cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304358
title: Neuromuscular blockade and airway management during endotracheal intubation in Brazilian intensive care units: a national survey

description: Abstract Objective: To describe the use of neuromuscular blockade as well as other practices among Brazilian physicians in adult intensive care units. Methods: An online national survey was designed and administered to Brazilian intensivists. Questions were selected using the Delphi method and assessed physicians’ demographic data, intensive care unit characteristics, practices regarding airway management, use of neuromuscular blockade and sedation during endotracheal intubation in the intensive care unit. As a secondary outcome, we applied a multivariate analysis to evaluate factors associated with the use of neuromuscular blockade. Results: Five hundred sixty-five intensivists from all Brazilian regions responded to the questionnaire. The majority of respondents were male (65%), with a mean age of 38 ( 8.4 years, and 58.5% had a board certification in critical care. Only 40.7% of the intensivists reported the use of neuromuscular blockade during all or in more than 75% of endotracheal intubations. In the multivariate analysis, the number of intubations performed monthly and physician specialization in anesthesiology were directly associated with frequent use of neuromuscular blockade. Etomidate and ketamine were more commonly used in the clinical situation of hypotension and shock, while propofol and midazolam were more commonly prescribed in the situation of clinical stability. Conclusion: The reported use of neuromuscular blockade was low among intensivists, and sedative drugs were chosen in accordance with patient hemodynamic stability. These results may help the design of future studies regarding airway management in Brazil.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304357
title: Evaluation of bed vacancy and occupancy times as governance parameters in patients admitted to a public intensive care unit

description: Abstract Objective: To evaluate the vacancy and occupancy times of intensive care unit beds; to analyze differences in these times between the day and night shifts and weekdays, weekends, and holidays; and to identify predictors of vacancy and occupancy times. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, observational, descriptive, analytical, inferential study. A total of 700 vacancy-to-occupancy records from 54 beds of an adult intensive care unit of a public hospital in Sergipe, Brazil, dated between January and December 2018 were analyzed. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used for comparisons between groups. Several predictive models of length of stay were constructed. The incidence rate ratio was used to estimate the effect size. Results: During the study period, there were 13,477 requests for the 54 intensive care unit beds, and only 5% (700 patients) were granted. The vacancy-to-occupancy times were shorter when beds were occupied at night (incidence rate ratio of 0.658; 95%CI 0.550 - 0.787; p &lt; 0.0001) or on weekends (incidence rate ratio of 0.566; 95%CI 0.382 - 0.838; p = 0.004). Female sex (incidence rate ratio of 0.749; 95%CI 0.657 - 0.856; p &lt; 0.0001) was a predictor of shorter vacancy-to-occupancy time. This time tended to increase with patient age (incidence rate ratio of 1.006; 95% CI 1.003 - 1.009; p &lt; 0.0001). Conclusion: Disparities in the waiting time for intensive care unit beds were identified, as the time was greater in the daytime and on weekdays, and women and younger patients experienced shorter vacancy-to-occupancy times.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304356
title: Prognostic utility of early plasma matrix metalloproteinases -2 and -9 concentrations after severe traumatic brain injury

description: Abstract Objective: To determine whether the matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 plasma levels were associated with intensive care unit mortality in patients who suffered severe traumatic brain injury, despite the presence of extracerebral injuries. Methods: This prospective cohort enrolled 39 male patients who suffered severe traumatic brain injury (Glasgow coma scale: 3 - 8 at hospital admission). The plasma matrix metalloproteinase -2 and matix metalloproteinase -9 levels were determined by ELISA at the time of intensive care unit admission. Results: Severe traumatic brain injury was associated with a 46% intensive care unit mortality rate. Higher plasma matrix metalloproteinase -9 concentrations were associated with mortality: 147.94 ± 18.00ng/mL for survivors and 224.23 ± 23.86ng/mL for nonsurvivors (mean ± standard error of the mean, p = 0.022). In contrast, there was no significant association between matrix metalloproteinase -2 levels and intensive care unit mortality: 315.68 ± 22.90ng/mL for survivors and 336.55 ± 24.29ng/mL for nonsurvivors (p = 0.499). Additionally, there were no significant associations between matrix metalloproteinase -2 (p = 0.711) and matrix metalloproteinase -9 (p = 0.092) levels and the presence of associated lesions. Conclusion: Increased plasma matrix metalloproteinase -9 levels were associated with intensive care unit mortality following severe traumatic brain injury, regardless of the presence of extracerebral injuries. Conversely, in this same context, plasma matrix metalloproteinase -2 levels were not associated with short-term fatal outcome prediction.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304353
title: Delirium and quality of life in critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study

