Background: After the improvement of the initial phase of ARDS, when the patients begin spontaneous breathing and weaning from mechanical ventilation, some patients may present abnormal breathing patterns, whose evaluation of the repercussions were poorly studied. This study proposed to evaluate abnormal breathing patterns through the use of electrical impedance tomography (EIT), and clinical, respiratory mechanics, and ventilatory parameters according to the types of weaning from mechanical ventilation. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of subjects with ARDS who were considered able to be weaned from mechanical ventilation in the clinical-surgical ICU. Weaning types were defined as simple, difficult, and prolonged weaning. EIT, ventilatory, lung mechanics, and clinical data were collected. Data were collected at baseline in a controlled ventilatory mode and, after neuromuscular blocker withdrawal, data were collected after 30 min, 2 h, and 24 h. EIT parameter analysis was p

Background: Children were less affected by severe illness as compared to adults at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic progressed and variants emerged, pediatric hospitalizations increased, and some previously healthy children developed multisystem inflammatory disorder. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of children hospitalized with COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic through the Delta variant. Methods: Data were collected retrospectively for children hospitalized during March 2020–November 2021 with a diagnosis of COVID-19. Admissions were classified as early pandemic or during the Delta variant, and outcomes were compared between the time periods. Primary outcome measures were hospital length of stay and use of respiratory support. The number of admissions/month was the secondary outcome. Results: There were 784 hospital admissions: 400 during early pandemic and 378 during the Delta period. Forty-four percent had an underl

Background: Pressure support ventilation is frequently associated with patient-ventilator asynchrony. Algorithms based on ventilator waveforms have been developed to automatically detect patient respiratory activity and to guide triggering and cycling. The aim of this study was to assess the performance in terms of synchronization of 6 mechanical ventilators, all provided with a waveform-guided software. Methods: This was a bench study to compare standard and new-generation systems simulating different respiratory mechanics, levels of assistance, and respiratory efforts. Six mechanical ventilators were tested: Hamilton G5 (G5) and C6 (C6), IMT bellavista1000 (B1000), Mindray SV300, and Philips RespironicsV200 (V200) and V60 (V60). Apart from V60, the other ventilators were tested twice: with default settings for standard triggering and cycling and with the waveform-guided automation. Results: With the automated settings, breaths with trigger delay ≤ 300 ms increased with B1000, G5, and

BACKGROUND: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a noninvasive, portable lung imaging technique that provides functional distribution of ventilation. We aimed to describe the relationship between the distribution of ventilation by mode of ventilation and level of oxygenation impairment in children who are critically ill. We also aimed to describe the safety of EIT application. METHODS: A prospective observational study of EIT images obtained from subjects in the pediatric ICU. Images were categorized by whether the subjects were on intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), continuous spontaneous ventilation, or no positive-pressure ventilation. Images were categorized by the level of oxygenation impairment when using /. Distribution of ventilation is described by the center of ventilation. RESULTS: Sixty-four images were obtained from 25 subjects. Forty-two images obtained during IMV with a mean ± SD center of ventilation of 55 ± 6%, 14 images during continuous spontaneous ventilat

Background: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is an oxygen therapy delivery method used with severely ill patients. The literature regarding the effects of HFNC on overall swallowing function and aspiration risk is limited, and results from current studies are mixed. This study aimed to investigate the possible association between HFNC and swallowing impairment. Methods: This was a single-center, within-subjects, repeated-measures retrospective study of 21 hospitalized subjects. Participants underwent flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) while receiving oxygen therapy via HFNC and had another instrumented swallow assessment, a FEES or a modified barium swallow study, when they no longer required HFNC oxygen. Three markers of swallowing function were extracted from reports—aspiration, silent aspiration, and overall swallowing function, and statistical analyses were conducted to assess their relationship to HFNC status. Results: There was a statistically significant differenc