2014 Jan - Pathogenesis of influenza-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome
Short KR, Kroeze EJ, Fouchier RA, Kuiken T.; Lancet Infect Dis. 2014 Jan;14(1):57-69.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a fatal complication of influenza infection. In this Review we provide an integrated model for its pathogenesis...
2014 Jan - Interventions to reduce colonisation and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in intensive care units: an interrupted time series study and cluster randomised trial
Derde LP, Cooper BS, Goossens H, Malhotra-Kumar S, Willems RJ, Gniadkowski M, Hryniewicz W, Empel J, Dautzenberg MJ, Annane D, Aragão I, Chalfine A, Dumpis U, Esteves F, Giamarellou H, Muzlovic I, Nardi G, Petrikkos GL, Tomic V, Martí AT, Stammet P, Brun-Buisson C, Bonten MJ; MOSAR WP3 Study Team.; Lancet Infect Dis. 2014 Jan;14(1):31-9.
Background: Intensive care units (ICUs) are high-risk areas for transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, but no controlled study has tested the effect of rapid screening and isolation of carriers on transmission in settings with best-standard precautions. We assessed interventions to reduce colonisation and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in European ICUs.
2013 Oct - Severity assessment scores to guide empirical use of antibiotics in community acquired pneumonia
Aran Singanayagam, Dr James D Chalmers. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages 653 - 662, October 2013
Severity assessment scores were first developed to predict the 30 day mortality in community acquired pneumonia; however, several guidelines have extended their use to guide empirical antibiotic prescription decisions. This approach has theoretical advantages because a decrease in broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment in low-risk patients might reduce antibiotic-related side-effects, and to give broad-spectrum therapy to patients at higher risk of death is intuitive...
2013 Sep - Effect of intravenous haloperidol on the duration of delirium and coma in critically ill patients (Hope-ICU): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Volume 1, Issue 7, Pages 515 - 523, September 2013. Dr Valerie J Page MBBCh, Prof E Wesley Ely MD, Prof Simon Gates PhD, Xiao Bei Zhao RN, Timothy Alce PhD, Ayumi Shintani PhD , Jim Jackson PsyD, Prof Gavin D Perkins MD, Prof Daniel F McAuley MD.
Background
Delirium is frequently diagnosed in critically ill patients and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Haloperidol is the most commonly used drug for delirium despite little evidence of its effectiveness. The aim of this study was to establish whether early treatment with haloperidol would decrease the time that survivors of critical illness spent in delirium or coma.
2013 Sep 3 - Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (IABP-SHOCK II): final 12 month results of a randomised, open-label trial
The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 3 September 2013. Prof Holger Thiele MD, Prof Uwe Zeymer MD, Prof Franz-Josef Neumann MD, Miroslaw Ferenc MD, Prof Hans-Georg Olbrich MD, Prof Jörg Hausleiter MD, et al. on behalf of the Intraaortic Balloon Pump in cardiogenic shock II (IABP-SHOCK II) trial investigators.
Background
In current international guidelines the recommendation for intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) use has been downgraded in cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction on the basis of registry data. In the largest randomised trial (IABP-SHOCK II), IABP support did not reduce 30 day mortality compared with control. However, previous trials in cardiogenic shock showed a mortality benefit only at extended follow-up. The present analysis therefore reports 6 and 12 month results.
2013 June 24 - Human infection with avian influenza A H7N9 virus: an assessment of clinical severity
Hongjie Yu MD, Benjamin J Cowling PhD, Luzhao Feng MD, Eric HY Lau PhD, Qiaohong Liao MD, Tim K Tsang MPhil, et al. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 24 June 2013
Background
Characterisation of the severity profile of human infections with influenza viruses of animal origin is a part of pandemic risk assessment, and an important part of the assessment of disease epidemiology. Our objective was to assess the clinical severity of human infections with avian influenza A H7N9 virus, which emerged in China in early 2013.
2013 June- Donor management and lung preservation for lung transplantation
Laveena Munshi MD, Prof Shaf Keshavjee MD, Dr Marcelo Cypel MD. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Volume 1, Issue 4, Pages 318 - 328, June 2013.
Summary
Although lung transplantation has become a life-saving option for patients with end-stage lung disease, this intervention is hampered by a shortage of lungs in view of the growing number of people on the waiting list. Lungs are retrieved from only a small percentage of multiorgan donors, and the transplantation and intensive-care communities have recognised the need to develop innovative methods to expand the donor pool.
2013 June 17 - Clinical features and virological analysis of a case of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection
Prof Christian Drosten MD, Michael Seilmaier MD, Victor M Corman MD, Wulf Hartmann MD, Gregor Scheible MD, Prof Stefan Sack MD, et al. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Early Online Publication, 17 June 2013
Background
The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging virus involved in cases and case clusters of severe acute respiratory infection in the Arabian Peninsula, Tunisia, Morocco, France, Italy, Germany, and the UK. We provide a full description of a fatal case of MERS-CoV infection and associated phylogenetic analyses.
2013 May 29 - Association between adverse clinical outcome in human disease caused by novel influenza A H7N9 virus and sustained viral shedding and emergence of antiviral resistance
Yunwen Hu MD, Shuihua Lu MD, Zhigang Song MS, Wei Wang PhD, Pei Hao PhD, Jianhua Li PhD, et al. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 29 May 2013
Background
On March 30, a novel influenza A subtype H7N9 virus (A/H7N9) was detected in patients with severe respiratory disease in eastern China. Virological factors associated with a poor clinical outcome for this virus remain unclear. We quantified the viral load and analysed antiviral resistance mutations in specimens from patients with A/H7N9.