description: Abstract Objective: To evaluate the association between the incidence of delirium in the intensive care unit and quality of life 1 month after hospital discharge. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study conducted in the intensive care units of two medium-complexity hospitals from December 2015 to December 2016. Delirium was identified using the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit scale. At the time of hospital discharge, functional capacity and cognition were assessed with the Barthel index and the Mini Mental State Examination, respectively. Thirty days after patient discharge, the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire was administered by telephone. Results: A total of 216 patients were included. Delirium was identified in 127 (58.8%) of them. Patients with delirium exhibited greater functional dependence (median Barthel index 50.0 [21.2 - 70.0] versus 80.0 [60.0 - 95.0]; p &lt; 0.001) and lower cognition (Mini Mental State Examination score 12.9 ± 7.5 versus 20.7 ± 9.8; p &lt; 0.001) at hospital discharge. There was no difference in any of the quality-of-life domains evaluated 1 month after hospital discharge between patients with and without delirium. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that patients with delirium in the intensive care unit do not have worse quality of life 1 month after hospital discharge, despite presenting greater cognitive impairment and functional disability at the time of hospital discharge.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304352
title: Retrospective analysis of the apnea test and ancillary test in determining brain death

description: Abstract Objective: We investigated the frequency of apnea tests, and the use of ancillary tests in the diagnosis of brain death in our hospital, as well as the reasons for not being able to perform apnea testing and the reasons for using ancillary tests. Methods: In this retrospective study, the files of patients diagnosed with brain death between 2012 - 2018 were examined. The preferred test was determined if an ancillary test was performed in the diagnosis of brain death. The rate and frequency of use of these tests were analyzed. Results: During the diagnosis of brain death, an apnea test was performed on 104 (61.5%) patients and was not or could not be performed on 65 (38.5%) patients. Ancillary tests were performed on 139 (82.8%) of the patients. The most common ancillary test was computed tomography angiography (79 patients, 46.7%). Approval for organ donation was received in the meetings with the family following the diagnosis of brain death for 55 (32.5%) of the 169 patients. Conclusion: We found an increase in the rate of incomplete apnea tests and concordantly, an increase in the use of ancillary tests in recent years. Ancillary tests should be performed on patients when there is difficulty in reaching a decision of brain death, but it should not be forgotten that there is no worldwide consensus on the use of ancillary tests.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304350
title: Reproducibility of respiratory mechanics measurements in patients on invasive mechanical ventilation

