Estimating the change in pleural pressure using the change in central venous pressure in various clinical scenarios: a pig model study

BACKGROUND

We have previously reported a simple correction method for estimating pleural pressure (Ppl) using central venous pressure (CVP). However, it remains unclear whether this method is applicable to patients with varying levels of intravascular volumes and/or chest wall compliance. This study aimed to investigate the accuracy of our method under different conditions of intravascular volume and chest wall compliance.

RESULTS

Ten anesthetized and paralyzed pigs (43.2 ± 1.8 kg) were mechanically ventilated and subjected to lung injury by saline lung lavage. Each pig was subjected to three different intravascular volumes and two different intraabdominal pressures. For each condition, the changes in the esophageal pressure (ΔPes) and the estimated ΔPpl using ΔCVP (cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl) were compared to the directly measured change in pleural pressure (Δd-Ppl), which was the gold standard estimate in this study. The cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl was calculated as κ × ΔCVP, where "κ" was the ratio of the change in airway pressure to the change in CVP during the occlusion test. The means and standard deviations of the Δd-Ppl, ΔPes, and cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl for all pigs under all conditions were 7.6 ± 4.5, 7.2 ± 3.6, and 8.0 ± 4.8 cmH2O, respectively. The repeated measures correlations showed that both the ΔPes and cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl showed a strong correlation with the Δd-Ppl (ΔPes: r = 0.95, p < 0.0001; cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl: r = 0.97, p < 0.0001, respectively). In the Bland-Altman analysis to test the performance of the cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl to predict the Δd-Ppl, the ΔPes and cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl showed almost the same bias and precision (ΔPes: 0.5 and 1.7 cmH2O; cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl: - 0.3 and 1.9 cmH2O, respectively). No significant difference was found in the bias and precision depending on the intravascular volume and intraabdominal pressure in both comparisons between the ΔPes and Δd-Ppl, and cΔCVP-derived ΔPpl and Δd-Ppl.

CONCLUSIONS

The CVP method can estimate the ΔPpl with reasonable accuracy, similar to Pes measurement. The accuracy was not affected by the intravascular volume or chest wall compliance.

Efficacy of perioperative prophylactic administration of corticosteroids in pediatric cardiac surgeries using cardiopulmonary bypass: a systematic review with meta-analysis

An updated systematic review with meta-analysis comparing perioperative prophylactic administration of corticosteroids with placebo in pediatric cardiac surgeries using cardiopulmonary bypass was conducted. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and MEDLINE (via PubMed) were searched for relevant randomized controlled trials published between January 1, 2000, and February 14, 2023. The primary outcome was postoperative in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were duration of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit and hospital stay, postoperative low cardiac output syndrome, and adverse events. A total of 11 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Corticosteroid administration did not decrease postoperative in-hospital mortality compared with placebo (relative risk, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.40-1.17). Subgroup analyses according to the type of corticosteroids and neonates revealed that corticosteroids did not decrease postoperative in-hospital mortality. In the trial sequential analysis, the last point in the z-curve was within the futility borders. Although the duration of mechanical ventilation (mean difference, -5.54 h; 95% confidence interval (CI), -9.75 - -1.34) and incidence of low cardiac output syndrome (relative risk, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.59 - 0.96) decreased with corticosteroid administration, it did not affect the length of intensive care unit (mean difference, -0.28 days; 95% CI, -0.74 - 0.17) and hospital stay (mean difference, -0.59 days; 95% CI, -1.31 - 0.14). In conclusion, perioperative prophylactic corticosteroid administration in pediatric cardiac surgeries using cardiopulmonary bypass did not decrease postoperative in-hospital mortality compared with placebo. According to the trial sequential analysis results, additional randomized controlled trials assessing mortality are not required. PROSPERO REGISTRY NUMBER: CRD 42023391789.

