Efficacy and Costs of Nutritional Rehabilitation in Muscle-Wasted Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Community-Based Setting: A Prespecified Subgroup Analysis of the INTERCOM Trial
In a 2-year RCT, 199 COPD patientswith moderate airflow obstruction  (FEV1%pred. 60%) and impaired exercise capacity were randomized to the interdisciplinary community-based COPD management program (INTERCOM) or usual care (UC). A prescheduled subgroup analysis was performed on 39 of the 199 patients who were muscle wasted and received UC or nutritional therapy in combination with [...]
Consequences of bed rest
This article gives an overview of the consequences of bed rest and possible treatment options for reducing these consequences. Brower, RG. CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE 2009; 37 (10): S422 – S428
Intensive care unit-acquired weakness: Risk factors and prevention
 In this article the authors discuss the risk factors for and the prevention of intensive care unit-acquired weakness.  Five main risk factors for  intensive care unit-acquired weakness have been identified. These include multiple organ failure, muscle inactivity, hyperglycemia, and use of corticosteroids and neuromuscular blockers. The authors point out that although strong evidence regarding the efficacy of preventive measures is [...]
Measurement of muscle strength in the intensive care unit
This paper explores the measures available to assess and predict intensive care unit-acquired muscle weakness. The discussion centres around the selection of the appropriate muscle to test in order to make adequate predictions of a patient’s outcome. The authors propose that the upper airway dilators are much more susceptible to a decrease in muscle strength than [...]
Noninvasive Ventilation Reduces Intubation in Chest Trauma-Related Hypoxemia – A randomized Clinical Trial
This single-center randomized clinical trial set out to determine if non invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) reduced the incidence of intubation in severe chest trauma-related hypoxemia.  Patients with Pao2/Fio2<200 for >8h while receiving oxygen by high-flow mask within the first 48 h after thoracic trauma were included in the study. After 25 patients were enrolled in each group, the trial [...]
Does an Obese Body Mass Index Affect Hospital Outcomes After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery?
A retrospective examination of data in a cohort of 10590 patients admitted for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery between 2003 and 2007 was examined to determine body mass index (BMI). Regression analysis was conducted to determine whether BMI was an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality after CABG. The results found that CABG patients in [...]
Prone Positioning in Patients With Moderate and Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
The goal of the Prone-Supine II Study was to evaluate possible outcome benefits of prone positioning in patients with ARDS and moderate or severe hypoxemia. From February 2004 through June 2008, a total of 342 adults with ARDS receiving mechanical ventilation at 23 centers in Italy and 2 in Spain were enrolled and prospectively stratified [...]
Surviving critical illness: acute respiratory distress syndrome as experienced by patients and their caregivers.
This study attempted to determine and characterize the effects of critical illness in the daily lives and functioning of acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors. Survivors and Caregivers were interviewed 3 to 9 months after intensive care admission. Participants related five key elements of experience as survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome: 1) pervasive memories of critical care; 2) [...]
Discomfort associated with underhumidified high-flow oxygen therapy in critically ill patients
Chanques G, Constantin J-M, Sauter M, Jung B, Sebbane M, Verzilli D, Lefrant J-Y, Jaber S. This randomised cross-over study set out to measure the discomfort in non-intubated patients under high-flow oxygen therapy (>5 L/min) humidified with bubble through (BH) or heated humidifiers (HH). In addition the hygrometric properties of oxygen with a BH and [...]
Water content of delivered gases during non-invasive ventilation in healthy subjects
Lellouche F, Maggiore SM, Lyazidi A, Deye N, Taillé S, Brochard L In this study the authors measured hygrometry during non invasive ventilation (NIV) delivered to healthy subjects with different humidification strategies: heated humidifier (HH), heat and moisture exchanger, (HME) or no humidification (NoH). They found that during NIV, with NoH, gas humidity was very [...]
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