Weaning from mechanical ventilation in neurocritical care

Comparative Analysis of Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheotomy and Surgical Tracheotomy in Critically Ill Patients: Outcomes and Complications

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the outcomes of percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) versus surgical tracheostomy (ST) in critically ill patients, focusing on complications, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, and mortality.

DESIGN

Retrospective trial SETTING: Single tertiary center PARTICIPANTS: A total of 119 patients receiving invasive MV in a medical ICU INTERVENTIONS: PDT (n = 55) or ST (n = 64) methods MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The 2 groups showed comparable outcomes in terms of MV duration (36 days for PDT vs 35 days for ST; p = 0.72), ICU stay (43 days for PDT vs 37 days for ST; p = 0.17), and all-cause mortality (71% for PDT vs 64% for ST; p = 0.42). PDT was associated with significantly lower rates of subcutaneous emphysema (0% vs 16%; p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed no statistically significant association between tracheostomy technique and ICU mortality or overall complication rates after adjustment for confounders.

CONCLUSION

PDT and ST yield comparable outcomes in critically ill ICU patients, with no significant difference in overall complication rates or mortality. The fewer specific complications for PDT, such as subcutaneous emphysema, highlight its advantages in suitable cases. Individualized patient assessment remains crucial, and further studies are needed to refine tracheostomy practices.

Ultrasound-based abdominal muscles and diaphragm assessment in predicting extubation failure in patients requiring neurointensive care: a single-center observational study

Extubation failure rates are notably high in patients in neurointensive care. Ineffective cough is the variable independently associated with extubation failure, but its quantification remains challenging. Patients with primary central nervous system injury requiring invasive mechanical ventilation were included. After a successful spontaneous breathing trial (SBT), abdominal muscles and diaphragm ultrasound were performed under tidal breathing and coughing. 98 patients were initially recruited for the study, and 40 patients were ultimately included in the final analysis. Extubation failure occurred in 8 (20%) patients. Rectus abdominis (RA) and internal oblique (IO) muscles showed difference regarding cough thickening fraction (TF) between the extubation success and failure group (P < 0.05). The logistic regression that analysis suggested cough TFRA, cough TFIO and cough TIO were the factors associated with extubation outcome (P < 0.05). In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, cough TFIO exhibited the strongest predictive value (AUC = 0.957, 95% CI:0.8979-1). A threshold of cough TFIO ≥ 34.15% predicted extubation success with a sensitivity of 93.8% and specificity of 75%. Abdominal muscles ultrasound was a promising tool to predict extubation for patients requiring neurointensive care.Trial registration: The study was registered on Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2400088210, Registered 13 August 2024 - Retrospectively registered, https://www.chictr.org.cn/bin/project/edit?pid=234150 .

Sedation Vacations in Neurocritical Care: Friend or Foe?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To evaluate the role of sedation vacations in optimizing patient outcomes and enhancing the quality of care in neurological intensive care units (ICUs). We discuss the importance of sedation management in neurocritical care, considering recent research findings and clinical guidelines.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies have highlighted the significance of sedation interruption protocols in improving patient outcomes in the ICU setting. Evidence suggests that daily sedation interruptions can reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU length of stay, and mortality rates. However, the implementation of these protocols requires careful consideration of patient-specific factors and a multidisciplinary approach. Sedation vacations play a critical role in neurocritical care by reducing mechanical ventilation duration, ICU stay length, and mortality rates. Despite the benefits, the presence of complications must be addressed to avoid adverse outcomes. Continued research is necessary to refine these strategies and improve guideline quality, ensuring safe and effective sedation management in critically ill neurological patients.

Clinical Indications for Extubation in Coma Patients with Severe Neurological Craniocerebral Injury with Meta-Analysis

Computer searches of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases for randomized controlled studies on the effects of intensive nutrition on clinical outcomes in patients with severe craniocerebral injury were conducted from the time of database creation to June 11, 2022, along with manual searches of the relevant literature. Two investigators independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies before the effect sizes were combined using RevMan 5.3 statistical software provided by the Cochrane Collaboration Network, and publication bias was detected using Stata 12.0 software. Meta-analysis showed that total protein levels were higher in the intensive nutrition group than in the regular nutrition group (WMD = 4.96 g/L (1.57-8.34), P < 0.001); IgA levels were significantly higher in the intensive nutrition group than in the regular nutrition group (SMD = 0.79 (0.51-1.07), P < 0.001; SMD = 0.98 (0.58-1.38), P < 0.001); IgG levels were significantly higher in the fortified group than in the regular group (SMD = 0.98 (0.58-1.38), P < 0.001); CD4/CD8 was significantly higher in the fortified patients than in the regular patients with a combined effect size of WMD = 0.33 (0.18-0.48) (P < RR = 0.45 (0.27-0.75), P = 0.002). The results show that effective support of early enteral nutrition can reduce the occurrence of gastrointestinal complications in patients, give them a better adaptation process to the gastrointestinal tract, and ensure the degree of tolerance of their gastric mucosa, thus absorbing more nutrition. Fortification significantly reduced the incidence of gastric retention in patients with craniocerebral injury (RR = 0.19 (0.07-0.49), P < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis of the three groups, it was shown that, depending on the starting time, the total protein level and IgG level were better in the early nutrition at 24 h than in the late nutrition above 24h and that, depending on the starting dose, the total protein level, IgA, IgG, and CD4/CD8 were better in the intervention at doses above 30 mL/h, using the starting dose of 30 mL/h as the cut-off point. In the subgroup analysis based on different nutrition methods (enteral and parenteral nutrition), IgA levels and the incidence of bloating and diarrhea were better than those of parenteral nutrition in the indicators of enteral nutrition.