Hemodynamic effects of pneumonia. II. Expansion of plasma volume

Can N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids be considered a potential adjuvant therapy for COVID-19-associated cardiovascular complications?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has currently led to a global pandemic with millions of confirmed and increasing cases around the world. The novel SARS-CoV-2 not only affects the lungs causing severe acute respiratory dysfunction but also leads to significant dysfunction in multiple organs and physiological systems including the cardiovascular system. A plethora of studies have shown the viral infection triggers an exaggerated immune response, hypercoagulation and oxidative stress, which contribute significantly to poor cardiovascular outcomes observed in COVID-19 patients. To date, there are no approved vaccines or therapies for COVID-19. Accordingly, cardiovascular protective and supportive therapies are urgent and necessary to the overall prognosis of COVID-19 patients. Accumulating literature has demonstrated the beneficial effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) toward the cardiovascular system, which include ameliorating uncontrolled inflammatory reactions, reduced oxidative stress and mitigating coagulopathy. Moreover, it has been demonstrated the n-3 PUFAs, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are precursors to a group of potent bioactive lipid mediators, generated endogenously, which mediate many of the beneficial effects attributed to their parent compounds. Considering the favorable safety profile for n-3 PUFAs and their metabolites, it is reasonable to consider n-3 PUFAs as potential adjuvant therapies for the clinical management of COVID-19 patients. In this article, we provide an overview of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications secondary to COVID-19 and focus on the mechanisms that may contribute to the likely benefits of n-3 PUFAs and their metabolites.

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) and Cardiovascular Complications

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. It has spread to more than 100 countries, and more than 1 million cases have been confirmed. Although coronavirus causes severe respiratory infections in humans, accumulating data have demonstrated cardiac complications and poor outcome in patients with COVID-19. A large percent of patients have underlying cardiovascular disease, and they are at a high risk of developing cardiac complications. The basics of the virus, the clinical manifestations, and the possible mechanisms of cardiac complications in patients with COVID-19 are reviewed. Before an effective vaccine or medicine is available, supportive therapy and identifying patients who are at high risk of cardiac complications are important.

Associations of Daily Walking Time With Pneumonia Mortality Among Elderly Individuals With or Without a Medical History of Myocardial Infarction or Stroke: Findings From the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study

Background

The association between daily walking and pneumonia mortality, stratified by the presence of disease conditions, such as myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke, was investigated.

Methods

The study participants were 22,280 Japanese individuals (9,067 men and 13,213 women) aged 65–79 years. Inverse propensity weighted competing risk model was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for pneumonia mortality.

Results

After a median of 11.9 years of follow-up, 1,203 participants died of pneumonia. Participants who did not have a history of MI or stroke and who walked for 1 hour/day or more were less likely to die from pneumonia (HR 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82–0.98) than those walked for 0.5 hours/day. A similar inverse association of pneumonia and walking (0.5 hours/day) was observed among participants with a history of MI (HR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.48–0.90). Among the participants with a history of stroke, those who walked for 0.6–0.9 hours/day were less likely to die because of pneumonia (HR 0.65; 95% CI, 0.43–0.98).

Conclusions

Regular walking for ≥1 hour/day may reduce the risk of pneumonia mortality in elderly individuals with or without cardiovascular disease history.

Acute pneumonia and the cardiovascular system

Although traditionally regarded as a disease confined to the lungs, acute pneumonia has important effects on the cardiovascular system at all severities of infection. Pneumonia tends to affect individuals who are also at high cardiovascular risk. Results of recent studies show that about a quarter of adults admitted to hospital with pneumonia develop a major acute cardiac complication during their hospital stay, which is associated with a 60% increase in short-term mortality. These findings suggest that outcomes of patients with pneumonia can be improved by prevention of the development and progression of associated cardiac complications. Before this hypothesis can be tested, however, an adequate mechanistic understanding of the cardiovascular changes that occur during pneumonia, and their role in the trigger of various cardiac complications, is needed. In this Review, we summarise knowledge about the burden of cardiac complications in adults with acute pneumonia, the cardiovascular response to this infection, the potential effects of commonly used cardiovascular and anti-infective drugs on these associations, and possible directions for future research.

