Explore the vast range of titles available.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the neurologic outcome following extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) in five European centers.MethodsRetrospective database analysis of prospective observational cohorts of patients undergoing ECPR (January 2012–December 2016) was performed. The primary outcome was 3-month favorable neurologic outcome (FO), defined as the cerebral performance categories of 1–2. Survival to ICU discharge and the number of patients undergoing organ donation were secondary outcomes. A subgroup of patients with stringent selection criteria (i.e., age ≤ 65 years, witnessed bystander CPR, no major co-morbidity and ECMO implemented within 1 h from arrest) was also analyzed.ResultsA total of 423 patients treated with ECPR were included (median age 57 [48–65] years; male gender 78%); ECPR was initiated for OHCA in 258 (61%) patients. Time from arrest to ECMO implementation was 65 [48–84] min. Eighty patients (19%) had favorable neurological outcome. ICU survival was 24% (n = 102); 23 (5%) non-survivors underwent organ donation procedures. Favorable neurological outcome rate was lower (9% vs. 34%, p < 0.01) in out-of-hospital than in-hospital cardiac arrest and was significantly associated with shorter time from collapse to ECMO. The application of stringent ECPR criteria (n = 105) resulted in 38% of patients with favorable neurologic outcome.ConclusionsECPR was associated with intact neurological recovery in 19% of unselected cardiac arrest victims, with 38% favorable outcome if stringent selection criteria would have been applied.

Background Although placement of an intra-cerebral catheter remains the gold standard method for measuring intracranial pressure (ICP), several non-invasive techniques can provide useful estimates. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of four non-invasive methods to assess intracranial hypertension. Methods We reviewed prospectively collected data on adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in whom invasive ICP monitoring had been initiated and estimates had been simultaneously collected from the following non-invasive indices: optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), pulsatility index (PI), estimated ICP (eICP) using transcranial Doppler, and the neurological pupil index (NPI) measured using automated pupillometry. Intracranial hypertension was defined as an invasively measured ICP > 20 mmHg. Results We studied 100 patients (TBI = 30; SAH = 47; ICH = 23) with a median age of 52 years. The median invasively measured ICP was 17 [12–25] mmHg and intracranial hypertension was present in 37 patients. Median values from the non-invasive techniques were ONSD 5.2 [4.8–5.8] mm, PI 1.1 [0.9–1.4], eICP 21 [14–29] mmHg, and NPI 4.2 [3.8–4.6]. There was a significant correlation between all the non-invasive techniques and invasive ICP (ONSD, r  = 0.54; PI, r  = 0.50; eICP, r  = 0.61; NPI, r  = − 0.41— p  < 0.001 for all). The area under the curve (AUC) to estimate intracranial hypertension was 0.78 [CIs = 0.68–0.88] for ONSD, 0.85 [95% CIs 0.77–0.93] for PI, 0.86 [95% CIs 0.77–0.93] for eICP, and 0.71 [95% CIs 0.60–0.82] for NPI. When the various techniques were combined, the highest AUC (0.91 [0.84–0.97]) was obtained with the combination of ONSD with eICP. Conclusions Non-invasive techniques are correlated with ICP and have an acceptable accuracy to estimate intracranial hypertension. The multimodal combination of ONSD and eICP may increase the accuracy to estimate the occurrence of intracranial hypertension.

Intensive care survivors often experience post-intensive care sequelae, which are frequently gathered together under the term “post-intensive care syndrome” (PICS). The consequences of PICS on quality of life, health-related costs and hospital readmissions are real public health problems. In the present Viewpoint, we summarize current knowledge and gaps in our understanding of PICS and approaches to management.

