Search

Background: Electromagnetic stimulation of the phrenic nerve induces diaphragm contractions, but no coils for clinical use have been available. We recently demonstrated the feasibility of ventilation using bilateral transcutaneous noninvasive electromagnetic phrenic nerve stimulation (NEPNS) before surgery in lung-healthy patients with healthy weight in a dose-dependent manner., Research Question: Is NEPNS feasible in critically ill patients in an ICU setting?, Study Design and Methods: This feasibility nonrandomized controlled study aimed to enroll patients within 36 h of intubation who were expected to remain ventilated for ≥ 72 h. The intervention group received 15-min bilateral transcutaneous NEPNS bid, whereas the control group received standard care. If sufficient, NEPNS was used without pressure support to ventilate the patient; pressure support was added if necessary to ventilate the patient adequately. The primary outcome was feasibility, measured as time to find the optimal stimulation position. Further end points were sessions performed according to the protocol or allowing a next-day catch-up session and tidal volume achieved with stimulation reaching only 3 to 6 mL/kg ideal body weight (IBW). A secondary end point was expiratory diaphragm thickness measured with ultrasound from days 1 to 10 (or extubation)., Results: The revised European Union regulation mandated reapproval of medical devices, prematurely halting the study. Eleven patients (five in the intervention group, six in the control group) were enrolled. The median time to find an adequate stimulation position was 23 s (interquartile range, 12-62 s). The intervention bid was executed in 87% of patients, and 92% of patients including a next-day catch-up session. Ventilation with 3 to 6 mL/kg IBW was achieved in 732 of 1,701 stimulations (43.0%) with stimulation only and in 2,511 of 4,036 stimulations (62.2%) with additional pressure support. A decrease in diaphragm thickness was prevented by bilateral NEPNS (P = .034) until day 10., Interpretation: Bilateral transcutaneous NEPNS was feasible in the ICU setting with the potential benefit of preventing diaphragm atrophy during mechanical ventilation. NEPNS ventilation effectiveness needs further assessment., Trial Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT05238753; URL: www., Clinicaltrials: gov., Competing Interests: Financial/Nonfinancial Disclosures The authors have reported to CHEST the following: S. J. S. reports grants and nonfinancial support from STIMIT AG for this work, grants and nonfinancial support from Reactive Robotics GmbH, ASP GmbH, and ESICM; grants, personal fees, and nonfinancial support from Fresenius Kabi Deutschland GmbH; grants from the Innovationsfond of The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA); personal fees from Springer Verlag GmbH for educational purposes and Advanz Pharma GmbH; and nonfinancial support from national and international societies (and their congress organizers) in the field of anesthesiology and intensive care medicine, outside the submitted work; holds stocks in small amounts from Alphabeth, Inc., Bayer AG, and Siemens AG; these holdings have not affected any decisions regarding his research or this study. A. P. holds stocks in small amounts from BioNTech SE, Taiwan Semiconductor, Sony, Pfizer, Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc., Sangamo Therapeutics, NIO, and Ke Holdings; these holdings have not affected any decisions regarding his research or this study. L. B. has received research grants from STIMIT, Medtronic, and Draeger and equipment from Sentec, Philips, and Fisher Paykel. None declared (A. M. G., S. K., M. A. V., B. U., J. J. G., H. G. B., N. M. C., T. N., S. W.-C.)., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Characterizing patient-ventilator interaction in critically ill patients is time-consuming and requires trained staff to evaluate the behavior of the ventilated patient., Methods: In this study, we recorded surface electromyography ([Formula: see text]) signals from the diaphragm and intercostal muscles and esophageal pressure ([Formula: see text]) in mechanically ventilated patients with ARDS. The sEMG recordings were preprocessed, and two different algorithms (triangle algorithm and adaptive thresholding algorithm) were used to automatically detect inspiratory patient effort. Based on the detected inspirations, major asynchronies (ineffective, auto-, and double triggers and double efforts), delayed and synchronous triggers were computationally classified. Reverse triggers were not considered in this study. Subsequently, asynchrony indices were calculated. For the validation of detected efforts, two experts manually annotated inspiratory patient activity in [Formula: see text], blinded toward each other, the [Formula: see text] signals, and the algorithmic results. We also classified patient-ventilator interaction and calculated asynchrony indices with manually detected inspirations in [Formula: see text] as a reference for automated asynchrony classification and asynchrony index calculation., Results: Spontaneous breathing activity was recognized in 22 out of the 36 patients included in the study. Evaluation of the accuracy of the algorithms using 3057 inspiratory efforts in [Formula: see text] demonstrated reliable detection performance for both methods. Across all datasets, we found a high sensitivity (triangle algorithm/adaptive thresholding algorithm: 