Postcritical illness vulnerability

Peer support in intensive care unit follow-up: A qualitative evaluation

BACKGROUND

Patients formerly admitted to an intensive care unit and their relatives seek information about life after critical illness to understand their symptoms and what to expect as survivors, and they express a desire to talk to others with similar experiences. Various operational models of post-intensive care peer support exist, and studies have reported potential beneficial mechanisms in patients involved in peer support programs. However, most models have not been formally evaluated.

AIM

To evaluate the content and setting of structured group meetings and explore participants' experiences of meeting peers.

STUDY DESIGN

A qualitative evaluation combining focused ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews with 22 participants attending three intensive care unit café meetings in a university hospital. A thematic analysis was conducted using all data collected.

FINDINGS

Three main themes emerged; 'Accommodating the diversity of patients and relatives', 'A range of possibilities for identification' and 'A newfound community'. Findings indicate that the content, setting and timing of the café meetings were of minor concern for the participants. Patients and relatives should attend together because the consequences of surviving a critical illness affect both. Larger groups of participants appeared to increase the likelihood of encountering broad variances in participants' experiences from the critical illness trajectory. The findings indicate that before attending a meeting, the participants did not find previous experiences sufficient in managing their new life situations and they felt alone in their experiences.

CONCLUSION

Peer support invited participants into a secure community and eased their sense of being alone in their struggles. Meeting peers seemed to be more important than following a specific model of peer support.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

When setting up peer support for former intensive care patients, the most important aspect is to create a secure space for patients and their relatives to meet.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of a Novel NIK Inhibitor with Anti-Inflammatory and Hepatoprotective Effects for Sepsis Treatment

NIK plays a crucial role in the noncanonical NF-κB signaling pathway associated with diverse inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Our study presents compound 54, a novel NIK inhibitor, designed through a structure-based scaffold-hopping approach from the previously identified B022. Compound 54 demonstrates remarkable selectivity and potency against NIK both in vitro and in vivo, effectively suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide production. In mouse models, compound 54 protected against LPS-induced systemic sepsis, reducing AST, ALT, and AKP liver injury markers. Additionally, it also attenuates sepsis-induced lung and kidney damage. Mechanistically, compound 54 blocks the noncanonical NF-κB signaling pathway by targeting NIK, preventing p100 to p52 processing. This work reveals a novel class of NIK inhibitors with significant potential for sepsis therapy.

Chronic pain characteristics in COVID-19 survivors after an ICU stay. A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The onset and characteristics of chronic pain following an intensive care unit (ICU) stay for COVID-19 have never been thoroughly investigated.

STUDY DESIGN

A multicenter cohort study was conducted to describe chronic pain, according to ICD-11, among COVID-19 survivors. The chronic pain was assessed during face-to-face consultations with a pain specialist.

RESULTS

Among 204 COVID-19 ICU survivors, 143 patients with mean age of 60 ± 14 years were included nine months after discharge from the ICU. More than half (54%) of patients experienced new-onset chronic pain. In total, 102 different forms of pain were reported in these patients. Secondary pain was the most frequent type, comprising musculoskeletal (40%), post-traumatic (34%), neuropathic (25%), and visceral (13%). Primary chronic pain was rare (7%). The three most common sites of pain were the shoulders, chest, and head. Pain was moderate to severe in 75% of cases, and higher intensity was associated with a greater impact on daily life. Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, perceived stress, and debilitating pain were frequently associated. Intubation was more frequent in patients with chronic pain. Specialized pain centre follow-up was required for 21% of the survivors, which represented 40% of the patients who developed new-onset chronic pain.

CONCLUSION

New-onset chronic pain is common after an ICU stay for COVID-19 and may manifest in various forms. Secondary pain caused by ICU management is the most frequent. Patients should undergo screening after ICU discharge to facilitate prompt, thorough, and personalized pain management.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT04940208.

Sepsis Outcome after Major Abdominal Surgery Does Not Seem to Be Improved by the Use of Pentameric Immunoglobulin IgM: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND

Sepsis still represents a major public health issue worldwide, and the immune system plays a main role during infections; therefore, its activity is mandatory to resolve this clinical condition. In this report, we aimed to retrospectively verify in a real-life setting the possible usefulness of pentameric IgM plus antibiotics in recovering patients with sepsis after major abdominal surgery.

