Duration of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients

BACKGROUND:Duration of acute kidney injury (AKI) has been recognized a risk factor for adverse outcomes following AKI. We sought to examine the relationship of AKI duration and recurrent AKI with short-term outcomes in critically ill patients who were mechanically ventilated and met criteria for the acute respiratory distress syndrome. METHODS:Participants in the NHLBI ARDS Network SAILS multicenter trial who developed AKI were included in this analysis and divided into groups based on AKI duration. Differences in outcomes were evaluated using t test and Chi-square test. Competing risks regression and Cox regression were used to evaluate factors associated with resolving AKI and recurrent AKI. RESULTS:In total, 238 patients were included in the study. Seventy-seven patients had short duration AKI (1-2 days), 47 medium duration AKI (3-7 days), 87 persistent AKI (> 7 days) and 38 died during their AKI episode. Persistent AKI was associated with worse outcomes including increased ICU length of stay, time on the ventilator and days with cardiovascular failure. We found no clinical differences between patients with short and medium duration AKI, even when accounting for AKI severity and recurrent AKI. Patients with resolving AKI were less likely to have oliguria or moderate/severe ARDS on the day AKI criteria were met. Recurrent AKI was associated with poorer clinical outcomes. No baseline clinical factors were found to predict development of recurrent AKI. CONCLUSIONS:In critically ill patients with sepsis-associated ARDS and AKI, the impact of short and medium duration AKI on clinical outcomes was modest. Persistent and recurrent AKI were both associated with worse clinical outcomes, emphasizing the importance of identifying these patients, who may benefit from novel interventions

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Automated approach for optimizing dynamic systems

The optimal design of nonlinear dynamic systems can be formulated as a multicriteria optimization problem. On the basis of a multibody system model integral type objective functions are defined evaluating the dynamic behavior of the system under consideration. Multicriteria optimization methods reduce the problem to nonlinear programming problems which can be solved with standard algorithms like the SQP method. The gradients required for such an efficient optimization procedure are computed by solving, additional differential equations resulting from an adjoint variable approach. The whole design process can be highly automated by using computer algebra packages

A method to measure the resonance transitions between the gravitationally bound quantum states of neutrons in the GRANIT spectrometer

We present a method to measure the resonance transitions between the gravitationally bound quantum states of neutrons in the GRANIT spectrometer. The purpose of GRANIT is to improve the accuracy of measurement of the quantum states parameters by several orders of magnitude, taking advantage of long storage of Ultracold neutrons at specula trajectories. The transitions could be excited using a periodic spatial variation of a magnetic field gradient. If the frequency of such a perturbation (in the frame of a moving neutron) coincides with a resonance frequency defined by the energy difference of two quantum states, the transition probability will sharply increase. The GRANIT experiment is motivated by searches for short-range interactions (in particular spin-dependent interactions), by studying the interaction of a quantum system with a gravitational field, by searches for extensions of the Standard model, by the unique possibility to check the equivalence principle for an object in a quantum state and by studying various quantum optics phenomena

Personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS): study protocol for an international randomized clinical trial

background acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a frequent cause of hypoxemic respiratory failure with a mortality rate of approximately 30%. Identifying ARDS subphenotypes based on "focal" or "non-focal" lung morphology has the potential to better target mechanical ventilation strategies of individual patients. however, classifying morphology through chest radiography or computed tomography is either inaccurate or impractical. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a non-invasive bedside tool that can accurately distinguish "focal" from "non-focal" lung morphology. We hypothesize that LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation in ARDS patients leads to a reduction in 90-day mortality compared to conventional mechanical ventilation. methods the personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS) study is an investigator-initiated, international, randomized clinical trial (RCT) that plans to enroll 538 invasively ventilated adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients with moderate to severe ARDS. eligible patients will receive a LUS exam to classify lung morphology as "focal" or "non-focal". thereafter, patients will be randomized within 12 h after ARDS diagnosis to receive standard care or personalized ventilation where the ventilation strategy is adjusted to the morphology subphenotype, i.e., higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and recruitment maneuvers for "non-focal" ARDS and lower PEEP and prone positioning for "focal" ARDS. the primary endpoint is all-cause mortality at day 90. secondary outcomes are mortality at day 28, ventilator-free days at day 28, ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, hospital length of stay, hospital mortality, and number of complications (ventilator-associated pneumonia, pneumothorax, and need for rescue therapy). after a pilot phase of 80 patients, the correct interpretation of LUS images and correct application of the intervention within the safe limits of mechanical ventilation will be evaluated. discussion PEGASUS is the first RCT that compares LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation with conventional ventilation in invasively ventilated patients with moderate and severe ARDS. If this study demonstrates that personalized ventilation guided by LUS can improve the outcomes of ARDS patients, it has the potential to shift the existing one-size-fits-all ventilation strategy towards a more individualized approach. trial registration the PEGASUS trial was registered before the inclusion of the first patient, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (ID: NCT05492344)

