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Use of clinical indicators succeeded in supporting clinicians to monitor practice standards and to realize change in systems of care and clinician behaviour.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most common healthcare-associated infection in the intensive care unit. Clinical, radiological and microbiological criteria are used to make the diagnosis, but there is no consensus definition, as no individual criterion or combination of criteria offer sufficient diagnostic accuracy to support their sole use in defining VAP. Neither invasive bronchoscopic sampling nor less invasive quantitative tracheal aspirate, conveys an advantage when making the microbiological diagnosis of VAP. Of the scoring systems and definitions presently in use, the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) has been shown to be prone to inter-observer variability; the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definition relies heavily on subjective clinical criteria, and the Hospitals in Europe Link for Infection Control through Surveillance (HELICS) criteria employ similarly subjective clinical criteria with five different possibilities for microbiological diagnosis. The use of these different diagnostic methods leads to marked variation in the reported incidence of VAP. Clinical practice requires an objective and transferable definition for VAP so that we can improve the reporting, monitoring and treatment of VAP.

Potentially harmful effects of positive pressure mechanical ventilation have been recognized since its inception in the 1950s. Since then, the risk factors for and mechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) have been further characterized. Publication of the ARDSnet tidal volume trial in 2000 demonstrated that a ventilator strategy limiting tidal volumes and plateau pressure in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome was associated with a 22% reduction in mortality. Since then, a variety of ventilator modes have emerged seeking to improve gas exchange, reduce injurious effects of ventilation, and improve weaning from the ventilator. We review here emerging ventilator modes in the intensive care unit (ICU). Airway pressure release ventilation seeks to optimize alveolar recruitment and maintain spontaneous ventilatory effort. It is associated with improved indices of respiratory and cardiovascular physiology, but data to support outcome benefit are lacking. High-frequency oscillatory ventilation is associated with improvements in gas exchange, but outcome data are conflicting. Extracorporeal modes of ventilation continue to evolve, and extra-corporeal CO(2) removal is a technique that could be used in non-specialist ICUs. Proportional-assist ventilation and neutrally adjusted ventilator assist are modes that vary level of assistance with patient ventilatory effort. They result in greater patient-ventilator synchrony, but at present there is no evidence of a reduction in the duration of mechanical ventilation or outcome benefit. Although the use of many of these modes is likely to increase in intensive care units, further evidence of a beneficial effect is desirable before they are recommended.

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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to significant respiratory failure with between 14% and 18% of hospitalised patients requiring critical care admission. This study describes the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on 30-day survival following critical care admission for COVID-19, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on critical care capacity in Scotland. Methods: This cohort study used linked national hospital records including ICU, virology testing and national death records to identify and describe patients with COVID-19 admitted to critical care units in Scotland. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the impact of deprivation on 30-day mortality. Critical care capacity was described by reporting the percentage of baseline ICU bed utilisation required. Findings: There were 735 patients with COVID-19 admitted to critical care units across Scotland from 1/3/ 2020 to 20/6/2020. There was a higher proportion of patients from more deprived areas, with 183 admissions (24.9%) from the most deprived quintile and 100 (13.6%) from the least deprived quintile. Overall, 30-day mortality was 34.8%. After adjusting for age, sex and ethnicity, mortality was significantly higher in patients from the most deprived quintile (OR 1.97, 95%CI 1.13, 3.41, p=0.016). ICUs serving populations with higher levels of deprivation spent a greater amount of time over their baseline ICU bed capacity. Interpretation: Patients with COVID-19 living in areas with greatest socioeconomic deprivation had a higher frequency of critical care admission and a higher adjusted 30-day mortality. ICUs in health boards with higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation had both higher peak occupancy and longer duration of occupancy over normal maximum capacity.

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Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used as rescue therapy for adults with severe acute respiratory failure. We aimed to determine the views of intensive care clinicians on regionalisation of critical care services and on the development of adult ECMO services in the UK. A survey was undertaken of all members of the UK Intensive Care Society; 2,133 participants were invited to complete the survey and 691 responded (32.7%). Among respondents, 65% believed that adult ECMO services should be expanded, 42.5% agreed that intensive care services in the UK should be regionalised, while 63.8% agreed the UK should develop regional ventilatory care centres including ECMO services. Experience during H1N1 influenza pandemics was the factor respondents most frequently identified as driving ECMO expansion (61.1%). Of respondents, 60.1% believe that an expanded ECMO service should be provided in 5-10 supraregional centres. Patient safety, resources, guidelines and transportation of sick patients were also seen as important issues. We conclude that there is a reasonable level of support for regionalisation of intensive care services and for expansion in ECMO services for adults with severe acute respiratory failure in the UK. Clinicians support appropriate funding, investment in transport services and the development of national guidelines.