Robert C. Tasker, MA, MBBS, MD, FRCP, FRCPCH: Welcome to July 2023. My name is Robert Tasker and I'm your Editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. In my Editor's Choices this month, I have three great reads for you. The first is about clinical pathophysiology of ECMO related acute neurologic events by Shah et al. This follows a theme within the journal starting in 2019 when authors looked at transcranial Doppler pulsatility index and the development of cerebral injury. 2020 we had an article about cerebral autoregulation and blood pressure and acute neurologic events in ECMO. 2021 we had an autopsy study of ECMO patients and in earlier 2023 in the ASAIO journal, the ELSO data set was published of over 3,500 neonates who were managed on ECMO 2015 to 2020 and that article looked at acute neurologic events in relation to Paco2 falls at the start of ECMO. Now Shah and colleagues have looked at the pediatric age range. Again, an ELSO dataset but aged one month to 18 years. Over 7,000 patients, 2010 to 2019 and looked at the relationship with change in Paco2 and blood pressure. There is an accompanying editorial. The second article comes from the PC⁴ group looking at unplanned extubation in CICU. Perry et al. 2020 we published a single-center study about unplanned extubations in a cardiac ICU, 45 out of 2,000 patients and the authors identified problems with tube related security and the inadequacy of sedation. In 2022 we had a VPS study that looked at 5,700 unplanned extubation of which 14% were cardiovascular patients. Now, the PC⁴ dataset has over 36,000 patients, 2014 to 2020. And they've looked at 1,200 unplanned extubations and the explanatory factors. There's an editorial that accompanies this. The third choice of mine is about biomarkers and risk stratification for sepsis in low and middle income countries. Ishaque and colleagues from Pakistan look at a dataset of 86 patients with the PERSEVERE II model and there's an accompanying editorial. Finally, in the PCCM Connection section, focus on PARDS and mechanical power in 500 patients. Look at that article and then look at the accompanying material that I highlight. Last of all, there is a narrative essay about "Thinking of the Moms". So, hope you enjoy your read, learn a lot and I'll see you on social media and follow SCCM and PCCM. Thank you for your attention.
