Decannulation and improvement of responsiveness in patients with disorders of consciousness.

Decannulation is a rehabilitation milestone in patients with Disorders of Consciousness (DoC). investigate the relationship between decannulation and improvement of responsiveness (IR) in DoC. 236 tracheostomized patients with severe Acquired Brain Injury and DoC admitted in the Intensive Rehabilitation Unit were retrospectively included. They received personalized interdisciplinary rehabilitation. At discharge, IR was evaluated. The association between IR and demographic/clinical data was investigated using a logistic regression analysis, both in the Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (UWS) and Minimal Consciousness State (MCS) group, divided according to their Coma Recovery Scale-Revised score at admission. In the UWS group (N = 107), only decannulation was associated with IR at discharge (OR: 5.94, CI: 2.08-16.91, p = .001). In the MCS group (N = 129) time post-injury (OR: 0.983, CI: 0.97-0.99, p = .012) and decannulation were associated with IR at discharge (OR: 17.9, CI: 6.39-50.13, p < .001). Decannulation and IR were found to be strongly related, independently from the initial clinical state. While the retrospective nature of the study could not exclude that decannulation may be a consequence of a spontaneous recovery, the obtained results may disclose its potential influence on the clinical history of patients with DoC.

Decannulation After a Severe Acquired Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of some clinical characteristics of severe acquired brain injury (sABI) patients on decannulation success during their intensive rehabilitation unit (IRU) stay. DESIGN: Nonconcurrent cohort study. SETTING: Don Gnocchi Foundation Institute. PARTICIPANTS: Patients (N=351) with sABI and tracheostomy were retrospectively selected from the database of the IRU of the Don Gnocchi Foundation Institute. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Potential predictors of decannulation were screened from variables collected at admission during clinical examination, conducted by trained and experienced examiners. The association between clinical characteristics and decannulation status was investigated through a Cox regression model. Kaplan-Meier curves were then created for time-event analysis. RESULTS: Among the patients (mean age, 64.1±15.5y), 54.1% were decannulated during their IRU stay. Absence of pulmonary infections (P<.001), sepsis (P=.001), tracheal alteration at the fibrobronchoscopy examination (P=.004) and a higher Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) score (P<.001) or a better state of consciousness at admission (P=.001) were associated with a higher probability of decannulation. CONCLUSIONS: Fibrobronchoscopy assessment of patency of airways and accurate evaluation of the state of consciousness using the CRS-R are relevant in this setting of care to better identify patients who are more likely to have the tracheostomy tube removed. These results may help clinicians choose the appropriate timing and intensity of rehabilitation interventions and plan for discharge.

EBUS-STAT Subscore Analysis to Predict the Efficacy and Assess the Validity of Virtual Reality Simulation for EBUS-TBNA Training Among Experienced Bronchoscopists.

BACKGROUND: Linear endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) represents a pivotal innovation in interventional pulmonology; determining the best approach to guarantee systematic and efficient training is expected to become a main issue in the forthcoming years. Virtual reality simulators have been proposed as potential EBUS-TBNA training instruments, to avoid unskilled beginners practicing directly in real-life settings. A validated and perfected simulation program could be used before allowing beginners to practice on patients. Our goal was to test the reliability of the EBUS-Skills and Task Assessment Tool (STAT) and its subscores for measuring the competence of experienced bronchoscopists approaching EBUS-guided TBNA, using only the virtual reality simulator as both a training and an assessment tool. METHODS: Fifteen experienced bronchoscopists, with poor or no experience in EBUS-TBNA, participated in this study. They were all administered the Italian version of the EBUS-STAT evaluation tool, during a high-fidelity virtual reality simulation. This was followed by a single 7-hour theoretical and practical (on simulators) session on EBUS-TBNA, at the end of which their skills were reassessed by EBUS-STAT. RESULTS: An overall, significant improvement in EBUS-TBNA skills was observed, thereby confirming that (a) virtual reality simulation can facilitate practical learning among practitioners, and (b) EBUS-STAT is capable of detecting these improvements. The test's overall ability to detect differences was negatively influenced by the minimal variation of the scores relating to items 1 and 2, was not influenced by the training, and improved significantly when the 2 items were not considered. Apart from these 2 items, all the remaining subscores were equally capable of revealing improvements in the learner. Lastly, we found that trainees with presimulation EBUS-STAT scores above 79 did not show any significant improvement after virtual reality training, suggesting that this score represents a cutoff value capable of predicting the likelihood that simulation can be beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality simulation is capable of providing a practical learning tool for practitioners with previous experience in flexible bronchoscopy, and the EBUS-STAT questionnaire is capable of detecting these changes. A pretraining EBUS-STAT score below 79 is a good indicator of those candidates who will benefit from the simulation training. Further studies are needed to verify whether a modified version of the questionnaire would be capable of improving its performance among experienced bronchoscopists.

Lobar Collapse Therapy Using Endobronchial Valves as a New Complementary Approach to Treat Cavities in Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis and Difficult-to-Treat Tuberculosis: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: The poor treatment outcomes of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and the emergence of extensively drug-resistant TB and extremely and totally drug-resistant TB highlight the urgent need for new antituberculous drugs and other adjuvant treatment approaches. OBJECTIVES: We have treated cavitary tuberculosis by the application of endobronchial one-way valves (Zephyr®; Pulmonx Inc., Redwood City, Calif., USA) to induce lobar volume reduction as an adjunct to drug treatment. This report describes the feasibility, effectiveness and safety of the procedure. METHODS: Patients with severe lung destruction, one or more cavities or those who were ineligible for surgical resection and showed an unsatisfactory response to standard drug treatments were enrolled. During bronchoscopy, endobronchial valves were implanted in the lobar or segmental bronchi in order to induce atelectasis and reduce the cavity size. RESULTS: Four TB patients and 1 patient with atypical mycobacteriosis were treated. The mean patient age was 52.6 years. Complete cavity collapses were observed on CT scans in 4 of the 5 cases. All patients showed improvements in their clinical status, and sputum smears became negative within 3-5 months. There were no severe short- or long-term complications. The valves were removed in 3 of the 5 patients after 8 months on average; there was no relapse after 15 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that endobronchial valves are likely to be useful adjuncts to the treatment of therapeutically difficult patients. More data are required to confirm our findings.