Change in End-Tidal Co 2 After Mini-Fluid Challenge to Determine Fluid Responsiveness

OBJECTIVES:. Distributive shock is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the ICU. IV fluid resuscitation is a vital intervention to improve cardiac output and end-organ perfusion during the initial resuscitation and for those who remain fluid responsive. Noninvasive measures of fluid responsiveness are lacking. The aim of this study is to assess whether changes in end-tidal co2 after mini-fluid challenge, or 250 mL bolus, can predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated patients with distributive shock. DESIGN:. Single-center prospective study. SETTING:. Patients were enrolled from 2019 to 2021 from the medical ICU within a single academic hospital. PATIENTS:. Thirty-eight patients with paired measurements of fluid responsiveness as determined by bioreactance who were admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of distributive shock and on mechanical ventilation. INTERVENTIONS:. Stroke volume index (SVI), cardiac index, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and ETco2 were measured before and after completion of a mini-fluid challenge. Test characteristics of change in ETco2 (ΔETco2) greater than or equal to 2 after mini-fluid challenge to determine fluid responsiveness were calculated with percentage change in SVI greater than or equal to 10% used as the reference standard. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:. The sensitivity and specificity of a ΔETco2 greater than or equal to 2 mm Hg as a predictor of a change in SVI greater than or equal to 10% following a mini-fluid challenge were 20.0% and 91.3%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.62. CONCLUSIONS:. A ΔETco2 greater than or equal to 2 mm Hg after mini-fluid challenge has limited test performance for determining fluid responsiveness in intubated patients with distributive shock

Transfusion with Cryoprecipitate for Very Low Fibrinogen Levels Does Not Affect Bleeding or Survival in Critically Ill Cirrhosis Patients

Background Fibrinogen (FIB) levels less than 150 mg/dL have been associated with increased rates of bleeding and lower survival in critically ill cirrhosis patients. Objective We aimed to determine if treatment with cryoprecipitate (CRYO) for low FIB levels is associated with bleeding outcomes or survival. Methods A total of 237 cirrhosis patients admitted to an intensive care unit at a tertiary care liver transplant center with initial FIB levels less than 150 mg/dL were retrospectively assessed for CRYO transfusion, bleeding events, and survival outcomes. Results The mean MELD score was 27.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26.0-28.3) and CLIF-C acute on chronic liver failure score was 53.4 (51.9-54.8). Ninety-nine (41.8%) were admitted for acute bleeding and the remainder were admitted for nonbleeding illnesses. FIB level on admission correlated strongly with disease severity. After adjusting for disease severity, FIB on admission was not an independent predictor of 30-day survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.99-1.01, p = 0.68). CRYO transfusion increased FIB levels but had no independent effect on mortality or bleeding complications (HR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.72-1.70, p = 0.65). Conclusion In cirrhosis patients with critical illness, low FIB levels on presentation reflect severity of illness but are not independently associated with 30-day mortality. Treatment of low FIB with CRYO also does not affect survival or bleeding complications, suggesting FIB is an additional marker of severity of illness but is not itself a direct factor in the pathophysiology of bleeding in critically ill cirrhosis patients

The effect of BCG vaccination on alveolar macrophages obtained from induced sputum from healthy volunteers

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ATS Core Curriculum 2021. Adult Sleep Medicine: Sleep Apnea.

The American Thoracic Society Sleep Core Curriculum updates clinicians on important sleep topics, presented during the annual meeting, and appearing in summary here. This year's sleep core theme is sleep-disordered breathing and its management. Topics range from pathophysiological mechanisms for the association of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and metabolic syndrome, surgical modalities of OSA treatment, comorbid insomnia and OSA, central sleep apnea, and sleep practices during a pandemic. OSA has been associated with metabolic syndrome, independent of the role of obesity, and the pathophysiology suggests a role for sleep fragmentation and intermittent hypoxia in observed metabolic outcomes. In specific patient populations, surgical treatment modalities for OSA have demonstrated large reductions in objective disease severity compared with no treatment and may facilitate adherence to positive airway pressure treatment. Patient-centered approaches to comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea include evaluating for both OSA and insomnia simultaneously and using shared-decision making to determine the order and timing of positive airway pressure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. The pathophysiology of central sleep apnea is complex and may be due to the loss of drive to breathe or instability in the regulatory pathways that control ventilation. Pandemic-era sleep practices have evolved rapidly to balance safety and sustainability of care for patients with sleep-disordered breathing

Machine Learning-Augmented Propensity Score-Adjusted Multilevel Mixed Effects Panel Analysis of Hands-On Cooking and Nutrition Education versus Traditional Curriculum for Medical Students as Preventive Cardiology: Multisite Cohort Study of 3,248 Trainees over 5 Years

Background. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) annually claims more lives and costs more dollars than any other disease globally amid widening health disparities, despite the known significant reductions in this burden by low cost dietary changes. The world’s first medical school-based teaching kitchen therefore launched CHOP-Medical Students as the largest known multisite cohort study of hands-on cooking and nutrition education versus traditional curriculum for medical students. Methods. This analysis provides a novel integration of artificial intelligence-based machine learning (ML) with causal inference statistics. 43 ML automated algorithms were tested, with the top performer compared to triply robust propensity score-adjusted multilevel mixed effects regression panel analysis of longitudinal data. Inverse-variance weighted fixed effects meta-analysis pooled the individual estimates for competencies. Results. 3,248 unique medical trainees met study criteria from 20 medical schools nationally from August 1, 2012, to June 26, 2017, generating 4,026 completed validated surveys. ML analysis produced similar results to the causal inference statistics based on root mean squared error and accuracy. Hands-on cooking and nutrition education compared to traditional medical school curriculum significantly improved student competencies (OR 2.14, 95% CI 2.00–2.28, p<0.001) and MedDiet adherence (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.07–1.84, p=0.015), while reducing trainees’ soft drink consumption (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.37–0.85, p=0.007). Overall improved competencies were demonstrated from the initial study site through the scale-up of the intervention to 10 sites nationally (p<0.001). Discussion. This study provides the first machine learning-augmented causal inference analysis of a multisite cohort showing hands-on cooking and nutrition education for medical trainees improves their competencies counseling patients on nutrition, while improving students’ own diets. This study suggests that the public health and medical sectors can unite population health management and precision medicine for a sustainable model of next-generation health systems providing effective, equitable, accessible care beginning with reversing the CVD epidemic