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Introduction: Weaning patients from mechanical ventilation is crucial in the management of acute respiratory failure (ARF). Spontaneous breathing trials (SBT) are used to assess readiness for extubation, but extubation failure remains a challenge. Diaphragmatic function, measured by electrical activity of the diaphragm (EAdi), may provide insights into weaning outcomes., Materials and Methods: This prospective, observational study included difficult-to-wean patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation. EAdi was recorded before, during, and after extubation. Patients were categorized into extubation success and failure groups based on reintubation within 48 h. Statistical analysis assessed EAdi patterns and predictive value., Results: Thirty-one patients were analyzed, with six experiencing extubation failure. Overall, EAdi increased significantly between the phases before the SBT, the SBT and post-extubation period, up to 24 h (p < 0.001). EAdi values were higher in the extubation failure group during SBT (p = 0.01). An EAdi > 30 μV during SBT predicted extubation failure with 92% sensitivity and 67% specificity. Multivariable analysis confirmed EAdi as an independent predictor of extubation failure., Conclusions: In difficult-to-wean patients, EAdi increases significantly between the phases before the SBT, the SBT and post-extubation period and is significantly higher in patients experiencing extubation failure. An EAdi > 30 μV during SBT may enhance extubation failure prediction compared to conventional parameters. Advanced monitoring of diaphragmatic function could improve weaning outcomes in critical care settings., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Prospective, single-center trials have shown that the implementation of the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) recommendations in high-risk patients significantly reduced the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) after surgery. We sought to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a bundle of supportive measures based on the KDIGO guideline in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery in a multicenter setting in preparation for a large definitive trial., Methods: In this multicenter, multinational, randomized controlled trial, we examined the adherence to the KDIGO bundle consisting of optimization of volume status and hemodynamics, functional hemodynamic monitoring, avoidance of nephrotoxic drugs, and prevention of hyperglycemia in high-risk patients identified by the urinary biomarkers tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 [TIMP-2] and insulin growth factor-binding protein 7 [IGFBP7] after cardiac surgery. The primary end point was the adherence to the bundle protocol and was evaluated by the percentage of compliant patients with a 95% confidence interval (CI) according to Clopper-Pearson. Secondary end points included the development and severity of AKI., Results: In total, 278 patients were included in the final analysis. In the intervention group, 65.4% of patients received the complete bundle as compared to 4.2% in the control group (absolute risk reduction [ARR] 61.2 [95% CI, 52.6-69.9]; P < .001). AKI rates were statistically not different in both groups (46.3% intervention versus 41.5% control group; ARR -4.8% [95% CI, -16.4 to 6.9]; P = .423). However, the occurrence of moderate and severe AKI was significantly lower in the intervention group as compared to the control group (14.0% vs 23.9%; ARR 10.0% [95% CI, 0.9-19.1]; P = .034). There were no significant effects on other specified secondary outcomes., Conclusions: Implementation of a KDIGO-derived treatment bundle is feasible in a multinational setting. Furthermore, moderate to severe AKI was significantly reduced in the intervention group., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: See Disclosures at the end of the article., (Copyright © 2021 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Transesophageal echocardiography is a semi-invasive technique that allows an evaluation of cardiac morphology and function in real time and it is a quality standard in cardiovascular surgery. It has become a fundamental tool for both monitoring and diagnosis in the intraoperative period that allows decide the correct surgical planning and pharmacological management. The goal of this document is to answer the questions of when and how the perioperative TEE should be performed in cardiovascular surgery, what are their applications in the intraoperative, who should perform it and how the information should be transmitted. The authors made a systematic review of international