0.93/0.97) and a high positive predictive value (0.94/0.89) against expert annotations in [Formula: see text]. The average delay of automatically detected inspiratory onset to the [Formula: see text] reference was [Formula: see text]79 ms/29 ms for the two algorithms. Our findings also indicate that automatic asynchrony index prediction is reliable. For both algorithms, we found the same deviation of [Formula: see text] to the [Formula: see text]-based reference., Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the feasibility of automating the quantification of patient-ventilator asynchrony in critically ill patients using noninvasive sEMG. This may facilitate more frequent diagnosis of asynchrony and support improving patient-ventilator interaction., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Surface electromyography (sEMG) can be used to measure the electrical activity of the respiratory muscles. The possible applications of sEMG span from patients suffering from acute respiratory failure to patients receiving chronic home mechanical ventilation, to evaluate muscle function, titrate ventilatory support and guide treatment. However, sEMG is mainly used as a monitoring tool for research and its use in clinical practice is still limited-in part due to a lack of standardization and transparent reporting. During this round table meeting, recommendations on data acquisition, processing, interpretation, and potential clinical applications of respiratory sEMG were discussed. This paper informs the clinical researcher interested in respiratory muscle monitoring about the current state of the art on sEMG, knowledge gaps and potential future applications for patients with respiratory failure., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Mechanical ventilation has side effects such as ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction, resulting in prolonged intensive care unit length of stays. Artificially evoked diaphragmatic muscle contraction may potentially maintain diaphragmatic muscle function and thereby ameliorate or counteract ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction. We hypothesized that bilateral non-invasive electromagnetic phrenic nerve stimulation (NEPNS) results in adequate diaphragm contractions and consecutively in effective tidal volumes., Results: This single-centre proof-of-concept study was performed in five patients who were 30 [IQR 21-33] years old, 60% (n = 3) females and undergoing elective surgery with general anaesthesia. Following anaesthesia and reversal of muscle relaxation, patients received bilateral NEPNS with different magnetic field intensities (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%); the stimulation was performed bilaterally with dual coils (connected to one standard clinical magnetic stimulator), specifically designed for bilateral non-invasive electromagnetic nerve stimulation. The stimulator with a maximal output of 2400 Volt, 160 Joule, pulse length 160 µs at 100% intensity was limited to 50% intensity, i.e. each single coil had a maximal output of 0.55 Tesla and 1200 Volt. There was a linear relationship between dosage (magnetic field intensity) and effect (tidal volume, primary endpoint, p < 0.001). Mean tidal volume was 0.00, 1.81 ± 0.99, 4.55 ± 2.23 and 7.43 ± 3.06 ml/kg ideal body weight applying 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% stimulation intensity, respectively. Mean time to find an initial adequate stimulation point was 89 (range 15-441) seconds., Conclusions: Bilateral non-invasive electromagnetic phrenic nerve stimulation generated a tidal volume of 3-6 ml/kg ideal body weight due to diaphragmatic contraction in lung-healthy anaesthetized patients. Further perspectives in critically ill patients should include assessment of clinical outcomes to confirm whether diaphragm contraction through non-invasive electromagnetic phrenic nerve stimulation potentially ameliorates or prevents diaphragm atrophy., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Measurement of oxygen uptake (VO 2 ) and carbon dioxide removal (VCO 2 ) on membrane lungs (MLs) during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides potential for improved and safer therapy. Real-time monitoring of ML function and degradation, calculating caloric needs as well as cardiac output, and weaning algorithms are among the future possibilities. Our study compared the continuous measurement of the standalone Quantum Diagnostics System (QDS) with the published Measuring Energy Expenditure in ECMO patients (MEEP) approach, which calculates sequential VO 2 and VCO 2 values via blood gas analysis and a physiologic gas content model. Thirty-nine datasets were acquired during routine venovenous ECMO intensive care treatment and analyzed. VO 2 was clinically relevant underestimated via the blood-sided measurement of the QDS compared to the MEEP approach (mean difference -42.61 ml/min, limits of agreement [LoA] -2.49/-87.74 ml), which could be explained by the missing dissolved oxygen fraction of the QDS equation. Analysis of VCO 2 showed scattered values with wide limits of agreement (mean difference 54.95 ml/min, LoA 231.26/-121.40 ml/min) partly explainable by a calculation error of the QDS. We described potential confounders of gas-sided measurements in general which need further investigation and recommendations for enhanced devices., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report., (Copyright © ASAIO 2022.)

