Shock Severity Assessment in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Patients With Sepsis and Mixed Septic-Cardiogenic Shock

We sought to validate the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) cardiogenic shock classification for mortality risk stratification in patients with sepsis and concomitant cardiovascular disease or mixed septic-cardiogenic shock. We conducted a single-center retropective cohort study of cardiac intensive care unit patients with an admission diagnosis of sepsis. We used clinical, vital sign, and laboratory data during the first 24 hours after admission to assign SCAI shock stage. We included 605 patients with a median age of 69.4 years (interquartile range, 57.9 to 79.8 years), 222 of whom (36.7%) were female. Acute coronary syndrome or heart failure was present in 480 patients (79.3%), and cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest was present in 271 patients (44.8%). The median day 1 Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) cardiovascular subscore was 1.5 (interquartile range, 1 to 4), and the admission SCAI shock stage distribution was stage B, 40.7% (246); stage C, 19.3% (117); stage D, 32.9% (199); and stage E, 7.1% (43). In-hospital mortality occurred in 177 of the 605 patients (29.3%) and increased incrementally with higher SCAI shock stage. After multivariable adjustment, admission SCAI shock stage was associated with in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio per stage, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.88; P=.003). Admission SCAI shock stage had higher discrimination for in-hospital mortality than the day 1 SOFA cardiovascular subscore (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.68 vs 0.64; P=.04 by the DeLong test). Admission SCAI shock stage was associated with 1-year mortality (adjusted hazard ratio per stage, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.37; P=.02). The SCAI shock classification provides improved mortality risk stratification over the day 1 SOFA cardiovascular subscore in cardiac intensive care unit patients with sepsis and concomitant cardiovascular disease or mixed septic-cardiogenic shock.

The Mayo Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Admission Risk Score is Associated with Medical Resource Utilization During Hospitalization

Objective

To determine whether the Mayo Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) Admission Risk Score (M-CARS) is associated with CICU resource utilization.

Patients and Methods

Adult patients admitted to our CICU from 2007 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed, and M-CARS was calculated from admission data. Groups were compared using Wilcoxon test for continuous variables and χ² test for categorical variables.

Results

We included 12,428 patients with a mean age of 67±15 years (37% female patients). The mean M-CARS was 2.1±2.1, including 5890 (47.4%) patients with M-CARS less than 2 and 644 (5.2%) patients with M-CARS greater than 6. Critical care restricted therapies were frequently used, including mechanical ventilation in 28.0%, vasoactive medications in 25.5%, and dialysis in 4.8%. A higher M-CARS was associated with greater use of critical-care therapies and longer CICU and hospital length of stay. The low-risk cohort with M-CARS less than 2 was less likely to require critical-care–restricted therapies, including invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation (8.0% vs 46.1%), vasoactive medications (10.1% vs 38.8%), or dialysis (1.0% vs 8.2%), compared with patients with M-CARS greater than or equal to 2 (all P<.001).

Conclusion

Patients with M-CARS less than 2 infrequently require critical-care resources and have extremely low mortality, suggesting that the M-CARS could be used to facilitate the triage of critically ill cardiac patients.

Survival and predictors of mortality among patients admitted to the intensive care units in southern Ethiopia: A multi-center cohort study

BACKGROUND

The burden of life-threatening conditions requiring intensive care units has grown substantially in low-income countries related to an emerging pandemic, urbanization, and hospital expansion. The rate of ICU mortality varied from region to region in Ethiopia. However, the body of evidence on ICU mortality and its predictors is uncertain. This study was designed to investigate the pattern of disease and predictors of mortality in Southern Ethiopia.

METHODS

After obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), a multi-center cohort study was conducted among three teaching referral hospital ICUs in Ethiopia from June 2018 to May 2020. Five hundred and seventeen Adult ICU patients were selected. Data were entered in Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 and STATA version 16 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were run to see the overall distribution of the variables. Chi-square test and odds ratio were determined to identify the association between independent and dependent variables. Multivariate analysis was conducted to control possible confounders and identify independent predictors of ICU mortality.

RESULTS

The mean (±SD) of the patients admitted in ICU was 34.25(±5.25). The overall ICU mortality rate was 46.8%. The study identified different independent predictors of mortality. Patients with cardiac arrest were approximately 12 times more likely to die as compared to those who didn't, AOR = 11.9(95% CI:6.1 to 23.2).

CONCLUSION

The overall mortality rate in ICU was very high as compared to other studies in Ethiopia as well as globally which entails a rigorous activity from different stakeholders.

