Annals of Intensive Care

SARS-CoV-2 caused a pandemic and global threat for human health. Presence of liver injury was commonly reported in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, reports on severe liver dysfunction (SLD) in critically ill with COVID-19 are lacking. We evaluated the occurrence, clinical characteristics and outcome of SLD in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Clinical course and laboratory was analyzed from all patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to ICU of the university hospital. SLD was defined as: bilirubin ≥ 2 mg/dl or elevation of aminotransferase levels (> 20-fold ULN). 72 critically ill patients were identified, 22 (31%) patients developed SLD. Presenting characteristics including age, gender, comorbidities as well as clinical presentation regarding COVID-19 overlapped substantially in both groups. Patients with SLD had more severe respiratory failure (paO2/FiO2: 82 (58–114) vs. 117 (83–155); p < 0.05). Thus, required more frequently mechanical ventilation (95% vs. 64%; p < 0.01), rescue therapies (ECMO) (27% vs. 12%; p = 0.106), vasopressor (95% vs. 72%; p < 0.05) and renal replacement therapy (86% vs. 30%; p < 0.001). Severity of illness was significantly higher (SAPS II: 48 (39–52) vs. 40 (32–45); p < 0.01). Patients with SLD and without presented viremic during ICU stay in 68% and 34%, respectively (p = 0.002). Occurrence of SLD was independently associated with presence of viremia [OR 6.359; 95% CI 1.336–30.253; p < 0.05] and severity of illness (SAPS II) [OR 1.078; 95% CI 1.004–1.157; p < 0.05]. Mortality was high in patients with SLD compared to other patients (68% vs. 16%, p < 0.001). After adjustment for confounders, SLD was independently associated with mortality [HR3.347; 95% CI 1.401–7.999; p < 0.01]. One-third of critically ill patients with COVID-19 suffer from SLD, which is associated with high mortality. Occurrence of viremia and severity of illness seem to contribute to occurrence of SLD and underline the multifactorial cause.

The majority of critically ill patients do not suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To improve the treatment of these patients, we aimed to identify potentially modifiable factors associated with outcome of these patients. The PRoVENT was an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of consecutive patients under invasive mechanical ventilatory support. A predefined secondary analysis was to examine factors associated with mortality. The primary endpoint was all-cause in-hospital mortality. 935 Patients were included. In-hospital mortality was 21%. Compared to patients who died, patients who survived had a lower risk of ARDS according to the ‘Lung Injury Prediction Score’ and received lower maximum airway pressure (Pmax), driving pressure (ΔP), positive end-expiratory pressure, and FiO2 levels. Tidal volume size was similar between the groups. Higher Pmax was a potentially modifiable ventilatory variable associated with in-hospital mortality in multivariable analyses. ΔP was not independently associated with in-hospital mortality, but reliable values for ΔP were available for 343 patients only. Non-modifiable factors associated with in-hospital mortality were older age, presence of immunosuppression, higher non-pulmonary sequential organ failure assessment scores, lower pulse oximetry readings, higher heart rates, and functional dependence. Higher Pmax was independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients under mechanical ventilatory support for reasons other than ARDS. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01868321).

The purpose of this study was to assess the short- and long-term outcomes of HIV-infected patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) according to immunovirological status at admission and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) use in ICU. Retrospective study of 98 HIV-infected patients hospitalized between 1997 and 2008 in two medical ICU in Montpellier, France. The primary outcome was mortality in ICU. The secondary end point was probability of survival in the year following ICU admission. Eighty-two (83.6%) admissions in ICU were related to HIV infection and 45% of patients had received HAART before admission. Sixty-two patients (63.3%) were discharged from ICU, and 34 (34.7%) were alive at 1 year. Plasma HIV RNA viral load (VL) and CD4+ cell count separately were not associated with outcome. Independent predictors of ICU mortality were the use of vasopressive agents (odds ratio (OR), 3.779; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11–12.861; p = 0.0334) and SAPS II score (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.003-1.077; p = 0.0319), whereas introducing or continuing HAART in ICU was protective (OR, 0.278; 95% CI, 0.082-0.939; p = 0.0393). Factors independently associated with 1-year mortality were immunovirological status with high VL (>3 log10/ml) and low CD4 (<200/mm3; hazard ratio (HR), 5.19; 95% CI, 1.328-20.279; p = 0.0179) or low VL (<3 log10/ml) and low CD4 (HR, 4.714; 95% CI, 1.178-18.867; p = 0.0284) vs. high CD4 and low VL, coinfection with C hepatitis virus (HR, 3.268; 95% CI, 1.29-8.278; p = 0.0125), the use of vasopressive agents (HR, 3.68; 95% CI, 1.394-9.716; p = 0.0085), and SAPS II score (HR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.057-1.124; p <0.0001). Introducing HAART in a patient with no HAART at admission was associated with a better long-term outcome (HR, 0.166; 95% CI, 0.043-0.642; p = 0.0093). In a population of HIV-infected patients admitted to ICU, short- and long-term outcomes are related to acute illness severity and immunovirological status at admission. Complementary studies are necessary to identify HIV-infected patients who benefit from HAART use in ICU according to immunovirological status and the reasons of ICU admission.