Background: The objective was to investigate the role of gene expression and plasma levels of the muscular protein myostatin in intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICUAW). This was performed to evaluate a potential clinical and/or pathophysiological rationale of therapeutic myostatin inhibition., Methods: A retrospective analysis from pooled data of two prospective studies to assess the dynamics of myostatin plasma concentrations (day 4, 8 and 14) and myostatin gene (MSTN) expression levels in skeletal muscle (day 15) was performed. Associations of myostatin to clinical and electrophysiological outcomes, muscular metabolism and muscular atrophy pathways were investigated., Results: MSTN gene expression (median [IQR] fold change: 1.00 [0.68-1.54] vs. 0.26 [0.11-0.80]; p = 0.004) and myostatin plasma concentrations were significantly reduced in all critically ill patients when compared to healthy controls. In critically ill patients, myostatin plasma concentrations increased over time (median [IQR] fold change: day 4: 0.13 [0.08/0.21] vs. day 8: 0.23 [0.10/0.43] vs. day 14: 0.40 [0.26/0.61]; p < 0.001). Patients with ICUAW versus without ICUAW showed significantly lower MSTN gene expression levels (median [IQR] fold change: 0.17 [0.10/0.33] and 0.51 [0.20/0.86]; p = 0.047). Myostatin levels were directly correlated with muscle strength (correlation coefficient 0.339; p = 0.020) and insulin sensitivity index (correlation coefficient 0.357; p = 0.015). No association was observed between myostatin plasma concentrations as well as MSTN expression levels and levels of mobilization, electrophysiological variables, or markers of atrophy pathways., Conclusion: Muscular gene expression and systemic protein levels of myostatin are downregulated during critical illness. The previously proposed therapeutic inhibition of myostatin does therefore not seem to have a pathophysiological rationale to improve muscle quality in critically ill patients., Trial Registration: ISRCTN77569430 -13th of February 2008 and ISRCTN19392591 17th of February 2011., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective. Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a noninvasive option for monitoring respiratory effort in ventilated patients. However, respiratory sEMG signals are affected by crosstalk and cardiac activity. This work addresses the blind source separation (BSS) of inspiratory and expiratory electrical activity in single- or two-channel recordings. The main contribution of the presented methodology is its applicability to the addressed muscles and the number of available channels. Approach. We propose a two-step procedure consisting of a single-channel cardiac artifact removal algorithm, followed by a single- or multi-channel BSS stage. First, cardiac components are removed in the wavelet domain. Subsequently, a nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm is applied to the envelopes of the resulting wavelet bands. The NMF is initialized based on simultaneous standard pneumatic measurements of the ventilated patient. Main results. The proposed estimation scheme is applied to twelve clinical datasets and simulated sEMG signals of the respiratory system. The results on the clinical datasets are validated based on expert annotations using invasive pneumatic measurements. In the simulation, three measures evaluate the separation success: The distortion and the correlation to the known ground truth and the inspiratory-to-expiratory signal power ratio. We find an improvement across all SNRs, recruitment patterns, and channel configurations. Moreover, our results indicate that the initialization strategy replaces the manual matching of sources after the BSS. Significance. The proposed separation algorithm facilitates the interpretation of respiratory sEMG signals. In crosstalk affected measurements, the developed method may help clinicians distinguish between inspiratory effort and other muscle activities using only noninvasive measurements., (© 2022 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.)

