Acute and Critical Care

Original Articles

Nursing
Comparison of the clinimetric properties of the two versions of the HACOR scale for predicting noninvasive ventilation failure in Brazilian patients: Matheus Pereira Nunes da Silva, Adriana Claudia Lunardi; Acute Crit Care. 2025;40(2):322-329. Published online May 28, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/acc.000175

3,767 View
81 Download

Abstract PDF: Background
Scales that detect noninvasive ventilation (NIV) failure need to have adequate clinimetric properties to be reliable. This study aimed to compare the clinimetric properties of the Heart rate, Acidosis, Consciousness, Oxygenation, Respiratory rate (HACOR) and updated HACOR scales when applied to hypoxemic adult patients undergoing NIV. Methods: This prospective study applied the HACOR and updated HACOR scales to hypoxemic patients after one hour of NIV in an emergency department setting. A second application of the scales was performed after ten minutes to assess reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient), measurement error (standard error of measurement and minimum detectable difference), ceiling and floor effects, convergent validity by correlation (Pearson’s r) with peripheral oximetry saturation (SpO2), and predictive validity (area under the receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve) for the outcome of needing invasive mechanical ventilation. Results: Sixty patients were included in this study (59.45±17.48 years; Simplified Acute Physiology Score III, 56.1±13.95; 30% with respiratory disease and 25% with cardiovascular disease). After 1 hour of NIV, patients had a HACOR score of 3 (interquartile range [IQR], 1.0–5.0) and an updated HACOR score of 5 (IQR, 3.0–8.87). Clinimetric properties were adequate for both versions of the HACOR scale but were superior for the updated version, including predictive validity (ROC [95% CI], 0.78 [0.64–0.91] vs. 0.73 [0.57–0.89]) and the absence of the ceiling effect. Conclusions: Both versions of the HACOR scale demonstrated adequate clinimetric properties for predicting NIV failure, with the updated HACOR version showing superior predictive validity and no ceiling effect compared with the original version.

Pulmonary
The role of diaphragmatic thickness measurement in weaning prediction and its comparison with rapid shallow breathing index: a single-center experience: Lokesh Kumar Lalwani, Manjunath B Govindagoudar, Pawan Kumar Singh, Mukesh Sharma, Dhruva Chaudhry; Acute Crit Care. 2022;37(3):347-354. Published online July 25, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2022.00108

8,725 View
300 Download
8 Web of Science
10 Crossref

Background
Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is commonly managed with invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). The majority of the time that a patient spends on IMV is in the process of weaning. Prediction of the weaning outcome is of paramount importance, as untimely/delayed extubation is associated with a high risk of mortality. Diaphragmatic ultrasonography is a promising tool in the intensive care unit, and its utility in predicting the success of weaning remains understudied.
Methods
In this prospective-observational study, we recruited 54 ARF patients on IMV, along with 50 healthy controls. During a spontaneous breathing trial, all subjects underwent diaphragmatic ultrasonography along with a rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI) assessment.
Results
The mean age was 41.8±17.0 and 37.6±10.5 years among the cases and control group, respectively. Demographic variables were broadly similar in the two groups. The most common cause of ARF was obstructive airway disease. The average duration of IMV was 5.41±2.81 days. Out of 54 subjects, 45 were successfully weaned, while nine patients failed weaning. Age, body mass index, and severity of disease were similar in the successful and failed weaning patients. The sensitivity in predicting successful weaning of percent change in diaphragmatic thickness (Δtdi%) >29.71% was high (93.33%), while specificity was 66.67%. The sensitivity and specificity of mean diaphragmatic thickness (tdi) end-expiratory >0.178 cm was 60.00% and 77.78%, respectively. RSBI at 1 minute of <93.75 had an equally high sensitivity (93.33%) but a lower specificity (22.22%). Similar results were also found for RSBI measured at 5 minutes.
Conclusions
During the weaning assessment, the purpose is to minimize both premature as well as delayed extubation. We found that diaphragmatic ultrasonography, in particular Δtdi%, is better than RSBI in predicting weaning outcomes.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Predictive accuracy of lung and diaphragmatic ultrasound in weaning from mechanical ventilation: a comparison with the Rapid Shallow Breathing Index
Shalini Bellan, Komaldeep Kaur, Surabhi Jaggi, Mandeep Kaur Sodhi, Deepak Aggarwal, Varinder Saini, Narinder Kaur, Manpreet Singh
Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease.2026;[Epub] CrossRef
Point-of-Care Ultrasound, an Integral Role in the Future of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery?
Peter Van de Putte, An Wallyn, Rosemary Hogg, Lars Knudsen, Kariem El-Boghdadly
Anesthesia & Analgesia.2025; 140(5): 1114. CrossRef
A Muscle-Driven Spine Model for Predictive Simulations in the Design of Spinal Implants and Lumbar Orthoses
Robin Remus, Andreas Lipphaus, Marisa Ritter, Marc Neumann, Beate Bender
Bioengineering.2025; 12(3): 263. CrossRef
Diaphragm Ultrasound for Assessing Diaphragmatic Function and Predicting Ventilator Weaning Success: A Review of the Literature
Gulus Emre, Daniel Acosta, Cameron Baston
Current Pulmonology Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Ultrasonography to Access Diaphragm Dysfunction and Predict the Success of Mechanical Ventilation Weaning in Critical Care
Marta Rafael Marques, José Manuel Pereira, José Artur Paiva, Gonzalo García de Casasola‐Sánchez, Yale Tung‐Chen
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.2024; 43(2): 223. CrossRef
Accuracy of respiratory muscle assessments to predict weaning outcomes: a systematic review and comparative meta-analysis
Diego Poddighe, Marine Van Hollebeke, Yasir Qaiser Choudhary, Débora Ribeiro Campos, Michele R. Schaeffer, Jan Y. Verbakel, Greet Hermans, Rik Gosselink, Daniel Langer
Critical Care.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Ultrasonographic evaluation of diaphragm thickness and excursion: correlation with weaning success in trauma patients: prospective cohort study
Golnar Sabetian, Mandana Mackie, Naeimehossadat Asmarian, Mahsa Banifatemi, Gregory A. Schmidt, Mansoor Masjedi, Shahram Paydar, Farid Zand
Journal of Anesthesia.2024; 38(3): 354. CrossRef
Diaphragm muscle parameters as a predictive tool for weaning critically ill patients from mechanical ventilation: a systematic review and meta-analysis study
Yashar Iran Pour, Afrooz Zandifar
European Journal of Translational Myology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Diaphragm dysfunction as a prognostic criterion of external respiratory impairment and necessary extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with chronic heart failure
V.S. Shabaev, V.A. Mazurok, L.Z. Biktasheva, L.G. Vasilyeva, K.Yu. Kozhieva, I.A. Danilova, N.A. Osipova
Russian Journal of Anesthesiology and Reanimatology.2024; (6): 38. CrossRef
Diaphragmatic ultrasound: A new frontier in weaning from mechanical ventilation
Manoj Kamal, Saikat Sengupta
Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.2023; 67(Suppl 4): S205. CrossRef

Review Article

Pulmonary
Lung Ultrasound (in the Critically Ill) Superior to CT: the Example of Lung Sliding: Daniel A. Lichtenstein; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2017;32(1):1-8. Published online February 14, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2016.00955

24,182 View
928 Download
14 Web of Science
22 Crossref

Abstract PDF

This review article shows the potential of lung ultrasound in the critically ill (LUCI) to study lung sliding and describes the optimal equipment for its assessment. Then, it analyses the integration of lung sliding within lung ultrasound then whole body critical ultrasound. It describes the place of lung sliding in the BLUE-protocol (bedside lung ultrasound in emergency) (lung and venous ultrasound for diagnosing acute respiratory failure), the FALLS-protocol (fluid administration limited by lung sonography) (the role of lung sliding in circulatory failure), and the SESAME-protocol (sequential assessment of sonography assessing mechanism or origin of severe shock of indistinct cause) (whole body ultrasound in cardiac arrest). In the LUCIFLR project (LUCI favoring limitation of radiations), the consideration of lung sliding allows drastic reduction in irradiation and costs. In conclusion, lung sliding is proposed as a gold standard for indicating the presence of the lung at the chest wall and its correct expansion.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Dry Medical Thoracoscopy with Artificial Pneumothorax Induction Using Veress Needle
Nai-Chien Huan, Sze Shyang Kho, Larry Ellee Nyanti, Hema Yamini Ramarmuty, Muhammad Aklil Abd Rahim, Rong Lih Ho, Shan Min Lo, Siew Teck Tie, Kunji Kannan Sivaraman Kannan
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases.2025; 88(1): 181. CrossRef
Lung Ultrasound as a Tool for Analysis of Ventilation in Children With Respiratory Failure
Ana Caroline Dos Santos Calandrini, Emmerson Carlos Franco De Farias, Mary Lucy Ferraz Maia, Katiane Da Costa Cunha, Rodrigo Santiago Barbosa Rocha
Journal of Clinical Ultrasound.2025; 53(5): 969. CrossRef
The Effect of Tidal Volumes of Mechanically Ventilated Patients on Lung Sliding Amplitude in Point‐Of‐Care Lung Ultrasound
İlker Şirin, Ahmet Burak Erdem, Şerife Büşra Uysal, Şeyda Gedikaslan
Journal of Clinical Ultrasound.2025; 53(5): 989. CrossRef
The Role of Lung Sliding Amplitude in Mechanical Ventilation Settings: A Step Forward in Personalized Medicine
Luigi Vetrugno, Antonio Corvino, Daniele Guerino Biasucci
Journal of Clinical Ultrasound.2025; 53(6): 1373. CrossRef
Evolving role of point-of-care ultrasound in prehospital emergency care: a narrative review
Katharina E. M. Hellenthal, Christian Porschen, Jan Wnent, Matthias Lange
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Use of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit—Thorax Part II
Gregory Lisciandro
Advances in Small Animal Care.2025; 6(1): 129. CrossRef
Head-to-toe bedside ultrasound for adult patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Ghislaine Douflé, Laura Dragoi, Diana Morales Castro, Kei Sato, Dirk W. Donker, Nadia Aissaoui, Eddy Fan, Hannah Schaubroeck, Susanna Price, John F. Fraser, Alain Combes
Intensive Care Medicine.2024; 50(5): 632. CrossRef
Diagnostic value of transthoracic needle biopsy in lung tumors
Ozlem Sogukpinar, Ulku Aka Akturk, Makbule Ozlem Akbay, Erdal Tatlidil, Dilek Ernam
Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Transthoracic needle biopsy for diagnosis of lung cancer
Dongil Park
Journal of the Korean Medical Association.2023; 66(3): 160. CrossRef
Determinants of point-of-care ultrasound lung sliding amplitude in mechanically ventilated patients
David N. Briganti, Christine E. Choi, Julien Nguyen, Charles W. Lanks
The Ultrasound Journal.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Humán kadávermodell a légmell ágy melletti ultrahang-diagnosztikájához.
Noémi Ádám, Gábor Orosz, Máté Berczi, Tamás Ruttkay
Orvosi Hetilap.2023; 164(46): 1824. CrossRef
Ultrasonography in cardiopulmonary emergencies
Kiran Kumar Gudivada, Bhuvana Krishna, Shiva Kumar Narayan
Lung India.2023; 40(3): 260. CrossRef
Early detection of delayed pneumothorax using lung ultrasound after transthoracic needle lung biopsy: A prospective pilot study
Jeong Suk Koh, Chaeuk Chung, Ju Ock Kim, Sung Soo Jung, Hee Sun Park, Jeong Eun Lee, Da Hyun Kang, Yoonjoo Kim, Dongil Park
The Clinical Respiratory Journal.2022; 16(5): 413. CrossRef
Usefulness of Lung Ultrasound Follow‐up in Patients Who Have Recovered From Coronavirus Disease 2019
Yale Tung‐Chen, Milagros Martí de Gracia, Maria Luz Parra‐Gordo, Aurea Díez‐Tascón, Sergio Agudo‐Fernández, Silvia Ossaba‐Vélez
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine.2021; 40(9): 1971. CrossRef
The role of lung ultrasound in COVID-19 disease
Dirk-André Clevert, Paul S. Sidhu, Adrian Lim, Caroline Ewertsen, Vladimir Mitkov, Maciej Piskunowicz, Paolo Ricci, Núria Bargallo, Adrian P. Brady
Insights into Imaging.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Acute Care Nephrology
Nithin Karakala, Daniel Córdoba, Kiran Chandrashekar, Arnaldo Lopez-Ruiz, Luis A. Juncos
Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease.2021; 28(1): 83. CrossRef
YEARS Algorithm Versus Wells’ Score: Predictive Accuracies in Pulmonary Embolism Based on the Gold Standard CT Pulmonary Angiography*
Ahmed Abdelaal Ahmed Mahmoud M. Alkhatip, Maria Donnelly, Lindi Snyman, Patrick Conroy, Mohamed Khaled Hamza, Ian Murphy, Andrew Purcell, David McGuire
Critical Care Medicine.2020; 48(5): 704. CrossRef
Sonographische Bildgebung der Lunge bei COVID-19
M. Schmid, F. Escher, D.-A. Clevert
Der Radiologe.2020; 60(10): 919. CrossRef
Lung Ultrasound in Critical Care
Maddani Shanmukhappa Sagar, Souvik Chaudhuri, Vedaghosh Amara, Sirish Gauni, Tushar Mittal
Indian Journal of Respiratory Care.2020; 9(2): 141. CrossRef
Current Misconceptions in Lung Ultrasound
Daniel A. Lichtenstein
Chest.2019; 156(1): 21. CrossRef
Role of thoracic ultrasound in children with chronic kidney disease
SaneyaAbd El-Halim Fahmy, NaglaaAbd El-Moneam Abd Allah, AmiraI Al-Masry, Eman Sobh
The Scientific Journal of Al-Azhar Medical Faculty, Girls.2019; 3(3): 693. CrossRef
Novel approaches to ultrasonography of the lung and pleural space: where are we now?
Daniel Lichtenstein
Breathe.2017; 13(2): 100. CrossRef

Case Reports

Airway Obstruction and Respiratory Failure Due to Aspergillus Tracheobronchitis: Yousang Ko, So Yeon Lim, Gee Young Suh, Kyeongman Jeon, Seo Goo Han; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2013;28(1):67-71.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2013.28.1.67

4,131 View
39 Download
1 Crossref

Abstract PDF

Invasive aspergillosis is a serious threat and a leading cause of death in immunocompromised patients. Aspergillus tracheobronchitis is an infrequent but severe form of invasive pulmonary aspergillos in which the fungal infection is entirely or predominantly confined to the tracheobronchial tree. We report an extraordinary case of acute airway obstruction and respiratory failure due to Aspergillus tracheobronchitis in an immunocompromised patient. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed extensive obstruction of both the main and lobar bronchus with yellowish nodules strongly adhered to the bronchial wall; both histologic examination and culture of these nodules revealed Aspergillus fumigatus. Even with early detection of an intraluminal growth of Aspergillus and prompt institution of antifungal therapy, the patient died of refractory hypoxemia a few days later. This report shows that Aspergillus tracheobronchitis should be considered in immunocompromised patients with suspected lung infection even when the main radiographic finding is atelectasis.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Death due to Aspergillus Tracheobronchitis: An Autopsy Case
Tack Kune You, Byung Ha Choi, Bong Woo Lee, Young Shik Choi
Korean Journal of Legal Medicine.2018; 42(4): 164. CrossRef

Acute Respiratory Failure from Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in an Immunocompetent Adult: A Case Report: Jong Sun Park, Jae Joon Yim, Seok Chul Yang, Chul Gyu Yoo, Young Whan Kim, Sung Koo Han, Young Soo Shim, Sang Min Lee; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2009;24(3):172-175.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2009.24.3.172

3,496 View
38 Download

Abstract PDF: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis has traditionally been known as a disease of an immunocompromised host. We report here on a case of an immunocompetent 73-year-old male who presented with dyspnea and he was finally diagnosed as suffering with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. He died from progressive respiratory failure and secondary bacterial sepsis despite of voriconazole treatment. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis should be considered as one of the differential diagnoses in patients with atypical pneumonia that does not respond to the usual antibiotics therapy, and even if the patient does not have an obvious history of an immunosuppressive status. An early suspicion with prompt treatment is important to improve the patient outcome.

Successful Application of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for 3 Patients in Medical Intensive Care Unit: Case Report: Hye Yun Park, Eun Hae Kang, Hyo Kyoung Choi, Gee Young Suh, O Jung Kwon, Kiick Sung, Young Tak Lee; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2007;22(2):91-95.

3,066 View
105 Download

Abstract PDF: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-sustaining salvage therapy applied to the patient with acute heart failure or respiratory failure which is considered curable, but uncorrectable by conventional means. Recently, accumulating data has shown the survival benefit of ECMO in patients with acute fatal cardiopulmonary decompensation. Here, we report a series of cases of successful ECMO treatment in patients with acute cardiopulmonary insufficiency. Case 1: A patient with progressive respiratory failure on mechanical ventilation after pneumonectomy was managed satisfactorily using a veno-venous ECMO. Case 2: A veno-arterial ECMO was used to support a patient with vasopressor refractory septic shock. After 5 days of treatment, the patient was successfully weaned from ECMO. Case 3: A patient in cardiac arrest after the orthopedic surgery was resuscitated using a veno-arterial ECMO. Pulmonary angiography on ECMO revealed massive pulmonary thromboembolism and embolectomy was thoroughly performed under the support of ECMO.

First
Prev
Page of 1
Next
Last

Search