guidelines, review articles and clinical trials to answer by consensus to these questions., (Copyright © 2020 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication after cardiac surgery with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. Although prevention of AKI (PrevAKI) is strongly recommended, the optimal strategy is uncertain. The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guideline recommended a bundle of supportive measures in high-risk patients. In a single-centre trial, we recently demonstrated that the strict implementation of the KDIGO bundle significantly reduced the occurrence of AKI after cardiac surgery. In this feasibility study, we aim to evaluate whether the study protocol can be implemented in a multicentre setting in preparation for a large multicentre trial., Methods and Analysis: We plan to conduct a prospective, observational survey followed by a randomised controlled, multicentre, multinational clinical trial including 280 patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The purpose of the observational survey is to explore the adherence to the KDIGO recommendations in routine clinical practice. The second phase is a randomised controlled trial. The objective is to investigate whether the trial protocol is implementable in a large multicentre, multinational setting. The primary endpoint of the interventional part is the compliance rate with the protocol. Secondary endpoints include the occurrence of any AKI and moderate/severe AKI as defined by the KDIGO criteria within 72 hours after surgery, renal recovery at day 90, use of renal replacement therapy (RRT) and mortality at days 30, 60 and 90, the combined endpoint major adverse kidney events consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality at day 90 and safety outcomes., Ethics and Dissemination: The PrevAKI multicentre study has been approved by the leading Research Ethics Committee of the University of Münster and the respective Research Ethics Committee at each participating site. The results will be used to design a large, definitive trial., Trial Registration Number: NCT03244514., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MM, JK and AZ have received lecture fees from Astute Medical, Fresenius and Baxter, unrelated to the current study. JK and AZ have received grant support from Astute Medical, unrelated to the current study. MO has received lecture fees from Biomerieux, Fresenius Medical and Baxter. CA has received lecture fees from Baxter. LF has received research funding from Baxter and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, consultancy fees from Medibeacon/La Jolla Pharmaceuticals and honoraria from Biomerieux/Astute., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines recommend a bundle of different measures for patients at increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). Prospective, single-center, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown that management in accordance with the KDIGO recommendations was associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of postoperative AKI in high-risk patients. However, compliance with the KDIGO bundle in routine clinical practice is unknown., Methods: This observational prevalence study was performed in conjunction with a prospective RCT investigating the role of the KDIGO bundle in high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A 2-day observational prevalence study was performed in all participating centers before the RCT to explore routine clinical practice. The participating hospitals provided the following data: demographics and surgical characteristics, AKI rates, and compliance rates with the individual components of the bundle., Results: Ninety-five patients were enrolled in 12 participating hospitals. The incidence of AKI within 72 hours after cardiac surgery was 24.2%. In 5.3% of all patients, clinical management was fully compliant with all 6 components of the bundle. Nephrotoxic drugs were discontinued in 52.6% of patients, volume optimization was performed in 70.5%, 52.6% of the patients underwent functional hemodynamic monitoring, close monitoring of serum creatinine and urine output was undertaken in 24.2% of patients, hyperglycemia was avoided in 41.1% of patients, and no patient received radiocontrast agents. The patients received on average 3.4 (standard deviation [SD] ±1.1) of 6 supportive measures as recommended by the KDIGO guidelines. There was no significant difference in the number of applied measures between AKI and non-AKI patients (3.2 [SD ±1.1] vs 3.5 [SD ±1.1]; P = .347)., Conclusions: In patients after cardiac surgery, compliance with the KDIGO recommendations was low in routine clinical practice.

