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Abstract Background This study used an epidural anesthesia practice kit (model) to evaluate the accuracy of epidural anesthesia using standard techniques (blind) and augmented/mixed reality technology and whether visualization using augmented/mixed reality technology would facilitate epidural anesthesia. Methods This study was conducted at the Yamagata University Hospital (Yamagata, Japan) between February and June 2022. Thirty medical students with no experience in epidural anesthesia were randomly divided into augmented reality (-), augmented reality (+), and semi-augmented reality groups, with 10 students in each group. Epidural anesthesia was performed using the paramedian approach with an epidural anesthesia practice kit. The augmented reality (-) group performed epidural anesthesia without HoloLens2Ⓡ and the augmented reality (+) group with HoloLens2Ⓡ. The semi-augmented reality group performed epidural anesthesia without HoloLens2Ⓡ after 30 s of image construction of the spine using HoloLens2Ⓡ. The epidural space puncture point distance between the ideal insertion needle and participant’s insertion needle was compared. Results Four medical students in the augmented reality (-), zero in the augmented reality (+), and one in the semi-augmented reality groups failed to insert the needle into the epidural space. The epidural space puncture point distance for the augmented reality (-), augmented reality (+), and semi-augmented reality groups were 8.7 (5.7–14.3) mm, 3.5 (1.8–8.0) mm (P = 0.017), and 4.9 (3.2–5.9) mm (P = 0.027), respectively; a significant difference was observed between the two groups. Conclusions Augmented/mixed reality technology has the potential to contribute significantly to the improvement of epidural anesthesia techniques.

Abstract Background Hemodynamic stabilization is a core component in the resuscitation of septic shock. However, the optimal target blood pressure remains debatable. Previous randomized controlled trials suggested that uniformly adopting a target mean arterial pressure (MAP) higher than 65 mmHg for all adult septic shock patients would not be beneficial; however, it has also been proposed that higher target MAP may be beneficial for elderly patients, especially those with arteriosclerosis. Methods A multicenter, pragmatic single-blind randomized controlled trial will be conducted to compare target MAP of 80–85 mmHg (high-target) and 65–70 mmHg (control) in the resuscitation of septic shock patients admitted to 28 hospitals in Japan. Patients with septic shock aged ≥65 years are randomly assigned to the high-target or control groups. The target MAP shall be maintained for 72 h after randomization or until vasopressors are no longer needed to improve patients’ condition. To minimize the adverse effects related to catecholamines, if norepinephrine dose of ≥ 0.1 μg/kg/min is needed to maintain the target MAP, vasopressin will be initiated. Other therapeutic approaches, including fluid administration, hydrocortisone use, and antibiotic choice, will be determined by the physician in charge based on the latest clinical guidelines. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality at 90 days after randomization. Discussion The result of this trial will provide great insight on the resuscitation strategy for septic shock in the era of global aged society. Also, it will provide the better understanding on the importance of individualized treatment strategy in hemodynamic management in critically ill patients. Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry; UMIN000041775. Registered 13 September 2020.

Abstract Background It is difficult to predict the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Cerebral tissue oxygen saturation during CPR, as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), is anticipated to predict ROSC. General markers of cerebral tissue oxygen saturation, such as the tissue oxygenation index (TOI), mainly reflect venous oxygenation, whereas pulse-wave cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (SnO2), which represents hemoglobin oxygenation in the pulse wave within the cerebral tissue, is an index of arterial and venous oxygenation. Thus, SnO2 may reflect arterial oxygenation to a greater degree than does TOI. Therefore, we conducted this study to verify our hypothesis that SnO2 measured during CPR can predict ROSC. Methods Cardiac arrest patients who presented at the Emergency Department of Yamagata University Hospital in Japan were included in this retrospective, observational study. SnO2 and TOI were simultaneously measured at the patient’s forehead using an NIRS tissue oxygenation monitor (NIRO 200-NX; Hamamatsu Photonics, Japan). We recorded the initial, mean, and maximum values during CPR. We plotted receiver operating characteristic curves and calculated the area under the curve (AUC) to predict ROSC. Results Forty-two patients were included. SnO2 was significantly greater in the ROSC group than in the non-ROSC group in terms of the initial (37.5% vs 24.2%, p = 0.015), mean (44.6% vs 10.8%, p

Abstract The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high-quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J-SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU-acquired weakness [ICU-AW], post-intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J-SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient- and family-centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro-intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large-scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members. As a result, 79 GRADE-based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J-SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.

