Disseminated Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infection presenting as severe respiratory failure and septic shock

Introduction

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) instillation is the most effective adjuvant therapy for superficial urinary bladder carcinoma, prolonging disease-free survival. Although it is usually well tolerated, moderate to severe local or systemic infectious complications, including sepsis involving multiple organs, may occur.

Case report

We report the unusual case of a man in his mid '70s who presented with septic shock and severe acute respiratory failure requiring intubation. Lack of response to antibiotics, history of intravesical BCG instillation and consistent imaging findings led to further investigations, with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results indicating pneumonitis due to Mycobacterium bovis dissemination. Prompt anti-tuberculosis treatment combined with corticosteroids resulted in significant clinical and radiological improvement, supporting the diagnosis of disseminated BCG infection.

Conclusions

Due to its non-specific clinical presentation and the relatively low diagnostic yield of conventional microbiological tests, a high index of suspicion is required for prompt diagnosis and treatment of systemic BCG infection. PCR-based assays for mycobacterial DNA identification may represent a valuable tool facilitating timely diagnosis of this uncommon, yet potentially life-threatening infection.

Epidemiology and outcomes of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients: the EUROBACT-2 international cohort study

PURPOSE

In the critically ill, hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSI) are associated with significant mortality. Granular data are required for optimizing management, and developing guidelines and clinical trials.

METHODS

We carried out a prospective international cohort study of adult patients (≥ 18 years of age) with HA-BSI treated in intensive care units (ICUs) between June 2019 and February 2021.

RESULTS

2600 patients from 333 ICUs in 52 countries were included. 78% HA-BSI were ICU-acquired. Median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8 [IQR 5; 11] at HA-BSI diagnosis. Most frequent sources of infection included pneumonia (26.7%) and intravascular catheters (26.4%). Most frequent pathogens were Gram-negative bacteria (59.0%), predominantly Klebsiella spp. (27.9%), Acinetobacter spp. (20.3%), Escherichia coli (15.8%), and Pseudomonas spp. (14.3%). Carbapenem resistance was present in 37.8%, 84.6%, 7.4%, and 33.2%, respectively. Difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR) was present in 23.5% and pan-drug resistance in 1.5%. Antimicrobial therapy was deemed adequate within 24 h for 51.5%. Antimicrobial resistance was associated with longer delays to adequate antimicrobial therapy. Source control was needed in 52.5% but not achieved in 18.2%. Mortality was 37.1%, and only 16.1% had been discharged alive from hospital by day-28.

CONCLUSIONS

HA-BSI was frequently caused by Gram-negative, carbapenem-resistant and DTR pathogens. Antimicrobial resistance led to delays in adequate antimicrobial therapy. Mortality was high, and at day-28 only a minority of the patients were discharged alive from the hospital. Prevention of antimicrobial resistance and focusing on adequate antimicrobial therapy and source control are important to optimize patient management and outcomes.

Adding fentanyl to etomidate fails to reduce painful recall of external direct current cardioversion in adults: a randomised trial

INTRODUCTION

External electrical cardioversion under hypnotics, even when combined with opioids, has been consistently described as distressing or painful. The main objective of the present study was to determine if adding an opioid to a hypnotic, in comparison to the same hypnotic alone, would decrease the incidence of unpleasant or painful recall during anaesthesia for external electrical cardioversion.

METHODS

This was a single-centre, prospective, randomised, double-blinded clinical trial that took place from September 2011 to March 2012. Fifty-two adult patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, scheduled for external direct current cardioversion, were enrolled. Exclusion criteria were age >80 years, previous cardiac surgery, implanted pacemaker or defibrillator, and haemodynamic instability. Patients received intravenously either (group EF) fentanyl 50 g and after 60 s etomidate 0.1 mg/kg, or (group E) only etomidate 0.1 mg/kg. If the patients did not lose their eyelid reflex, repeated doses of etomidate 4 mg were given. Cardioversion was attempted with an extracardiac biphasic electrical shock from 200 to 300 J, at most three times. The primary endpoint was recall of something unpleasant or painful. Secondary outcome measures were predictors of the requirement for repeat doses of etomidate, and the number of shocks needed.

RESULTS

Fifty-one patients (35 male, 16 female), aged 62.1 ± 10.2 years, completed the study. There were no differences between group EF and group E regarding recall (unpleasant recall 0 vs. 2 patients, p=0.235; painful recall 1 vs. 0 patients, p=0.510). The administration of etomidate alone was a significant predictor for subsequent repeated doses of etomidate (p=0.049, odds ratio 4.312, 95% confidence interval 1.007-18.460). The number of shocks needed to restore sinus rhythm did not differ between the groups (p=0.846).

CONCLUSIONS

In the present study, the addition of fentanyl to etomidate did not diminish distressing or painful experience during anaesthesia for external cardioversion.