Identifying associations between diabetes and acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: an analysis of the LUNG SAFE database

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a common co-existing disease in the critically ill. Diabetes mellitus may reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but data from previous studies are conflicting. The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between pre-existing diabetes mellitus and ARDS in critically ill patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). Methods: An ancillary analysis of a global, multi-centre prospective observational study (LUNG SAFE) was undertaken. LUNG SAFE evaluated all patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) over a 4-week period, that required mechanical ventilation and met AHRF criteria. Patients who had their AHRF fully explained by cardiac failure were excluded. Important clinical characteristics were included in a stepwise selection approach (forward and backward selection combined with a significance level of 0.05) to identify a set of independent variables associated with having ARDS at any time, developing ARDS (defined as ARDS occurring after day 2 from meeting AHRF criteria) and with hospital mortality. Furthermore, propensity score analysis was undertaken to account for the differences in baseline characteristics between patients with and without diabetes mellitus, and the association between diabetes mellitus and outcomes of interest was assessed on matched samples. Results: Of the 4107 patients with AHRF included in this study, 3022 (73.6%) patients fulfilled ARDS criteria at admission or developed ARDS during their ICU stay. Diabetes mellitus was a pre-existing co-morbidity in 913 patients (22.2% of patients with AHRF). In multivariable analysis, there was no association between diabetes mellitus and having ARDS (OR 0.93 (0.78-1.11); p = 0.39), developing ARDS late (OR 0.79 (0.54-1.15); p = 0.22), or hospital mortality in patients with ARDS (1.15 (0.93-1.42); p = 0.19). In a matched sample of patients, there was no association between diabetes mellitus and outcomes of interest. Conclusions: In a large, global observational study of patients with AHRF, no association was found between diabetes mellitus and having ARDS, developing ARDS, or outcomes from ARDS. Trial registration: NCT02010073. Registered on 12 December 2013

Spontaneous Breathing in Early Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Insights From the Large Observational Study to UNderstand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory FailurE Study

OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome with or without spontaneous breathing and to investigate whether the effects of spontaneous breathing on outcome depend on acute respiratory distress syndrome severity. DESIGN: Planned secondary analysis of a prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study. SETTING: International sample of 459 ICUs from 50 countries. PATIENTS: Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation and available data for the mode of mechanical ventilation and respiratory rate for the 2 first days. INTERVENTIONS: Analysis of patients with and without spontaneous breathing, defined by the mode of mechanical ventilation and by actual respiratory rate compared with set respiratory rate during the first 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Spontaneous breathing was present in 67% of patients with mild acute respiratory distress syndrome, 58% of patients with moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome, and 46% of patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Patients with spontaneous breathing were older and had lower acute respiratory distress syndrome severity, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, ICU and hospital mortality, and were less likely to be diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome by clinicians. In adjusted analysis, spontaneous breathing during the first 2 days was not associated with an effect on ICU or hospital mortality (33% vs 37%; odds ratio, 1.18 [0.92-1.51]; p = 0.19 and 37% vs 41%; odds ratio, 1.18 [0.93-1.50]; p = 0.196, respectively ). Spontaneous breathing was associated with increased ventilator-free days (13 [0-22] vs 8 [0-20]; p = 0.014) and shorter duration of ICU stay (11 [6-20] vs 12 [7-22]; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous breathing is common in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome during the first 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. Spontaneous breathing is not associated with worse outcomes and may hasten liberation from the ventilator and from ICU. Although these results support the use of spontaneous breathing in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome independent of acute respiratory distress syndrome severity, the use of controlled ventilation indicates a bias toward use in patients with higher disease severity. In addition, because the lack of reliable data on inspiratory effort in our study, prospective studies incorporating the magnitude of inspiratory effort and adjusting for all potential severity confounders are required

Epidemiology and patterns of tracheostomy practice in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in ICUs across 50 countries