Estimation of inspiratory effort using airway occlusion maneuvers in ventilated children: a secondary analysis of an ongoing randomized trial testing a lung and diaphragm protective ventilation strategy

BACKGROUND

Monitoring respiratory effort in ventilated patients is important to balance lung and diaphragm protection. Esophageal manometry remains the gold standard for monitoring respiratory effort but is invasive and requires expertise for its measurement and interpretation. Airway pressures during occlusion maneuvers may provide an alternative, although pediatric data are limited. We sought to determine the correlation between change in esophageal pressure during tidal breathing (∆Pes) and airway pressure measured during three airway occlusion maneuvers: (1) expiratory occlusion pressure (Pocc), (2) airway occlusion pressure (P0.1), and (3) respiratory muscle pressure index (PMI) in children. We also sought to explore pediatric threshold values for these pressures to detect excessive or insufficient respiratory effort.

METHODS

Secondary analysis of physiologic data from children between 1 month and 18 years of age with acute respiratory distress syndrome enrolled in an ongoing randomized clinical trial testing a lung and diaphragm protective ventilation strategy (REDvent, R01HL124666). ∆Pes, Pocc, P0.1, and PMI were measured. Repeated measure correlations were used to investigate correlation coefficients between ∆Pes and the three measures, and linear regression equations were generated to identify potential therapeutic thresholds.

RESULTS

There were 653 inspiratory and 713 expiratory holds from 97 patients. Pocc had the strongest correlation with ∆Pes (r = 0.68), followed by PMI (r = 0.60) and P0.1 (r = 0.42). ∆Pes could be reliably estimated using the regression equation ∆Pes = 0.66 [Formula: see text] Pocc (R2 = 0.82), with Pocc cut-points having high specificity and moderate sensitivity to detect respective ∆Pes thresholds for high and low respiratory effort. There were minimal differences in the relationship between Pocc and ∆Pes based on age (infant, child, adolescent) or mode of ventilation (SIMV versus Pressure Support), although these differences were more apparent with P0.1 and PMI.

CONCLUSIONS

Airway occlusion maneuvers may be appropriate alternatives to esophageal pressure measurement to estimate the inspiratory effort in children, and Pocc represents the most promising target.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT03266016; August 23, 2017.

Ramucirumab plus FOLFIRI as second-line treatment for patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer previously treated with anti-EGFR antibody: JACCRO CC-16

BACKGROUND

Chemotherapy in combination with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody is considered a first-line treatment regimen for RAS wild-type and left-sided metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), whereas second-line treatment regimens have not yet been established. Few studies have prospectively evaluated second-line treatment with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor antibody after first-line anti-EGFR antibody therapy for RAS wild-type mCRC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This non-randomized phase II trial investigated the clinical outcomes of second-line ramucirumab (RAM) plus fluorouracil, levofolinate, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) after first-line anti-EGFR antibody in combination with doublet or triplet regimen in patients with RAS wild-type mCRC. The primary endpoint was the 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate. The secondary endpoints were PFS, overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), rate of early tumor shrinkage (ETS), and safety. We hypothesized a threshold 6-month PFS rate of 30% and an expected 6-month PFS rate of 45%. Treatment was considered effective if the lower limit of the 90% confidence interval (CI) of the 6-month PFS rate was >0.30.

RESULTS

Ninety-two patients were enrolled in the study. The primary tumor was located on the left side in 86 (95.6%) patients. Twenty (22.0%) patients had received triplet plus cetuximab as previous therapy. Six-month PFS rate was 58.2% (90% CI 49.3% to 66.2%) with a median PFS of 7.0 months (95% CI 5.7-7.6 months). Median OS was 23.6 months (95% CI 16.5-26.3 months). The ORR and ETS rate were 10.7% and 16.9%, respectively, in 83 patients with measurable lesions. The 6-month PFS rate was comparable between patients previously treated with doublet and triplet regimens; however, median PFS was longer for the doublet regimen (7.4 versus 6.4 months, P = 0.036).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrated prospectively that RAM plus FOLFIRI is an effective second-line treatment after anti-EGFR antibody-containing first-line therapy in RAS wild-type and left-sided mCRC. Furthermore, the results were similar for patients who were previously treated with triplet regimen.

