Acute respiratory failure is a frequent cause of admission to ICU, requiring advanced support as invasive/non-invasive mechanical ventilation or extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Moreover, these patients frequently present complex clinical pictures, with complications including heart failure, acute kidney injury and neuro-psychological components. A continuous multi-faceted approach to monitoring is therefore fundamental to optimize and personalize treatments and to adapt support to patients' needs. This includes lung assessment and multiple point monitoring, through imaging (for example: lung ultrasound, diaphragm ultrasound, EIT), optimization of ventilatory strategy (identification of prone responders, PEEP titration, using oesophageal balloon to optimize the setting), observing patient-ventilator interaction, assessing respiratory muscles strength, and weaning from mechanical ventilation or ECMO. This also extends to extra-lung aspects of care, such as treating associated neuro-psychological disorders, and optimization of hemodynamics, heart-lung interactions, and lung-kidney cross-talk.
As a result of technological innovation, most evaluations can now be performed at the bedside, thus allowing a better integration with clinical management. Since developments in this field are in continuous evolution, it is crucial for critical care physicians to stay updated on the opportunities they have to improve their assessment and management of such complicated patients through new strategies.
The scope of this Research Topic is to present the newest applications of bedside assessment and monitoring tools to improve the 360° clinical management of patients with acute respiratory failure.
Acute respiratory failure is a frequent cause of admission to ICU, requiring advanced support as invasive/non-invasive mechanical ventilation or extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Moreover, these patients frequently present complex clinical pictures, with complications including heart failure, acute kidney injury and neuro-psychological components. A continuous multi-faceted approach to monitoring is therefore fundamental to optimize and personalize treatments and to adapt support to patients' needs. This includes lung assessment and multiple point monitoring, through imaging (for example: lung ultrasound, diaphragm ultrasound, EIT), optimization of ventilatory strategy (identification of prone responders, PEEP titration, using oesophageal balloon to optimize the setting), observing patient-ventilator interaction, assessing respiratory muscles strength, and weaning from mechanical ventilation or ECMO. This also extends to extra-lung aspects of care, such as treating associated neuro-psychological disorders, and optimization of hemodynamics, heart-lung interactions, and lung-kidney cross-talk.
As a result of technological innovation, most evaluations can now be performed at the bedside, thus allowing a better integration with clinical management. Since developments in this field are in continuous evolution, it is crucial for critical care physicians to stay updated on the opportunities they have to improve their assessment and management of such complicated patients through new strategies.
The scope of this Research Topic is to present the newest applications of bedside assessment and monitoring tools to improve the 360° clinical management of patients with acute respiratory failure.