The increase in neuronal activity induced by a single seizure is supported by a rise in the cerebral blood flow and tissue oxygenation, a mechanism called neurovascular coupling (NVC). Whether cerebral and systemic hemodynamics are able to match neuronal activity during recurring seizures is unclear, as data from rodent models are at odds with human studies. In order to clarify this issue, we used an invasive brain and systemic monitoring to study the effects of chemically induced non-convulsive seizures in sheep. Despite an increase in neuronal activity as seizures repeat (Spearman’s ρ coefficient 0.31, P  < 0.001), ictal variations of cerebral blood flow remained stable while it progressively increased in the inter-ictal intervals (ρ = 0.06, P  = 0.44 and ρ = 0.22; P  = 0.008). We also observed a progressive reduction in the inter-ictal brain tissue oxygenation (ρ =  − 0.18; P  = 0.04), suggesting that NVC was unable to compensate for the metabolic demand of these closely repeating seizures. At the systemic level, there was a progressive reduction in blood pressure and a progressive rise in cardiac output (ρ =  − 0.22; P  = 0.01 and ρ = 0.22; P  = 0.01, respectively), suggesting seizure-induced autonomic dysfunction.

Background The potential benefit of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) compared to conventional CPR (CCPR) for patients with refractory cardiac arrest (CA) remains unclear. Methods This study is a retrospective analysis of a prospective database of CA patients, which includes all consecutive adult patients admitted to the Department of Intensive Care after CA between January 2012 and December 2017. The decision to initiate ECPR was made by the attending physician and ECPR performed by the ECPR team, which is composed of ICU physicians. A propensity score was derived using a logistic regression model, including characteristics that varied between groups with a p  <  0.10 and were potentially related to outcome. Primary outcomes were survival to ICU discharge and favorable 3-month neurologic outcome, assessed by a Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) score of 1–2. Results From a total of 635 patients with CA during the study period (ECPR, n  = 112), 80 ECPR patients were matched to 80 CCPR patients. The time from arrest to termination of CPR (i.e., return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC], extracorporeal membrane oxygenation [ECMO] initiation, or death) was 54 ± 22 and 54 ± 19 min in the ECPR and CCPR groups, respectively. ROSC rates were 77/80 (96%) for ECPR and 30/80 (38%) for CCPR ( p  <  0.001). Survival to ICU discharge was 18/80 (23%) vs. 14/80 (18%) in the ECPR and CCPR groups, respectively ( p  = 0.42). At 3 months, 17/80 (21%) ECPR patients and 9/80 (11%) CCPR patients had a favorable outcome ( p  = 0.11). Cox regression analysis stratified by matched pairs showed a significantly higher neurologic outcome rate in the ECPR group than in the CCPR group (log-rank test p  = 0.003). Conclusions ECPR after CA may be associated with improved long-term neurological outcome.

Background Sepsis-associated brain dysfunction (SABD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of SABD is multifactorial. One hypothesis is that impaired cerebral autoregulation (CAR) may result in brain hypoperfusion and neuronal damage leading to SABD. Methods We studied 100 adult patients with sepsis (July 2012–March 2017) (age = 62 [52–71] years; Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score on admission = 21 [15–26]). Exclusion criteria were acute or chronic intracranial disease, arrhythmias, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and known intra- or extracranial supra-aortic vessel disease. The site of infection was predominantly abdominal (46%) or pulmonary (28%). Transcranial Doppler was performed, insonating the left middle cerebral artery with a 2-MHz probe. Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (FV) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) signals were recorded simultaneously; Pearson’s correlation coefficient (mean flow index [Mxa]) between ABP and FV was calculated using MATLAB. Impaired CAR was defined as Mxa > 0.3. Results Mxa was 0.29 [0.05–0.62]. CAR was impaired in 50 patients (50%). In a multiple linear regression analysis, low mean arterial pressure, history of chronic kidney disease and fungal infection were associated with high Mxa. SABD was diagnosed in 57 patients (57%). In a multivariable analysis, altered cerebral autoregulation, mechanical ventilation and history of vascular disease were independent predictors of SABD. Conclusions Cerebral autoregulation was altered in half of the patients with sepsis and was associated with the development of SABD. These findings support the concept that cerebral hypoxia could contribute to the development of SABD.