Background: The impact of physiotherapy on insulin sensitivity and peripheral glucose metabolism in critically ill patients is not well understood., Methods: This pooled analysis investigates the impact of different physiotherapeutic strategies on insulin sensitivity in critically ill patients. We pooled data from two previous trials in adult patients with sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA)≥ 9 within 72 h of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, who received hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic (HE) clamps. Patients were divided into three groups: standard physiotherapy (sPT, n = 22), protocol-based physiotherapy (pPT, n = 8), and pPT with added muscle activating measures (pPT+, n = 20). Insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was determined by HE clamp. Muscle metabolites lactate, pyruvate, and glycerol were measured in the M. vastus lateralis via microdialysis during the HE clamp. Histochemical visualization of glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) translocation was performed in surgically extracted muscle biopsies. All data are reported as median (25th/75th percentile) (trial registry: ISRCTN77569430 and ISRCTN19392591/ethics approval: Charité-EA2/061/06 and Charité-EA2/041/10)., Results: Fifty critically ill patients (admission SOFA 13) showed markedly decreased ISIs on Day 17 (interquartile range) 0.029 (0.022/0.048) (mg/min/kg)/(mU/L) compared with healthy controls 0.103 (0.087/0.111), P < 0.001. ISI correlated with muscle strength measured by medical research council (MRC) score at first awakening (r = 0.383, P = 0.026) and at ICU discharge (r = 0.503, P = 0.002). Different physiotherapeutic strategies showed no effect on the ISI [sPT 0.029 (0.019/0.053) (mg/min/kg)/(mU/L) vs. pPT 0.026 (0.023/0.041) (mg/min/kg)/(mU/L) vs. pPT+ 0.029 (0.023/0.042) (mg/min/kg)/(mU/L); P = 0.919]. Regardless of the physiotherapeutic strategy metabolic flexibility was reduced. Relative change of lactate/pyruvate ratio during HE clamp is as follows: sPT 0.09 (-0.13/0.27) vs. pPT 0.07 (-0.16/0.31) vs. pPT+ -0.06 (-0.19/0.16), P = 0.729, and relative change of glycerol concentration: sPT -0.39 (-0.8/-0.12) vs. pPT -0.21 (-0.33/0.07) vs. pPT+ -0.21 (-0.44/-0.03), P = 0.257. The majority of ICU patients showed abnormal localization of GLUT4 with membranous GLUT4 distribution in 37.5% (3 of 8) of ICU patients receiving sPT, in 42.9% (3 of 7) of ICU patients receiving pPT, and in 53.8% (7 of 13) of ICU patients receiving pPT+ (no statistical testing possible)., Conclusions: Our data suggest that a higher duration of muscle activating measures had no impact on insulin sensitivity or metabolic flexibility in critically ill patients with sepsis-related multiple organ failure., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders.)

(1) Background: Female sex is considered a risk factor for Intensive Care Unit-Acquired Weakness (ICUAW). The aim is to investigate sex-specific aspects of skeletal muscle metabolism in the context of ICUAW. (2) Methods: This is a sex-specific sub-analysis from two prospectively conducted trials examining skeletal muscle metabolism and advanced muscle activating measures in critical illness. Muscle strength was assessed by Medical Research Council Score. The insulin sensitivity index was analyzed by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic (HE) clamp. Muscular metabolites were studied by microdialysis. M. vastus lateralis biopsies were taken. The molecular analysis included protein degradation pathways. Morphology was assessed by myocyte cross-sectional area (MCSA). Multivariable linear regression models for the effect of sex on outcome parameters were performed. (3) Results: n = 83 (♂ n = 57, 68.7%; ♀ n = 26, 31.3%) ICU patients were included. ICUAW was present in 81.1%♂ and in 82.4%♀ at first awakening ( p = 0.911) and in 59.5%♂ and in 70.6%♀ at ICU discharge ( p = 0.432). Insulin sensitivity index was reduced more in women than in men ( p = 0.026). Sex was significantly associated with insulin sensitivity index and MCSA of Type IIa fibers in the adjusted regression models. (4) Conclusion: This hypothesis-generating analysis suggests that more pronounced impairments in insulin sensitivity and lower MCSA of Type IIa fibers in critically ill women may be relevant for sex differences in ICUAW.

