Background Little information is available about the geo-economic variations in demographics, management, and outcomes of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We aimed to characterise the effect of these geo-economic variations in patients enrolled in the Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG SAFE). Methods LUNG SAFE was done during 4 consecutive weeks in winter, 2014, in a convenience sample of 459 intensivecare units in 50 countries across six continents. Inclusion criteria were admission to a participating intensive-care unit (including transfers) within the enrolment window and receipt of invasive or non-invasive ventilation. One of the trial's secondary aims was to characterise variations in the demographics, management, and outcome of patients with ARDS. We used the 2016 World Bank countries classification to define three major geo-economic groupings, namely European high-income countries (Europe-High), high-income countries in the rest of the world (rWORLD-High), and middle-income countries (Middle). We compared patient outcomes across these three groupings. LUNG SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02010073. Findings Of the 2813 patients enrolled in LUNG SAFE who fulfilled ARDS criteria on day 1 or 2, 1521 (54%) were recruited from Europe-High, 746 (27%) from rWORLD-High, and 546 (19%) from Middle countries. We noted significant geographical variations in demographics, risk factors for ARDS, and comorbid diseases. The proportion of patients with severe ARDS or with ratios of the partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO 2) to the fractional concentration of oxygen in inspired air (F I O 2) less than 150 was significantly lower in rWORLD-High countries than in the two other regions. Use of prone positioning and neuromuscular blockade was significantly more common in Europe-High countries than in the other two regions. Adjusted duration of invasive mechanical ventilation and length of stay in the intensive-care unit were significantly shorter in patients in rWORLD-High countries than in Europe-High or Middle countries. High gross national income per person was associated with increased survival in ARDS; hospital survival was significantly lower in Middle countries than in Europe-High or rWORLD-High countries. Interpretation Important geo-economic differences exist in the severity, clinician recognition, and management of ARDS, and in patients' outcomes. Income per person and outcomes in ARDS are independently associated.

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High FFP:RBC transfusion ratios are applied mostly to patients without trauma, who account for nearly 90% of all massive transfusion events. Thirty-day survival was not significantly different in patients who received a high FFP:RBC ratio compared with those who received a low ratio.

We describe the case of a 54-year-old woman with a postinfarction ventricular septal defect (VSD) and ventricular free wall rupture who was stabilized with a percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) to allow for myocardial infarct stabilization. Following the rupture of the right ventricular free wall and cardiopulmonary arrest on hospital day 10, pVAD support was promptly converted to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for stabilization. After surgical repair was completed, pVAD support was continued for 4 days to allow recovery. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 11 and is alive and well 4 years later. Postinfarction VSD with free wall rupture may be salvaged with pVAD and ECMO support.

Internal bleeding is an injury that can be difficult to localize and effectively treat without invasive surgeries. Injectable polymeric nanoparticles have been developed that can reduce clotting times and blood loss, but they have yet to incorporate sufficient diagnostic capabilities to assist in identifying bleeding sources. Herein, polymeric nanoparticles were developed to simultaneously treat internal bleeding while incorporating tracers for visualization of the nanoparticles by standard clinical imaging modalities. Addition of 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′tetramethylindodicarbocyanine perchlorate (DiD; a fluorescent dye), biotin functionality, and gold nanoparticles to hemostatic polymeric nanoparticles resulted in nanoparticles amenable to imaging with near-infrared (NIR) imaging, immunohistochemistry, and X-ray computed tomography (CT), respectively. Following a lethal liver resection injury, visualization of accumulated nanoparticles by multiple imaging methods was achieved in rodents, with the highest accumulation observed at the liver injury site, resulting in improved survival rates. Tracer addition to therapeutic nanoparticles allows for an expansion of their applicability, during stabilization by first responders to diagnosis and identification of unknown internal bleeding sites by clinicians using standard clinical imaging modalities.

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Mortality for patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by ventricular septal defect (VSD) and cardiogenic shock is very high even with surgical repair. We report our experience regarding utilization of TandemHeart, a percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) as an adjunct to the treatment of these patients. Retrospective case series study design included a total of 11 patients with post-AMI VSD and severe refractory cardiogenic shock who received pVAD support at our institution. Three patients underwent immediate surgical repair and received pVAD support for postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock for 2, 4, and 7 days, respectively. However, all three died. The other eight patients had pVAD implanted prior to surgical repair in order to rest the myocardium before operation. Hemodynamics improved immediately after pVAD placement, and after receiving pVAD support for 7 ± 3 days, they underwent surgical VSD repair. Their total pre- and post-surgical pVAD support was 14 ± 4 days. All eight survived 30 days postoperatively. At 6 months postsurgery overall survival rate was 75%. Our small series of these critically ill patients shows a trend toward better survival after immediate pVAD placement to stabilize the patient and allow for myocardial maturation before surgical VSD repair.