Fellow in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care - University of Pennsylvania,
Senior Editor - CriticalCareNow.com,
Writer - RebelEM.com,
Saxophonist, EDM remixer, husband, puppy father, and new human father
The Pre-brief
#ResusX20 is just around the corner! Join us on October 6-8, 2020, for an incredible virtual resuscitation and critical care conference, filled with quick, high-yield lectures and the opportunity to interact one-on-one with the experts. Check out the conference website for more details!
We hit the ground running on Day 2 of ResusX with a quick introduction to REBOA from Dr. Zaf Qasim, an EM Intensivist at the University of Pennsylvania. Learn more about REBOA on CriticalCareNow from Dr. Qasim himself!
REBOA = Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta
Allows some degree of control before definitive care
Especially useful for noncompressible torso hemorrhage
While resuscitative thoracotomy is a REACTIVE procedure (done after the patient has lost pulses), REBOA is PROACTIVE to avoid periods of hypoxic insult
ER-REBOA catheter – Fits through a 7F sheath
Indications: exsanguination, refractory hypotension, witnessed arrest from hemorrhage
Contraindications: major bleeding above diaphragm, aortic injuries, pericardial tamponade
Options for catheter location: Zone 1 (above the diaphragm) and Zone 3 (between lowest renal artery to bifurcation). Avoid Zone 2 (between the diaphragm and renal arteries).
Rate-limiting step: Common Femoral Artery access. Place the line early; as shock state progresses, the artery will get smaller and more difficult to access
Evidence shows that REBOA is at least noninferior to cross-clamping the aorta. In the subgroups of prehospital arrest, in-hospital arrest, and profound hemorrhagic shock, REBOA significantly improves survival to discharge and may improve neuro intact survival.
Nontrauma applications: – pregnancy related complications: ruptured ectopic, postpartum hemorrhage – arterial GI bleeding – adjuct to medical cardiac arrest to augment central perfusion
Complications: AKI, limb amputations (reduced by using smaller introducer sheaths of 8F or smaller), multisystem organ failure, increased mortality
Duration of balloon inflation is extremely important; need to get to definitive control quickly.
Newer concept of partial REBOA is still being investigated
Dr. Qasim also hosted a REBOA insertion workshop for us:
The optimal type, amount, and timing of fluids is still unclear in the data; needs to be individualized to the patient in front of you
Mechanisms of hypovolemia in sepsis: fluid loss (vomiting, diarrhea, sweating), vasodilatation, capillary leak leading to extravascular sequestration, peripheral pooling
Does getting fluids in the first hour actually change/improve outcomes? Low quality of evidence, optimal timing uncertain but earlier administration may decrease mortality.
What initial volume of fluids should we give? Low quality of evidence but initial bolus of 30mL/kg is probably okay for most patients, including those with CHF and ESRD – Interestingly, when you compare the EGDT to usual care (ProCESS, ARISE, ProMISe), fluid volumes administered are about equal: approximately 30mL/kg – Patients getting excessive fluids (>5L) may have worse outcomes
Balanced Crystalloids or Normal Saline in Critically Ill Adults? Balanced is better.
All evidence is still low quality, but give 30mL/kg of balanced crystalloids, sooner rather than later
Thanks to Tammaso Scquizzato for this amazing infographic about the SALT-ED and SMART trials.
When in status asthmaticus, patients can take a breath in, but cannot breathe out. This leads to breath stacking. Here are some treatments for refractory asthma:
EPINEPHRINE: the “OB” (Original B-agonist) – In severe asthma, the airways are so tight that inhaled albuterol does not get to the distal airways – Need to give them something systemically first – Use anaphylaxis dose (0.3-0.5 IM)
HELIOX – Makes the gas less dense and easier to breathe – Marginal evidence for its benefits
KETAMINE – Tachypnea and agitation worsens breathing – Ketamine chills out the patient – Bronchodilation via different receptor
NONINVASIVE VENTILATION – Assists work of breathing – Increases time to fatigue
When should we intubate? – No lab test, no vital sign indications. Just clinical experience. – Probably time to intubate when the patient tires out, becomes somnolent, or has rising (or normalized) CO2 – Intubation should be performed by the most experienced intubator in the room – Go big with the tube (8.0 in female, 8.5 in male) – Slow gentle respirations, with plenty of exhalation time
Post-intubation medications – Take the patient deep:Â good analgesia first, then deep sedation – Propofol:Â also causes a helpful bronchodilation – Consider paralysis to improve ventilator synchrony
Setting up Vent – Volume control mode of vent   > RR 10   > TV 7cc/kg   > PEEP 3 (they have their own intrinsic PEEP)   > Peak pressure alarm 60   > Flow rate 80   > Very LOW I:E ratio (ie. long expiration time)
VOLATILE ANESTHETICS can reverse bronchospasm
ECMO or ECCO2 (ECMO for CO2 clearance)
Permissive hypercarbia and acidosis (down to pH 7.1) is okay – Avoid “Euboxia”
Cardiac arrest: may likely be due to dynamic hyperinflation causing obstructive shock – Disconnect vent, look for a tube obstruction or pneumothorax – THEN start CPR
As a sidenote, here is my favorite ventilator troubleshooting mnemonic from Dr. Mallemat:
Wait, She’s Pregnant? Optimizing ABC’s for the Critically ill Obstetric Patient by Dr. Emily Damuth
Pregnancy –> Downregulation of cell-mediated immunity – WBCs don’t work as well, allows mother to tolerate paternal/fetal antigens – More susceptible to encapsulated bacteria, viral pneumonia, etc.
