We describe difficult weaning after prolonged mechanical ventilation in three tracheostomized children affected by respiratory virus infection. Although the spontaneous breathing trials were successful, the patients failed all extubations. Therefore a tracheostomy was performed and the weaning plan was begun. The strategy for weaning was the decrease of ventilation support combining pressure co...

BACKGROUND Levosimendan is a compound with vasodilatory and inotropic properties. Experimental data suggest effective reversal of stunning and cardioprotective properties. METHODS This prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study included 60 patients with 3-vessel coronary disease and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 0.50. Levosimendan administration (...

The relationship of vitamin D3 with the duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of using high-dose vitamin D on the duration of mechanical ventilation among the patients admitted to the intensive care unit. The current double-blinded clinical trial was performed on 44 mechanically ventilated, adult patients. Us...

We identified 65 observational studies of weaning predictors that had been reported in 70 publications. After grouping predictors with similar names but different thresholds, the following predictors met our relevance criteria: heterogeneous populations, 51; COPD patients, 21; and cardiovascular ICU patients, 45. Many variables were of no use in predicting the results of weaning. Moreover, few ...

D iscontinuation of ventilation is estimated to take up to 40% of the total duration of ventilatory support, and around 3–6% of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) require a prolonged course of mechanical ventilation (MV). Patients being liberated from ventilatory support therefore occupy a significantnumber of ICUbeds andhave a major impact on healthcare resources. There have be...

Background: Significant advances in extracorporeal technology have led to the more widespread use of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) for cardiac failure. However, procedures for weaning from VA ECMO are not standar‐ dized. High death rate after successful weaning shows that many questions remain unresolved in this field. Objectives: In this review, we discuss data fr...

Background The widespread adoption of electronic health records allows us to ask evidence-based questions about the need for and benefits of specific clinical interventions in critical-care settings across large populations. Objective We investigated the prediction of vasopressor administration and weaning in the intensive care unit. Vasopressors are commonly used to control hypotension, and ...

INTRODUCTION Inspiratory muscle weakness is a known consequence of mechanical ventilation and a potential contributor to difficulty in weaning from ventilatory support. Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) reduces the weaning period and increases the likelihood of successful weaning in some patients. However, it is not known how this training affects the residual inspiratory muscle fatigability fo...

The relationship of vitamin D3 with the duration of mechanical ventilation and mortality is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of using high-dose vitamin D on the duration of mechanical ventilation among the patients admitted to the intensive care unit. The current double-blinded clinical trial was performed on 44 mechanically ventilated, adult patients. Us...