IntroductionThe diagnosis of acute lung injury (ALI) may be more robust if more accurate physiological markers can be identified. Extravascular lung water (EVLW) is one possible marker, and it has been shown to correlate with respiratory function and mortality in patients with sepsis. Whether EVLW confers diagnostic value in a general population with shock, as well as which index performs best, is unclear. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of various EVLW indices in patients with shock.MethodsWe studied a prospective, observational cohort of 51 patients with shock admitted to a tertiary ICU. EVLW was measured within 6 hours of ICU admission and indexed to actual body weight (EVLW/ABW), predicted body weight (EVLW/PBW) and pulmonary blood volume (EVLW/PBV). The relationship of these indices to the diagnosis and severity of lung injury and ICU mortality were studied. Positive and negative likelihood ratios, pre- and posttest odds for diagnosis of lung injury and mortality were calculated.ResultsAll EVLW indices were higher among patients with lung injury and significantly correlated with respiratory parameters. Furthermore, all EVLW indices were significantly higher in nonsurvivors. The use of EVLW improves the posttest OR for the diagnosis of ALI, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe lung injury (sLI) by up to eightfold. Combining increased EVLW and a diagnosis of ALI, ARDS or sLI increases the posttest odds of ICU mortality. EVLW/ABW and EVLW/PBV demonstrated the best diagnostic performance in this population.ConclusionsEVLW was associated with degree of lung injury and mortality, regardless of the index used, confirming that it may be used as a bedside indicator of disease severity. The use of EVLW as a bedside test conferred added diagnostic value for the identification of patients with lung injury.

IntroductionAssessing left ventricular (LV) systolic function in a rapid and reliable way can be challenging in the critically ill patient. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of, as well as the association between, commonly used LV systolic parameters, by using serial transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).MethodsFifty patients with shock and mechanical ventilation were included. TTE examinations were performed daily for a total of 7 days. Methods used to assess LV systolic function were visually estimated, "eyeball" ejection fraction (EBEF), the Simpson single-plane method, mean atrioventricular plane displacement (AVPDm), septal tissue velocity imaging (TDIs), and velocity time integral in the left ventricular outflow tract (VTI).ResultsEBEF, AVPDm, TDIs, VTI, and the Simpson were obtained in 100%, 100%, 99%, 95% and 93%, respectively, of all possible examinations. The correlations between the Simpson and EBEF showed r values for all 7 days ranging from 0.79 to 0.95 (P < 0.01). the Simpson correlations with the other LV parameters showed substantial variation over time, with the poorest results seen for TDIs and AVPDm. The repeatability was best for VTI (interobserver coefficient of variation (CV) 4.8%, and intraobserver CV, 3.1%), and AVPDm (5.3% and 4.4%, respectively), and worst for the Simpson method (8.2% and 10.6%, respectively).ConclusionsEBEF and AVPDm provided the best, and Simpson, the worst feasibility when assessing LV systolic function in a population of mechanically ventilated, hemodynamically unstable patients. Additionally, the Simpson showed the poorest repeatability. We suggest that EBEF can be used instead of single-plane Simpson when assessing LV ejection fraction in this category of patients. TDIs and AVPDm, as markers of longitudinal function of the LV, are not interchangeable with LV ejection fraction.