J.M. Añón

Mechanical ventilation of patients on long-term oxygen therapy with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: prognosis and cost-utility analysis.

AstractObjective: To analyze the prognosis and costs of mechanical ventilation in patients with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treated with long-term oxygen therapy. Design: A prospective cohort study. Follow-up at 1 and 5 years. Cost utility analysis. Setting: A medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU) in a university hospital. Patients: 20 patients with previous COPD treated with long-term oxygen therapy and needing mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory failure. Measurements and main results: Mortality in the ICU, in-hospital mortality (ICU plus ward), and mortality at 1 and 5 years, and factors associated with prognosis and cost–utility were assessed. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 20 (median 20 range 12–36). Cumulative mortality was 35 % in the ICU, 50 % in hospital, 75 % at 1 year, and 85 % at 5 years. Factors significantly associated with mortality in the ICU were low levels of albumin (p = 0.05) and sodium (p = 0.01) at admission. Patients who died in hospital and in the first year after discharge had a lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) than survivors (p = 0.03 and p = 0.05, respectively). The cost per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) was U. S.

Percutaneous tracheostomy: Ciaglia Blue Rhino versus Griggs' Guide Wire Dilating Forceps. A prospective randomized trial

26 283 and U. S.

Use of percutaneous tracheostomy in intensive care units in Spain. Results of a national survey

44 602 in a “best” (cost/QALY calculated for the life expectancy in Spain) and a “worst case scenario” (cost/QALY calculated for a 68-year life expectancy), respectively. Conclusions: Applying mechanical ventilation to COPD patients treated with long-term oxygen therapy carries a high mortality and cost. Factors significantly associated with mortality in the ICU were albumin and sodium concentrations and FEV1 in hospital and in the first year after discharge.

A Clinical Classification of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome for Predicting Outcome and Guiding Medical Therapy

Background:  Percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) has gained widespread acceptance to control the airway in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. Since 1985, new techniques for PT have been described. It was the aim of this investigation to compare two different PT techniques: the Ciaglia Blue Rhino (CBR) and the Guide Wire Dilating Forceps (GWDF).

Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: The Multimodal Approach of the Spanish ICU “Pneumonia Zero” Program

Objectives To assess the use of percutaneous tracheostomy in Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Spain, its practice, and current opinions on the technique.Design and setting An e-mail or post survey was sent to 239 Spanish ICU directors. Pediatric ICUs and coronary units were excluded.Measurements and main results One hundred ICUs (41.8%) replied. The 44% (n=44) of the ICUs that answered belonged to university hospitals and 53% (n=53) had postgraduate teaching. Eighty-two percent (n=82) used percutaneous tracheostomy. Griggs’ Guide Wire Dilating Forceps and Ciaglia Blue Rhino were the most frequent techniques employed. In 30.5% of ICUs (n=25) endoscopic guidance was used, in 15.7% (n= 13) it was routine. In 24.4% (n=20) some kind of long-term follow-up was carried out, but only in 12.2% (n=10) was follow-up done routinely. In 58.5% of ICUs (n=48) in which percutaneous tracheostomy is performed is this technique considered safer than surgical tracheostomy and in 86.4% (n=70) percutaneous tracheostomy is the first choice for tracheostomy in the critically ill patient.Conclusions Percutaneous tracheostomy is a well-established technique in ICUs in Spain, and is considered the technique of choice for tracheostomy in critically ill patients. It is mainly performed without endoscopic guidance and follow-up is not usually carried out.

Common variants of NFE2L2 gene predisposes to acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with severe sepsis

Objective:Current in-hospital mortality of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is above 40%. ARDS outcome depends on the lung injury severity within the first 24 hours of ARDS onset. We investigated whether two widely accepted cutoff values of PaO2/FIO2 and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) would identify subsets of patients with ARDS for predicting outcome and guiding therapy. Design:A 16-month (September 2008 to January 2010) prospective, multicenter, observational study. Setting:Seventeen multidisciplinary ICUs in Spain. Patients:We studied 300 consecutive, mechanically ventilated patients meeting American-European Consensus Conference criteria for ARDS (PaO2/FIO2 ⩽ 200 mm Hg) on PEEP greater than or equal to 5 cm H2O, and followed up until hospital discharge. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Based on threshold values for PaO2/FIO2 (150 mm Hg) and PEEP (10 cm H2O) at ARDS onset and at 24 hours, we assigned patients to four categories: group I (PaO2/FIO2 ≥ 150 on PEEP < 10), group II (PaO2/FIO2 ≥ 150 on PEEP ≥ 10), group III (PaO2/FIO2 < 150 on PEEP < 10), and group IV (PaO2/FIO2 < 150 on PEEP ≥ 10). The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Overall hospital mortality was 46.3%. Although at study entry, patients with PaO2/FIO2 less than 150 had a higher mortality than patients with a PaO2/FIO2 greater than or equal to 150 (p = 0.044), there was minimal variability in mortality among the four groups (p = 0.186). However, classification of patients in each group changed markedly after 24 hours of usual care. Group categorization at 24 hours provided a strong association with in-hospital mortality (p < 0.00001): group I had the lowest mortality (23.1%), whereas group IV had the highest mortality (60.3%). Conclusions:The degree of lung dysfunction established by a PaO2/FIO2 of 150 mm Hg and a PEEP of 10 cm H2O demonstrated that ARDS is not a homogeneous disorder. Rather, it is a series of four subsets that should be considered for enrollment in clinical trials and for guiding therapy. A major contribution of our study is the distinction between survival after 24 hours of care versus survival at the time of ARDS onset.