Abstract Background Tracheal intubation is the gold standard for securing the airway, and it is not uncommon to encounter intubation difficulties in intensive care units and emergency rooms. Currently, there is a need for an objective measure to assess intubation difficulties in emergency situations by physicians, residents, and paramedics who are unfamiliar with tracheal intubation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently used in medical imaging owing to advanced performance. We aimed to create an AI model to classify intubation difficulties from the patient’s facial image using a convolutional neural network (CNN), which links the facial image with the actual difficulty of intubation. Methods Patients scheduled for surgery at Yamagata University Hospital between April and August 2020 were enrolled. Patients who underwent surgery with altered facial appearance, surgery with altered range of motion in the neck, or intubation performed by a physician with less than 3 years of anesthesia experience were excluded. Sixteen different facial images were obtained from the patients since the day after surgery. All images were judged as “Easy”/“Difficult” by an anesthesiologist, and an AI classification model was created using deep learning by linking the patient’s facial image and the intubation difficulty. Receiver operating characteristic curves of actual intubation difficulty and AI model were developed, and sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated; median AUC was used as the result. Class activation heat maps were used to visualize how the AI model classifies intubation difficulties. Results The best AI model for classifying intubation difficulties from 16 different images was generated in the supine-side-closed mouth-base position. The accuracy was 80.5%; sensitivity, 81.8%; specificity, 83.3%; AUC, 0.864; and 95% confidence interval, [0.731-0.969], indicating that the class activation heat map was concentrated around the neck regardless of the background; the AI model recognized facial contours and identified intubation difficulties. Conclusion This is the first study to apply deep learning (CNN) to classify intubation difficulties using an AI model. We could create an AI model with an AUC of 0.864. Our AI model may be useful for tracheal intubation performed by inexperienced medical staff in emergency situations or under general anesthesia.

Abstract Background High-flow nasal cannula oxygenation (HFNC) and noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) possibly decrease tracheal reintubation rates better than conventional oxygen therapy (COT); however, few large-scale studies have compared HFNC and NPPV. We conducted a network meta-analysis (NMA) to compare the effectiveness of three post-extubation respiratory support devices (HFNC, NPPV, and COT) in reducing the mortality and reintubation risk. Methods The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Ichushi databases were searched. COT, NPPV, and HFNC use were assessed in patients who were aged ≥ 16 years, underwent invasive mechanical ventilation for > 12 h for acute respiratory failure, and were scheduled for extubation after spontaneous breathing trials. The GRADE Working Group Approach was performed using a frequentist-based approach with multivariate random-effect meta-analysis. Short-term mortality and reintubation and post-extubation respiratory failure rates were compared. Results After evaluating 4631 records, 15 studies and 2600 patients were included. The main cause of acute hypoxic respiratory failure was pneumonia. Although NPPV/HFNC use did not significantly lower the mortality risk (relative risk [95% confidence interval] 0.75 [0.53–1.06] and 0.92 [0.67–1.27]; low and moderate certainty, respectively), HFNC use significantly lowered the reintubation risk (0.54 [0.32–0.89]; high certainty) compared to COT use. The associations of mortality with NPPV and HFNC use with respect to either outcome did not differ significantly (short-term mortality and reintubation, relative risk [95% confidence interval] 0.81 [0.61–1.08] and 1.02 [0.53–1.97]; moderate and very low certainty, respectively). Conclusion NPPV or HFNC use may not reduce the risk of short-term mortality; however, they may reduce the risk of endotracheal reintubation. Trial registration number and date of registration PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020139112, 01/21/2020).

Abstract Background Noninvasive respiratory support devices may reduce the tracheal intubation rate compared with conventional oxygen therapy (COT). To date, few studies have compared high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) use with noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV). We conducted a network meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness of three respiratory support devices in patients with acute respiratory failure. Methods The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Ichushi databases were searched. Studies including adults aged ≥ 16 years with acute hypoxic respiratory failure and randomized-controlled trials that compared two different oxygenation devices (COT, NPPV, or HFNC) before tracheal intubation were included. A frequentist-based approach with a multivariate random-effects meta-analysis was used. The network meta-analysis was performed using the GRADE Working Group approach. The outcomes were short-term mortality and intubation rate. Results Among 5507 records, 27 studies (4618 patients) were included. The main cause of acute hypoxic respiratory failure was pneumonia. Compared with COT, NPPV and HFNC use tended to reduce mortality (relative risk, 0.88 and 0.93, respectively; 95% confidence intervals, 0.76–1.01 and 0.80–1.08, respectively; both low certainty) and lower the risk of endotracheal intubation (0.81 and 0.78; 0.72–0.91 and 0.68–0.89, respectively; both low certainty); however, short-term mortality or intubation rates did not differ (0.94 and 1.04, respectively; 0.78–1.15 and 0.88–1.22, respectively; both low certainty) between NPPV and HFNC use. Conclusion NPPV and HFNC use are associated with a decreased risk of endotracheal intubation; however, there are no significant differences in short-term mortality. Trial registration PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42020139105 , 01/21/2020)