Reducing Human Album Solution Use in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Evidence for outcome improvement is limited for using 5% human albumin solution (5% albumin) in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). However, 5% albumin was injudiciously used in our PICU. Therefore, we aimed to decrease 5% albumin use in pediatric patients (17 years old or younger) in the PICU by 50% in 12 months to improve health care efficiency.

Methods

We plotted the mean 5% albumin volume used per PICU admission monthly on statistical process control charts through 3 study periods: baseline period before intervention (July 2019-June 2020), phase 1 (August 2020-April 2021), and phase 2 (May 2021-April 2022). With intervention 1, education, feedback, and an alert sign on 5% albumin stocks began in July 2020. This intervention continued until May 2021, when we executed intervention 2, removing 5% albumin from the PICU inventory. We also examined the lengths of invasive mechanical ventilation and PICU stay as balancing measures across the 3 periods.

Results

Mean 5% albumin consumption per PICU admission decreased significantly from 48.1 to 22.4 mL after intervention 1 and 8.3 mL after intervention 2, with the intervention effects persisting for 12 months. Costs associated with 5% albumin per PICU admission significantly decreased by 82%. In terms of patient characteristics and balancing measures, the 3 periods were not different.

Conclusions

Stepwise quality improvement interventions, including the system change with the elimination of the 5% albumin inventory from the PICU, were effective in reducing 5% albumin use in the PICU with sustained reduction.

Fundamental concepts and the latest evidence for esophageal pressure monitoring

Transpulmonary pressure is an essential physiologic concept as it reflects the true pressure across the alveoli, and is a more precise marker for lung stress. To calculate transpulmonary pressure, one needs an estimate of both alveolar pressure and pleural pressure. Airway pressure during conditions of no flow is the most widely accepted surrogate for alveolar pressure, while esophageal pressure remains the most widely measured surrogate marker for pleural pressure. This review will cover important concepts and clinical applications for esophageal manometry, with a particular focus on how to use the information from esophageal manometry to adjust or titrate ventilator support. The most widely used method for measuring esophageal pressure uses an esophageal balloon catheter, although these measurements can be affected by the volume of air in the balloon. Therefore, when using balloon catheters, it is important to calibrate the balloon to ensure the most appropriate volume of air, and we discuss several methods which have been proposed for balloon calibration. In addition, esophageal balloon catheters only estimate the pleural pressure over a certain area within the thoracic cavity, which has resulted in a debate regarding how to interpret these measurements. We discuss both direct and elastance-based methods to estimate transpulmonary pressure, and how they may be applied for clinical practice. Finally, we discuss a number of applications for esophageal manometry and review many of the clinical studies published to date which have used esophageal pressure. These include the use of esophageal pressure to assess lung and chest wall compliance individually which can provide individualized information for patients with acute respiratory failure in terms of setting PEEP, or limiting inspiratory pressure. In addition, esophageal pressure has been used to estimate effort of breathing which has application for ventilator weaning, detection of upper airway obstruction after extubation, and detection of patient and mechanical ventilator asynchrony.

Dipole-moment-induced supramolecular assembly of a donor-acceptor-type molecule on a metal surface and in a crystal

