Mechanically ventilated patients are weaned during acute care hospitalization when it is determined that they are ready for withdrawal. If weaning fails, patients are admitted to a rehabilitation medical center for continued supportive care and additional weaning attempts.   This study's objective is to increase the success rate of weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV),...

Nutritional optimisation is recognised as having significant impact on clinical and functional outcomes of critically ill patients.   Clinical recommendations suggest use of indirect calorimetry guided nutrition in the intensive care unit (ICU), and a recent systematic review demonstrated improved outcomes from its use.   The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a greater proportion of patients...

In this new review, the authors identify the pros and cons of Indirect Calorimetry (IC) to estimate Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) and define individual nutritional energy targets among critically ill patients.  Indirect Calorimetry (IC) is a monitoring tool that provides factual information on metabolism. There is significant evidence to show an important association between mortality...

Energy expenditure appears highly variable among critically ill patients and in individual patients during various phases of illness. As a consequence, critically ill patients are at considerable risk of under- or overfeeding during ICU and post-ICU hospital stay, when rough and static estimates are used. The most recent international guidelines recommend regular indirect calorimetry to measure...