Influence of asymptomatic pneumonia on the response to hemorrhage and resuscitation in swine

INTRODUCTION

Investigation of resuscitation fluids in our swine hemorrhage model revealed moderate to severe chronic pneumonia in five swine at necropsy. Our veterinary staff suggested that we perform a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from these animals. We compared the data to that of ten healthy swine to determine the physiologic consequences of the added stress on our hemorrhage/resuscitation model.

METHODS

Anesthetized, immature female swine (40 ± 5 kg) were instrumented for determining arterial and venous pressures, cardiac output and urine production. A controlled hemorrhage of 20 ml/kg over 4 min 40 sec was followed at 30 min by a second hemorrhage of 8 ml/kg and resuscitation with 1.5 ml/kg/min of LR solutions to achieve and maintain systolic blood pressure at 80 ± 5 mmHg for 3.5 hrs. Chemistries and arterial and venous blood gasses were determined from periodic blood samples along with hemodynamic variables.

RESULTS

There were significant decreases in survival, urine output, cardiac output and oxygen delivery at 60 min and O2 consumption at 120 min in the pneumonia group compared to the non-pneumonia group. There were no differences in other metabolic or hemodynamic data between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Although pneumonia had little influence on pulmonary gas exchange, it influenced cardiac output, urine output and survival compared to healthy swine, suggesting a decrease in the physiologic reserve. These data may be relevant to patients with subclinical infection who are stressed by hemorrhage and may explain in part why some similarly injured patients require more resuscitation efforts than others.

Acute bacterial pneumonia is associated with the occurrence of acute coronary syndromes

A link between acute infections and the development of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has been proposed. We used retrospective cohort and self-controlled case series analyses to define the closeness of the association between acute bacterial pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae and ACS. For the retrospective cohort analysis we included a control group of patients with admission diagnoses other than pneumonia or ACS. For the self-controlled case series analysis, we made within-person comparisons of the risk for ACS during the 15 days after admission for pneumonia with that of 365 days before and after that event. In 206 pneumonia patients (144 S. pneumoniae, 62 H. influenzae) we identified 22 (10.7%) cases of ACS, which compared to 6 (1.5%) among 395 controls resulted in an odds ratio (OR) of 7.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.1-19.4). With multivariate logistic regression analysis, the OR for ACS in the pneumonia group remained elevated (OR, 8.5; 95% CI, 3.4-22.2). By the self-controlled case series method, the risk of ACS remarkably increased during the first 15 days after the diagnosis of pneumonia (incidence rate ratio, 47.6; 95% CI, 24.5-92.5). The characteristics and strength of these associations suggest a causal role for the acute infection in this relationship.

Body water and plasma volume in severe community-acquired pneumonia: implications for fluid therapy

OBJECTIVES

To determine changes in total and extracellular body water, plasma volume and sodium in children with severe and very severe pneumonia, and examine the association between these changes and oxygenation.

DESIGN

Prospective, observational.

SUBJECTS

Fifty children aged 2-59 mths with severe and very severe pneumonia.

METHODS

Serum sodium (SNa), plasma osmolality (Posm), urinary sodium (UNa) and osmolality, total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and plasma volume (PV) were estimated during the acute phase of pneumonia (within 3-6 hrs of presentation) and after recovery. These were correlated with oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) recorded on presentation.

RESULTS

All children had cough, fever, tachypnoea and chest-wall indrawing; 70% had inability to feed and 90% were hypoxaemic (SpO(2) < or = 90%). During the acute phase of illness, among the survivors (n=46), mean (SD) ECW and PV were significantly higher than that after recovery [ECW 318 (45) vs 308 (49) ml/kg, PV 53.2 (2.3) vs 52.1 (2.3) ml/kg, p<0.05]. SNa < or = 135 mmol/L was significantly correlated with ECW and PV excess. SpO(2) showed a significant linear relationship with TBW, ECW and PV (r=0.43, 0.46 and 0.42, respectively, p<0.005) and SNa (r= or <0.33, p=0.02). On multiple regression analysis, ECW, blood urea and PV were significant predictors of SpO(2) (combined r=0.63). The four patients who died had significantly higher Posm and blood urea and lower SpO(2) but in a logistic regression model SpO(2) was the only significant predictor of death (odds ratio 0.54, 95% CI 0.32-0.9, p=0.02).

