2017 Feb 1 - Mitigation of Ventilator-induced Diaphragm Atrophy by Transvenous Phrenic Nerve Stimulation

Steven C. Reynolds , Ramasamy Meyyappan , Viral Thakkar , Bao D. Tran , Marc-André Nolette , Gautam Sadarangani , Rodrigo A. Sandoval , Laura Bruulsema , Brett Hannigan , Jason W. Li , Elizabeth Rohrs  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Feb 1, 2017, vol. 135, no. 3: 339-348

Rationale: Ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction is a significant contributor to weaning difficulty in ventilated critically ill patients. It has been hypothesized that electrically pacing the diaphragm during mechanical ventilation could reduce diaphragm dysfunction.

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2017 Feb 1 - Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Subphenotypes Respond Differently to Randomized Fluid Management Strategy

Katie R. Famous , Kevin Delucchi , Lorraine B. Ware , Kirsten N. Kangelaris , Kathleen D. Liu , B. Taylor Thompson , and Carolyn S. Calfee ; for the ARDS Network  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Feb 1, 2017, vol. 195, no. 3: 331-338

Rationale: We previously identified two acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) subphenotypes in two separate randomized controlled trials with differential response to positive end-expiratory pressure.

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2017 Jan 15 - Incidence, Predictors, and Outcomes of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis. A Cohort Study

Peter M. C. Klein Klouwenberg , Jos F. Frencken , Sanne Kuipers , David S. Y. Ong , Linda M. Peelen , Lonneke A. van Vught , Marcus J. Schultz , Tom van der Poll , Marc J. Bonten , and Olaf L. Cremer ; on behalf of the MARS Consortium  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 15, 2017, vol. 195, no. 2: 205-211

Rationale: Patients admitted to intensive care units with sepsis are prone to developing cardiac dysrhythmias, most commonly atrial fibrillation.

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2017 Jan 15 - Experiences and Expressions of Spirituality at the End of Life in the Intensive Care Unit

Marilyn Swinton, Mita Giacomini, Feli Toledo, Trudy Rose, Tracy Hand-Breckenridge, Anne Boyle, Anne Woods, France Clarke, Melissa Shears, Robert Sheppard, and Deborah Cook  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 15, 2017, vol. 195, no. 2: 198-204

Rationale: The austere setting of the intensive care unit (ICU) can suppress expressions of spirituality.

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2017 Jan 1 - Noninvasive Ventilation of Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Insights from the LUNG SAFE Study

Giacomo Bellani, John G. Laffey, Tài Pham, Fabiana Madotto, Eddy Fan, Laurent Brochard, Andres Esteban, Luciano Gattinoni, Vesna Bumbasirevic, Lise Piquilloud, Frank van Haren, Anders Larsson, Daniel F. McAuley, Philippe R. Bauer, Yaseen M. Arabi, Marco Ranieri, Massimo Antonelli, Gordon D. Rubenfeld, B. Taylor Thompson, Hermann Wrigge, Arthur S. Slutsky, Antonio Pesenti, on behalf of the LUNG SAFE Investigatorsthe ESICM Trials Group  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. vol. 195, no. 1: 67-77

Rationale: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is increasingly used in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The evidence supporting NIV use in patients with ARDS remains relatively sparse.

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2017 Jan 1 - Coexistence and Impact of Limb Muscle and Diaphragm Weakness at Time of Liberation from Mechanical Ventilation in Medical Intensive Care Unit Patients

Martin Dres, Bruno-Pierre Dubé, Julien Mayaux, Julie Delemazure, Danielle Reuter, Laurent Brochard, Thomas Similowski, Alexandre Demoule  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Jan 1, 2017, vol. 195, no. 1: 57-66

Rationale: Intensive care unit (ICU)- and mechanical ventilation (MV)-acquired limb muscle and diaphragm dysfunction may both be associated with longer length of stay and worse outcome. Whether they are two aspects of the same entity or have a different prevalence and prognostic impact remains unclear.

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2016 Dec 15 - Impact of 24/7 In-Hospital Intensivist Coverage on Outcomes in Pediatric Intensive Care. A Multicenter Study

Punkaj Gupta, Mallikarjuna Rettiganti, Tom B. Rice, Randall C. Wetzel  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Dec 15, 2016. vol. 194, no. 12: 1506 - 1513

Rationale: The around-the-clock presence of an in-house attending critical care physician (24/7 coverage) is purported to be associated with improved outcomes among high-risk children with critical illness.