Abstract Background The lack of precise information on the epidemiology of peripheral intravascular catheter (PIVC)-related phlebitis and complications in critically ill patients results in the absence of appropriate preventive measures. Therefore, we aimed to describe the epidemiology of the use of PIVCs and the incidence/occurrence of phlebitis and complications in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods This prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in 23 ICUs in Japan. All consecutive patients aged ≥ 18 years admitted to the ICU were enrolled. PIVCs inserted prior to ICU admission and those newly inserted after ICU admission were included in the analysis. Characteristics of the ICU, patients, and PIVCs were recorded. The primary and secondary outcomes were the occurrence and incidence rate of PIVC-related phlebitis and complications (catheter-related blood stream infection [CRBSI] and catheter failure) during the ICU stay. Results We included 2741 patients and 7118 PIVCs, of which 48.2% were inserted in the ICU. PIVC-related phlebitis occurred in 7.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.9–8.2%) of catheters (3.3 cases / 100 catheter-days) and 12.9% (95% CI 11.7–14.2%) of patients (6.3 cases / 100 catheter-days). Most PIVCs were removed immediately after diagnosis of phlebitis (71.9%). Grade 1 was the most common phlebitis (72.6%), while grade 4 was the least common (1.5%). The incidence rate of CRBSI was 0.8% (95% CI 0.4–1.2%). In cases of catheter failure, the proportion and incidence rate per 100 intravenous catheter-days of catheter failure were 21% (95% CI 20.0-21.9%) and 9.1 (95% CI 8.7–10.0), respectively. Conclusion PIVC-related phlebitis and complications were common in critically ill patients. The results suggest the importance of preventing PIVC-related complications, even in critically ill patients. Trial registration UMIN-CTR, the Japanese clinical trial registry (registration number: UMIN000028019 , July 1, 2017).

Abstract The medical use of oxygen has been widely and frequently proposed for patients, especially those under critical care; however, its benefit and drawbacks remain controversial for certain conditions. The induction of oxygen therapy is commonly considered for either treating or preventing hypoxia. Therefore, the concept of different types of hypoxia should be understood, particularly in terms of their mechanism, as the effect of oxygen therapy principally varies by the physiological characteristics of hypoxia. Oxygen molecules must be constantly delivered to all cells throughout the human body and utilized effectively in the process of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, which is necessary for generating energy through the formation of adenosine triphosphate. If the oxygen availability at the cellular level is inadequate for sustaining the metabolism, the condition of hypoxia which is characterized as heterogeneity in tissue oxygen tension may develop, which is called dysoxia, a more physiological concept that is related to hypoxia. In such hypoxic patients, repetitive measurements of the lactate level in blood are generally recommended in order to select the adequate therapeutic strategy targeting a reduction in lactate production. Excessive oxygen, however, may actually induce a hyperoxic condition which thus can lead to harmful oxidative stress by increasing the production of reactive oxygen species, possibly resulting in cellular dysfunction or death. In contrast, the human body has several oxygen-sensing mechanisms for preventing both hypoxia and hyperoxia that are employed to ensure a proper balance between the oxygen supply and demand and prevent organs and cells from suffering hyperoxia-induced oxidative stress. Thus, while the concept of hyperoxia is known to have possible adverse effects on the lung, the heart, the brain, or other organs in various pathological conditions of critically ill patients, and no obvious evidence has yet been proposed to totally support liberal oxygen supplementation in any subset of critically ill patients, relatively conservative oxygen therapy with cautious monitoring appears to be safe and may improve the outcome by preventing harmful oxidative stress resulting from excessive oxygen administration. Given the biological effects of oxygen molecules, although the optimal target levels remain controversial, unnecessary oxygen administration should be avoided, and exposure to hyperoxemia should be minimized in critically ill patients.

Abstract Background No-touch environmental disinfection using ultraviolet devices has been highlighted in the past several years to control the transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). However, its effectiveness in non-US healthcare settings is yet to be examined. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of disinfection by portable pulsed xenon ultraviolet (PX-UV) devices in controlling transmission of MDROs in a non-US healthcare setting. Methods All patients admitted in the intensive care unit in a 629-bed tertiary referral hospital in Japan from August 2016 to February 2019 were enrolled. During the study period, PX-UV disinfection was added to manual terminal cleaning after every patient transfer/discharge. For microbiological evaluation, surfaces were selected for sampling by contact plates before/after manual cleaning and after PX-UV. After overnight incubation, colonies on the plates were counted. Results The incidence of newly acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) declined significantly (13.8 to 9.9 per 10,000 patient days, incidence rate ratio 0.71, p = 0.002), as well as that of newly acquired drug-resistant Acinetobacter (48.5 to 18.1, 0.37, p