2013 May 20 - Risk of venous thromboembolism associated with peripherally inserted central catheters: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Dr Vineet Chopra MD, Sarah Anand MD, Andy Hickner MSI, Michael Buist BA, Mary AM Rogers PhD, Prof Sanjay Saint MD, Prof Scott A Flanders MD. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 20 May 2013.
Background
Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. However, the size of this risk relative to that associated with other central venous catheters (CVCs) is unknown. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the risk of venous thromboembolism associated with PICCs versus that associated with other CVCs.
2013 April 22 - Magnesium sulphate in acute severe asthma in children (MAGNETIC): a randomised, placebo-controlled trial
Colin Powell, Ruwanthi Kolamunnage-Dona, John Lowe, Angela Boland, Stavros Petrou, Iolo Doull, Kerenza Hood, Paula Williamson. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Early Online Publication, 22 April 2013.
Background
Little evidence is available for the effect of nebulised magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) in acute asthma in children. We assessed the effect of MgSO4 treatment in children with severe acute asthma.
2013 May 17 - Intravenous or nebulised magnesium sulphate versus standard therapy for severe acute asthma (3Mg trial): a double-blind, randomised controlled trial
Prof Steve Goodacre PhD, Judith Cohen PhD, Mike Bradburn MSc , Prof Alasdair Gray MD, Prof Jonathan Benger MD, Prof Timothy Coats MD, on behalf of the 3Mg Research Team. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Early Online Publication, 17 May 2013
Background
Previous studies suggested intravenous or nebulised magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) might improve respiratory function in patients with acute asthma. We aimed to determine whether intravenous or nebulised MgSO4 improve symptoms of breathlessness and reduce the need for hospital admission in adults with severe acute asthma.
2013 April 25 - Attributable mortality of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomised prevention studies
Dr Wilhelmina G Melsen MD, Prof Maroeska M Rovers PhD, Rolf HH Groenwold MD, Dennis CJJ Bergmans MD, Christophe Camus MD, Prof Torsten T Bauer MD, et al. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Early Online Publication, 25 April 2013.
Background
Estimating attributable mortality of ventilator-associated pneumonia has been hampered by confounding factors, small sample sizes, and the difficulty of doing relevant subgroup analyses. We estimated the attributable mortality using the individual original patient data of published randomised trials of ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention.
2013 May 1 - Origin and diversity of novel avian influenza A H7N9 viruses causing human infection: phylogenetic, structural, and coalescent analyses
Di Liu PhD, Weifeng Shi PhD, Yi Shi PhD, Dayan Wang PhD, Haixia Xiao, Wei Li MSc, et al. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 1 May 2013
Background
On March 30, 2013, a novel avian influenza A H7N9 virus that infects human beings was identified. This virus had been detected in six provinces and municipal cities in China as of April 18, 2013. We correlated genomic sequences from avian influenza viruses with ecological information and did phylogenetic and coalescent analyses to extrapolate the potential origins of the virus and possible routes of reassortment events.
2013 April 25 - Human infections with the emerging avian influenza A H7N9 virus from wet market poultry: clinical analysis and characterisation of viral genome
Yu Chen MD, Weifeng Liang MD, Shigui Yang PhD, Nanping Wu PhD, Hainv Gao MD, Jifang Sheng MD, et al. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 25 April 2013
Background
Human infection with avian influenza A H7N9 virus emerged in eastern China in February, 2013, and has been associated with exposure to poultry. We report the clinical and microbiological features of patients infected with influenza A H7N9 virus and compare genomic features of the human virus with those of the virus in market poultry in Zhejiang, China.
2013 Feb 20 - Donor management and lung preservation for lung transplantation
Although lung transplantation has become a life-saving option for patients with end-stage lung disease, this intervention is hampered by a shortage of lungs in view of the growing number of people on the waiting list. Lungs are retrieved from only a small percentage of multiorgan donors, and the transplantation and intensive-care communities have recognised the need to develop innovative methods to expand the donor pool.
2013 March - Hypothermia for acute ischaemic stroke
Ischaemic stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, and intravenous alteplase is the only proven effective treatment in the acute setting. Hypothermia has been shown to improve neurological outcomes after global ischaemia—hypoxia in comatose patients who have had cardiac arrest, and is one of the most extensively studied and powerful therapeutic strategies in acute ischaemic stroke.
2013 March - Immunosuppression in sepsis
Failures of highly touted trials have caused experts to call for re-evaluation of the current approach toward sepsis. New research has revealed key pathogenic mechanisms; autopsy results have shown that most patients admitted to intensive care units for treatment of sepsis had unresolved septic foci at post mortem, suggesting that patients were unable to eradicate invading pathogens and were more susceptible to nosocomial organisms, or both. These results suggest that therapies that improve host immunity might increase survival.
2013 Feb 1 - Procalcitonin as a diagnostic marker for sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Background
Procalcitonin is a promising marker for identification of bacterial infections. We assessed the accuracy and clinical value of procalcitonin for diagnosis of sepsis in critically ill patients.
2013 Jan 28 - Daily chlorhexidine bathing to reduce bacteraemia in critically ill children
Dr Aaron M Milstone MD , Alexis Elward MD, Xiaoyan Song PhD, Danielle M Zerr MD, Rachel Orscheln MD, Kathleen Speck MPH, Daniel Obeng ScM, Nicholas G Reich PhD, Susan E Coffin MD, Trish M Perl MD, for the Pediatric SCRUB Trial Study Group. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 28 January 2013
Background
Bacteraemia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill children. Our objective was to assess whether daily bathing in chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) compared with standard bathing practices would reduce bacteraemia in critically ill children.