Serum bilirubin to fetuin-A ratio as a prognostic biomarker in critically ill patients with sepsis

Liver dysfunction during sepsis is associated with increased bilirubin and decreased fetuin-A, a major hepatokine. We aimed to explore the association of bilirubin to fetuin-A (B/F) ratio early in sepsis with severity and outcome in critically ill patients. Based on a previous prospective study, we analyzed data of 90 critically ill patients (52 males, age: 65 ± 15 years, APACHE II: 24 ± 7 and SOFA: 10 ± 3) with sepsis. Bilirubin and fetuin-A increased during the first week of sepsis, (median (IQR) 0.45 (0.32-1) vs 0.55 (0.29-0.78) mg/dL, p = 0.03 and 302 (248-336) vs 358 (307-399) μg/mL, p < 0.001, respectively) while the B/F ratio did not change significantly. However, the B/F ratio at baseline and one week later was significantly higher in patients with septic shock (N = 38) and nonsurvivors (N = 28) compared to patients with sepsis (N = 52) and survivors (N = 62), respectively. The B/F ratio was positively associated with severity scores and outperformed bilirubin as a predictor of mortality in ROC curve analysis (AUC 0.78 (0.69-0.88), p < 0.001 and 0.69 (0.57-0.8), p = 0.003 respectively). The B/F ratio may be a promising sepsis biomarker with possible predictive value in critically ill patients.

Histopathological features in fatal COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome

Background

COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) shares the common histological hallmarks with other forms of ARDS. However, the chronology of the histological lesions has not been well established.

Objective

To describe the chronological histopathological alterations in the lungs of patients with COVID-19 related ARDS.

Design

A prospective cohort study was carried out.

Setting

Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary hospital.

Patients

The first 22 consecutive COVID-19 deaths.

Measurements

Lung biopsies and histopathological analyses were performed in deceased patients with COVID-19 related ARDS. Clinical data and patient course were evaluated.

Results

The median patient age was 66 [63–74] years; 73% were males. The median duration of mechanical ventilation was 17 [8–24] days. COVID-19 induced pulmonary injury was characterized by an exudative phase in the first week of the disease, followed by a proliferative/organizing phase in the second and third weeks, and finally an end-stage fibrosis phase after the third week. Viral RNA and proteins were detected in pneumocytes and macrophages in a very early stage of the disease, and were no longer detected after the second week.

Limitation

Limited sample size.

Conclusions

The chronological evolution of COVID-19 lung histopathological lesions seems to be similar to that seen in other forms of ARDS. In particular, lung lesions consistent with potentially corticosteroid-sensitive lesions are seen.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Kidney Transplant Recipients Requiring High-Acuity Care After Transplant Surgery: A 10-Year Single-Center Study

Objective

To study the characteristics and outcomes of a cohort of kidney transplant recipients who required high-acuity care after transplant surgery.

Patients and Methods

All adult (aged ≥18 years) solitary kidney transplant recipients from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2016, were screened and those who required high-acuity care within the same hospitalization were enrolled. Patient demographic and clinical data were collected from the departmental database and electronic DataMart.

Results

Of 1525 patients, 266 (17.4%) required high-acuity care after the kidney transplant operation: 166 (62.4%) directly from the operating room and 100 (37.6%) after an interval during the same hospitalization. Overall, 2 main indications were hypotension (n=87; 32.7%) and cardiac rhythm disturbances (n=83; 31.2%). Recipients in the direct admission group had higher medium body mass index (31.0 [interquartile range, 26.6-36.0] vs 28.0 [interquartile range, 24.3-32.4] kg/m²; P<.001) and were more likely to have undergone a concomitant procedure with the transplant surgery. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 1.9% (n=5).

Conclusion

In contemporary practice, patients with higher body mass index are more likely to require high-acuity care immediately after kidney transplant surgery. The most common reasons are hypotension and cardiac rhythm disorders. The overall intensive care unit mortality rate of these patients is low. However, these patients are at risk for graft loss and death in the long term compared with patients who do not require intensive care unit care after transplant surgery.

Acute on Chronic Liver Failure-What is in a 'Definition'?

Acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a recently recognized syndrome and its definition has been evolving over last two decades. Currently, there is no universal consensus about the definition as kind of cases being seen in the Western world appear to be somewhat different from those that are seen in Asia Pacific region. But every one agrees that definition of ACLF should include following components. (a) The status of pre-existing liver disease, (b) defining the acute insult that leads to rapid deterioration of liver status, (c) time frame during which the acute insult can lead to rapid deterioration, (d) the quantification and definition of liver failure status after deterioration, which will determine the severity of ACLF, and (e) prediction of prognosis after analyzing first four components in the short and long terms. There is some consensus that number of organ failures may be the main determinant of prognosis. Whatever the definition is being used, the central role that superadded infections play in ACLF cannot be denied and need to be tackled aggressively. Apart from that, recovery may be possible if the acute insult or the baseline disease is curable, i.e. with the use of nucleoside analogs for hepatitis B, and corticosteroids for severe autoimmune hepatitis. Development of dynamic criteria with observations in Hospital may improve our understanding of prognosis as well as our approach to the management of ACLF.