Use of Carboxyhemoglobin as an Early Sign of Oxygenator Dysfunction in Patients Supported by Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Introduction

Plasma free hemoglobin is the gold standard for monitoring hemolysis in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) but its routine use has some limitations. Carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) is also a marker of intravascular hemolysis. We aimed to investigate HbCO as a marker of both hemolysis and oxygenator dysfunction in patients supported by ECMO.

Methods

Retrospective analysis of patients on ECMO in an adult ICU in a tertiary hospital. HbCO was recorded every 6 h in the 48 h before and after oxygenator change in adult patients on ECMO support with an oxygenator dysfunction and replacement.

Results

The investigation of 27 oxygenators replacements in 19 patients demonstrated that HbCO values progressively increased over time and then significantly decreased after oxygenator change. Median oxygenator lifespan was 14 days [interquartile range (IQR) 8–21] and there was no correlation between HbCO and oxygenator lifespan [Spearman coefficient 0.23 (p = 0.23)]. HbCO values at oxygenator change [HbCO median 2.7 (IQR 2.5–3.5)] were significantly higher than the HbCO values 1 week before [HbCO median 2.07 (IQR 1.86–2.8)] (p value < 0.001).

Conclusion

Our data highlight the potential role of HbCO as a novel marker for ECMO oxygenator dysfunction.

Do ScvO2 variations induced by passive leg raising predict fluid responsiveness? A prospective study

OBJECTIVE

The present study investigates whether ScvO2 variations induced by passive leg raising (PLR) are able to predict fluid responsiveness (FR) in mechanically ventilated patients.

DESIGN

A monocentric prospective clinical study.

SETTING

An intensive care division in a tertiary hospital.

PATIENTS

The inclusion criteria were elective postoperative cardiac surgery patients who were over 18 years old, deeply sedated, mechanically ventilated and needed volume expansion (VE). Fluid responders (R) were defined as patients who increased their left ventricular outflow tract velocity time integral (VTI) ≥15% after VE.

INTERVENTION

In patients included in this study, continuous ScvO2  monitoring (CeVOX device, Pulsion Medical Systems) and VTI (transthoracic echocardiography) were measured simultaneously before and during a PLR test and before and after VE (with 500 ml of saline).

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Thirty-three consecutive patients were included in this study. In 15 patients with a positive PLR test (increase in VTI ≥15%), ScvO2 increased during PLR by 9 ± 4%. In the 18 patients with a negative PLR test, ScvO2 did not significantly change during PLR. VE increased ScvO2 by 9 ± 6% and 2 ± 4% in responders and nonresponders, respectively. If ScvO2 increased by >4% during the PLR test, then a positive VTI response (≥15%) was diagnosed with a sensitivity of 93% (68-99%) and a specificity of 94% (63-99%) (Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.92 ± 0.58, p < 0.05). Moreover, ScvO2 variations were able to distinguish responders to VE from nonresponders to VE with a sensitivity of 87% (68-99%) and a specificity of 89% (63-99%) (Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.89 ± 0.07, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

ScvO2 variation induced by PLR is a reliable, minimally invasive parameter for predicting FR at the postoperative cardiac surgery bedside of mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients.

Burkitt lymphoma and lactic acidosis: A case report and review of the literature

Type A lactic acidosis is a potentially life‐threatening complication in critically ill patients and is the hallmark of a shock state as a result of tissue hypoperfusion and dysoxia. Type B lactic acidosis results from mechanisms other than dysoxia and is a rare condition in patients with solid tumors or hematological malignancies. We present a case of a 60‐year‐old man with lactic acidosis who was found to have a Burkitt lymphoma related to a posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder. Lactagenic cancers are characterized by increased aerobic glycolysis and excessive lactate formation, a phenomenon described by Warburg in 1923 that is correlated with cancer aggressiveness and poor survival. There is increased glucose utilization with the purpose of lactagenesis under fully oxygenated conditions, as lactate seems to be a potent signaling molecule for angiogenesis, immune escape, cell migration, metastasis and self‐sufficient metabolism, which are five essential steps of carcinogenesis. Type B lactic acidosis in association with malignancies carries an extremely poor prognosis. Currently, effective chemotherapy seems to be the only hope for survival.

Early Physical Therapist Interventions for Patients With COVID-19 in the Acute Care Hospital: A Case Report Series

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this case series was to describe the experience of Swiss physical therapists in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 during their acute care hospital stay and to discuss challenges and potential strategies in the clinical management of these patients.

METHODS

We report 11 cases of patients with COVID-19 from 5 Swiss hospitals that illustrate the various indications for physical therapy, clinical challenges, potential treatment methods, and short-term response to treatment.

RESULTS

Physical therapists actively treated patients with COVID-19 on wards and in the intensive care unit. Interventions ranged from patient education, to prone positioning, to early mobilization and respiratory therapy. Patients were often unstable with quick exacerbation of symptoms and a slow and fluctuant recovery. Additionally, many patients who were critically ill developed severe weakness, postextubation dysphagia, weaning failure, or presented with anxiety or delirium. In this setting, physical therapy was challenging and required specialized and individualized therapeutic strategies. Most patients adopted the proposed treatment strategies, and lung function and physical strength improved over time.