Transient and persistent acute kidney injury (AKI) could share similar physiopathological mechanisms. The objective of our study was to assess prognostic impact of AKI duration on ICU mortality. Retrospective analysis of a prospective database via cause-specific model, with 28-day ICU mortality as primary end point, considering discharge alive as a competing event and taking into account time-dependent nature of renal recovery. Renal recovery was defined as a decrease of at least one KDIGO class compared to the previous day. 23 French ICUs. Patients of a French multicentric observational cohort were included if they suffered from AKI at ICU admission between 1996 and 2015. None. A total of 5242 patients were included. Initial severity according to KDIGO creatinine definition was AKI stage 1 for 2458 patients (46.89%), AKI stage 2 for 1181 (22.53%) and AKI stage 3 for 1603 (30.58%). Crude 28-day ICU mortality according to AKI severity was 22.74% (n = 559), 27.69% (n = 327) and 26.26% (n = 421), respectively. Renal recovery was experienced by 3085 patients (58.85%), and its rate was significantly different between AKI severity stages (P < 0.01). Twenty-eight-day ICU mortality was independently lower in patients experiencing renal recovery [CSHR 0.54 (95% CI 0.46–0.63), P < 0.01]. Lastly, RRT requirement was strongly associated with persistent AKI whichever threshold was chosen between day 2 and 7 to delineate transient from persistent AKI. Short-term renal recovery, according to several definitions, was independently associated with higher mortality and RRT requirement. Moreover, distinction between transient and persistent AKI is consequently a clinically relevant surrogate outcome variable for diagnostic testing in critically ill patients.

Achievement of a negative fluid balance in patients with capillary leak is associated with improved outcome. We investigated the effects of a multi-modal restrictive fluid strategy aiming for negative fluid balance in patients with acute lung injury (ALI). In this retrospective matched case-control study, we included 114 mechanically ventilated (MV) patients with ALI. We compared outcomes between a group of 57 patients receiving PAL-treatment (PAL group) and a matched control group, abstracted from a historical cohort. PAL-treatment combines high levels of positive end-expiratory pressure, small volume resuscitation with hyperoncotic albumin, and fluid removal with furosemide (Lasix®) or ultrafiltration. Effects on extravascular lung water index (EVLWI), intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), organ function, and vasopressor therapy were recorded during 1 week. The primary outcome parameter was 28-day mortality. At baseline, no significant intergroup differences were found, except for lower PaO2/FIO2 and increased IAP in the PAL group (174.5 ± 84.5 vs 256.5 ± 152.7, p = 0.001; 10.0 ± 4.2 vs 8.0 ± 3.7 mmHg, p = 0.013, respectively). After 1 week, PAL-treated patients had a greater reduction of EVLWI, IAP, and cumulative fluid balance (-4.2 ± 5.6 vs -1.1 ± 3.7 mL/kg, p = 0.006; -0.4 ± 3.6 vs 1.8 ± 3.8 mmHg, p = 0.007; -1,451 ± 7,761 vs 8,027 ± 5,254 mL, p < 0.001). Repercussions on cardiovascular and renal function were limited. PAL-treated patients required fewer days of intensive care unit admission and days on MV (23.6 ± 15 vs 37.1 ± 19.9 days, p = 0.006; 14.6 ± 10.7 vs 25.5 ± 20.2 days, respectively) and had a lower 28-day mortality (28.1% vs 49.1%, p = 0.034). PAL-treatment in patients with ALI is associated with a negative fluid balance, a reduction of EVLWI and IAP, and improved clinical outcomes without compromising organ function.

Dynamic arterial elastance (Eadyn) has been extensively considered as a functional parameter of arterial load. However, conflicting evidence has been obtained on the ability of Eadyn to predict mean arterial pressure (MAP) changes after fluid expansion. This meta-analysis sought to assess the predictive performance of Eadyn for the MAP response to fluid expansion in mechanically ventilated hypotensive patients. We systematically searched electronic databases through November 28, 2020, to retrieve studies that evaluated the association between Eadyn and fluid expansion-induced MAP increases in mechanically ventilated hypotensive adults. Given the diverse threshold value of Eadyn among the studies, we only reported the area under the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUHSROC) as the primary measure of diagnostic accuracy. Eight observational studies that included 323 patients with 361 fluid expansions met the eligibility criteria. The results showed that Eadyn was a good predictor of MAP increases in response to fluid expansion, with an AUHSROC of 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89 to 0.94]. Six studies reported the cut-off value of Eadyn, which ranged from 0.65 to 0.89. The cut-off value of Eadyn was nearly conically symmetrical, most data were centred between 0.7 and 0.8, and the mean and median values were 0.77 and 0.75, respectively. The subgroup analyses indicated that the AUHSROC was slightly higher in the intensive care unit (ICU) patients (0.96; 95% CI 0.94 to 0.98) but lower in the surgical patients in the operating room (0.72; 95% CI 0.67 to 0.75). The results indicated that the fluid type and measurement technique might not affect the diagnostic accuracy of Eadyn. Moreover, the AUHSROC for the sensitivity analysis of prospective studies was comparable to that in the primary analysis. Eadyn exhibits good performance for predicting MAP increases in response to fluid expansion in mechanically ventilated hypotensive adults, especially in the ICU setting.