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Several clinical and experimental studies have shown that lung injury occurs shortly after brain damage. The responsible mechanisms involve neurogenic pulmonary edema, inflammation, the harmful action of neurotransmitters, or autonomic system dysfunction. Mechanical ventilation, an essential component of life support in brain-damaged patients (BD), may be an additional traumatic factor to the already injured or susceptible to injury lungs of these patients thus worsening lung injury, in case that non lung protective ventilator settings are applied. Measurement of respiratory mechanics in BD patients, as well as assessment of their evolution during mechanical ventilation, may lead to preclinical lung injury detection early enough, allowing thus the selection of the appropriate ventilator settings to avoid ventilatorinduced lung injury. The aim of this review is to explore the mechanical properties of the respiratory system in BD patients along with the underlying mechanisms, and to translate the evidence of animal and clinical studies into therapeutic implications regarding the mechanical ventilation of these critically ill patients.

The emergence of colistin resistance may further contribute to treatment failure of infection caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae. The colistin resistance rates were determined and colistin-resistant carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (COL-R CP-Kp) were characterized over an 18-month period in a Greek hospital. Out of 135 carbapenemase producers, 19 isolates (14%) were categorized as resistant to colistin. Phenotypic and molecular characterization of the COL-R CP-Kp isolates revealed that all were MDR blaKPC producers and, excluding one isolate of MLST ST383, belonged to the international clonal lineage ST258. Furthermore, PCR amplification and sequencing of the mgrB locus revealed nucleotide sequences of different sizes and insertions of IS1- and IS5-like mobile elements. The majority (63%) of the COL-R blaKPC producers was recovered from patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and clinical data indicated that all patients should have acquired these isolates in the ICU. The findings of the present study underscore a concerning evolution of colistin resistance in a setting of high K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-Kp endemicity, such as Greece. Thus, continuous surveillance, molecular characterization, prudent use of antibiotics, and implementation of infection control measures for K. pneumoniae are urgent.