World Journal of Critical Care Medicine

BACKGROUND: Tracheo and broncho esophageal fistulas and their potential complications in adults are seldom encountered in clinical practice but carries a significant morbidity and mortality. CASE SUMMARY: We present a case of a 39-year-old otherwise healthy man who presented to our hospital after ingestion of drain cleaner substance during a suicidal attempt. He unexpectedly suffered from cardiac arrest during his stay in the intensive care unit. The patient had developed extensive segmental trachea-broncho-esophageal fistulous tracks that led to a sudden and significant aspiration event of gastric and duodenal contents with subsequent cardiopulmonary arrest...

BACKGROUND: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients demand continuous monitoring of several clinical and laboratory parameters that directly influence their medical progress and the staff's decision-making. Those data are vital in the assistance of these patients, being already used by several scoring systems. In this context, machine learning approaches have been used for medical predictions based on clinical data, which includes patient outcomes. AIM: To develop a binary classifier for the outcome of death in ICU patients based on clinical and laboratory parameters, a set formed by 1087 instances and 50 variables from ICU patients admitted to the emergency department was obtained in the "WiDS (Women in Data Science) Datathon 2020: ICU Mortality Prediction" dataset...

BACKGROUND: The association between hospitalization for human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) bronchiolitis in early childhood and subsequent asthma is well established. The long-term prognosis for non-bronchiolitis lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) caused by viruses different from HRSV and rhinovirus, on the other hand, has received less interest. AIM: To investigate the relationship between infant LRTI and later asthma and examine the influence of confounding factors...

The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) refers to the anti-inflammatory effects mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system. Existence of this pathway was first demonstrated when acetylcholinesterase inhibitors showed benefits in animal models of sepsis. CAP functions via the vagus nerve. The systemic anti-inflammatory effects of CAP converges on the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor on splenic macrophages, leading to suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and simultaneous stimulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 10...

Recent research has demonstrated that critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) show significant immune system dysregulation. Due to that, some nutrients that influence immunomodulation have been suggested as a form of treatment against the infection. This review collected the information on the impact of vitamins on the prognosis of COVID-19, with the intention of facilitating treatment and prevention of the disease risk status in patients. The collected information was obtained using the PubMed electronic database by searching for articles that relate COVID-19 and the mechanisms/effects of the nutrients: Proteins, glucose, lipids, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium, including prospective, retrospective, and support articles...

Mortality is a well-established patient-important outcome in critical care studies. In contrast, morbidity is less uniformly reported (given the myriad of critical care illnesses and complications of each) but may have a common end-impact on a patient's functional capacity and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL). Survival with a poor quality-of-life may not be acceptable depending on individual patient values and preferences. Hence, as mortality decreases within critical care, it becomes increasingly important to measure intensive care unit (ICU) survivor HRQoL...

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be associated with life-threatening organ dysfunction due to septic shock, frequently requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission, respiratory and vasopressor support. Therefore, clear clinical criteria are pivotal for early recognition of patients more likely to need prompt organ support. Although most patients with severe COVID-19 meet the Sepsis-3.0 criteria for septic shock, it has been increasingly recognized that hyperlactatemia is frequently absent, possibly leading to an underestimation of illness severity and mortality risk...

Hyperglycemia is commonly associated with adverse outcomes especially in patients requiring intensive care unit stay. Data from the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic indicates that individuals with diabetes appear to be at similar risk for COVID-19 infection to those without diabetes but are more likely to experience increased morbidity and mortality. The proposed hypothesis for hyperglycemia in COVID-19 include insulin resistance, critical illness hyperglycemia (stress- induced hyperglycemia) secondary to high levels of hormones like cortisol and catecholamines that counteract insulin action, acute cytokine storm and pancreatic cell dysfunction...

BACKGROUND: Patients leaving the intensive care unit (ICU) often experience gaps in care due to deficiencies in discharge communication, leaving them vulnerable to increased stress, adverse events, readmission to ICU, and death. To facilitate discharge communication, written summaries have been implemented to provide patients and their families with information on medications, activity and diet restrictions, follow-up appointments, symptoms to expect, and who to call if there are questions...

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Understanding the physiological and immunological processes underlying the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 is vital for the identification and rational design of effective therapies. AIM: To describe the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with the immune system and the subsequent contribution of hyperinflammation and abnormal immune responses to disease progression together with a complete narrative review of the different immunoadjuvant treatments used so far in COVID-19 and their indication in severe and life-threatening subsets...