There are many physiologic changes in pregnancy – FRC decreases by 20% – O2 consumption increases by 30% – Changes in chest volume – Minute ventilation increases by 40% – Increase in tidal volume, not rate – tachypnea is not physiologic, it is pathologic – Normal range of pH rises slightly to create appropriate gradient for gas transfer to fetus – Mother develops a compensatory metabolic acidosis (HCO3 is slightly lower than normal)
“Every obstetric airway should be considered a difficult intubation”
Changes in airway: increased oropharyngeal edema that worsens Mallampati classification, hyperemia can increase traumatic bleeding.
Lowered gastroesophageal sphincter tone, slower gastric emptying, increased abd pressure –> All lead to increased chance of regurgitation
Head-up position can increase FRC by 800mL, adding to safe apnea time – Ramped position also slows desaturation, decreases hypotension from IVC compression, and decreases regurgitation
Avoid severe alkalemia or acidemia Alkalemia – vasoconstriction of uterine arteries, decreasing blood flow to fetus
ARDS is 10x more common in pregnancy – increased hydrostatic pressure in face of reduced oncotic pressure
There is no good set of recommendations as pregnant patients are excluded from many studies – Need to extrapolate from data and expert opinion
Dr. Damuth recommends: – Lung protective – Permissive mild hypercapnea (pH>7.3) – PaO2 >70mmHg, SaO2 >95% – Pplateau </=30-35 – PEEP (increases FRC, prevents derecruitment, but can increase intrathoracic pressure and affect hemodynamics) – Adjuncts: APRV, paralysis, prone positioning, VV-ECMO for severe ARDS in pregnancy
Dr. Trott hosted an interactive session where he displayed some recorded intubation videos and asked an audience member to analyze what was going on. For each video he had a few learning pearls to improve our airway game:
Put lube on everything: laryngoscope, ET tube, even the stylet
Make sure you have a working IV for medications; if sedation or paralysis has not set in within an appropriate amount of time, check your IV and redose (more on that with Scott Weingart and EMRAP) – Consider IM dosing
The bougie is your best friend
If you can’t get the coude tip through the vocal cords, try to use the back (straight) end of bougie
You can use the Macintosh blade in the same way you would use a Miller blade, but it may obscure your view (more from Terren about using Mac as a Miller)
Engage the hyoepiglottic ligament (see gif image) to flip the epiglottis out of the way
Take a midline approach if you are using a video laryngoscope; this will prevent angled views of the vocal cords that complicate passage of the tube
Vomit in the airway? Lead with suction, intentionally intubate the esophagus and inflate the cuff (then point the other end at the person you dislike most in the room)
Cardiac arrest? Consider placing an SGA instead until ROSC is achieved.
Catheter Based Management of Acute PE: Are we there yet? by Dr. Elias Iliadis
Unstable PE patients do not do well
PESI score can be helpful in determining what interventions we should employ
RV dysfunction and troponin elevation are associated with increased mortality
Various techniques exist to treat submassive and massive PE: – Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy – Aspiration thrombectomy – Thrombus fragmentation – Rheolytic thrombectomy
Dr. Iliadis has been performing some incredible PE clot-busting procedures utilizing a new technology called EKOS – Ultrasound-facilitated, catheter-directed thrombolysis – ULTIMA Trial – EKOS vs heparin; proof of concept trial that showed the benefits of EKOS
Cooper criteria for using EKOS:
Immediate reduction in PA systolic pressures
Very low risk of bleeding
SHARED DECISION MAKING amongst various departments to roll out something like this
Maximize preoxygenation by sitting the patient up (decreases flow limitations, air trapping, and atelectasis
Preoxygenate with NIV – CPAP for 10 min at 10cmH2O; adds about 1 minute to safe apnea time
Intubate with ramped up bed (25-30 degrees)
Meds: In a recent study: 24% of patients get an inappropriate etomidate dose, 56% get an inappropriate succinylcholine dose. More likely to be underdosed.