The conformation and alignment of molecules in organic materials are important because they affect the materials' bulk physical properties. Because two-dimensional (2D) materials offer a simpler model of three-dimensional (3D) materials, the conformation and alignment of molecules in 2D assemblies have been investigated at the atomic scale by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). However, differences in the conformation and alignment of molecules between 2D and 3D assemblies have not been clarified. In this work, the conformation and alignment of a donor-acceptor-type molecule, 4-(3,3-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-1-yl)benzonitrile (IBN), are studied in 2D and 3D assemblies. Thus, the 2D assembly of IBN on the Au(111) surface was investigated by STM and the 3D assembly of IBN in a single crystal was investigated by X-ray crystallography. Our survey revealed that the conformation of IBN is planar in both 2D and 3D assemblies because of the electron-delocalised structure resulting from the electron-donating and electron-accepting groups of IBN; thus, the values of the dipole moment of IBN in 2D and 3D assemblies are essentially the same. In both the 2D and 3D assemblies, IBN molecules align to cancel out the dipole moment even though the self-assembled structures differ. In the 2D assemblies, the orientation and self-assembled structure of IBN are changed by the surface density of IBN, and they are affected by the crystal orientation and superstructure of Au(111) because of the strong interaction between IBN and Au(111). In addition, scanning tunnelling spectroscopy revealed that the coordination structure is not included in the self-assembled structure of IBN on Au(111).

Executive Summary of the Second International Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (PALICC-2)

OBJECTIVES

We sought to update our 2015 work in the Second Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC-2) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS), considering new evidence and topic areas that were not previously addressed.

DESIGN

International consensus conference series involving 52 multidisciplinary international content experts in PARDS and four methodology experts from 15 countries, using consensus conference methodology, and implementation science.

SETTING

Not applicable.

PATIENTS

Patients with or at risk for PARDS.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Eleven subgroups conducted systematic or scoping reviews addressing 11 topic areas: 1) definition, incidence, and epidemiology; 2) pathobiology, severity, and risk stratification; 3) ventilatory support; 4) pulmonary-specific ancillary treatment; 5) nonpulmonary treatment; 6) monitoring; 7) noninvasive respiratory support; 8) extracorporeal support; 9) morbidity and long-term outcomes; 10) clinical informatics and data science; and 11) resource-limited settings. The search included MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost) and was updated in March 2022. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology was used to summarize evidence and develop the recommendations, which were discussed and voted on by all PALICC-2 experts. There were 146 recommendations and statements, including: 34 recommendations for clinical practice; 112 consensus-based statements with 18 on PARDS definition, 55 on good practice, seven on policy, and 32 on research. All recommendations and statements had agreement greater than 80%.

CONCLUSIONS

PALICC-2 recommendations and consensus-based statements should facilitate the implementation and adherence to the best clinical practice in patients with PARDS. These results will also inform the development of future programs of research that are crucially needed to provide stronger evidence to guide the pediatric critical care teams managing these patients.

Machine Learning-Based Prediction of Hospital Admission Among Children in an Emergency Care Center

OBJECTIVES

Machine learning-based prediction of hospital admissions may have the potential to optimize patient disposition and improve clinical outcomes by minimizing both undertriage and overtriage in crowded emergency care. We developed and validated the predictive abilities of machine learning-based predictions of hospital admissions in a pediatric emergency care center.

METHODS

A prognostic study was performed using retrospectively collected data of children younger than 16 years who visited a single pediatric emergency care center in Osaka, Japan, between August 1, 2016, and October 15, 2019. Generally, the center treated walk-in children and did not treat trauma injuries. The main outcome was hospital admission as determined by the physician. The 83 potential predictors available at presentation were selected from the following categories: demographic characteristics, triage level, physiological parameters, and symptoms. To identify predictive abilities for hospital admission, maximize the area under the precision-recall curve, and address imbalanced outcome classes, we developed the following models for the preperiod training cohort (67% of the samples) and also used them in the 1-year postperiod validation cohort (33% of the samples): (1) logistic regression, (2) support vector machine, (3) random forest, and (4) extreme gradient boosting.

