In June, six new articles entered our top ten most read list. The Top 10 is compiled based on full text views, including downloads of the full article PDFs.
Informal caregiving following stroke: a qualitative exploration of carer self-identification, care-related language and support experiences
Our most read new entry is a qualitative study from Harcourt et al. aim to understand the process of how and when informal carers start to see themselves as such, and their preferred terminology and experiences of support in this role. The study involved semi structured interviews with 18 adults who had provided care or support to a friend or family member after a stroke that occurred at least 1 year prior. Their finding outline the factors that facilitate the self-identification process and that the timing of this process is very variable between participants. The authors make several recommendations relating to the accessibility of support for informal carers of stroke survivors.
Timing of mechanical ventilation and its association with in-hospital outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock following ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a multicentre observational study
The next new entry on our list is a multicentre retrospective analysis by Arabi et al. which aimed to evaluate the association between the timing of invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) initiation and clinical outcomes in patients with cardiogenic shock secondary to ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The authors observed that increased delay in MV was associated with a higher mortality risk during the first 60 min post-diagnosis, beyond which the risk plateaued. Delayed MV was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.38, p<0.001). The authors argue these findings highlight the importance of timely respiratory support, warranting further investigation in prospective or randomised controlled studies.
Effect of nebulised inhalation of antibiotics on preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The next top-ten most read entry is a systematic review and meta analysis from Yuan et al. The authors aimed to investigate whether prophylactic nebulised antibiotic inhalation reduces the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in critically ill adults undergoing mechanical ventilation. After screening 2663 studies the authors identified four suitable studies covering 1160 patients. Based on these studies the authors suggest that nebulised prophylactic antibiotics may reduce the incidence of VAP in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. However secondary outcomes did not differ between the intervention and control groups and the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of included trials and low certainty of evidence.