Emergency department (ED) lenght of stay of the patients requiring admission to the intensive care units has increased gradually in recent years. Mechanical ventilation is an integral part of critical care and mechanically ventilated patients have to be managed and monitored by emergency physicians for longer than expected in EDs. This early period of care has significant impact on the outcomes of these patients. Therefore, emergency physicians should have comprehensive knowledge of mechanical ventilation. This review will summarize the current literature of the basic concepts, appropriate clinical applications, monitoring parameters, components and mechanisms of mechanical ventilation in the ED.

There is limited research into the utility of average volume-assured pressure support (AVAPS), a volume-assured pressure-controlled mode, especially in patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure. This study aimed at a randomized comparison of AVAPS and bilevel positive airway pressure spontaneous/timed (BPAP S/T) modes in non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) application with hypercapnic respiratory failure patients in the emergency department (ED). Randomized controlled study. In this prospective randomized controlled study, 80 patients admitted to ED with hypercapnic respiratory failure requiring NIMV were randomly assigned to AVAPS or S/T groups using the sealed envelope method (33 patients in the S/T group, 47 patients in the AVAPS group). Data of arterial blood gas (ABG), vital parameters, Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), additional treatment needs, and clinical outcomes were evaluated, and the treatment success rates of both groups were compared. A total of 80 patients, 33 in the S/T and 47 in the AVAPS group, were analyzed in the study. The pH values improved in the AVAPS group compared to the baseline (0.07 [0.04-0.10] vs 0.03 [0.00-0.11]). PaCO₂ (partial pressure of carbon dioxide) excretion was faster in the AVAPS group than in the S/T group in the first hour (10.20 mmHg [6.20-19.20] vs. 4.75 ([-] 0.83-16.88)). The comparison of blood gas measurements showed no significant differences between the groups regarding the changes in PaCO₂ and pH values over time (P = .141 and P = .271, respectively). During the ED follow-up, 3 (6.4%) patients in the AVAPS group and 5 (15.2%) patients in the S/T group needed intubation [Relative risk: 0.42 (95% CI: 0.11 to 1.64), P = .21]. : In this study, improvements in blood gas parameters in the AVAPS group were faster compared to the S/T group; however, we did not find any significant difference between the groups in terms of clinical parameters. The AVAPS mode is as effective and safe as BPAP S/T in treating patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure in the ED.

Background/aim: While several different scoring systems aim to determine the clinical outcomes for patients with pneumonia, there is limited emphasis on the platelet count. This study investigated the relationships between thrombocyte count and 30-day mortality and complicated clinical course of patients with pneumonia. Materials and methods: This prospective cross-sectional study enrolled patients over 18 years old with a diagnosis of pneumonia in the emergency department for six months. The primary outcome was to establish the relationship between platelet count, mortality, complicated clinical course, and initial vital parameters on admission. The secondary outcome was comparing the platelet count with mortality and complicated clinical course during the hospital stay. Results: Four hundred-five patients were included (58.8% male, mean age 75.1 +/- 12.7 years). On admission, thrombocytosis was observed in 14.1% and thrombocytopenia in 4.2%. There was no difference between the 30-day mortality according to the platelet count at admission and follow-up. Patients who developed thrombocytopenia during follow-up needed more intensive care admissions, invasive mechanical ventilation, noninvasive mechanical ventilation, and vasopressor treatment, while patients with thrombocytosis needed invasive mechanical ventilation more frequently. Conclusion: Neither thrombocytopenia nor thrombocytosis is not associated with 30-day mortality in ED patients with pneumonia. Thrombocytopenia during follow-up was associated with a higher incidence for a complicated clinical course.

Background: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen is becoming an integral part of respiratory failure management. Effects of HFNC on arterial blood gas (ABG) parameters especially partial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) require further investigation to provide insight into the efficacy and safety of the treatment. Methods: Acute respiratory failure patients with sequential ABG parameters before and after initiating HFNC between June 2015 and June 2017 were analyzed in a tertiary academic center. Patients' baseline characteristics were evaluated and sequential ABG changes were compared and subgrouped as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), respiratory acidosis, hypercapnia, and high lactate. Results: A total of 120 patients were enrolled in the study. There was a significant difference between the mean partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2), lactate, and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) values between sequential ABGs after HFNC (P <0.001). In the COPD group (n=32), there was a significant difference between initial ABG means of PaO2, lactate, and SpO2 values and sequential ABG means (p<0.001). Hypercapnic patients PaCO2 levels were significantly lower after HFNC (p< 0.001), while in the COPD group there was no significant change in PaCO2 values (p=0.068). Conclusions: Treatment with HFNC produced improvement of blood gas parameters in subjects with acute respiratory failure in the emergency department (ED). These results suggest that HFNC can be used in hypercapnic patients as well as hypoxemic patients. Further randomized controlled studies required to establish the impact of HFNC in the ED.