RESULTS

Among 88,283 children who were enrolled, the median age was 3.9 years, with 47,931 (54.3%) boys and 1985 (2.2%) requiring hospital admission. Among the models, extreme gradient boosting achieved the highest predictive abilities (eg, area under the precision-recall curve, 0.26; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.27; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.88; sensitivity, 0.77; and specificity, 0.82). With an optimal threshold, the positive and negative likelihood ratios were 4.22, and 0.28, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Machine learning-based prediction of hospital admissions may support physicians' decision-making for hospital admissions. However, further improvements are required before implementing these models in real clinical settings.

Monitoring in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: From the Second Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference

OBJECTIVES

Monitoring is essential to assess changes in the lung condition, to identify heart-lung interactions, and to personalize and improve respiratory support and adjuvant therapies in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS). The objective of this article is to report the rationale of the revised recommendations/statements on monitoring from the Second Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference (PALICC-2).

DATA SOURCES

MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier), and CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost).

STUDY SELECTION

We included studies focused on respiratory or cardiovascular monitoring of children less than 18 years old with a diagnosis of PARDS. We excluded studies focused on neonates.

DATA EXTRACTION

Title/abstract review, full-text review, and data extraction using a standardized data collection form.

DATA SYNTHESIS

The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was used to identify and summarize evidence and develop recommendations. We identified 342 studies for full-text review. Seventeen good practice statements were generated related to respiratory and cardiovascular monitoring. Four research statements were generated related to respiratory mechanics and imaging monitoring, hemodynamics monitoring, and extubation readiness monitoring.

CONCLUSIONS

PALICC-2 monitoring good practice and research statements were developed to improve the care of patients with PARDS and were based on new knowledge generated in recent years in patients with PARDS, specifically in topics of general monitoring, respiratory system mechanics, gas exchange, weaning considerations, lung imaging, and hemodynamic monitoring.

Adverse effects of long-term drain placement and the importance of direct aspiration: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Long-term placement of prophylactic drains may result in retrograde infections.

AIM

To investigate the association between the timing of drain removal and clinical outcomes.

METHODS

This retrospective, single-centre cohort study evaluated 110 patients who underwent elective gastrointestinal or hepatopancreatobiliary surgery and developed subsequent organ/space surgical site infection (SSI) between 2016 and 2020. The difference between the culture-positive species of prophylactic drains and direct aspiration was evaluated; whether the prophylactic drains functioned effectively at the time of SSI diagnosis; and whether the empirical antibiotics administered before drainage were effective against all the detected bacteria. Finally, clinical outcomes were compared between early (i.e. cases wherein the prophylactic drain had already been removed or replaced at the time of SSI diagnosis) and late (removal after diagnosis) drain removal.

FINDINGS

The prophylactic drains functioned effectively in only 27 (25%) patients at the time of SSI diagnosis. Due to the results of direct aspiration cultures, 43% of patients required antibiotic escalation. The median time to drain removal or first replacement was seven postoperative days. The early removal group included 43 patients (39%). Compared with early removal, late removal resulted in a higher frequency of vancomycin use (7.0% vs 22.4%; P = 0.037).

CONCLUSION

Prolonged prophylactic drain placement is associated with complicated infections requiring vancomycin; therefore, the drains should be removed as soon as possible. Additionally, obtaining the cultures of direct aspiration should be actively considered, as escalation of antimicrobial therapy is often performed based on culture results.

Sedation/agitation monitoring using a wearable device for ventilated children

BACKGROUND

Developing continuous and labor-saving sedation/agitation monitoring methods in ventilated children is important to avoid undesirable events such as unplanned extubation. The existing scales are often challenging to use. We therefore aimed to evaluate the feasibility of sedation/agitation monitoring using a wearable device with a built-in accelerometer for ventilated children.

METHODS

This prospective observational pilot study included children aged 15 years or less, admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit on mechanical ventilation after cardiac catheterization between December 2021 and April 2022. The wearable device with a built-in accelerometer was attached to either of the upper limbs, and accelerations due to upper limb movements were measured for 2 h after admission or until extubation, whichever was earliest. Accelerations were measured at 0.02 s intervals, with the mean acceleration calculated for each 1 min interval. The State Behavioral Scale (SBS) was completed at 1 min intervals, with the SBS score (-1, 0, 1, or 2) compared with the mean acceleration.