Background: Critical Illness Myopathy (CIM) is a serious ICU complication, and dysglycaemia is widely regarded as a risk factor. Although glucose variability (GV) has been independently linked to ICU mortality, an association with CIM has not been investigated. This study examines the relationship between CIM and GV., Methods: Retrospective investigation including ICU patients with SOFA ≥8, mechanical ventilation, and CIM diagnostics. Glucose readings were collected every 6 h throughout the first week of treatment, when CIM is thought to develop. GV was measured using standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variability (CV), mean absolute glucose (MAG), mean amplitude of glycaemic excursions (MAGE), and mean of daily difference (MODD)., Results: 74 patients were included, and 50 (67.6%) developed CIM. Time on glycaemic target (70-179 mg/dL), caloric and insulin intakes, mean, maximum and minimum blood glucose values were similar for all patients until the 5th day, after which CIM patients exhibited higher mean and maximum glucose levels. Significantly higher GV in CIM patients were observed on day 5 (SD, CV, MAG, MAGE), day 6 (MODD), and day 7 (SD, CV, MAG)., Conclusions: CIM patients developed transient increases in GV and hyperglycaemia only late in the first week, suggesting that myopathy precedes dysglycaemia., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been investigated as a preventative measure for intensive care unit-acquired weakness. Trial results remain contradictory and therefore inconclusive. As it has been shown that NMES does not necessarily lead to a contractile response, our aim was to characterise the response of critically ill patients to NMES and investigate potential outcome benefits of an adequate contractile response., Methods: This is a sub-analysis of a randomised controlled trial investigating early muscle activating measures together with protocol-based physiotherapy in patients with a SOFA score ≥ 9 within the first 72 h after admission. Included patients received protocol-based physiotherapy twice daily for 20 min and NMES once daily for 20 min, bilaterally on eight muscle groups. Electrical current was increased up to 70 mA or until a contraction was detected visually or on palpation. Muscle strength was measured by a blinded assessor at the first adequate awakening and ICU discharge., Results: One thousand eight hundred twenty-four neuromuscular electrical stimulations in 21 patients starting on day 3.0 (2.0/6.0) after ICU admission were included in this sub-analysis. Contractile response decreased from 64.4% on day 1 to 25.0% on day 7 with a significantly lower response rate in the lower extremities and proximal muscle groups. The electrical current required to elicit a contraction did not change over time (day 1, 50.2 [31.3/58.8] mA; day 7, 45.3 [38.0/57.5] mA). The electrical current necessary for a contractile response was higher in the lower extremities. At the first awakening, patients presented with significant weakness (3.2 [2.5/3.8] MRC score). When dividing the cohort into responders and non-responders (> 50% vs. ≤ 50% contractile response), we observed a significantly higher SOFA score in non-responders. The electrical current necessary for a muscle contraction in responders was significantly lower (38.0 [32.8/42.9] vs. 54.7 [51.3/56.0] mA, p < 0.001). Muscle strength showed higher values in the upper extremities of responders at ICU discharge (4.4 [4.1/4.6] vs. 3.3 [2.8/3.8] MRC score, p = 0.036)., Conclusion: Patients show a differential contractile response to NMES, which appears to be dependent on the severity of illness and also relevant for potential outcome benefits., Trial Registration: ISRCTN ISRCTN19392591 , registered 17 February 2011.

