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The article presents a study which compares the function of a bilevel ventilator with the noninvasive-positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) modes to nine different intensive care unit (ICU) ventilators in the presence of leaks. It states that the ventilators were set at 12 cm water pressure support and 5 cm water positive end-expiratory pressure. Furthermore, it shows that only the Vision and Servo I ventilators require no adjustments as they adapted to increasing leaks.

Objectives: To measure the impact of clusters of double triggering on clinical outcomes.Design: Prospective cohort study.Setting: Respiratory ICU in Brazil.Patients: Adult patients under recent mechanical ventilation and with expectation of mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours after enrollment.Interventions: None.Measurements and Main Results: We used a dedicated software to analyze ventilator waveforms throughout the entire period of mechanical ventilation and detect double triggering. We defined a cluster of double triggering as a period of time containing at least six double triggering events in a 3-minute period. Patients were followed until hospital discharge. We addressed the association between the presence and the duration of clusters with clinical outcomes. A total of 103 patients were enrolled in the study and 90 (87%) had at least one cluster of double triggering. The median number of clusters per patient was 19 (interquartile range, 6-41), with a median duration of 8 minutes (6-12 min). Compared with patients who had no clusters, patients with at least one cluster had longer duration of mechanical ventilation (7 d [4-11 d] vs 2 d [2-3 d]) and ICU length of stay (9 d [7-16 d] vs 13 d [2-8 d]). Thirty-three patients had high cumulative duration of clusters of double triggering (≥ 12 hr), and it was associated with longer duration of mechanical ventilation, fewer ventilator-free days, and longer ICU length of stay. Adjusted by duration of mechanical ventilation and severity of illness, high cumulative duration of clusters was associated with shorter survival at 28 days (hazard ratio, 2.09 d; 95% CI, 1.04-4.19 d).Conclusions: Clusters of double triggering are common and were associated with worse clinical outcomes. Patients who had a high cumulative duration of clusters had fewer ventilator-free days, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, longer ICU length of stay, and shorter survival than patients with low cumulative duration of cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In 2012, a new acute respiratory distress syndrome definition was proposed for adult patients. It was later validated for infants and toddlers. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence, outcomes, and risk factors associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome in children up to 15 years according to the Berlin definition. Design: A prospective, multicenter observational study from March to September 2013. Setting: Seventy-seven PICU beds in eight centers: two private hospitals and six public academic hospitals in Brazil. Patients: All children aged 1 month to 15 years admitted to the participating PICUs in the study period. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: All children admitted to the PICUs were daily evaluated for the presence of acute respiratory distress syndrome according to the American-European Consensus Conference and Berlin definitions. Of the 562 patients included, acute respiratory distress syndrome developed in 57 patients (10%) and 58 patients (10.3%) according to the Berlin definition and the American-European Consensus Conference definition, respectively. Among patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome according to the Berlin definition, nine patients (16%) were mild, 21 (37%) were moderate, and 27 (47%) were severe. Compared with patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome had significantly higher severity scores, longer PICU and hospital length of stay, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, and higher mortality (p < 0.001). The presence of two or more comorbidities and admission for medical reasons were associated with development of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Comparisons across the three the Berlin categories showed significant differences in the number of ventilator-free days (21, 20, and 5 d, p = 0.001) and mortality for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (41%) in comparison with mild (0) and moderate (15%) acute respiratory distress syndrome(p = 0.02). No differences in PICU or hospital stay were observed across the groups. Conclusions: The Berlin definition can identify a subgroup of patients with distinctly worse outcomes, as shown by the increased mortality and reduced number of ventilator-free days in pediatric patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]