description: ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the intra- and interexaminer reproducibility of measurements of the resistance and static and dynamic compliance of the respiratory system in patients on mechanical ventilation. Methods: This was an analytical study conducted with individuals aged ≥ 18 years who were on invasive mechanical ventilation and had no clinical diagnosis of respiratory system disease and/or chest abnormality. Three measurements of respiratory mechanics were performed with a 1-minute interval between them. The first and third measurements were performed by examiner A, the second by examiner B. The values for the resistance and static and dynamic compliance of the respiratory system were compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 198 measurements of respiratory mechanics were performed for 66 patients on mechanical ventilation. The patients had a mean age of 52.6 ± 18.6 years and a mean body mass index of 21.6 ± 2.1kg/m2; a surgical profile (61.5%) and female sex (53.8%) were predominant. Mean values were obtained for the three measurements of respiratory system resistance (A1: 15.7 ± 6.8cmH2O/L/s; B1: 15.7 ± 6.4cmH2O/L/s and A2: 15.9 ± 6.2cmH2O/L/s), respiratory system static compliance (A1: 42.1 ± 13.7mL/cmH2O; B1: 42.4 ± 14.6mL/cmH2O and A2: 42.2 ± 14.5mL/cmH2O) and respiratory system dynamic compliance (A1: 21.3 ± 7.3mL/cmH2O; B1: 21.4 ± 7.5mL/cmH2O and A2: 21.3 ± 6.2mL/cmH2O). The intraclass correlation coefficient was also calculated for respiratory system resistance (R = 0.882 and p = 0.001; R = 0.949 and p = 0.001 - interexaminer A1 versus B and B versus A2, respectively; R = 0.932 and p = 0.001 - intraexaminer); respiratory system static compliance (R = 0.951 and p = 0.001; R = 0.958 and p = 0.001 - interexaminer A1 versus B and B versus A2, respectively; R = 0.965 and p = 0.001 - intraexaminer) and respiratory system dynamic compliance (R = 0.957 and p = 0.001; R = 0.946 and p = 0.001 - interexaminer A1 versus B and B versus A2, respectively; R = 0.926 and p = 0.001 - intraexaminer). Conclusion: The measurements of resistance and static and dynamic compliance of the respiratory system show good intra- and interexaminer reproducibility for ventilated patients.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304348
title: Does vancomycin administered at an empirical dose ensure coverage of pediatric patients against gram-positive pathogens?

description: Abstract Objective: To investigate the vancomycin effectiveness against gram-positive pathogens with the minimum inhibitory concentration of 1mg/L in pediatric patients based on the area under the curve and the minimum inhibitory concentration ratio &gt; 400. Methods: A population of 22 pediatric patients (13 boys) admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with preserved renal function was stratified in two groups (G1 &lt; 7 years and G2 ≥ 7 years). After the fourth dose administered of vancomycin (10 - 15mg/kg every 6 hours) was administered, two blood samples were collected (third and fifth hours), followed by serum measurement by immunoassays to investigate the pharmacokinetics and antimicrobial coverage. Results: There was no difference between the groups regarding dose, trough level or area under the curve. Coverage against gram-positive pathogens with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 1mg/L occurred in only 46% of patients in both groups. The pharmacokinetics in both groups were altered relative to the reference values, and the groups differed in regard to increased total body clearance and shortening of the biological half-life, which were more pronounced in younger patients. Conclusion: A minimum empirical dose of 60mg/kg per day should be prescribed for pediatric patients in intensive care units with preserved renal function. The use of the ratio between the area under the curve and minimum inhibitory concentration in the evaluation of vancomycin coverage is recommended to achieve the desired outcome, since the pharmacokinetics are altered in these patients, which may impact the effectiveness of the antimicrobial.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304346
title: Modified Early Warning Score as a predictor of intensive care unit readmission within 48 hours: a retrospective observational study

description: ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the hypothesis that the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) at the time of intensive care unit discharge is associated with readmission and to identify the MEWS that most reliably predicts intensive care unit readmission within 48 hours of discharge. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of the MEWSs of discharged patients from the intensive care unit. We compared the demographics, severity scores, critical illness characteristics, and MEWSs of readmitted and non-readmitted patients, identified factors associated with readmission in a logistic regression model, constructed a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of the MEWS in predicting the probability of readmission, and presented the optimum criterion with the highest sensitivity and specificity. Results: The readmission rate was 2.6%, and the MEWS was a significant predictor of readmission, along with intensive care unit length of stay &gt; 10 days and tracheostomy. The ROC curve of the MEWS in predicting the readmission probability had an AUC of 0.82, and a MEWS &gt; 6 carried a sensitivity of 0.78 (95%CI 0.66 - 0.9) and specificity of 0.9 (95%CI 0.87 - 0.93). Conclusion: The MEWS is associated with intensive care unit readmission, and a score &gt; 6 has excellent accuracy as a prognostic predictor.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304344
title: Outcomes of ventilatory asynchrony in patients with inspiratory effort