Purpose: Optimizing pressure support ventilation (PSV) can improve patient-ventilator interaction. We conducted a two-center, randomized cross-over study to determine whether automated PSV lowers asynchrony rate during difficult weaning from mechanical ventilation., Methods: Thirty patients failing the first weaning attempt were randomly ventilated for 2 three-hour consecutive periods with: 1)PSV managed by physicians (convPSV); 2)PSV managed by Smartcare® (autoPSV). These 2 periods were applied in the afternoon and overnight, for a 12-h total study time. Two independent clinicians offline analyzed ventilator waveforms to compute asynchrony index(AI)., Results: AI was lower during autoPSV than during convPSV (medians[interquartile ranges] 5.1[2.6-9.5]% vs. 7.3[2.3-13.4]%, p = 0.02), without changes in the proportion of patients with AI>10%(p = 0.31). Pressure support (PS) variability was higher during autoPSV (p < 0.001), but average PS did not vary. In patients with baseline PS > 12 cmH 2 O (n = 15), PS and tidal volume were lower with autoPSV (12 [10-15]cmH 2 O vs. 15 [14-18]cmH 2 O,p = 0.003; 7.2[6.2-8.3]ml/Kg vs. 8.2[7.1-9.1]ml/Kg, p = 0.02) and AI reduction was driven by lower tidal volume (p = 0.03). In patients with baseline PS ≤ 12 cmH 2 O, AI reduction during autoPSV was mediated by increased PS variability (p = 0.04)., Conclusion: During difficult weaning, autoPSV improves patient-ventilator interaction by lowering tidal volume and enhancing PS variability. In expert centres, however, the size effect of the intervention appears clinically small, likely because physicians themselves adequately limit PS and tidal volume., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The use of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and prone position (PP) is common in the management of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome patients (ARDS). We conducted this study to analyze the variation in lung volumes and PEEP-induced lung volume recruitment with the change from supine position (SP) to PP in ARDS patients., Methods: The investigation was conducted in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit. Patients who met the clinical criteria of the Berlin definition for ARDS were included. The responsible physician set basal PEEP. To avoid hypoxemia, FiO 2 was increased to 0.8 1 h before starting the protocol. End-expiratory lung volume (EELV) and functional residual capacity (FRC) were measured using the nitrogen washout/washin technique. After the procedures in SP, the patients were turned to PP and 1 h later the same procedures were made in PP., Results: Twenty-three patients were included in the study, and twenty were analyzed. The change from SP to PP significantly increased FRC (from 965 ± 397 to 1140 ± 490 ml, p = 0.008) and EELV (from 1566 ± 476 to 1832 ± 719 ml, p = 0.008), but PEEP-induced lung volume recruitment did not significantly change (269 ± 186 ml in SP to 324 ± 188 ml in PP, p = 0.263). Dynamic strain at PEEP decreased with the change from SP to PP (0.38 ± 0.14 to 0.33 ± 0.13, p = 0.040)., Conclusions: As compared to supine, prone position increases resting lung volumes and decreases dynamic lung strain.

Background: End-inspiratory pause (EIP) prolongation decreases dead space-to-tidal volume ratio (Vd/Vt) and PaCO2. We do not know the physiological benefits of this approach to improve respiratory system mechanics in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients when mild hypercapnia is of no concern., Methods: The investigation was conducted in an intensive care unit of a university hospital, and 13 ARDS patients were included. The study was designed in three phases. First phase, baseline measurements were taken. Second phase, the EIP was prolonged until one of the following was achieved: (1) EIP of 0.7 s; (2) intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure ≥1 cmH2O; or (3) inspiratory-expiratory ratio 1:1. Third phase, the Vt was decreased (30 mL every 30 min) until PaCO2 equal to baseline was reached. FiO2, PEEP, airflow and respiratory rate were kept constant., Results: EIP was prolonged from 0.12 ± 0.04 to 0.7 s in all patients. This decreased the Vd/Vt and PaCO2 (0.70 ± 0.07 to 0.64 ± 0.08, p < 0.001 and 54 ± 9 to 50 ± 8 mmHg, p = 0.001, respectively). In the third phase, the decrease in Vt (from 6.3 ± 0.8 to 5.6 ± 0.8 mL/Kg PBW, p < 0.001) allowed to decrease plateau pressure and driving pressure (24 ± 3 to 22 ± 3 cmH2O, p < 0.001 and 13.4 ± 3.6 to 10.9 ± 3.1 cmH2O, p < 0.001, respectively) and increased respiratory system compliance from 29 ± 9 to 32 ± 11 mL/cmH2O (p = 0.001). PaO2 did not significantly change., Conclusions: Prolonging EIP allowed a significant decrease in Vt without changes in PaCO2 in passively ventilated ARDS patients. This produced a significant decrease in plateau pressure and driving pressure and significantly increased respiratory system compliance, which suggests less overdistension and less dynamic strain.