Brain hypoxia can occur after non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), even when levels of intracranial pressure (ICP) remain normal. Brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO 2 ) can be measured as a part of a neurological multimodal neuromonitoring. Low PbtO 2 has been associated with poor neurologic recovery. There is scarce data on the impact of PbtO 2 guided-therapy on patients’ outcome. This single-center cohort study (June 2014–March 2020) included all patients admitted to the ICU after SAH who required multimodal monitoring. Patients with imminent brain death were excluded. Our primary goal was to assess the impact of PbtO 2 -guided therapy on neurological outcome. Secondary outcome included the association of brain hypoxia with outcome. Of the 163 patients that underwent ICP monitoring, 62 were monitored with PbtO 2 and 54 (87%) had at least one episode of brain hypoxia. In patients that required treatment based on neuromonitoring strategies, PbtO 2 -guided therapy (OR 0.33 [CI 95% 0.12–0.89]) compared to ICP-guided therapy had a protective effect on neurological outcome at 6 months. In this cohort of SAH patients, PbtO 2 -guided therapy might be associated with improved long-term neurological outcome, only when compared to ICP-guided therapy.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appeared in China in December 2019 and has spread around the world. High Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in COVID-19 patients suggest that a cytokine storm may play a major role in the pathophysiology and are considered as a relevant parameter in predicting most severe course of disease. The aim of this study was to assess repeated IL-6 levels in critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and to evaluate their relationship with patient's severity and outcome. We conducted a retrospective study on patients admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of COVID-19 between March 10 (i.e. the date of the first admitted patients) and April 30, 2020. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected at admission. On the day of IL-6 blood concentration measurement, we also collected results of D-Dimers, C-Reactive Protein, white blood cells and lymphocytes count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ferritin as well as microbiological samples, whenever present. Of a total of 65 patients with COVID-19 admitted to our ICU we included 41 patients with repeated measure of IL-6. There was a significant difference in IL-6 levels between survivors and non-survivors over time (p = 0.001); moreover, non survivors had a significantly higher IL-6 maximal value when compared to survivors (720 [349-2116] vs. 336 [195-646] pg/mL, p = 0.01). The IL-6 maximal value had a significant predictive value of ICU mortality (AUROC 0.73 [95% CI 0.57-0.89]; p = 0.01). Repeated measurements of IL-6 can help clinicians in identifying critically ill COVID-19 patients with the highest risk of poor prognosis.

Purpose To discuss the techniques currently available to evaluate the microcirculation in critically ill patients. In addition, the most clinically relevant microcirculatory alterations will be discussed. Methods Review of the literature on methods used to evaluate the microcirculation in humans and on microcirculatory alterations in critically ill patients. Results In experimental conditions, shock states have been shown to be associated with a decrease in perfused capillary density and an increase in the heterogeneity of microcirculatory perfusion, with non-perfused capillaries in close vicinity to perfused capillaries. Techniques used to evaluate the microcirculation in humans should take into account the heterogeneity of microvascular perfusion. Microvideoscopic techniques, such as orthogonal polarization spectral (OPS) and sidestream dark field (SDF) imaging, directly evaluate microvascular networks covered by a thin epithelium, such as the sublingual microcirculation. Laser Doppler and tissue O 2 measurements satisfactorily detect global decreases in tissue perfusion but not heterogeneity of microvascular perfusion. These techniques, and in particular laser Doppler and near-infrared spectroscopy, may help to evaluate the dynamic response of the microcirculation to a stress test. In patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, the microcirculation is characterized by a decrease in capillary density and in the proportion of perfused capillaries, together with a blunted response to a vascular occlusion test. Conclusions The microcirculation in humans can be evaluated directly by videomicroscopy (OPS/SDF) or indirectly by vascular occlusion tests. Of note, direct videomicroscopic visualization evaluates the actual state of the microcirculation, whereas the vascular occlusion test evaluates microvascular reserve.