ESICM Talk

Esophageal pressure measurement plays a crucial role in estimating transpulmonary pressure, with both its absolute values and variations being key factors in assessing lung injury from mechanical forces during ventilation. To gain deeper insights into esophageal pressure monitoring and the essential equipment required for accurate measurement, tune in to the NEXT podcast. Luigi Zattera, the NEXT representative, conducted an insightful interview with Lise Piquilloud, head of the Acute Respiratory Failure (ARF) section. 

Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) aims to enhance the strength and endurance of respiratory muscles. Numerous clinical trials have explored the effectiveness of IMT using various training protocols, devices, and respiratory assessments. However, its adoption in clinical practice remains limited. The extent to which IMT offers clinical benefits, particularly in conjunction with pulmonary rehabilitation following respiratory failure, is still uncertain.

To delve deeper into the subject and gain insights into IMT, we have invited Professor Bernie Bissett. Tune in to our podcast to hear her expert perspective.

To date, no specific pharmacotherapy has proven effective against acute respiratory distress syndrome ARDS. Results on the research domain have been ineffective in human trials, a gap attributed in part to clinical and biological heterogeneity in human ARDS. Therefore, a precision medicine approach is intended to address explicitly how such underlying heterogeneity influences response to therapy among different patients with the same diagnosis. “You can find treatment for the disease but not for syndromes and ICU is a syndrome-forward approach to patient care” says Dr Pratik Sinha who is working on ARDS phenotyping.

Listen to his interview and learn more about ARDS from disease understanding to future bedside perspectives.

Cardiogenic shock accounts for up to 5% of acute heart failure presentations and around 14–16% of patients reported in cardiac intensive care datasets. It complicates up to 15% of all myocardial infarctions and is the leading cause of death post-infarction. Using pharmacological agents alone may increase left ventricular afterload and myocardial oxygen demand, resulting in complications. Thus, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices have emerged as important therapeutic options. As evidence remains uncertain, MCS selection depends on clinician preference and local availability.

An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of high-quality RCTs and propensity score-matched studies (PSMs) was performed to compare the outcomes of MCS devices with no MCS and each other and investigate which MCS is the most effective in reducing mortality.

To learn more about the findings of this study listen to this podcast.

The communication between families of critically ill patients who manifest prolonged disturbances in the consciousness such as patients under sedation, in a coma, or delirium, and the caregivers became very difficult during the stay of the patient in the ICU.

On the other side, the memories of the patients are distressing and confusing and make the ICU experience for this patient very unpleasant.

To overcome these difficulties and to bridge the communication, written diaries by nurses and families for and to the patients are recommended during the ICU stay.

You will get a more detailed description of ICU diaries from the guests in our next podcast – the first one of 2024 from the ESICM N&AHP group.

Professional burnout has been described by WHO as a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Intensive care unit (ICU) professionals are at high risk of experiencing burnout due to the presence of patients with life-threatening illnesses, the observed discrepancies in job demands, responsibility overload, workload, end-of-life issues, perception of futility and other constituting potential stressors. To talk about the prevalence, outcomes, ethical implications and management strategies of ICU professional burnout we have interviewed Dr. Michalsen. Listen to the interview in the following podcast.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains a life-threatening syndrome, resulting in high morbidity and mortality. In ARDS patients and mechanically ventilated critically ill patients, two distinct subphenotypes, presenting hyper- and non-hyperinflammatory characteristics, have been identified.

Studies show that early identification of the inflammatory subphenotypes in patients at risk of ARDS could serve as a predictive or prognostic strategy that will lead to an early intervention and individualization of care.

A study has been carried out to prove the hypothesis that the inflammatory subphenotypes are present before ARDS development in at-risk patients presenting to the emergency department and remain identifiable over time.

To learn more about the methods and findings of this study listen to the next podcast.

Cerebral ultrasound is a developing point-of-care tool for intensivists and emergency physicians, with an important role in diagnosing acute intracranial pathology. The use of transcranial Doppler has expanded over the last years, opening a new window to the assessment of cerebral anatomy not only in neurocritical patients but also in general ICU and emergency room patients.

To discuss the use of cerebral ultrasound for young intensivists we have interviewed Dr. Bertuetti. Listen to the interview in the following podcast. 

Nutrition plays a vital role in the management of critically ill patients, and a tailored approach based on patient assessment, nutritional requirements, and clinical status is essential for optimising outcomes and promoting recovery.

The concept of patient phenotyping and endotyping will help clinicians to better target nutrition interventions for a patient by categorising patients based on observable behaviours and underlying biological mechanisms, respectively.

About these concepts, their clinical use and limitations we have interviewed Dr. Arthur Van Zanten. Listen to his explanations in our podcast offered by NEXT.