2016 Aug 1 - Factors Associated with Functional Recovery among Older Intensive Care Unit Survivors
Lauren E. Ferrante, Margaret A. Pisani, Terrence E. Murphy, Evelyne A. Gahbauer, Linda S. Leo-Summers, and Thomas M. Gill Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Aug 1, 2016, vol. 194, no. 3: 299-307
Rationale: Most of the 1.4 million older adults who survive the intensive care unit (ICU) annually in the United States face increased disability, but little is known about those who achieve functional recovery.
2016 Jul 15 - Long-Term Mortality and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Sepsis Survivors. A Nationwide Population-based Study
Shuo-Ming Ou, Hsi Chu, Pei-Wen Chao, Yi-Jung Lee, Shu-Chen Kuo, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Ching-Min Tseng, Chia-Jen Shih, and Yung-Tai Chen Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jul 15. 2016, vol. 194, no. 2: 209-217
Rationale: Patients with sepsis who survive to hospital discharge may present with ongoing high morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the risk of long-term, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes after sepsis.
2016 Jul 15 - Five-Year Mortality and Hospital Costs Associated with Surviving Intensive Care
Nazir I. Lone, Michael A. Gillies, Catriona Haddow, Richard Dobbie, Kathryn M. Rowan, Sarah H. Wild, Gordon D. Murray, and Timothy S. Walsh Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jul 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 2: 198-208
Rationale: Survivors of critical illness experience significant morbidity, but the impact of surviving the intensive care unit (ICU) has not been quantified comprehensively at a population level.
2016 Jul 1 - Inflammation and Organ Failure Severely Affect Midazolam Clearance in Critically Ill Children
Nienke J. Vet, Janneke M. Brussee, Matthijs de Hoog, Miriam G. Mooij, Carin W. M. Verlaat, Isabel S. Jerchel, Ron H. N. van Schaik, Birgit C. P. Koch, Dick Tibboel, Catherijne A. J. Knibbe, and Saskia N. de Wildt Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jul 1, 2016, vol. 194, no. 1: 58-66
Rationale: Various in vitro, animal, and limited human adult studies suggest a profound inhibitory effect of inflammation and disease on cytochrome P-450 3A (CYP3A)-mediated drug metabolism. Studies showing this relationship in critically ill patients are lacking, whereas clearance of many CYP3A drug substrates may be decreased, potentially leading to toxicity.
2016 Jun 15 - Incidence and Risk Factors for Intensive Care Unit–related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and Civilians
Mayur B. Patel, James C. Jackson, Alessandro Morandi, Timothy D. Girard, Christopher G. Hughes, Jennifer L. Thompson, Amy L. Kiehl, Mark R. Elstad, Mitzi L. Wasserstein, Richard B. Goodman, Jean C. Beckham, Rameela Chandrasekhar, Robert S. Dittus, E. Wesley Ely, and Pratik P. Pandharipande Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jun 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 12: 1373-1381
Rationale: The incidence and risk factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to the intensive care unit (ICU) experience have not been reported in a mixed veteran and civilian cohort.
2016 Jun 1 - Multicenter Implementation of a Treatment Bundle for Patients with Sepsis and Intermediate Lactate Values
Vincent X. Liu, John W. Morehouse, Gregory P. Marelich, Jay Soule, Thomas Russell, Melinda Skeath, Carmen Adams, Gabriel J. Escobar, and Alan Whippy Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 1 Jun 2016, vol. 193, no. 11: 1264-1270
Rationale: Treatments for patients with sepsis with intermediate lactate values (≥2 and <4 mmol/L) are poorly defined.
2016 Jun 1 - Lung Recruitment Assessed by Respiratory Mechanics and Computed Tomography in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. What Is the Relationship?
Davide Chiumello, Antonella Marino, Matteo Brioni, Irene Cigada, Federica Menga, Andrea Colombo, Francesco Crimella, Ilaria Algieri, Massimo Cressoni, Eleonora Carlesso, and Luciano Gattinoni Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 1 Jun 2016, vol. 193, no. 11: 1254-1263
Rationale: The assessment of lung recruitability in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may be important for planning recruitment maneuvers and setting positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP).
