Project description:Portable ultrasound is now used routinely in many ICUs for various clinical applications. Echocardiography performed by noncardiologists, both transesophageal and transthoracic, has evolved to broad applications in diagnosis, monitoring, and management of critically ill patients. This review provides a current update on focused critical care echocardiography for the management of critically ill patients.Source data were obtained from a PubMed search of the medical literature, including the PubMed "related articles" search methodology.Although studies demonstrating improved clinical outcomes for critically ill patients managed by focused critical care echocardiography are generally lacking, there is evidence to suggest that some intermediate outcomes are improved. Furthermore, noncardiologists can learn focused critical care echocardiography and adequately interpret the information obtained. Noncardiologists can also successfully incorporate focused critical care echocardiography into advanced cardiopulmonary life support. Formal training and proctoring are important for safe application of focused critical care echocardiography in clinical practice. Further outcomes-based research is urgently needed to evaluate the efficacy of focused critical care echocardiography.
Project description:The mini-fluid challenge (MFC) can guide individualised fluid therapy and prevent fluid overload and associated morbidity in adult intensive care patients. This ultrasound test is based on the Frank-Starling principles to assess dynamic fluid responsiveness, but limited MFC data exists for newborns. This brief report describes the feasibility of the MFC in 12 preterm infants with late onset sepsis and 5 newborns with other pathophysiology. Apical views were used to determine the changes in left ventricular stroke volume before and after a 3 ml/kg fluid bolus was given over 5 min. Four out of the 17 infants were fluid responsive, defined as a post-bolus increase in stroke volume of 15% or more. Conclusion: The MFC was feasible and followed the physiological principles of stroke volume and extravascular lung water changes and 24% were fluid responsive. The MFC could enable future studies to examine whether adding fluid responsiveness to guide fluid therapy in newborns can reduce the risk of fluid overload. What is Known: • Fluid overload is associated with morbidity and mortality. • The mini-fluid challenge (MFC) provides a personalised approach to fluid therapy. What is New: • The MFC is feasible in newborns. • The MFC followed the physiological principles of stroke volume and extravascular lung water changes.
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has placed an extraordinary strain on healthcare systems across North America. Defining the optimal approach for managing a critically ill COVID-19 patient is rapidly changing. Goal-directed transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is frequently used by physicians caring for intubated critically ill patients as a reliable imaging modality that is well suited to answer questions at bedside.MethodsA multidisciplinary (intensive care, critical care cardiology, and emergency medicine) group of experts in point-of-care echocardiography and TEE from the United States and Canada convened to review the available evidence, share experiences, and produce a consensus statement aiming to provide clinicians with a framework to maximize the safety of patients and healthcare providers when considering focused point-of-care TEE in critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsAlthough transthoracic echocardiography can provide the information needed in most patients, there are specific scenarios in which TEE represents the modality of choice. TEE provides acute care clinicians with a goal-directed framework to guide clinical care and represents an ideal modality to evaluate hemodynamic instability during prone ventilation, perform serial evaluations of the lungs, support cardiac arrest resuscitation, and guide veno-venous ECMO cannulation. To aid other clinicians in performing TEE during the COVID-19 pandemic, we describe a set of principles and practical aspects for performing examinations with a focus on the logistics, personnel, and equipment required before, during, and after an examination.ConclusionsIn the right clinical scenario, TEE is a tool that can provide the information needed to deliver the best and safest possible care for the critically ill patients.
Project description:BackgroundThree cases of the application of focused cardiac ultrasound in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 are presented.MethodsCardiac point-of-care ultrasound, limited transthoracic echocardiography, and critical care echocardiography were applied in cases of heart failure, pulmonary embolism, and myocarditis with thrombus respectively.ResultsThe impact on patient management and the global context of each presentation are discussed.ConclusionsFocused cardiac point-of-care ultrasound played an important, front-line role in the bedside management of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China.
Project description:Accumulation of a positive fluid balance is common in critically ill patients, and is associated with adverse outcomes, including mortality. However, there are few randomised clinical trials to guide clinicians as to the most appropriate fluid strategy following initial resuscitation and on the use of deresuscitation (removal of accumulated fluid using diuretics and/or renal replacement therapy). To inform the design of randomised trials, we surveyed critical care physicians with regard to perceptions of fluid overload in critical care, self-reported practice, acceptability of a variety of approaches to deresuscitation, appropriate safety parameters, and overall acceptability of a randomised trial of deresuscitation. Of 524 critical care specialists completing the survey, the majority practiced in mixed medical/surgical intensive care units in the United Kingdom. Most (309 of 363 respondents, 85%) believed fluid overload to be a modifiable source of morbidity; there was strong support (395 of 457, 86%) for a randomised trial of deresuscitation in critical illness. Marked practice variability was evident among respondents. In a given clinical scenario, self-reported practice ranged from the administration of fluid (N = 59, 14%) to the administration of a diuretic (N = 285, 67%). The majority (95%) considered it appropriate to administer diuretics for fluid overload in the setting of noradrenaline infusion and to continue to administer diuretics despite mild dysnatraemias, hypotension, metabolic alkalosis, and hypokalaemia. The majority of critical care physicians view fluid overload as a common and modifiable source of morbidity; deresuscitation is widely practiced, and there is widespread support for randomised trials of deresuscitation in critical illness.