RESULTS

The study included 20 children with a median age of 12 months. The mean accelerations and SBS scores were positively correlated (Kendall's τ, 0.22; p < 0.001), with an increase in the median (interquartile range) acceleration from an SBS score of -1 through 2, as follows: SBS -1, 0.200 (0.151-0.232) m/s2 ; SBS 0, 0.202 (0.190-0.235) m/s2 ; SBS, 1, 0.312 (0.236-0.427) m/s2 ; SBS 2, 0.455 (0.332-0.517) m/s2 . No adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that continuous, labor-saving sedation/agitation monitoring of ventilated children was feasible using a wearable device with a built-in accelerometer.

Breath-by-breath P0.1 measured on quasi-occlusion via Hamilton C6 may result in underestimation of respiratory drive and inspiratory effort

We aimed to identify the threshold for P0.1 in a breath-by-breath manner measured by the Hamilton C6 on quasi-occlusion for high respiratory drive and inspiratory effort. In this prospective observational study, we analyzed the relationships between airway P0.1 on quasi-occlusion and esophageal pressure (esophageal P0.1 and esophageal pressure swing). We also conducted a linear regression analysis and derived the threshold of airway P0.1 on quasi-occlusion for high respiratory drive and inspiratory effort. We found that airway P0.1 measured on quasi-occlusion had a strong positive correlation with esophageal P0.1 measured on quasi-occlusion and esophageal pressure swing, respectively. Additionally, the P0.1 threshold for high respiratory drive and inspiratory effort were calculated at approximately 1.0 cmH₂O from the regression equations. Our calculations suggest a lower threshold of airway P0.1 measured by the Hamilton C6 on quasi-occlusion than that which has been previously reported.

ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline 2021

Background

The joint committee of the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine/Japanese Respiratory Society/Japanese Society of Respiratory Care Medicine on ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline has created and released the ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline 2021.

Methods

The 2016 edition of the Clinical Practice Guideline covered clinical questions (CQs) that targeted only adults, but the present guideline includes 15 CQs for children in addition to 46 CQs for adults. As with the previous edition, we used a systematic review method with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system as well as a degree of recommendation determination method. We also conducted systematic reviews that used meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy and network meta-analyses as a new method.

Results

Recommendations for adult patients with ARDS are described: we suggest against using serum C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels to identify bacterial pneumonia as the underlying disease (GRADE 2D); we recommend limiting tidal volume to 4–8 mL/kg for mechanical ventilation (GRADE 1D); we recommend against managements targeting an excessively low SpO₂ (PaO₂) (GRADE 2D); we suggest against using transpulmonary pressure as a routine basis in positive end-expiratory pressure settings (GRADE 2B); we suggest implementing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for those with severe ARDS (GRADE 2B); we suggest against using high-dose steroids (GRADE 2C); and we recommend using low-dose steroids (GRADE 1B). The recommendations for pediatric patients with ARDS are as follows: we suggest against using non-invasive respiratory support (non-invasive positive pressure ventilation/high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy) (GRADE 2D), we suggest placing pediatric patients with moderate ARDS in the prone position (GRADE 2D), we suggest against routinely implementing NO inhalation therapy (GRADE 2C), and we suggest against implementing daily sedation interruption for pediatric patients with respiratory failure (GRADE 2D).

Conclusions

This article is a translated summary of the full version of the ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline 2021 published in Japanese (URL: https://www.jsicm.org/publication/guideline.html). The original text, which was written for Japanese healthcare professionals, may include different perspectives from healthcare professionals of other countries.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40560-022-00615-6.

ARDS clinical practice guideline 2021

BACKGROUND

The joint committee of the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine/Japanese Respiratory Society/Japanese Society of Respiratory Care Medicine on ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline has created and released the ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline 2021.

