ICU COVID-19 News
Ultra-Low Tidal Volume Ventilation for COVID-19-ARDS
2023 18 Jul
A new study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ventilation with ultra-low tidal volume (ULTV) compared to low tidal volume (LTV) in patients suffering from COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). COVID-19-related ARDS is associated with a high mortality rate and extended mechanical ventilation duration. The study... Read more
Critical Care Staffing in Pandemics
2023 11 Jul
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on healthcare, with millions of cases and deaths reported globally. Healthcare workers have been particularly affected, experiencing increased mental health issues, burnout, and moral distress. The pandemic has led to higher levels of anxiety, depression, stress reactions, sleep disturbances, and posttraumatic... Read more
#EA23: Outcome in Patients With Postponed Elective Surgery During COVID-19
2023 06 Jun
The 30-day outcome findings in patients undergoing postponed elective surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic (TRACE II) were presented at a poster session at Euroanaesthesia 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the ability to perform elective surgeries worldwide. To understand the consequences of delayed surgery, the TRACE II study... Read more
#ISICEM23: Time to Get Strategic About ICU Burnout
2023 22 Mar
In an interesting session at #ISICEM23, Michelle Chew, Professor of Anesthesiology, Intensive care, and Acute Medicine Care at Linköping University Hospital, Sweden, talked about stress, anxiety, and burnout. Prof Chew discussed a study conducted by her group on perceived and physiological stress, anxiety, and burnout among ICU staff in an area... Read more
#ISICEM23: Effects of Therapeutic-Dose Heparin in Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19
2023 21 Mar
At the #ISICEM23 this week in Brussels, the benefits and harms of therapeutic-dose heparin varied by hospitalised COVID-19 patient characteristics were discussed, and the importance of considering the heterogeneity of treatment effect (HTE) in the design and analysis of randomised clinical trials was highlighted. To date, RCTs that have tested... Read more
New German Law: Ex-post Triage Criminalised
2023 13 Mar
What will be the consequences of the new German law of criminalising ex-post triage? Will it result in more legal disputes, ethical dilemmas and preventable deaths? Or will it achieve its goal? As the COVID-19 pandemic hit mankind, many healthcare systems worldwide faced a widely unprecedented shortage of personnel, pharmaceuticals, equipment... Read more
ECMO for COVID-19 ARDS
2023 15 Feb
There is increasing evidence supporting the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients that do not respond to maximal medical therapy. ARDS can occur in some COVID-19 patients who are hospitalised, and ECMO can be utilised as a treatment option in some cases. Using ECMO can help... Read more
#LIVES2022: High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen vs Standard Oxygen Therapy - SOHO-COVID
2022 24 Oct
At the Presidents' Ground Breaking Research Release session at ESICM LIVES 2022 in Paris, Jean-Pierre Frat (Poitiers, France) presented the findings from the Standard Oxygen Versus High Flow Cannula Oxygen Therapy in Patients With Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure (SOHO-COVID) trial. COVID-19 has resulted in over six million deaths worldwide... Read more
Does Antimicrobial Resistance Affect Clinical Outcomes in the ICU?
2022 14 Oct
An overview of antimicrobial resistance and its impact on clinical outcomes in the ICU. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been defined as a major threat to healthcare and to humanity by the World Health Organization (WHO 2015). The level of evidence for the association between AMR and hospital deaths, hospital length of stay and healthcare-associated... Read more
Dexamethasone and Oxygen Support Strategies for COVID-19 Hypoxaemic Respiratory Failure
2022 20 Sep
Acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure (AHRF) is one of the main manifestations of severe COVID-19. The RECOVERY trial showed that dexamethasone 6 mg/d for ten days reduced 28-day mortality in patients with the most severe COVID-19. Another study described the benefit of high-dose dexamethasone in ARDS. However, Munch et al. found no difference between... Read more
Vitamin D Supplements and Risk of COVID-19
2022 13 Sep
Findings from two large clinical trials show that increasing vitamin D levels in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic was not associated with protection against coronavirus or other respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D has long been recognised to support innate immune responses to respiratory viruses and bacteria. Some studies show that vitamin... Read more
Surge Mechanical Ventilation During COVID-19
2022 09 Aug
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals in the U.S. exceeded their mechanical ventilation capability. As COVID-19 spread to communities with limited immunity, challenges associated with providing surge mechanical ventilation were reported. Hospitals, healthcare systems, and jurisdictional authorities purchased more ventilators. But the fear that the... Read more
The Influence of COVID-19 on Intensivist Wellbeing
2022 09 Aug
The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for healthcare systems around the world. In particular, the pandemic has resulted in critical care staffing shortages and has affected the quality of care. In this review, the researchers examine the emergency response of hospitals to the pandemic and how it influenced the well-being of frontline intensivists.... Read more
Capnodynamic Monitoring to Assess PEEP in COVID-19
2022 02 Aug
Optimal positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) level during mechanical ventilation for COVID-19 pneumonia remains debated. A third of experts in a recent consensus statement supported a low-level PEEP for COVID-19-related acute respiratory failure (C-ARDS), with half of the panel remaining neutral without agreement on PEEP titration. However, the... Read more
Neurologic Manifestations of COVID-19
2022 19 Jul
Approximately 10-15% of patients with COVID-19 require ICU treatment. Respiratory failure and multi-organ dysfunction are the most common indications for ICU admission. However, nearly 1/3 of COVID-19 patients also present with neurologic manifestations. Neurologic manifestations are believed to predict mortality and functional outcome. While there... Read more
Extended Prone Positioning for COVID-19 ARDS
2022 12 Jul
COVID-19 has resulted in an estimated 270,000 hospitalisations in ICUs in Europe between May 2020 and March 2022. Nearly 80% of these patients have required tracheal intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation. While there is still an ongoing debate whether acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) physiopathology is the same in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19... Read more
Response to PEEP in COVID-19 ARDS With & Without ECMO
2022 05 Jul
There have been conflicting results concerning lung recruitability of COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the use of techniques derived from changes in respiratory mechanics and/or gas exchange in response to positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) increase. Various factors may explain the heterogeneity of reports regarding recruitability... Read more
COVID-19 Vaccines Prevented 20 Million Deaths Worldwide
2022 28 Jun
Findings from the first modelling study to quantify the impact of COVID-19 vaccines show that nearly 19.9 million out of a potential 31.4 million deaths were prevented in the first year (December 2020-December 2021) after the introduction of the vaccine. The findings are based on data from 185 countries using COVID-19 death records and total excess... Read more
Early Deep Sedation in Mechanically Ventilated COVID-19 Patients
2022 20 Jun
Sedation management is a critical component when managing mechanically ventilated patients. It is important to use a protocol-driven approach, which favours paired spontaneous awakening (SAT) and breathing (SBT) trials, along with light levels of sedation. The initial period of respiratory failure in the emergency department and the first 48 hours... Read more
#EA22: Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution Increases Risk of Severe COVID-19
2022 07 Jun
New research presented at Euroanaesthesia 2022 finds that long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a greater risk of severe COVID-19. Findings from the study show that people living in counties with higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) were more likely to need ICU care and mechanical ventilation if they had COVID-19. Long-term exposure... Read more