ABSTRACT Objective To systematically review and analyze studies investigating the efficacy and safety of inspiratory muscle training in adult chronic critically ill patients. Methods The MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, LILACS, Clinical Trials Registry, and World Health Organization databases were queried on November 24, 2022 and January 22, 2025. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. RevMan V5.4 was used to analyze mean differences or standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for continuous variables and risk ratios […]

Highlights Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a severe presentation of COVID-19 without effective treatment despite intensive research. Inhaled nitric oxide is a vasodilator that has been studied in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome COVID-19 yielding contradictory results. The use of inhaled nitric oxide rescue therapy in critically ill patients with COVID-19 experiencing moderate-to-severe acute respiratory distress syndrome was significantly associated with an improvement in oxygenation parameters with no difference in mortality. ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the responsiveness of COVID-19 […]

Fever is a nonspecific response to various types of infectious or non-infectious insult and its significance in disease remains an enigma. Our aim was to summarize the current evidence for the use of antipyretic therapy in critically ill patients. We performed systematic review and meta-analysis of publications from 1966 to 2013. The MEDLINE and CENTRAL databases were searched for studies on antipyresis in critically ill patients. The meta-analysis was limited to: randomized controlled trials; adult human critically ill patients; treatment […]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between the need for red blood cell transfusion and serum levels of soluble-Fas, erythropoietin and inflammatory cytokines in critically ill patients with and without acute kidney injury. METHODS: We studied critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (n=30) and without acute kidney injury (n=13), end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis (n=25) and healthy subjects (n=21). Serum levels of soluble-Fas, erythropoietin, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, iron status, hemoglobin and hematocrit concentration were analyzed in all groups. […]