Among the cardiac complications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), one increasingly reported in the literature is myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronaries (MINOCA). We reviewed all reported cases of MINOCA in COVID-19 patients to summarize its clinical features, evaluation, and treatment. We performed a literature search in Pubmed using the search terms 'COVID-19' and 'MINOCA' or 'non-obstructive coronaries'. Among the reported cases, the mean age was 61.5 years (SD ± 13.4), and 50% were men...

BACKGROUND: Prematurity in newborns is a condition that is associated with worse hospital outcomes when compared to birth to term. A preterm infant (PI) is classified when gestational age (GA) < 37 wk. AIM: To analyze prognostic indicators related to the use of oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation (continuous positive airway pressure) and mechanical ventilation (MV) in PI. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort. The sample was composed of PIs from a private hospital in southern Brazil...

BACKGROUND: Neonatal sepsis is a life-threatening disease. Early diagnosis is essential, but no single marker of infection has been identified. Sepsis activates a coagulation cascade with simultaneous production of the D-dimers due to lysis of fibrin. D-dimer test reflects the activation of the coagulation system. AIM: To assess the D-dimer plasma level, elaborating its clinicopathological value in neonates with early-onset and late-onset neonatal sepsis. METHODS: The study was a prospective cross-sectional study that included ninety neonates; divided into three groups: Group I: Early-onset sepsis (EOS); Group II: Late-onset sepsis (LOS); and Group III: Control group...

Clinical scoring systems are required to predict complications, severity, need for intensive care unit admission, and mortality in patients with acute pancreatitis. Over the years, many scores have been developed, tested, and compared for their efficacy and accuracy. An ideal score should be rapid, reliable, and validated in different patient populations and geographical areas and should not lose relevance over time. A combination of scores or serial monitoring of a single score may increase their efficacy.

Cough is a common respiratory complaint driving patients to seek medical advice. Besides being a fundamental respiratory sign, it is also a crucial neurological sign. There are three main types of coughs: Reflex cough (type I), voluntary cough (type II), and evoked cough (type III). Cough is a reflex predominantly mediated by control centers in the respiratory areas of the brainstem, modulated by the cerebral cortex. Cough reflex sensitivity could be increased in many neurological disorders such as brainstem space-occupying lesions, medullary lesions secondary to Chiari type I malformations, tics disorders such as Tourette's syndrome, somatic cough, cerebellar neurodegenerative diseases, and chronic vagal neuropathy due to allergic and non-allergic conditions...

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients are at risk of developing stress cardiomyopathy (SC) but can be under-recognized. AIM: To describe a case series of patients with SC admitted to critical care units. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study at a tertiary care teaching hospital. All adult (≥ 18 years old) patients admitted to the critical care units with stress cardiomyopathy over 5 years were included. RESULTS: Of 24279 admissions to the critical care units [19139 to medical-surgical intensive care units (MSICUs) and 5140 in coronary care units (CCUs)], 109 patients with SC were identified...

BACKGROUND: There is variability in intensive care unit (ICU) resources and staffing worldwide. This may reflect variation in practice and outcomes across all health systems. AIM: To improve research and quality improvement measures administrative leaders can create long-term strategies by understanding the nature of ICU practices on a global scale. METHODS: The Global ICU Needs Assessment Research Group was formed on the basis of diversified skill sets...

BACKGROUND: In patients with respiratory failure, loop diuretics remain the cornerstone of the treatment to maintain fluid balance, but resistance is common. AIM: To determine the efficacy and safety of common diuretic combinations in critically ill patients with respiratory failure. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and PROSPERO for studies reporting the effects of a combination of a loop diuretic with another class of diuretic...

BACKGROUND: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an aggressive tumor, with an incidental discovery in most patients. Classic presentation is rare, and it has a high frequency of local and distant metastasis at the time of detection. CASE SUMMARY: We present a rare case of a 58-year-old man with a ball-shaped thrombus in the right atrium at the time of first incidental identification of RCC in the emergency department. Cardiac metastasis, especially thrombus in the right atrium, is rare...

Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) for managing critically ill patients is increasingly performed by intensivists or emergency physicians. Results of needs surveys among intensivists reveal emphasis on basic cardiac, lung and abdominal ultrasound, which are the commonest POCUS modalities in the intensive care unit. We therefore aim to describe the key diagnostic features of basic cardiac, lung and abdominal ultrasound as practised by intensivists or emergency physicians in terms of accuracy (sensitivity, specificity), clinical utility and limitations...