Objectives: To compare tolerance, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) and clinical outcomes during weaning from MV in patients subjected to either pressure support ventilation (PSV) or proportional assist ventilation (PAV)., Design: A prospective, observational study was carried out., Setting: Intensive Care Unit., Patients: A total of 40 consecutive subjects were allocated to either the PSV or the PAV group until each group contained 20 patients. Patients were included in the study when they met the criteria to begin weaning and the attending physician decided to initiate the weaning process. The physician selected the modality and set the ventilatory parameters., Interventions: None., Variables of Interest: Demographic data, respiratory mechanics, ventilatory parameters, duration of MV, and clinical outcomes (reintubation, tracheostomy, mortality)., Results: Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. No significant differences were observed between the PSV and PAV groups in terms of the total duration of MV (10 [5-18] vs. 9 [7-19] days; P=.85), reintubation (5 [31%] vs. 3 [19%]; P=.69), or mortality (4 [20%] vs. 5 [25%] deaths; P=1). Eight patients (40%) in the PSV group and 6 patients (30%) in the PAV group (P=.74) required a return to volume assist-control ventilation due to clinical deterioration., Conclusions: Tolerance, duration of MV and clinical outcomes during weaning from mechanical ventilation were similar in PSV and PAV., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.)

Background: Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) occurs in part by increased vascular permeability and impaired alveolar fluid clearance. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma (PI3Kγ) is activated by mechanical stress, induces nitric oxide (NO) production, and participates in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) hydrolysis, each of which contributes to alveolar edema. We hypothesized that lungs lacking PI3Kγ or treated with PI3Kγ inhibitors would be protected from ventilation-induced alveolar edema and lung injury., Methods: Using an isolated and perfused lung model, wild-type (WT) and PI3Kγ-knockout (KO) mice underwent negative-pressure cycled ventilation at either -25 cmH₂O and 0 cmH₂O positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) (HIGH STRESS) or -10 cmH₂O and -3 cmH₂O PEEP (LOW STRESS)., Results: Compared with WT, PI3Kγ-knockout mice lungs were partially protected from VILI-induced derangement of respiratory mechanics (lung elastance) and edema formation [bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) protein concentration, wet/dry ratio, and lung histology]. In PI3Kγ-knockout mice, VILI induced significantly less phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), production of nitrate and nitrotyrosine, as well as hydrolysis of cAMP, compared with wild-type animals. PI3Kγ wild-type lungs treated with AS605240, an inhibitor of PI3Kγ kinase activity, in combination with enoximone, an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-3 (PDE3)-induced cAMP hydrolysis, were protected from VILI at levels comparable to knockout lungs., Conclusions: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma in resident lung cells mediates part of the alveolar edema induced by high-stress ventilation. This injury is mediated via altered Akt, eNOS, NO, and/or cAMP signaling. Anti-PI3Kγ therapy aimed at resident lung cells represents a potential pharmacologic target to mitigate VILI.

Unlabelled: We investigated three different concentrations of levobupivacaine (0.125%, 0.20%, and 0.25%; n = 20 in each group) for caudal blockade in a prospective, randomized, observer-blinded fashion in children (1-7 yr) undergoing subumbilical surgery. The duration of postoperative analgesia was assessed as the time to first administration of supplemental analgesia (based on a Childrens and Infants Postoperative Pain Scale score of >or=4), and the degree of immediate postoperative motor blockade was determined by use of a 3-point scale. A dose-response relationship was observed both with regard to median duration of postoperative analgesia (0.125%, 60 min; 0.20%, 118 min; 0.25%, 158 min) and the number of patients with evidence of early postoperative motor blockade (0.125%, 0; 0.20%, 4; 0.25%, 8). The 0.125% concentration was associated with significantly less early motor blockade (P = 0.003) but was found to result in a significantly shorter duration of postoperative analgesia (P < 0.05). Based on these results, the use of 0.20% levobupivacaine might represent the best clinical option if a plain levobupivacaine solution is to be used for caudal blockade in children., Implications: The use of 0.125% levobupivacaine for caudal blockade (1 mL/kg) in children (1-7 yr) was associated with less early postoperative motor blockade but a shorter duration of postoperative analgesia compared with 0.20% and 0.25% solutions.