description: Abstract Objective: To identify the relationship of patient-ventilator asynchrony with the level of sedation and hemogasometric and clinical results. Methods: This was a prospective study of 122 patients admitted to the intensive care unit who underwent &gt; 24 hours of invasive mechanical ventilation with inspiratory effort. In the first 7 days of ventilation, patient-ventilator asynchrony was evaluated daily for 30 minutes. Severe patient-ventilator asynchrony was defined as an asynchrony index &gt; 10%. Results: A total of 339,652 respiratory cycles were evaluated in 504 observations. The mean asynchrony index was 37.8% (standard deviation 14.1 - 61.5%). The prevalence of severe patient-ventilator asynchrony was 46.6%. The most frequent patient-ventilator asynchronies were ineffective trigger (13.3%), autotrigger (15.3%), insufficient flow (13.5%), and delayed cycling (13.7%). Severe patient-ventilator asynchrony was related to the level of sedation (ineffective trigger: p = 0.020; insufficient flow: p = 0.016; premature cycling: p = 0.023) and the use of midazolam (p = 0.020). Severe patient-ventilator asynchrony was also associated with hemogasometric changes. The persistence of severe patient-ventilator asynchrony was an independent risk factor for failure of the spontaneous breathing test, ventilation time, ventilator-associated pneumonia, organ dysfunction, mortality in the intensive care unit, and length of stay in the intensive care unit. Conclusion: Patient-ventilator asynchrony is a frequent disorder in critically ill patients with inspiratory effort. The patient’s interaction with the ventilator should be optimized to improve hemogasometric parameters and clinical results. Further studies are required to confirm these results.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304341
title: Can the behavior of blood pressure after elevation of the positive end-expiratory pressure help to determine the fluid responsiveness status in patients with septic shock?

description: Abstract Objective: To evaluate whether the decrease in blood pressure caused by the increase in the positive end-expiratory pressure corresponds to the pulse pressure variation as an indicator of fluid responsiveness. Methods: This exploratory study prospectively included 24 patients with septic shock who were mechanically ventilated and subjected to three stages of elevation of the positive end-expiratory pressure: from 5 to 10cmH2O (positive end-expiratory pressure level 1), from 10 to 15cmH2O (positive end-expiratory pressure level 2), and from 15 to 20cmH2O (positive end-expiratory pressure level 3). Changes in systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure variation were evaluated during the three maneuvers. The patients were classified as responsive (pulse pressure variation ≥ 12%) or unresponsive to volume replacement (pulse pressure variation &lt; 12%). Results: The best performance at identifying patients with pulse pressure variation ≥ 12% was observed at the positive end-expiratory pressure level 2: -9% systolic blood pressure variation (area under the curve 0.73; 95%CI: 0.49 - 0.79; p = 0.04), with a sensitivity of 63% and specificity of 80%. Concordance was low between the variable with the best performance (variation in systolic blood pressure) and pulse pressure variation ≥ 12% (kappa = 0.42; 95%CI: 0.19 - 0.56). The systolic blood pressure was &lt; 90mmHg at positive end-expiratory pressure level 2 in 29.2% of cases and at positive end-expiratory pressure level 3 in 41.63% of cases. Conclusion: Variations in blood pressure in response to the increase in positive end-expiratory pressure do not reliably reflect the behavior of the pulse pressure as a measure to identify the fluid responsiveness status.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304340
title: Reactive hyperemia correlates with the presence of sepsis and glycocalyx degradation in the intensive care unit: a prospective cohort study