CONCLUSION

Physical therapists clearly have a role in the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on our experience in Switzerland, we recommend that physical therapists routinely screen and assess patients for respiratory symptoms and exercise tolerance on acute wards. Treatment of patients who are critically ill should start as soon as possible to limit further sequelae. More research is needed for awake prone positioning and early breathing exercises as well as post-COVID rehabilitation.

IMPACT

To date, there are few data on the physical therapist management of patients with COVID-19. This article is among the first to describe the role of physical therapists in the complex pandemic environment and to describe the potential treatment strategies for countering the various challenges in the treatment of these patients.

[The ineffectiveness of Technetium-99m-sestamibi for the pre-operative localization of parathyroid glands in neonatal primary hyperparathyroidism: case report]

OBJECTIVE: To present the case of a child with neonatal primary hyperparathyroidism submitted to preoperative image studies that couldn't localize the parathyroid glands. METHODS: Report of clinical and laboratory evaluation of neonatal primary hyperparathyroidism in a two-and-a-half-monthold child submitted to preoperative cervical ultrasonography and parathyroid scintigraphy with Technetium-99m-Sestamibi, and subtotal parathyroidectomy at the age of four-and-a -half months. RESULTS: The preoperative images suggested an erroneous diagnosis of parathyroid adenoma. After surgery and pos-operative histopathological exams, hyperplasia of parathyroid glands was confirmed. After two years and a half the child has normal parathyroid function. CONCLUSIONS: The cervical ultrasonography and the parathyroid scintigraphy with Technetium-99m-Sestamibi were not useful for preoperative localization of hyperplasied parathyroid glands in the neonatal primary hyperparathyroidism in this case. The subtotal parathyroidectomy has been a successful method for the maintenance of normocalcemy in the patient.

Randomised controlled trial of growth effect of hydrocortisone in congenital adrenal hyperplasia

The influence of 15 or 25 mg/m2 of daily oral hydrocortisone with fludrocortisone 0.1 mg/day on growth and laboratory findings was evaluated in a prospective randomised crossover trial over 12 months in 26 children with 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Nine non-salt losers had fludrocortisone stopped for a further six month period. Height velocity was significantly decreased during treatment with 25 mg/m2 as compared with 15 mg/m2. This was the most sensitive indicator of corticosteroid treatment excess. A dose dependent effect upon plasma concentrations of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, and androstenedione was found but increased values were still detected in more than half of the determinations made during the 25 mg/m2 period. Height velocity and 17-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were positively correlated. Growth hormone response to clonidine stimulation and insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations were both within reference values and there was no difference between treatment periods. Withdrawal of fludrocortisone did not result in any difference for the non-salt losers. It was concluded that 25 mg/m2 of hydrocortisone depressed growth in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and that full suppression, or even normalisation, of plasma concentrations of 17-hydroxyprogesterone and androgens should not be considered a treatment goal, but instead an indication of corticosteroid treatment excess.

[Human chorionic gonadotropin: a feasible option for treating undescended testes]

In order to shed light on the controversy in the literature about the efficacy of medical treatment of undescended testes, HCG was administered to 73 boys. They were seven month to twelve years old and none of them had puberty signs. Cryptorchidism was unilateral in 75.4%; it was bilateral in 24.6%. Children with retractile testes were excluded from the study. The patients received IM HCG 1500 to 2000 IU/sqm twice a week for 5 weeks. Testicular descent was noted in 23.0% of the undescended testes, often in the first 2.5 weeks of therapy. All children were followed up for at least a year and relapse was observed in 8.3%. Clinical signs of testosterone action faded off shortly after the end of injections. No side effects were apparent by the third month after treatment. We conclude that the administration of HCG is worth of a trial before the surgical approach is contemplated in the management of the cryptorchidism.

Morning steroid profile in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia under different hydrocortisone schedules

We studied 13 children with 21-hydroxyalse deficiency to explore the immediate potential suppressive effect of hydrocortisone dose schedule on the adrenal cortex. They were given 20 mg/m2 daily in a controlled trial. After random administration of a greater dose in the morning (7 patients) or at night (6 patients), we measured plasma levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, and androstenedione at times-24, 0, 2, 4, and 6h. Considerable fluctuation of the steroid levels, unrelated to the drug intake, was observed. There was no statistically significant differences between the "morning dose" and "night dose" groups for any steroid. We conclude that; (i) the greater night dose did not avoid the 17-hydroxyprogesterone morning peaks, and (ii) the variation in plasma steroid levels is so marked that a single morning sample is unreliable to reflect the degree of adrenal suppression.

[Russel's syndrome. Report of a case with development of precocious puberty]

The Russel's syndrome is characterized by emaciation and hyperactivity in children and is caused by hypothalamic expansive process. This report presents the typical signs of the syndrome associated with growth hormone secretion disorders and precocious puberty pattern appearing at the age of four. The pathogenesis of the disorder is discussed and related to the hypothalamus-pituitary axis dysfunction caused by the tumor growth.