CONCLUSION

ECW and PV were moderately increased in severe and very severe pneumonia and the increase correlated with better oxygenation. These findings suggest that fluid retention in response to hypoxaemia is directed towards improving circulating volume. The current practice of fluid restriction in hypoxaemic patients with severe pneumonia might be logical only after correction of hypoxaemia.

Plasma volume expansion and PEEP in a canine model of acute Pseudomonas pneumonia

Four groups of anesthetized, ventilated dogs (n = 6 in each group) inoculated endotracheally with Pseudomonas aeruginosa were studied over 5 h as bilateral, hemorrhagic pneumonia developed. Groups I and II were ventilated with zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) and groups III and IV with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) (8 cmH2O). Hetastarch (6%) in saline was infused intravenously to maintain similar transmural pulmonary wedge pressures (Pwtm) in groups I and III (approximately 5 mmHg) and groups II and IV (approximately 10 mmHg) throughout the experiment. The effects of plasma volume expansion were analyzed by comparing groups I and III with groups II and IV and of PEEP by comparing groups I and II with groups III and IV. The number of lobes with gross consolidation was greater in groups II (4.8 +/- 1.2) and IV (5 +/- 0.9) than in groups I (2 +/- 1.1) and III (3.3 +/- 1). The mean lung wet weight/body weight ratio was greater in groups II (40 +/- 11 g/kg) and IV (48 +/- 12 g/kg) than in groups I (19 +/- 3 g/kg) and III (32 +/- 6 g/kg) and in groups III and IV than in groups I and II. Plasma volume expansion, in the absence of PEEP (group II vs. group I), dramatically increased intrapulmonary shunt (Qs/Qt 5 h after inoculation: group II, 62 +/- 13%; group I, 25 +/- 12%). However, overall gas exchange 5 h after inoculation was not significantly different between PEEP-treated groups and ZEEP-treated groups despite more extensive disease in the former. Despite maintenance of Pwtm, cardiac output fell significantly over the 5 h study period in groups III (4.3 +/- 0.7 to 3.3 +/- 1.0 L/min) and IV (7.2 +/- 1.7 to 3.8 +/- 2.4 L/min) compared to groups I (3.8 +/- 1.0 to 3.5 +/- 1.2 L/min) and II (6.9 +/- 3.2 to 7.3 +/- 2.6 L/min). We conclude that plasma volume expansion, within the normal physiological range of Pwtm, increases the extent of pneumonia. Positive end-expiratory pressure with maintenance of Pwtm also independently increases pneumonia size, possibly by increasing pulmonary capillary hydrostatic pressure, but masks this effect by maintaining arterial oxygenation through recruitment of additional lung units for gas exchange. The data also suggest that PEEP adversely affects cardiac performance in this model of acute pneumonia.

Cardiovascular alterations in the adult respiratory distress syndrome

We reviewed the hemodynamic data of 27 patients with severe adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and found significant elevations in heart rate, pulmonary artery pressure, and pulmonary vascular resistance and depressions of stroke index and left ventricular stroke work index. Altered left ventricular performance was suggested by a left ventricular stroke work index lower than expected for the level of wedge pressure in 19 patients and decreased slopes in nine of 11 ventricular function curves. Hemodynamic values in a subgroup receiving 0 to 5 cm H2O of positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) were similar to those in the overall group (mean PEEP 12.5 +/- 7.9 cm H2O). Improvement in pulmonary and systemic hemodynamics occurred in survivors. Eight of 11 patients who underwent postmortem examination had cardiac abnormalities. The findings in this study suggest that changes in cardiovascular performance commonly occur in severe ARDS and that several mechanisms may contribute to the alterations.