METHODS

The 2016 edition of the Clinical Practice Guideline covered clinical questions (CQs) that targeted only adults, but the present guideline includes 15 CQs for children in addition to 46 CQs for adults. As with the previous edition, we used a systematic review method with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system as well as a degree of recommendation determination method. We also conducted systematic reviews that used meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy and network meta-analyses as a new method.

RESULTS

Recommendations for adult patients with ARDS are described: we suggest against using serum C-reactive protein and procalcitonin levels to identify bacterial pneumonia as the underlying disease (GRADE 2D); we recommend limiting tidal volume to 4-8 mL/kg for mechanical ventilation (GRADE 1D); we recommend against managements targeting an excessively low SpO₂ (PaO₂) (GRADE 2D); we suggest against using transpulmonary pressure as a routine basis in positive end-expiratory pressure settings (GRADE 2B); we suggest implementing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for those with severe ARDS (GRADE 2B); we suggest against using high-dose steroids (GRADE 2C); and we recommend using low-dose steroids (GRADE 1B). The recommendations for pediatric patients with ARDS are as follows: we suggest against using non-invasive respiratory support (non-invasive positive pressure ventilation/high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy) (GRADE 2D); we suggest placing pediatric patients with moderate ARDS in the prone position (GRADE 2D); we suggest against routinely implementing NO inhalation therapy (GRADE 2C); and we suggest against implementing daily sedation interruption for pediatric patients with respiratory failure (GRADE 2D).

CONCLUSIONS

This article is a translated summary of the full version of the ARDS Clinical Practice Guideline 2021 published in Japanese (URL: https://www.jrs.or.jp/publication/jrs_guidelines/). The original text, which was written for Japanese healthcare professionals, may include different perspectives from healthcare professionals of other countries.

Dynamic changes in RAS gene status in circulating tumour DNA: a phase II trial of first-line FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab for RAS-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (JACCRO CC-11)

Background

Few prospective studies have used liquid biopsy testing in RAS-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), and its clinical significance remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to carry out a biomarker analysis by liquid biopsy using updated data of the phase II trial of FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab as first-line chemotherapy for RAS-mutant mCRC.

Materials and methods

A total of 64 patients who received modified FOLFOXIRI regimen (irinotecan 150 mg/m², oxaliplatin 85 mg/m², levofolinate 200 mg/m², and fluorouracil 2400 mg/m²) plus bevacizumab biweekly were enrolled. The primary endpoint was the objective response rate (ORR). Plasma samples were collected at pre-treatment, 8 weeks after treatment, and progression in participants included in the biomarker study. The levels of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) and specific KRAS and NRAS variants were evaluated using real-time PCR assays.

Results

There were 62 patients (median age: 62.5 years, 92% performance status 0, 27% right side) who were assessable for efficacy and 51 for biomarker analysis. ORR was 75.8% (95% confidence interval 65.1% to 86.5%). The median progression-free survival was 12.1 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 30.2 months. In 78% of patients, RAS mutations disappeared in the ctDNA at 8 weeks after treatment; these patients tended to have better outcomes than those with RAS mutations. Interestingly, RAS mutations remained undetectable during progression in 62% of patients. Survival analysis indicated that the median OS from progression was significantly longer in patients with RAS mutation clearance than in those with RAS mutation in the ctDNA at disease progression (15.1 versus 7.3 months, hazard ratio: 0.21, P = 0.0046).

Conclusions

Our biomarker study demonstrated no RAS mutations in ctDNA at disease progression in 62% of patients with RAS-mutant mCRC. Both OS and post-progression survival were better in patients with clearance of RAS mutations in ctDNA after triplet-based chemotherapy.

•

First-line FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab is effective for RAS-mutant mCRC with comparable efficacy in elderly patients.