2016 May 15 - Haptoglobin Preserves Vascular Nitric Oxide Signaling during Hemolysis
Christian A. Schaer, Jeremy W. Deuel, Daniela Schildknecht, Leila Mahmoudi, Ines Garcia-Rubio, Catherine Owczarek, Stefan Schauer, Reinhard Kissner, Uddyalok Banerjee, Andre F. Palmer, Donat R. Spahn, David C. Irwin, Florence Vallelian, Paul W. Buehler, and Dominik J. Schaer Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. May 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 10: 1111-1122
Rationale: Hemolysis occurs not only in conditions such as sickle cell disease and malaria but also during transfusion of stored blood, extracorporeal circulation, and sepsis. Cell-free Hb depletes nitric oxide (NO) in the vasculature, causing vasoconstriction and eventually cardiovascular complications. We hypothesize that Hb-binding proteins may preserve vascular NO signaling during hemolysis.
2016 May 15 - A Randomized Trial of an Intensive Physical Therapy Program for Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure
Marc Moss, Amy Nordon-Craft, Dan Malone, David Van Pelt, Stephen K. Frankel, Mary Laird Warner, Wendy Kriekels, Monica McNulty, Diane L. Fairclough, and Margaret Schenkman Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. May 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 10: 1101-1110
Rationale: Early physical therapy (PT) interventions may benefit patients with acute respiratory failure by preventing or attenuating neuromuscular weakness. However, the optimal dosage of these interventions is currently unknown.
2016 May 1 - NOX2 Activation of Natural Killer T Cells Is Blocked by the Adenosine A2A Receptor to Inhibit Lung Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury
Ashish K. Sharma, Damien J. LaPar, Matthew L. Stone, Yunge Zhao, Christopher K. Mehta, Irving L. Kron, and Victor E. Laubach Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. May 1, 2016, vol. 193, no. 9: 988-999
Rationale: Ischemia–reperfusion (IR) injury after lung transplantation, which affects both short- and long-term allograft survival, involves activation of NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) and activation of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells to produce IL-17. Adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) agonists are known to potently attenuate lung IR injury and IL-17 production. However, mechanisms for iNKT cell activation after IR and A2AR agonist–mediated protection remain unclear.
2016 Apr 1 - Changes in Bone Mineral Density in the Year after Critical Illness
Neil R. Orford, Stephen E. Lane, Michael Bailey, Julie A. Pasco, Claire Cattigan, Tania Elderkin, Sharon L. Brennan-Olsen, Rinaldo Bellomo, David J. Cooper, and Mark A. Kotowicz Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Apr 1, 2016, vol. 193, no. 7: 736-744
Rationale: Critical illness may be associated with increased bone turnover and loss of bone mineral density (BMD). Prospective evidence describing long-term changes in BMD after critical illness is needed to further define this relationship.
2016 Mar 1 - Early High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Failure. A Propensity Score Analysis
Scot T. Bateman, Santiago Borasino, Lisa A. Asaro, Ira M. Cheifetz, Shelley Diane, David Wypij, and Martha A. Q. Curley Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Mar 1, 2016, vol. 193, no. 5: 495-503
Rationale: The use of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) for acute respiratory failure in children is prevalent despite the lack of efficacy data.
2016 Feb 15 - Innate Lymphoid Cells Are the Predominant Source of IL-17A during the Early Pathogenesis of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Roshell Muir, Megan Osbourn, Alice V. Dubois, Emma Doran, Donna M. Small, Avril Monahan, Cecilia M. O’Kane, Katherine McAllister, Denise C. Fitzgerald, Adrien Kissenpfennig, Daniel F. McAuley, and Rebecca J. Ingram Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Feb 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 4: 407-416
Rationale: IL-17A is purported to help drive early pathogenesis in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) by enhancing neutrophil recruitment. Although IL-17A is the archetypal cytokine of T-helper 17 cells, it is produced by a number of lymphocytes, the source during ARDS being unknown.