Traqueotomía percutánea en el paciente ventilado

Objectives: The “Pneumonia Zero” project is a nationwide multimodal intervention based on the simultaneous implementation of a comprehensive evidence-based bundle measures to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients admitted to the ICU. Design: Prospective, interventional, and multicenter study. Setting: A total of 181 ICUs throughout Spain. Patients: All patients admitted for more than 24 hours to the participating ICUs between April 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. Intervention: Ten ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention measures were implemented (seven were mandatory and three highly recommended). The database of the National ICU-Acquired Infections Surveillance Study (Estudio Nacional de Vigilancia de Infecciones Nosocomiales [ENVIN]) was used for data collection. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rate was expressed as incidence density per 1,000 ventilator days. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates from the incorporation of the ICUs to the project, every 3 months, were compared with data of the ENVIN registry (April–June 2010) as the baseline period. Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates were adjusted by characteristics of the hospital, including size, type (public or private), and teaching (postgraduate) or university-affiliated (undergraduate) status. Measurements and Main Results: The 181 participating ICUs accounted for 75% of all ICUs in Spain. In a total of 171,237 ICU admissions, an artificial airway was present on 505,802 days (50.0% of days of stay in the ICU). A total of 3,474 ventilator-associated pneumonia episodes were diagnosed in 3,186 patients. The adjusted ventilator-associated pneumonia incidence density rate decreased from 9.83 (95% CI, 8.42–11.48) per 1,000 ventilator days in the baseline period to 4.34 (95% CI, 3.22–5.84) after 19–21 months of participation. Conclusions: Implementation of the bundle measures included in the “Pneumonia Zero” project resulted in a significant reduction of more than 50% of the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in Spanish ICUs. This reduction was sustained 21 months after implementation.

Evidence-based guidelines for the use of tracheostomy in critically ill patients.

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether common variants across the nuclear factor erythroid 2-like 2 (NFE2L2) gene contribute to the development of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with severe sepsis. NFE2L2 is involved in the response to oxidative stress, and it has been shown to be associated with the development of ARDS in trauma patients.MethodsWe performed a case–control study of 321 patients fulfilling international criteria for severe sepsis and ARDS who were admitted to a Spanish network of post-surgical and critical care units, as well as 871 population-based controls. Six tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of NFE2L2 were genotyped, and, after further imputation of additional 34 SNPs, association testing with ARDS susceptibility was conducted using logistic regression analysis.ResultsAfter multiple testing adjustments, our analysis revealed 10 non-coding SNPs in tight linkage disequilibrium (0.75 ≤ r2 ≤ 1) that were associated with ARDS susceptibility as a single association signal. One of those SNPs (rs672961) was previously associated with trauma-induced ARDS and modified the promoter activity of the NFE2L2 gene, showing an odds ratio of 1.93 per T allele (95 % confidence interval, 1.17–3.18; p = 0.0089).ConclusionsOur findings support the involvement of NFE2L2 gene variants in ARDS susceptibility and reinforce further exploration of the role of oxidant stress response as a risk factor for ARDS in critically ill patients.

Están justificadas las consultas externas de medicina intensiva

The medical indications of tracheostomy comprise the alleviation of upper airway obstruction; the prevention of laryngeal and upper airway damage due to prolonged translaryngeal intubation in patients subjected to prolonged mechanical ventilation; and the facilitation of airway access for the removal of secretions. Since 1985, percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) has gained widespread acceptance as a method for creating a surgical airway in patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation. Since then, several comparative trials of PT and surgical tracheostomy have been conducted, and new techniques for PT have been developed. The use of percutaneous dilatation techniques under bronchoscopic control are now increasingly popular throughout the world. Tracheostomy should be performed as soon as the need for prolonged intubation is identified. However a validated model for the prediction of prolonged mechanical ventilation is not available, and the timing of tracheostomy should be individualized. The present review analyzes the state of the art of PT in mechanically ventilated patients--this being regarded by many as the technique of choice in performing tracheostomy in critically ill patients.

Traqueotomía percutánea por dilatación con el método Ciaglia Blue Dolphin

Objectives: To provide evidence‐based guidelines for tracheostomy in critically ill adult patients and identify areas needing further research. Methods: A taskforce composed of representatives of 10 member countries of the Pan‐American and Iberic Federation of Societies of Critical and Intensive Therapy Medicine and of the Latin American Critical Care Trial Investigators Network developed recommendations based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Results: The group identified 23 relevant questions among 87 issues that were initially identified. In the initial search, 333 relevant publications were identified, of which 226 publications were chosen. The taskforce generated a total of 19 recommendations, 10 positive (1B, 3; 2C, 3; 2D, 4) and 9 negative (1B, 8; 2C, 1). A recommendation was not possible in 6 questions. Conclusions: Percutaneous techniques are associated with a lower risk of infections compared with surgical tracheostomy. Early tracheostomy only seems to reduce the duration of ventilator use but not the incidence of pneumonia, the length of stay, or the long‐term mortality rate. The evidence does not support the use of routine bronchoscopy guidance or laryngeal masks during the procedure. Finally, proper prior training is as important or even a more significant factor in reducing complications than the technique used.