Fluid challenges in intensive care: the FENICE study A global inception cohort study

Fluid challenges (FCs) are one of the most commonly used therapies in critically ill patients and represent the cornerstone of hemodynamic management in intensive care units. There are clear benefits and harms from fluid therapy. Limited data on the indication, type, amount and rate of an FC in critically ill patients exist in the literature. The primary aim was to evaluate how physicians conduct FCs in terms of type, volume, and rate of given fluid; the secondary aim was to evaluate variables used to trigger an FC and to compare the proportion of patients receiving further fluid administration based on the response to the FC.This was an observational study conducted in ICUs around the world. Each participating unit entered a maximum of 20 patients with one FC.2213 patients were enrolled and analyzed in the study. The median [interquartile range] amount of fluid given during an FC was 500 ml (500-1000). The median time was 24 min (40-60 min), and the median rate of FC was 1000 [500-1333] ml/h. The main indication for FC was hypotension in 1211 (59 %, CI 57-61 %). In 43 % (CI 41-45 %) of the cases no hemodynamic variable was used. Static markers of preload were used in 785 of 2213 cases (36 %, CI 34-37 %). Dynamic indices of preload responsiveness were used in 483 of 2213 cases (22 %, CI 20-24 %). No safety variable for the FC was used in 72 % (CI 70-74 %) of the cases. There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of patients who received further fluids after the FC between those with a positive, with an uncertain or with a negatively judged response.The current practice and evaluation of FC in critically ill patients are highly variable. Prediction of fluid responsiveness is not used routinely, safety limits are rarely used, and information from previous failed FCs is not always taken into account

Temporal changes in the epidemiology, management, and outcome from acute respiratory distress syndrome in European intensive care units: a comparison of two large cohorts

Background: Mortality rates for patients with ARDS remain high. We assessed temporal changes in the epidemiology and management of ARDS patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in European ICUs. We also investigated the association between ventilatory settings and outcome in these patients. Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of two cohorts of adult ICU patients admitted between May 1–15, 2002 (SOAP study, n = 3147), and May 8–18, 2012 (ICON audit, n = 4601 admitted to ICUs in the same 24 countries as the SOAP study). ARDS was defined retrospectively using the Berlin definitions. Values of tidal volume, PEEP, plateau pressure, and FiO2 corresponding to the most abnormal value of arterial PO2 were recorded prospectively every 24 h. In both studies, patients were followed for outcome until death, hospital discharge or for 60 days. Results: The frequency of ARDS requiring mechanical ventilation during the ICU stay was similar in SOAP and ICON (327[10.4%] vs. 494[10.7%], p = 0.793). The diagnosis of ARDS was established at a median of 3 (IQ: 1–7) days after admission in SOAP and 2 (1–6) days in ICON. Within 24 h of diagnosis, ARDS was mild in 244 (29.7%), moderate in 388 (47.3%), and severe in 189 (23.0%) patients. In patients with ARDS, tidal volumes were lower in the later (ICON) than in the earlier (SOAP) cohort. Plateau and driving pressures were also lower in ICON than in SOAP. ICU (134[41.1%] vs 179[36.9%]) and hospital (151[46.2%] vs 212[44.4%]) mortality rates in patients with ARDS were similar in SOAP and ICON. High plateau pressure (> 29 cmH2O) and driving pressure (> 14 cmH2O) on the first day of mechanical ventilation but not tidal volume (> 8 ml/kg predicted body weight [PBW]) were independently associated with a higher risk of in-hospital death. Conclusion: The frequency of and outcome from ARDS remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2012. Plateau pressure > 29 cmH2O and driving pressure > 14 cmH2O on the first day of mechanical ventilation but not tidal volume > 8 ml/kg PBW were independently associated with a higher risk of death. These data highlight the continued burden of ARDS and provide hypothesis-generating data for the design of future studies

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Abstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat