Optimal doses of caspofungin during continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration in critically ill patients

Extravascular Lung Water Does Not Increase in Hypovolemic Patients after a Fluid-Loading Protocol Guided by the Stroke Volume Variation

Introduction. Circulatory failure secondary to hypovolemia is a common situation in critical care patients. Volume replacement is the first option for the treatment of hypovolemia. A possible complication of volume loading is pulmonary edema, quantified at the bedside by the measurement of extravascular lung water index (ELWI). ELWI predicts progression to acute lung injury (ALI) in patients with risk factors for developing it. The aim of this study was to assess whether fluid loading guided by the stroke volume variation (SVV), in patients presumed to be hypovolemic, increased ELWI or not.Methods. Prospective study of 17 consecutive postoperative, fully mechanically ventilated patients dia…

Dosing of caspofungin based on a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic index for the treatment of invasive fungal infections in critically ill patients on continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration.

Abstract Introduction The study objective was to evaluate the efficacy of different dosages of caspofungin in the treatment of invasive candidiasis and aspergillosis, in relation to the probability of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) target attainment, using modelling and Monte Carlo simulations in critically ill adult patients on continuous haemodiafiltration. Methods Critically ill adult patients on continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration treated with caspofungin were analysed. A population PK model was developed. Four caspofungin dosing regimens were simulated: the licensed regimen, 70 mg/day, 100 mg/day or 200 mg/day. A PK/PD target was defined as the ratio between the area unde…

Supplemental Perioperative Oxygen and the Risk of Surgical Wound Infection<SUBTITLE>A Randomized Controlled Trial</SUBTITLE>

ContextSupplemental perioperative oxygen has been variously reported to halve or double the risk of surgical wound infection.ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that supplemental oxygen reduces infection risk in patients following colorectal surgery.Design, Setting, and PatientsA double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 300 patients aged 18 to 80 years who underwent elective colorectal surgery in 14 Spanish hospitals from March 1, 2003, to October 31, 2004. Wound infections were diagnosed by blinded investigators using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Baseline patient characteristics, anesthetic treatment, and potential confounding factors were recorded.InterventionsPati…

Is preoxygenation still important? New concepts

WHO needs high FIO2?

World Health Organization and the United States Center for Disease Control have recently recommended the use of 0.8 FIO2 in all adult surgical patients undergoing general anaesthesia, to prevent surgical site infections. This recommendation has arisen several discussions: As a matter of fact, there are numerous studies with different results about the effect of FIO2 on surgical site infection. Moreover, the clinical effects of FIO2 are not limited to infection control. We asked some prominent authors about their comments regarding the recent recommendations.

Anidulafungin dosing in critically ill patients with continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration

Background Anidulafungin is indicated as a first-line treatment for invasive candidiasis in critically ill patients. In the intensive care unit, sepsis is the main cause of acute renal failure, and treatment with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has increased in recent years. Antimicrobial pharmacokinetics is affected by CRRT, but few studies have addressed the optimal dosage for anidulafungin during CRRT. Patients and methods We included 12 critically ill patients who received continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration to treat acute renal failure. Anidulafungin was infused on 3 consecutive days, starting with a loading dose (200 mg) on Day 1, and doses of 100 mg on Days 2 and 3. …

Respiratory Mechanics and Gas Exchange in Thoracic Surgery: Changes in Classical Knowledge in Respiratory Physiology

Respiratory mechanics describe the lung function through pressure and flow and the interplay between the two during the respiratory cycle. Derived indices are volume, compliance and resistance (Hess, Respir Care 59(11):1773–1794, 2014). Thoracic surgery in most cases requires the separation of the lungs in order to allow surgery of or near one lung and ventilation of the other lung, while the perfusion to the non-ventilated lung is continued. This has profound implications for the gas exchange and respiratory mechanics.

Pharmacokinetics of anidulafungin during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Echinocandins are currently considered the first-line treatment for invasive candidiasis (IC) in the intensive care unit (ICU) [1, 2]. However, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a rescue therapy used in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) [3], could alter the pharmacokinetics of certain drugs [4]. We prescribed anidulafungin for suspected IC in a patient with severe ARDS on ECMO and measured the plasma concentrations of the drug using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Pharmacokinetics of anidulafungin during albumin dialysis

In the ICU setting, current guidelines recommend echi-nocandins as the first-line treatment for invasive candi-diasis [1]. Albumin dialysis (AD) has been used in theICU as supportive therapy for hepatic failure, but thistechnique can significantly enhance drug elimination [2].We prescribed anidulafungin for suspected invasivecandidiasis in a patient with severe liver failure treatedwith AD and measured the plasma concentrations of thedrug using high-performance liquid chromatography.This study (GEF-ANI-2010-02) was approved by thelocal ethics committee (INCLIVA, Institute of Research,Valencia, Spain) and written informed consent wasobtained from the patient’s next of kin. An adult patientwa…

Effect of lung mechanics on mechanically assisted flows and volumes.

To correlate the air flows generated by mechanical insufflation-exsufflation as a function of pressure delivery in a lung model at two pulmonary compliance and three airway resistance settings.With each combination of pulmonary compliances of 25 and 50 ml/cm H2O and airway resistances of 6, 11, and 17 cm H2O/liter/sec, ten cycles of mechanical insufflation-exsufflation were applied using pressure deliveries of 40 to -40, 50 to -50, 60 to -60, and 70 to -70 cm H2O. The resulting peak exsufflation flows and volumes were recorded.In a multivariate analysis, the pulmonary compliance, airway resistance, and pressure delivery were all found to significantly affect exsufflation flows and volumes s…

Epidemiology of invasive candidiasis in a surgical intensive care unit: an observational study

Background: Invasive candidiasis (IC) is a frequent and life-threatening infection in critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of IC and the antifungal susceptibility of etiological agents in patients admitted to our surgical intensive care unit (SICU) in Spain. Methods: We designed a prospective, observational, single center, population-based study in a SICU. We included all consecutive adult patients (≥18 years old) who had documented IC, either on admission or during their stay, between January 2012 and December 2013. Results: There were a total of 22 episodes of IC in the 1149 patients admitted during the 24-month study. The overall IC incidence wa…

Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist: An update

Summary Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) is a new ventilation mode that provides a proportional assistance to the inspiratory effort of the patients. It is based on the use of the diaphragm electromyographic activity (Edi) for the control of the ventilation assistance. The ability of NAVA to improve the limitations of the conventional assisted ventilator modes has been assessed in clinical studies and discussed in this report, as the latest applications of NAVA in children and non-invasive ventilation, due to the improvement of the patient–ventilator interactions delivered by NAVA. We also review the most recent literature on a new trend to use the Edi as a predictor of weaning s…

The Oxygen Reserve Index in anesthesiology: a superfluous toy or a tool to individualize oxygen therapy?

Supplemental Oxygen and Risk of Surgical Wound Infection—Reply

Ventilating the newborn and child

Summary The mechanical ventilation of neonates and children in operating theatres has always posed a challenge for anaesthesiologists. Firstly, the extreme physiological features of neonatal lungs make them very difficult to ventilate with an anaesthesia ventilator. Gattinoni's "baby lung" concept to describe ARDS lungs in adults comes from the physiological features of neonatal lungs (low dynamic compliance, low pulmonary time constant, low FRC, high closing volume, proneness to atelectasis, high inspiratory airway resistance). Secondly, the performance and technology (peak flow, insufflation power, trigger sensitivity, ventilation modes, etc.) of anaesthesia ventilators is still less adva…