description: Abstract Objective: To investigate whether reactive hyperemia measured by peripheral arterial tonometry correlates with markers of endothelial dysfunction and may be used to identify sepsis in critical illness. Methods: A prospective study was performed using a cohort of critically ill patients. Endothelial dysfunction was assessed on admission by quantifying reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry and plasma levels of endothelin-1, soluble E-selectin, endocan and syndecan-1. Septic patients were compared to patients without evidence of infection. Results: Fifty-eight septic patients were compared to 28 controls. The natural logarithm of reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry was negatively correlated with cardiovascular comorbidities, disease severity and plasma levels of soluble E-selectin (p = 0.024) and syndecan-1 (p &lt; 0.001). The natural logarithm of reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry was lower in septic patients than in controls (0.53 ± 0.48 versus 0.69 ± 0.42, respectively). When adjusted for age, the multivariable model predicted that each 0.1-unit decrease in natural logarithm of reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry increased the odds for infection by 14.6%. m. Conclusion: Reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry is closely related to soluble E-selectin and syndecan-1, suggesting an association between endothelial activation, glycocalyx degradation and vascular reactivity. Reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry appears to be compromised in critically ill patients, especially those with sepsis.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304338
title: Rationale and design of the “Tocilizumab in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19: an open-label multicentre randomized controlled” trial (TOCIBRAS)

description: ABSTRACT Introduction: Pro-inflammatory markers play a significant role in the disease severity of patients with COVID-19. Thus, anti-inflammatory therapies are attractive agents for potentially combating the uncontrolled inflammatory cascade in these patients. We designed a trial testing tocilizumab versus standard of care intending to improve the outcomes by inhibiting interleukin-6, an important inflammatory mediator in COVID-19. Methods and analysis: This open-label multicentre randomized controlled trial will compare clinical outcomes of tocilizumab plus standard of care versus standard of care alone in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. Two of the following four criteria are required for protocol enrolment: D-dimer &gt; 1,000ng/mL; C reactive protein &gt; 5mg/dL, ferritin &gt; 300mg/dL, and lactate dehydrogenase &gt; upper limit of normal. The primary objective will be to compare the clinical status on day 15, as measured by a 7-point ordinal scale applied in COVID-19 trials worldwide. The primary endpoint will be assessed by an ordinal logistic regression assuming proportional odds ratios adjusted for stratification variables (age and sex). Ethics and dissemination: The TOCIBRAS protocol was approved by local and central (national) ethical committees in Brazil following current national and international guidelines/directives. Each participating center had the study protocol approved by their institutional review boards before initiating protocol enrolment. The data derived from this trial will be published regardless of the results. If proven active, this strategy could alleviate the consequences of the inflammatory response in COVID-19 patients and improve their clinical outcomes.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14304336
title: COVID-19-associated ARDS treated with DEXamethasone (CoDEX): study design and rationale for a randomized trial

description: Abstract Objective: The infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreads worldwide and is considered a pandemic. The most common manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection (coronavirus disease 2019 - COVID-19) is viral pneumonia with varying degrees of respiratory compromise and up to 40% of hospitalized patients might develop acute respiratory distress syndrome. Several clinical trials evaluated the role of corticosteroids in non-COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome with conflicting results. We designed a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of early intravenous dexamethasone administration on the number of days alive and free of mechanical ventilation within 28 days after randomization in adult patients with moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome due to confirmed or probable COVID-19. Methods: This is a pragmatic, prospective, randomized, stratified, multicenter, open-label, controlled trial including 350 patients with early-onset (less than 48 hours before randomization) moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, defined by the Berlin criteria, due to COVID-19. Eligible patients will be randomly allocated to either standard treatment plus dexamethasone (Intervention Group) or standard treatment without dexamethasone (Control Group). Patients in the intervention group will receive dexamethasone 20mg intravenous once daily for 5 days, followed by dexamethasone 10mg IV once daily for additional 5 days or until intensive care unit discharge, whichever occurs first. The primary outcome is ventilator-free days within 28 days after randomization, defined as days alive and free from invasive mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes are all-cause mortality rates at day 28, evaluation of the clinical status at day 15 assessed with a 6-level ordinal scale, mechanical ventilation duration from randomization to day 28, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score evaluation at 48 hours, 72 hours and 7 days and intensive care unit -free days within 28.