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2016 Dec 1 - Comparative Analysis of the Host Response to Community-acquired and Hospital-acquired Pneumonia in Critically Ill Patients

Lonneke A. van Vught, Brendon P. Scicluna, Maryse A. Wiewel, Arie J. Hoogendijk, Peter M. C. Klein Klouwenberg, Marek Franitza, Mohammad R. Toliat, Peter Nürnberg, Olaf L. Cremer, Janneke Horn, Marcus J. Schultz, Marc M. J. Bonten, and Tom van der Poll  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 1 Dec, 2016, vol 194, no. 11: 1366-1374

Rationale: Preclinical studies suggest that hospitalized patients are susceptible to infections caused by nosocomial respiratory pathogens at least in part because of immune suppression caused by the condition for which they were admitted.

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2016 Nov 15 - Progranulin Plays a Central Role in Host Defense during Sepsis by Promoting Macrophage Recruitment

Zhixin Song, Xuemei Zhang, Liping Zhang, Fang Xu, Xintong Tao, Hua Zhang, Xue Lin, Lihua Kang, Yu Xiang, Xaiofei Lai, Qun Zhang, Kun Huang, Yubing Dai, Yibing Yin, and Ju Cao  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Nov 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 10: 1219 - 1232

Rationale: Progranulin, a widely expressed protein, has multiple physiological functions. The functional role of progranulin in the host response to sepsis remains unknown.

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2016 Nov 1 - Improving Appropriate Neurologic Prognostication after Cardiac Arrest. A Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Damon C. Scales, Eyal Golan, Ruxandra Pinto, Steven C. Brooks, Martin Chapman, Craig M. Dale, Draga Jichici, Gordon D. Rubenfeld, Laurie J. Morrison, on behalf of the Strategies for Post-Arrest Resuscitation Care Network  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Nov 1, 2016, vol 194 (9): 1083-1091

Rationale: Predictions about neurologic prognosis that are based on early clinical findings after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are often inaccurate and may lead to premature decisions to withdraw life-sustaining treatments (LST) in patients who might otherwise survive with good neurologic outcomes.

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2016 Oct 15 - Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Neutrophils Have a Distinct Phenotype and Are Resistant to Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Inhibition

Jatinder K. Juss, David House, Augustin Amour, Malcolm Begg, Jurgen Herre, Daniel M. L. Storisteanu, Kim Hoenderdos, Glyn Bradley, Mark Lennon, Charlotte Summers, Edith M. Hessel, Alison Condliffe, and Edwin R. Chilvers  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Oct 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 8: 961-973

Rationale: Acute respiratory distress syndrome is refractory to pharmacological intervention. Inappropriate activation of alveolar neutrophils is believed to underpin this disease’s complex pathophysiology, yet these cells have been little studied.

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2016 Oct 1 - The RECOVER Program: Disability Risk Groups and 1-Year Outcome after 7 or More Days of Mechanical Ventilation

Margaret S. Herridge, Leslie M. Chu, Andrea Matte, George Tomlinson, Linda Chan, Claire Thomas, Jan O. Friedrich, Sangeeta Mehta, Francois Lamontagne, Melanie Levasseur, Niall D. Ferguson, Neill K. J. Adhikari, Jill C. Rudkowski, Hilary Meggison, Yoanna Skrobik, John Flannery, Mark Bayley, Jane Batt, Claudia dos Santos, Susan E. Abbey, Adrienne Tan, Vincent Lo, Sunita Mathur, Matteo Parotto, Denise Morris, Linda Flockhart, Eddy Fan, Christie M. Lee, M. Elizabeth Wilcox, Najib Ayas, Karen Choong, Robert Fowler, Damon C. Scales, Tasnim Sinuff, Brian H. Cuthbertson, Louise Rose, Priscila Robles, Stacey Burns, Marcelo Cypel, Lianne Singer, Cecelia Chaparro, Chung-Wai Chow, Shaf Keshavjee, Laurent Brochard, Paul Hebert, Arthur S. Slutsky, John C. Marshall, Deborah Cook, and Jill I. Cameron  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 1 Oct 2016, vol. 194, no. 7: 831-844

Rationale: Disability risk groups and 1-year outcome after greater than or equal to 7 days of mechanical ventilation (MV) in medical/surgical intensive care unit (ICU) patients are unknown and may inform education, prognostication, rehabilitation, and study design.