Project description:BackgroundAlthough pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) have been the reference standard for calculating cardiac output, echocardiographic estimation of cardiac output (CO) by cardiologists has shown high accuracy compared to PAC measurements. A few studies have assessed the accuracy of echocardiographic estimation of CO in critically ill patients by intensivists with basic training. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of CO measurements by intensivists with basic training using pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound vs. PACs in critically ill patients.MethodsCritically ill patients who required hemodynamic monitoring with a PAC were eligible for the study. Three different intensivists with basic critical care echocardiography training obtained three measurements of CO on each patient. The maximum of three separate left-ventricular outflow tract diameter measurements and the mean of three LVOT velocity time integral measurements were used. The inter-observer reliability and correlation of CO measured by PACs vs. critical care echocardiography were assessed.ResultsA total of 20 patients were included. Data were analyzed comparing the measurements of CO by PAC vs. echocardiography. The inter-observer reliability for measuring CO by echocardiography was good based on a coefficient of intraclass correlation of 0.6 (95% CI 0.48-0.86, p < 0.001). Bias and limits of agreement between the two techniques were acceptable (0.64 ± 1.18 L/min, 95% limits of agreement of - 1.73 to 3.01 L/min). In patients with CO < 6.5 L/min, the agreement between CO measured by PAC vs. echocardiography improved (0.13 ± 0.89 L/min; 95% limits of agreement of - 1.64 to 2.22 L/min). The mean percentage of error between the two methods was 17%.ConclusionsCritical care echocardiography performed at the bedside by intensivists with basic critical care echocardiography training is an accurate and reproducible technique to measure cardiac output in critically ill patients.
Project description:PurposeTo assess the role of left ventricular overload and cumulated fluid balance in the development weaning-induced pulmonary edema (WIPO).MethodsVentilated patients in sinus rhythm with COPD and/or heart failure (ejection fraction ≤ 40%) were studied. Echocardiography was performed immediately before and during a 30-min spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) using a T-tube. Patients who failed were treated according to echocardiography results before undergoing a second SBT.ResultsTwelve of 59 patients failed SBT, all of them developing WIPO. Patients who succeeded SBT had lower body weight (- 2.5 kg [- 4.8; - 1] vs. + 0.75 kg [- 2.95; + 5.57]: p = 0.02) and cumulative fluid balance (- 2326 ml [- 3715; + 863] vs. + 143 ml [- 2654; + 4434]: p = 0.007) than those who developed WIPO. SBT-induced central hemodynamic changes were more pronounced in patients who developed WIPO, with higher E wave velocity (122 cm/s [92; 159] vs. 93 cm/s [74; 109]: p = 0.017) and E/A ratio (2.1 [1.2; 3.6] vs. 0.9 [0.8; 1.4]: p = 0.001), and shorter E wave deceleration time (85 ms [72; 125] vs. 147 ms [103; 175]: p = 0.004). After echocardiography-guided treatment, all patients who failed the first SBT were successfully extubated. Fluid balance was then negative (- 2224 ml [- 7056; + 100] vs. + 146 ml [- 2654; + 4434]: p = 0.005). Left ventricular filling pressures were lower (E/E': 7.3 [5; 10.4] vs. 8.9 [5.9; 13.1]: p = 0.028); SBT-induced increase in E wave velocity (+ 10.6% [- 2.7/ + 18] vs. + 25.6% [+ 12.7/ + 49]: p = 0.037) and of mitral regurgitation area were significantly smaller.ConclusionIn high-risk patients, WIPO appears related to overloaded left ventricle associated with excessive fluid balance. SBT-induced central hemodynamic changes monitored by CCE help in guiding therapy for successful weaning.
Project description:ObjectivesTo evaluate whether early intensive care transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) can improve the prognosis of patients with mechanical ventilation (MV).DesignA retrospective cohort study.SettingPatients undergoing MV for more than 48 hours, based on the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database and the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD), were selected.Participants2931 and 6236 patients were recruited from the MIMIC-III database and the eICU database, respectively.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were 30-day mortality from the date of ICU admission, days free of MV and vasopressors 30 days after ICU admission, use of vasoactive drugs, total intravenous fluid and ventilator settings during the first day of MV.ResultsWe used propensity score matching to analyse the association between early TTE and in-hospital mortality and sensitivity analysis, including the inverse probability weighting model and covariate balancing propensity score model, to ensure the robustness of our findings. The adjusted OR showed a favourable effect between the early TTE group and in-hospital mortality (MIMIC: OR 0.78; 95% CI 0.65 to 0.94, p=0.01; eICU-CRD: OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.67 to 0.86, p<0.01). Early TTE was also associated with 30-day mortality in the MIMIC database (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.88, p=0.001). Furthermore, those who had early TTE had both more ventilation-free days (only in eICU-CRD: 23.48 vs 24.57, p<0.01) and more vasopressor-free days (MIMIC: 18.22 vs 20.64, p=0.005; eICU-CRD: 27.37 vs 28.59, p<0.001) than the control group (TTE applied outside of the early TTE and no TTE at all).ConclusionsEarly application of critical care TTE during MV is beneficial for improving in-hospital mortality. Further investigation with prospectively collected data is required to validate this relationship.
Project description:Critical care echocardiography has become fundamental in diagnosis, management, and monitoring of patients in shock. Transesophageal echocardiography has gained importance, particularly in critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation. We describe echocardiographic findings concerning a patient admitted with confusion, pulmonary edema, hypotension, and systolic murmur at apex.