2016 Feb 15 - Acute Lung Injury Causes Asynchronous Alveolar Ventilation That Can Be Corrected by Individual Sighs
Arata Tabuchi, Hannah T. Nickles, Michael Kim, John W. Semple, Edmund Koch, Laurent Brochard, Arthur S. Slutsky, Axel R. Pries, and Wolfgang M. Kuebler Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Feb 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 4: 396-406
Rationale: Improved ventilation strategies have been the mainstay for reducing mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome. Their unique clinical effectiveness is, however, unmatched by our understanding of the underlying mechanobiology, and their impact on alveolar dynamics and gas exchange remains largely speculative.
2016 Feb 1 - Using Technology to Create a More Humanistic Approach to Integrating Palliative Care into the Intensive Care Unit
Christopher E. Cox and J. Randall Curtis Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Feb 1, 2016, vol. 193, no. 3: 242-250
A decade ago, the major obstacles to integration of palliative care into the intensive care unit (ICU) were the limited number of providers trained in palliative care, an immature evidence base, and a lack of appreciation for the importance of palliative care in the ICU.
2016 Jan 15 - Rising Billing for Intermediate Intensive Care among Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries between 1996 and 2010
Michael W. Sjoding, Thomas S. Valley, Hallie C. Prescott, Hannah Wunsch, Theodore J. Iwashyna, and Colin R. Cooke Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 2: 163-170
Rationale: Intermediate care (i.e., step-down or progressive care) is an alternative to the intensive care unit (ICU) for patients with moderate severity of illness. The adoption and current use of intermediate care is unknown.
2016 Jan 15 - Randomized Trial of Communication Facilitators to Reduce Family Distress and Intensity of End-of-Life Care
J. Randall Curtis, Patsy D. Treece, Elizabeth L. Nielsen, Julia Gold, Paul S. Ciechanowski, Sarah E. Shannon, Nita Khandelwal, Jessica P. Young, and Ruth A. Engelberg Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 15, 2016, vol. 193, no. 2: 154-162
Rationale: Communication with family of critically ill patients is often poor and associated with family distress.
2016 Jan 1 - Hospital Incidence and Outcomes of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Using the Kigali Modification of the Berlin Definition
Elisabeth D. Riviello, Willy Kiviri, Theogene Twagirumugabe, Ariel Mueller, Valerie M. Banner-Goodspeed, Laurent Officer, Victor Novack, Marguerite Mutumwinka, Daniel S. Talmor, and Robert A. Fowler Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 1, 2016, vol. 193, no. 1: 52-59
Rationale: Estimates of the incidence of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in high- and middle-income countries vary from 10.1 to 86.2 per 100,000 person-years in the general population. The epidemiology of ARDS has not been reported for a low-income country at the level of the population, hospital, or intensive care unit (ICU). The Berlin definition may not allow identification of ARDS in resource-constrained settings.
2016 Jan 1 - Conservative versus Liberal Oxygenation Targets for Mechanically Ventilated Patients. A Pilot Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial
Rakshit Panwar, Miranda Hardie, Rinaldo Bellomo, Loïc Barrot, Glenn M. Eastwood, Paul J. Young, Gilles Capellier, Peter W. J. Harrigan, and Michael Bailey Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 1, 2016, vol. 193, no. 1: 43-51
Rationale: There are no randomized controlled trials comparing different oxygenation targets for intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
2015 Dec 15 - Underestimation of Patient Breathlessness by Nurses and Physicians during a Spontaneous Breathing Trial
Hege S. Haugdahl, Sissel L. Storli, Barbro Meland, Knut Dybwik, Ulla Romild, and Pål Klepstad Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Dec 15, 2015, vol. 192, no. 12: 1440-1448
Rationale: Breathlessness is a prevalent and distressing symptom in intensive care unit patients. There is little evidence of the ability of healthcare workers to assess the patient’s experiences of breathing. Patient perception of breathing is essential in symptom management, and patient perception during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) might be related to extubation success.