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2016 Oct 1 - Mechanisms of Chronic Muscle Wasting and Dysfunction after an Intensive Care Unit Stay. A Pilot Study

Claudia dos Santos, Sabah N. A. Hussain, Sunita Mathur, Martin Picard, Margaret Herridge, Judy Correa, Alexandra Bain, Yeting Guo, Andrew Advani, Suzanne L. Advani, George Tomlinson, Hans Katzberg, Catherine J. Streutker, Jill I. Cameron, Annemie Schols, Harry R. Gosker, and Jane Batt  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. 1 Oct 2016, vol. 194, no. 7: 821-830

Rationale: Critical illness survivors often experience permanent functional disability due to intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness. The mechanisms responsible for long-term weakness persistence versus resolution are unknown.

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2016 Sep 15 - Structure and Function of the Kidney in Septic Shock. A Prospective Controlled Experimental Study

Matthew J. Maiden, Sophia Otto, John K. Brealey, Mark E. Finnis, Marianne J. Chapman, Tim R. Kuchel, Coralie H. Nash, Jason Edwards, and Rinaldo Bellomo  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Sep 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 6: 692-700

Rationale: It is unclear how septic shock causes acute kidney injury (AKI) and whether this is associated with histological change.

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2016 Sep 15 - Continuous versus Intermittent β-Lactam Infusion in Severe Sepsis. A Meta-analysis of Individual Patient Data from Randomized Trials

Jason A. Roberts, Mohd-Hafiz Abdul-Aziz, Joshua S. Davis, Joel M. Dulhunty, Menino O. Cotta, John Myburgh, Rinaldo Bellomo, and Jeffrey Lipman  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Sep 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 6: 681-691

Rationale: Optimization of β-lactam antibiotic dosing for critically ill patients is an intervention that may improve outcomes in severe sepsis.

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2016 Sep 1 - Fine Particulate Matter and Emergency Room Visits for Respiratory Illness. Effect Modification by Oxidative Potential

Scott A. Weichenthal, Eric Lavigne, Greg J. Evans, Krystal J. Godri Pollitt, and Richard T. Burnett  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Sep 1, 2016, vol. 194, no. 5: 577-586

Rationale: Fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5; particulate matter 2.5 μm or less in diameter) is thought to contribute to acute respiratory morbidity in part through oxidative stress.

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2016 Sep 1 - Potentially Inadvertent Immunomodulation: Norepinephrine Use in Sepsis

Roeland F. Stolk, Tom van der Poll, Derek C. Angus, Johannes G. van der Hoeven, Peter Pickkers, and Matthijs Kox  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Sep 1, 2016, vol. 194, no. 5: 550-558

Septic shock is a major cause of death worldwide and a considerable healthcare burden in the twenty-first century. Attention has shifted from damaging effects of the proinflammatory response to the detrimental role of antiinflammation, a phenomenon known as sepsis-induced immunoparalysis. Sepsis-induced immunoparalysis may render patients vulnerable to secondary infections and is associated with impaired outcome. 

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2016 Aug 15 - Lung–Kidney Cross-Talk in the Critically Ill Patient

Faeq Husain-Syed, Arthur S. Slutsky, and Claudio Ronco  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Aug 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 4: 402-414

Discoveries have emerged highlighting the complex nature of the interorgan cross-talk between the kidney and the lung. Vascular rigidity, neurohormonal activation, tissue hypoxia, and abnormal immune cell signaling have been identified as common pathways leading to the development and progression of chronic kidney disease. However, our understanding of the causal relationships between lung injury and kidney injury is not precise. 

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2015 Aug 15 - Necroptosis: A Novel Cell Death Modality and Its Potential Relevance for Critical Care Medicine

Gabriel Moreno-Gonzalez, Peter Vandenabeele, and Dmitri V. Krysko  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Aug 15, 2016, vol. 4, no. 4: 415-428

Cell death is intertwined with life in development, homeostasis, pathology, and aging. Until recently, apoptosis was the best known form of programmed cell death, whereas necrosis was for a long time considered accidental owing to physicochemical injury. 

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2016 Aug 15 - Urinary Glycosaminoglycans Predict Outcomes in Septic Shock and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Eric P. Schmidt, Katherine H. Overdier, Xiaojun Sun, Lei Lin, Xinyue Liu, Yimu Yang, Lee Anne Ammons, Terra D. Hiller, Matt A. Suflita, Yanlei Yu, Yin Chen, Fuming Zhang, Clay Cothren Burlew, Charles L. Edelstein, Ivor S. Douglas, and Robert J. Linhardt  Am. J. Resp. Crit. Care Med. Aug 15, 2016, vol. 194, no. 4: 439-449

Rationale: Degradation of the endothelial glycocalyx, a glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-rich layer lining the vascular lumen, is associated with the onset of kidney injury in animal models of critical illness. It is unclear if similar pathogenic degradation occurs in critically ill patients.

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