Background: Early mobilization improves physical independency of critically ill patients at hospital discharge in a general intensive care unit (ICU)-cohort. We aimed to investigate clinical and molecular benefits or detriments of early mobilization and muscle activating measures in a high-risk ICU-acquired weakness cohort., Methods: Fifty patients with a SOFA score ≥9 within 72 h after ICU admission were randomized to muscle activating measures such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation or whole-body vibration in addition to early protocol-based physiotherapy (intervention) or early protocol-based physiotherapy alone (control). Muscle strength and function were assessed by Medical Research Council (MRC) score, handgrip strength and Functional Independence Measure at first awakening, ICU discharge, and 12 month follow-up. Patients underwent open surgical muscle biopsy on day 15. We investigated the impact of muscle activating measures in addition to early protocol-based physiotherapy on muscle strength and function as well as on muscle wasting, morphology, and homeostasis in patients with sepsis and ICU-acquired weakness. We compared the data with patients treated with common physiotherapeutic practice (CPP) earlier., Results: ICU-acquired weakness occurs within the entire cohort, and muscle activating measures did not improve muscle strength or function at first awakening (MRC median [IQR]: CPP 3.3 [3.0-4.3]; control 3.0 [2.7-3.4]; intervention 3.0 [2.1-3.8]; P > 0.05 for all), ICU discharge (MRC median [IQR]: CPP 3.8 [3.4-4.4]; control 3.9 [3.3-4.0]; intervention 3.6 [2.8-4.0]; P > 0.05 for all), and 12 month follow-up (MRC median [IQR]: control 5.0 [4.3-5.0]; intervention 4.8 [4.3-5.0]; P = 0.342 for all). No signs of necrosis or inflammatory infiltration were present in the histological analysis. Myocyte cross-sectional area in the intervention group was significantly larger in comparison with the control group (type I +10%; type IIa +13%; type IIb +3%; P < 0.001 for all) and CPP (type I +36%; type IIa +49%; type IIb +65%; P < 0.001 for all). This increase was accompanied by an up-regulated gene expression for myosin heavy chains (fold change median [IQR]: MYH1 2.3 [1.1-2.7]; MYH2 0.7 [0.2-1.8]; MYH4 5.1 [2.2-15.3]) and an unaffected gene expression for TRIM63, TRIM62, and FBXO32., Conclusions: In our patients with sepsis syndrome at high risk for ICU-acquired weakness muscle activating measures in addition to early protocol-based physiotherapy did not improve muscle strength or function at first awakening, ICU discharge, or 12 month follow-up. Yet it prevented muscle atrophy., (© 2019 The Authors Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders.)

Purpose: Indirect calorimetry (IC) is the gold standard for measuring energy expenditure (EE). Due to O 2 uptake and CO 2 removal by both the extracorporeal lung support (ECLS) membrane and the lungs, a conventional IC is not feasible and no data available. Our MEEP (Measuring Energy Expenditure in ECLS Patients) protocol enables the determination of the REE in patients with ECLS, the comparison to patients without ECLS, and accuracy assessment of estimating equations., Methods: In the MEEP protocol, a conventional IC is performed and extended by a calculation of the O 2 uptake and the CO 2 elimination by the ECLS membrane. Sum O 2 uptake and CO 2 elimination were used in the equation of Weir to calculate EE. We included 20 patients with ARDS on veno-venous (vv)-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment, and 20 matched ARDS patients without ECLS as control. EE measurements were compared to the most prevalent predicting equations for EE., Results: The new MEEP-protocol was shown to be feasible. None of the estimating equations matched the measured EE. Measured EE values did not significantly differ between the ARDS patients with vv-ECMO (2013 kcal/d [1786/2333]) and ARDS patients without ECLS (1857 kcal/d [1602/2085]) (p = 0.165). The blood flow through the vv-ECMO itself did not influence the EE., Conclusion: Using the MEEP protocol, EE becomes easily measurable in patients with ECLS. We recommend the implementation of sequential measurements of EE in the critically ill, especially for patients with ECLS, but also for those without, in order to improve goal directed nourishment., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)