- Global practice patterns, determinants, and perceived impact of humidification during non-invasive ventilation in hospitalized adults: A cross-sectional survey from 70 countries. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 21; 80:102951. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Among clinicians participating in this survey, humidification during NIV was commonly reported, but practices varied considerably across regions and institutions. These findings highlight important evidence gaps and support the need for well-designed trials.
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- Key elements of left ventricular assist device adjustment: A qualitative exploratory study. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 21; 80:102954. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the importance of connection, role restoration, and public perception-factors that are often underrepresented in clinical care. Participants emphasized the need for expanded education on recovery, hygiene, equipment, travel, and complication management, as well as tailored support for patients without caregivers. Addressing these psychosocial and practical challenges may improve patient satisfaction, safety, and long-term outcomes.
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- Insulin resistance mediates the relationship between cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome and depression: A cross-sectional analysis. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 19; 80:102947. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Advanced CKM is positively associated with depressive symptoms, and IR partially mediates this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of enhanced mental health screening in patients with advanced CKM and suggest that improving IR may be a potential therapeutic target for future interventions.
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- Comparison of analgesic efficacy of dexamethasone and dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to local anaesthetic in transversus thoracic muscle plane block in adult patients undergoing median sternotomy: A randomised controlled trial. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 18; 80:102955. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Both dexamethasone and dexmedetomidine improved TTPB analgesia. Dexmedetomidine significantly prolonged the duration of analgesia, whereas 24-hour postoperative opioid consumption was comparable between the adjuvant groups.
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- Troponin elevation reflects disease severity rather than cardiac injury or dysfunction in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 16; 80:102945. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: In MV COVID-19 ARDS patients, elevated troponin is associated disease severity and poorer ICU survival rather than global systolic dysfunction. In patients with severe LV impairment, troponin may remain a marker of myocardial injury.
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- Large language models fail to reliably predict emergent catheterization laboratory activation from prehospital electrocardiograms. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 16; 80:102956. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Multimodal LLM interpretation of prehospital ECGs demonstrated clinically unreliable performance for identifying ECGs warranting emergent cardiac catheterization laboratory activation when benchmarked against real-world cardiology activation decisions. Although some models achieved high sensitivity, poor specificity resulted in excessive false-positive activation recommendations. These findings suggest that general-purpose LLMs are not appropriate for ECG-based catheterization laboratory activation decisions in time-sensitive cardiopulmonary care workflows.
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- Corrigendum to "Arginine vasopressin as the primary vasopressor in high-risk patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery: A propensity-matched hemodynamic analysis" [Heart Lung. 2026 Aug 1;80:102899. doi: 10.1016/j.hrtlng.2026.102899. Epub ahead of print]. [Published Erratum]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 15; 80:102942. [Online ahead of print]HL
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- Prognostic value of the Day-21 SOFA-2 score in patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation: A 10-year retrospective experience in a university-affiliated tertiary hospital. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 14; 80:102927. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Day-21 SOFA-2 is non-inferior to SOFA-1 for 1-year mortality, with comparable 90-day performance. The SOFA-2 PLUS score showed modestly improved discrimination over ProVent 21, offering potential value for risk stratification, though its incremental benefit relative to its added complexity warrants external validation.
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- Hematocrit-corrected pulmonary vascular resistance: a prognostic marker in left ventricular assist device candidates. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 14; 80:102931. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Corresponding blood viscosity should not be neglected in the assessment of PVR: aPVR significantly differs from uncorrected PVR in LVAD candidates, moreover, aPVR is associated with 365-day mortality.
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- Optimizing daily spontaneous breathing trial timing to expedite extubation. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 13; 80:102950. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, we concluded that among this sample of intubated MICU subjects, changing SBT timing from 0500-0600 to 0800-0900 resulted in a significant decrease in SBT to extubation time. Reducing the SBT to extubation time minimizes the need to re-sedate a patient to promote continued ventilator tolerance. Thus, our results show that evaluating daily SBT timing can be a valuable quality improvement intervention that impacts patient centered outcomes.
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- Time-dependent adherence to non-invasive ventilation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an observational cohort study. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 13; 80:102952. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: NIV adherence and NIV-related complications showed dynamic patterns over time. One-third of patients were non-adherent at 6 and 12 months, highlighting the need for tailored interventions throughout follow-up. Although time-dependent adherence was not independently associated with survival, period-averaged adherence appeared to produce a more favourable survival estimate than time-dependent adherence.
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- Core components of transitional care for ECMO survivors after ICU discharge: a three-round modified Delphi study. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 12; 80:102949. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an initial clinician-derived consensus framework for early transitional care after ECMO in Portugal. The framework should not be interpreted as a definitive survivorship model. Further work should include survivors, caregivers, and broader multidisciplinary stakeholders, and should evaluate implementation, feasibility, and longer-term follow-up beyond the first month.
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- Prognostic significance of cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters for predicting all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure: a cohort study. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 12; 80:102953. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: Oxygen uptake-derived indices, particularly OUES, emerged as significant predictor of prognosis among patients with HF, regardless of LVEF, reflecting the overall efficiency of oxygen transport and utilization.
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- A two-minute bedside assessment is associated with ED disposition and 30-day mortality in COPD exacerbations: The Barthel Index. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 11; 80:102948. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: The Barthel Index - a two-minute bedside assessment requiring no laboratory testing serves a dual function: identifying candidates for outpatient management among patients with ARF, and stratifying 30-day mortality risk. A clinical decision algorithm integrating ARF status and the Barthel Index is proposed.
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- Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor activation, inflammation and heart failure: Insights from genetic analysis. [Journal Article]Heart Lung. 2026 Sep 11; 80:102943. [Online ahead of print]HL
- CONCLUSIONS: This study provides genetic evidence that GLP-1R activation protects against HF and identifies MMP-1 reduction as a partial mediator, illuminating an anti-inflammatory mechanism underlying GLP-1RA efficacy.
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