•

RAS mutations disappeared in ctDNA after intensive chemotherapy in 62% of patients with mCRC with RAS-mutant tumours.

•

Survival time was longer in patients with RAS mutation clearance than in those with RAS mutations in ctDNA.

Automatic surgical phase recognition in laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair with artificial intelligence

BACKGROUND

Because of the complexity of the intra-abdominal anatomy in the posterior approach, a longer learning curve has been observed in laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair. Consequently, automatic tools using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor TAPP procedures and assess learning curves are required. The primary objective of this study was to establish a deep learning-based automated surgical phase recognition system for TAPP. A secondary objective was to investigate the relationship between surgical skills and phase duration.

METHODS

This study enrolled 119 patients who underwent the TAPP procedure. The surgical videos were annotated (delineated in time) and split into seven surgical phases (preparation, peritoneal flap incision, peritoneal flap dissection, hernia dissection, mesh deployment, mesh fixation, peritoneal flap closure, and additional closure). An AI model was trained to automatically recognize surgical phases from videos. The relationship between phase duration and surgical skills were also evaluated.

RESULTS

A fourfold cross-validation was used to assess the performance of the AI model. The accuracy was 88.81 and 85.82%, in unilateral and bilateral cases, respectively. In unilateral hernia cases, the duration of peritoneal incision (p = 0.003) and hernia dissection (p = 0.014) detected via AI were significantly shorter for experts than for trainees.

CONCLUSION

An automated surgical phase recognition system was established for TAPP using deep learning with a high accuracy. Our AI-based system can be useful for the automatic monitoring of surgery progress, improving OR efficiency, evaluating surgical skills and video-based surgical education. Specific phase durations detected via the AI model were significantly associated with the surgeons' learning curve.

Mechanical power in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome: a PARDIE study

BACKGROUND

Mechanical power is a composite variable for energy transmitted to the respiratory system over time that may better capture risk for ventilator-induced lung injury than individual ventilator management components. We sought to evaluate if mechanical ventilation management with a high mechanical power is associated with fewer ventilator-free days (VFD) in children with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS).

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of a prospective observational international cohort study.

RESULTS

There were 306 children from 55 pediatric intensive care units included. High mechanical power was associated with younger age, higher oxygenation index, a comorbid condition of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, higher tidal volume, higher delta pressure (peak inspiratory pressure-positive end-expiratory pressure), and higher respiratory rate. Higher mechanical power was associated with fewer 28-day VFD after controlling for confounding variables (per 0.1 J·min-1·Kg-1 Subdistribution Hazard Ratio (SHR) 0.93 (0.87, 0.98), p = 0.013). Higher mechanical power was not associated with higher intensive care unit mortality in multivariable analysis in the entire cohort (per 0.1 J·min-1·Kg-1 OR 1.12 [0.94, 1.32], p = 0.20). But was associated with higher mortality when excluding children who died due to neurologic reasons (per 0.1 J·min-1·Kg-1 OR 1.22 [1.01, 1.46], p = 0.036). In subgroup analyses by age, the association between higher mechanical power and fewer 28-day VFD remained only in children < 2-years-old (per 0.1 J·min-1·Kg-1 SHR 0.89 (0.82, 0.96), p = 0.005). Younger children were managed with lower tidal volume, higher delta pressure, higher respiratory rate, lower positive end-expiratory pressure, and higher PCO2 than older children. No individual ventilator management component mediated the effect of mechanical power on 28-day VFD.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher mechanical power is associated with fewer 28-day VFDs in children with PARDS. This association is strongest in children < 2-years-old in whom there are notable differences in mechanical ventilation management. While further validation is needed, these data highlight that ventilator management is associated with outcome in children with PARDS, and there may be subgroups of children with higher potential benefit from strategies to improve lung-protective ventilation.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Higher mechanical power is associated with fewer 28-day ventilator-free days in children with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. This association is strongest in children <2-years-old in whom there are notable differences in mechanical ventilation management.