Rapid Sequence Intubation: – Anticipate rapid desaturation – Preoxygenate sitting up – Intubate with ramped bed – Dose RSI meds appropriately
Ventilation: – 21.7% of ventilated obese patients are done so with injurious volumes – USE IDEAL BODY WEIGHT – RR 16-20 – PEEP 10-15 – Reverse Trendelenberg – displaces abdominal contents, patients will pull higher tidal volumes
Beta blockade in sinus tachycardia in septic patients could decrease mortality by about 31.1%
Esmolol administration can result in: – Increased Stroke Volume – Reduction in troponins – Improved GFR – Reduction in total fluids administered – Stable right atrial pressures
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy has an intrinsic Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction (LVOTO) – Decreased cardiac output – Sabre-shaped doppler flow – Medical management = BETA BLOCKERS
2015 study showed 22% of septic shock patients have evidence of LVOTO – “Pseudohypertrophy” – Mortality higher in septic patients with LVOTO (55% vs 33%)
Dr. Trott’s protocol
Septic shock patient? –> fluid resuscitation with serial ultrasound. Refractory sinus tachycardia with LVOTO? –> Esmolol
40-50% of tracheostomy patients will have a complication
Dislodgement leads to about 1/2 of airway deaths
Anatomy of trache – Outer cannula – Inner cannula – Obturator (blunts insertion into the patient; outer cannula can damage the posterior wall) – Pilot balloon = cuff – Inner cannula is required for BVM
Need to know: – Size of inner diameter – Cuffed vs uncuffed – Reason for trache – Date of placement – stoma healing takes 7-10 days
6 Step Algorithm for Troubleshooting
Trachestoma closes very quickly; most within 24hrs
Laryngectomy (3-5% of trache patients) – Cannot intubate from above – larynx is surgically connected to skin – “Obligate stomal breather” – Cannot be oxygenated through mouth or nose – You can oxygenate with pediatric BVM or a #3 or #4 LMA; reintubate via stoma as soon as possible
Demystifying the Resuscitative Thoracotomy by Dr. Zaf Qasim
Dr. Qasim’s thoracotomy talk is perfectly summarized by his post on RebelEM.
HOTTT(T) Mnemonic
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Use ultrasound first (FAST Exam) to help you decide whether you should perform resuscitative thoracotomy – check out this study by Inaba et al. that showed ultrasound to be highly sensitive and specific in prognosticating
If you are going to do a thoracotomy, do a clamshell – Open the chest – Deliver the heart – Repair the heart muscle lacerations – suture, staple, foley (with care) – Cross-clamp the aorta. You may need to break inferior pulmonary ligament. You can press the aorta up against spine to compress it if you cannot clamp it. – Use the hearty-starty machine to shock the heart out of V-fib if needed
Current Concepts and Controversies in Sepsis Resuscitation by Dr. Michael Winters
Antibiotics – Exact timing is still controversial, aim for within first 3 hours, no high quality studies
Pressor timing – Consider earlier administration – CENSER trial in Thailand showed that early low-dose norepinephrine improved shock resolution, had lower incidence of pulmonary edema and cardiogenic strain, and had no difference in other outcomes compared to standard care
Lactate – maybe does not need to be trended anymore(?) – ANDROMEDA-SHOCK compared peripheral perfusion strategy vs lactate strategy – Nonsignificant trend towards more favorable outcomes in peripheral perfusion strategy; also received slightly less IV fluids
LVADs are Preload Dependent and Afterload Sensitive
Centrifugal flow device that pumps blood from LV to Ascending Aorta
Only set variable is pump speed in RPM (eg. 5000RPM). Set to achieve a flow (eg. 4-6L) using a certain amount of Power (W)
Preload Dependent – Infections (especially driveline infections which frequently require explantation) are very common in LVAD patients –> distributive shock –> decreased venous return –> decreased LV filling –> decreased flows – Second most common complication = Bleeding (most often from GI bleeds). LVAD patients require systemic anticoagulations, vWF gets chewed up by rotor.   > Judicious product use   > Careful reversal of anticoagulation – RV failure will cause LV preload issues
Afterload Sensitive – Pump thrombosis (this is why LVAD patients require anticoagulation)   > You’ll see decreased flows but increased power   > Signs/symptoms of hemolysis: hematuria, elevated LDH (>600 or 2.5x normal) – Elevated blood pressure   > Number 1 cause of death in first 5 years of LVAD patients is hemorrhagic stroke. Use PCC for hemorrhagic stroke.
Crashing LVAD (no flow VAD): If no hum from VAD on auscultation –> initiate standard ACLS with compressions, defibrillation, everything
The afternoon was again filled with some great workshops and skills stations. We covered fiberoptic awake intubations, critical care cases, ventilator alarm troubleshooting, advanced central venous access, and others.
As we get closer to the ResusX 2020 Conference, be on the lookout for ResusX19 summaries for Day 3!
Utilize External Laryngeal Manipulation