MATERIALS/METHODS

We reviewed, from January 2013 until December 2019, all adult patients admitted to the ICU for sepsis or septic shock (2) after major abdominal surgery. Among these patients, were identified those that, according to legal indication and licenses in Italy, were treated with pentameric IgM plus antibiotics (Group A) or with antibiotics alone (Group B). The following parameters were evaluated: blood gas analysis, lactate, CRP, procalcitonin, endotoxin activity, liver and renal function, coagulation and blood cell count at different time points (every 48 h for at least 7 days). Differences between groups were analyzed using Fisher's exact test or a chi-square test for categorical variables. A Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis test were instead been performed to compare continuous variables. Univariate and multivariate analysis were also performed.

RESULTS

Over a period of 30 months, 24 patients were enrolled in Group A and 20 patients in Group B. In those subjects, no statistical differences were found in terms of bacterial or fungal infection isolates, when detected in a blood culture test, or according to inflammatory index, a score, lactate levels and mortality rate. A 48 h response was statistically more frequent in Group B than in Group A, while no differences were found in other clinical and laboratory evaluations.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our results, the use of pentameric IgM does not seem to give any clinical advantages in preventing sepsis after major abdominal surgery.

In-hospital mortality and severe outcomes after hospital discharge due to COVID-19: A prospective multicenter study from Brazil

Background

We evaluated in-hospital mortality and outcomes incidence after hospital discharge due to COVID-19 in a Brazilian multicenter cohort.

Methods

This prospective multicenter study (RECOVER-SUS, NCT04807699) included COVID-19 patients hospitalized in public tertiary hospitals in Brazil from June 2020 to March 2021. Clinical assessment and blood samples were performed at hospital admission, with post-hospital discharge remote visits. Hospitalized participants were followed-up until March 31, 2021. The outcomes were in-hospital mortality and incidence of rehospitalization or death after hospital discharge. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional-hazard models were performed.

Findings

1589 participants [54.5% male, age=62 (IQR 50-70) years; BMI=28.4 (IQR,24.9–32.9) Kg/m² and 51.9% with diabetes] were included. A total of 429 individuals [27.0% (95%CI,24.8–29.2)] died during hospitalization (median time 14 (IQR,9–24) days). Older age [vs<40 years; age=60–69 years-aHR=1.89 (95%CI,1.08–3.32); age=70–79 years-aHR=2.52 (95%CI,1.42–4.45); age≥80-aHR=2.90 (95%CI 1.54–5.47)]; noninvasive or mechanical ventilation at admission [vs facial-mask or none; aHR=1.69 (95%CI 1.30–2.19)]; SAPS-III score≥57 [vs<57; aHR=1.47 (95%CI 1.13–1.92)] and SOFA score≥10 [vs <10; aHR=1.51 (95%CI 1.08–2.10)] were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. A total of 65 individuals [6.7% (95%CI 5.3–8.4)] had a rehospitalization or death [rate=323 (95%CI 250–417) per 1000 person-years] in a median time of 52 (range 1–280) days post-hospital discharge. Age ≥ 60 years [vs <60, aHR=2.13 (95%CI 1.15–3.94)] and SAPS-III ≥57 at admission [vs <57, aHR=2.37 (95%CI 1.22–4.59)] were independently associated with rehospitalization or death after hospital discharge.

Interpretation

High in-hospital mortality rates due to COVID-19 were observed and elderly people remained at high risk of rehospitalization and death after hospital discharge.

Funding

Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Programa INOVA-FIOCRUZ.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research agenda for healthcare epidemiology

This SHEA white paper identifies knowledge gaps and challenges in healthcare epidemiology research related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a focus on core principles of healthcare epidemiology. These gaps, revealed during the worst phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, are described in 10 sections: epidemiology, outbreak investigation, surveillance, isolation precaution practices, personal protective equipment (PPE), environmental contamination and disinfection, drug and supply shortages, antimicrobial stewardship, healthcare personnel (HCP) occupational safety, and return to work policies. Each section highlights three critical healthcare epidemiology research questions with detailed description provided in supplementary materials. This research agenda calls for translational studies from laboratory-based basic science research to well-designed, large-scale studies and health outcomes research. Research gaps and challenges related to nursing homes and social disparities are included. Collaborations across various disciplines, expertise and across diverse geographic locations will be critical.

The immunology of sepsis

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to an infection. This recently implemented definition does not capture the heterogeneity or the underlying pathophysiology of the syndrome, which is characterized by concurrent unbalanced hyperinflammation and immune suppression. Here, we review current knowledge of aberrant immune responses during sepsis and recent initiatives to stratify patients with sepsis into subgroups that are more alike from a clinical and/or pathobiological perspective, which could be key for identification of patients who are more likely to benefit from specific immune interventions.