Left ventricular diastolic capacity in man

Plasma volume expansion with 500 ml of low-molecular-weight dextran was used in 27 patients (nine normal subjects, 13 patients with ischemic heart disease, four with aortic stenosis and one with cardiomyopathy) to increase left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) from a control value of 12.4 +/- 7.0 mm Hg (mean +/- SD) to 23.3 +/- 7.0 mm Hg and end-diastolic volume (EDV) from 84.0 +/- 23.8 ml/m2 to 97.6 +/- 22.9 ml/m2. EDV-LVEDP curves constructed for 12 patients from multiple angiograms at progressively increasing LVEDPs during plasma volume expansion showed an initial part where EDV increased in parallel with LVEDP and a final steep or perpendicular part where EDV increased minimally or not at all as LVEDP exceeded 20 mm Hg. Exponential equations were used to fit diastolic volume-pressure data obtained with catheter-tip manometers in seven patients: the exponential constant, k, was 0.012-0.044 ml-1 and was inversely related to EDV (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient = -1). For comparable EDV, there were no differences in k values between normal subjects and patients with a variety of heart diseases.

Effects of blood volume expansion on left ventricular hemodynamics in man

The hemodynamic effects of acute blood volume expansion with low molecular-weight dextran were studied in 11 normal patients and 18 patients with coronary artery disease free of angina at the time of study and without evidence of heart failure. In the coronary artery disease group 350 ml (range 130-540 ml) was infused at the rate of 26.7 ml/min (range 19-36 ml/min). There was an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) from 10.3 to 18.7 mm Hg, brachial artery mean pressure (BAm) from 102 to 105 mm Hg, pulse pressure (PP) from 56.7 to 63.2 mm Hg, cardiac index (CI) from 3.1 to 3.8 liters/min/m 2 , stroke index (SI) from 37 to 44 ml/m 2 , and left ventricular stroke-work index (LVSWI) from 46 to 53 g-m/m 2 . There was no change in heart rate. In normal subjects, 387 ml (range 200-480 ml) was infused at the rate of 26.4 ml/min (range. 15-37 ml/min). There was an increase in LVEDP from 8.0 to 18.4 mm Hg, PP from 55.5 to 66.8 mm Hg, CI from 3.2 to 4.0 liters/min/m 2 , SI from 38 to 46 ml/m 2 , and LVSWI from 46 to 54 g-m/m 2 . Heart rate and BAm were unchanged. LVEDP increased to abnormal levels in every subject and was associated with small increases in SI and LVSWI. In the absence of myocardial ischemia the challenge of an acute volume did not differentiate left ventricular performance of patients with coronary artery disease from normal subjects.

Hemodynamic effects of pneumonia. I. Normal and hypodynamic responses

Since an excessive mortality from pneumonia persists in spite of antimicrobial therapy, the hemodynamics during and after the acute phase of pneumonia were studied in 17 patients. None of the patients had clinical heart disease and all had normal venous pressures. The arteriovenous oxygen difference was used to assess the adequacy of the circulation to meet peripheral tissue perfusion, and a spectrum of arteriovenous oxygen differences was noted. In 11 patients, tissue perfusion was considered adequate because the arteriovenous oxygen difference did not exceed 5.5 vol%. In six patients, the arteriovenous oxygen difference was greater than 5.5 vol% and these six patients differed hemodynamically from the others. In these six patients during the acute phase of pneumonia, cardiac output was decreased, and total peripheral resistance and hematocrit were increased. When five patients with varying arteriovenous oxygen difference were studied during exercise in the acute phase, cardiac output increased while venous pressure remained unchanged. Arteriovenous oxygen difference in these five exercising patients increased in all, but most markedly in those with an initially widened arteriovenous oxygen difference. The inadequate response to pneumonia is most consistent with depressed myocardial function, but the possibility of decreased intravascular volume as a contributory factor could not be excluded.