In view of the tragic fire at a nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil, which culminated in the sudden death of 232 young people, we decided to review the literature regarding smoke inhalation injury caused by enclosed-space fires, which can be divided into direct thermal damage, carbon monoxide poisoning, and cyanide poisoning. Such injuries often call for immediate orotracheal intubation, either due to acute airway obstruction or due to a reduced level of consciousness. The diagnosis and the severity of the thermal injury can be determined by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The levels of gases and gas by-products in the bloodstream should be assessed as rapidly as possible, even while still at the scene of the incident. First responders can also treat carbon monoxide poisoning, with immediate administration of oxygen at 100%, as well as cyanide poisoning, with oxygen therapy and hydroxocobalamin injection.

Keywords: Smoke inhalation injury; Carbon monoxide; Cyanides.

Objective: Inspiratory fall in intrathoracic pressure during a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) may precipitate cardiac dysfunction and acute pulmonary edema. We aimed to determine the relationship between radiological signs of pulmonary congestion prior to an SBT and weaning outcomes. Methods: This was a post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study involving patients in an adult medical-surgical ICU. All enrolled individuals met the eligibility criteria for liberation from mechanical ventilation. Tracheostomized subjects were excluded. The primary endpoint was SBT failure, defined as the inability to tolerate a T-piece trial for 30-120 min. An attending radiologist applied a radiological score on interpretation of digital chest X-rays performed before the SBT. Results: A total of 170 T-piece trials were carried out; SBT failure occurred in 28 trials (16.4%), and 133 subjects (78.3%) were extubated at first attempt. Radiological scores were similar between SBT-failure and SBT-success groups (median [interquartile range] = 3 [2-4] points vs. 3 [2-4] points; p = 0.15), which, according to the score criteria, represented interstitial lung congestion. The analysis of ROC curves demonstrated poor accuracy (area under the curve = 0.58) of chest x-rays findings of congestion prior to the SBT for discriminating between SBT failure and SBT success. No correlation was found between fluid balance in the 48 h preceding the SBT and radiological score results (ρ = −0.13). Conclusions: Radiological findings of pulmonary congestion should not delay SBT indication, given that they did not predict weaning failure in the medical-surgical critically ill population. (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02022839 [http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/])

Keywords: Radiography; Pulmonary edema; Ventilator weaning.