alone or with tilting on a table for at least 1 h. The primary outcome was the Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score at ICU discharge. Muscular recovery was a secondary outcome. Results Of 145 included patients, 125 received mobilization, 65 in the Tilt group and 60 in the Control group. Total mobilization duration (median [25th–75th percentiles]) in the Tilt group was 1020 [580–1695] versus 1340 [536–2775] minutes in the Control group (p = 0.313). MRC sum scores at ICU discharge were not significantly different between groups (Tilt, 50 [45–56] versus 48 [45–54]; p = 0.555). However, the number of patients with weakness was higher in the Tilt group at baseline (Tilt: 60/65 versus 48/60, p = 0.045) and muscular recovery was better in the Tilt group (p = 0.004). Conclusions Passive tilting added to a standardized rehabilitation therapy did not improve muscle strength at ICU discharge in surgical patients even if a faster recovery with tilting is suggested. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02047617.

Non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia after cardiothoracic surgery is challenging to diagnose, and little is known about its impact on patient outcomes. Here, our primary objective was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of cultures of 2 types of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) specimens: endotracheal aspirates (FOB-EA) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (FOB-BAL). The secondary objectives were to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of spontaneous sputum cultures and of the modified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) and to describe patient outcomes.We conducted a prospective observational study of consecutive cardiothoracic surgery subjects with suspected non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia. Using FOB-BAL cultures ≥10(4) cfu/mL as the reference standard, we evaluated the accuracy of FOB-EA ≥10(5) cfu/mL and spontaneous sputum ≥10(7) cfu/mL. On the day of FOB, we determined the modified CPIS. Mortality and antibiotic treatments were recorded.Of 105 subjects, 57 (54.3%) received a diagnosis of non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia. FOB-EA cultures had 82% (95% CI 69-91%) sensitivity and 100% (95% CI 89-100%) specificity and were significantly less sensitive than FOB-BAL cultures (P.004). Spontaneous sputum was obtained from one-third of subjects. Spontaneous sputum cultures had 82% (95% CI 56-95%) sensitivity and 94% (95% CI 68-100%) specificity and were non-significantly less sensitive than FOB-BAL (P = .061). A modified CPIS6 had 42% (95% CI 29-56%) sensitivity and 87% (95% CI 74-95%) specificity for non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia. Antibiotic therapy was stopped in all subjects without non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia, after 1.6 ± 1.2 d, without deleterious effects.The modified CPIS has low diagnostic accuracy for non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia. FOB-EA cultures perform less well than do FOB-BAL cultures for diagnosing non-ventilator ICU-acquired pneumonia. Spontaneous sputum is valuable when FOB cannot be performed but could be obtained in only a minority of subjects. When cultures are negative, antibiotic discontinuation is safe.