Welcome to the 486th Critical Care Reviews Newsletter, bringing you the best critical care research and open access articles from across the medical literature over the past seven days.

The highlights of this week's edition are randomised controlled trials comparing two delayed strategies for renal replacement therapy initiation for severe acute kidney injury & protocolized post-extubation respiratory support to prevent reintubation; a systematic review and meta analysis on PEEP levels for mechanically ventilated adult patients with ARDS; and observational studies on deaths from COVID-19 and other causes in the US & inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. There are also narrative reviews on nosocomial pneumonia in the era of multidrug-resistance: updates in diagnosis and management & an overview of COVID-19 variant strains, as well as two series on mechanical circulatory support and COVID-19.

There are editorials on the indications for tracheal intubation in patients with COVID-19 & an overview of the 2021 update to the 2017 ACC expert consensus decision pathway for optimization of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; and a commentary on intra-cycle power: is the flow profile a neglected component of lung protection?.

eCCR21 Videos

The edited videos from eCCR21 are now ready and will be released over the next few weeks. We start with the REST trial results, which are presently unpublished. To go with the REST trial results video, if you only have time to read one review article this week, try this one on the physiological basis of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal in respiratory failure.