Background: To better understand the epidemiology and patterns of tracheostomy practice for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), we investigated the current usage of tracheostomy in patients with ARDS recruited into the Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG-SAFE) study. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of LUNG-SAFE, an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients receiving invasive or noninvasive ventilation in 50 countries spanning 5 continents. The study was carried out over 4 weeks consecutively in the winter of 2014, and 459 ICUs participated. We evaluated the clinical characteristics, management and outcomes of patients that received tracheostomy, in the cohort of patients that developed ARDS on day 1-2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, and in a subsequent propensity-matched cohort. Results: Of the 2377 patients with ARDS that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 309 (13.0%) underwent tracheostomy during their ICU stay. Patients from high-income European countries (n = 198/1263) more frequently underwent tracheostomy compared to patients from non-European high-income countries (n = 63/649) or patients from middle-income countries (n = 48/465). Only 86/309 (27.8%) underwent tracheostomy on or before day 7, while the median timing of tracheostomy was 14 (Q1-Q3, 7-21) days after onset of ARDS. In the subsample matched by propensity score, ICU and hospital stay were longer in patients with tracheostomy. While patients with tracheostomy had the highest survival probability, there was no difference in 60-day or 90-day mortality in either the patient subgroup that survived for at least 5 days in ICU, or in the propensity-matched subsample. Conclusions: Most patients that receive tracheostomy do so after the first week of critical illness. Tracheostomy may prolong patient survival but does not reduce 60-day or 90-day mortality. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073. Registered on 12 December 2013

Conhecimento da equipe de enfermagem sobre higiene oral em pacientes criticamente enfermos El conocimiento del equipo de enfermería sobre higiene oral en pacientes críticamente enfermos Nursing staff's knowledge about oral care in critically ill patients

Objetivou-se avaliar o conhecimento dos profissionais de enfermagem, que realizam ou supervisionam os cuidados de higiene oral em pacientes críticos e, secundariamente, verificar como julgam o cuidado prestado. Estudo exploratório, descritivo, com abordagem quantitativa, por meio de instrumento elaborado pelos autores, aplicado a enfermeiros e técnicos que atuam em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) de médio porte de Porto Alegre. Os resultados mostram que 50% dos enfermeiros e 72,8% dos técnicos concordam que a higiene oral no paciente crítico é importante, mas não há relação com a pneumonia associada à ventilação mecânica (PAVM). Da amostra, 16,6% dos enfermeiros e 66,6% dos técnicos de enfermagem concordam que a rotina da instituição é adequada, sendo que 66,6% dos enfermeiros e 30,7% dos técnicos indicam novas práticas. Isso nos sugere que a higiene oral em pacientes internados não tem constituído uma preocupação evidente, tanto na assistência quanto nas práticas de educação em saúde.<br>El objetivo fue evaluar el conocimiento de los profesionales de enfermería que realizan o supervisan el cuidado de la higiene oral en pacientes críticos y, en segundo lugar, para ver cómo juzgar la atención proporcionada. Estudio exploratorio descriptivo con enfoque cuantitativo, usando un instrumento desarrollado por los autores, aplicado a los enfermeros y técnicos que trabajan en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI) de un hospital de tamaño mediano de la ciudad de Porto Alegre. Los resultados muestran que el 50% de los enfermeros y el 72,8% de los técnicos concuerdan que la higiene bucal en los pacientes críticos es importante, pero no hay ninguna relación con la neumonía asociada al ventilador (NAV). De la muestra, el 16,6% de los enfermeros y el 66,6% de los técnicos de enfermería concuerdan que la rutina de la institución es adecuada, mientras que el 66,6% de los enfermeros y el 30,7% de los técnicos indican nuevas prácticas. Esto nos sugiere que la higiene bucal en los pacientes hospitalizados no ha sido una preocupación evidente, en las prácticas de cuidado y educación para la salud.<br>The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of nursing professionals who perform or supervise the oral hygiene care in critically ill patients and, secondarily, to verify their opinion about the care provided. This is an exploratory study with a quantitative approach, using an instrument developed by the authors applied to the nurses and technicians working in a mid-sized Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Porto Alegre. The results show that 50% of nurses and 72.8% of technicians agree that oral hygiene is important in critically ill patients, but there is no relation to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Fromthe sample, 16.6% of nurses and 66.6% of nursing technicians agree that the routine of the institution is adequate, and 66.6% of nurses and 30.7% of technicians indicate new practices. This suggests that oral hygiene in hospitalized patients has not been an evident concern, regarding health education practices and care