Attributable cost of a nosocomial infection in the intensive care unit: A prospective cohort study

AIM To study the impact of hospital-acquired infections(HAIs) on cost and outcome from intensive care units(ICU) in India. METHODS Adult patients(> 18 years) admitted over 1-year, to a 24-bed medical critical care unit in India, were enrolled prospectively. Treatment cost and outcome data were collected. This cost data was merged with HAI data collected prospectively by the Hospital Infection Control Committee. Only infections occurring during ICU stay were included. The impact of HAI on treatment cost and mortality was assessed. RESULTS The mean(± SD) age of the cohort(n = 499) was42.3 ± 16.5 years. Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-Ⅱ score was 13.9(95%CI: 13.3-14.5); 86% were ventilated. ICU and hospital length of stay were 7.8 ± 5.5 and 13.9 ± 10 d respectively. Hospital mortality was 27.9%. During ICU stay, 76(15.3%) patients developed an infection(ventilator-associated pneumonia 50; bloodstream infection 35; urinary tract infections 3), translating to 19.7 infections/1000 ICU days. When compared with those who did not develop an infection, an infection occurring during ICU stay was associated with significantly higher treatment cost [median(inter-quartile range, IQR) INR 92893(USD 1523)(IQR 57168-140286) vs INR 180469(USD 2958)(IQR 140030-237525); P < 0.001 and longer duration of ICU(6.7 ± 4.5 d vs 13.4 ± 7.0 d; P < 0.01) and hospital stay(12.4 ± 8.2 d vs 21.8 ± 13.9 d; P < 0.001)]. However ICU acquired infections did not impact hospital mortality(31.6% vs 27.2%; P = 0.49).CONCLUSION An infection acquired during ICU stay was associated with doubling of treatment cost and prolonged hospitalization but did not significantly increase mortality.

Exceptional Association of a Cerebral Sinus Thrombosis and a Guillain-Barre Syndrome: A New Case Report and Review of the Literature

Background: The association of Guillain-Barre syndrome and cerebral sinus thrombosis is uncommon. Case Presentation: We report a 37-year-old patient hospitalized in medical ICU for respiratory distress following a Guillain-Barre syndrome. He had symptomatic treatment in addition to plasma exchange. In the presence of clonic movements, a brain venography magnetic resonance showed a thrombophlebitis of the left lateral sinus, and hence a low-molecular-weight heparin treatment was begun. Immunological, thrombophilia and serological tests were negative. After a favorable evolution, he was transferred to the neurology department. Conclusion: The combination of a Guillain-Barre syndrome and a cerebral sinus thrombosis would suggest a common process. A rigorous investigation, including the use of imaging, is necessary in front of any unusual clinical sign during a GBS.

Is COVID-19 different from other causes of acute respiratory distresssyndrome?

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pneumonia can lead to acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.When mechanical ventilation is needed,almost all patients with COVID-19 pneumonia meet the criteria for acute respiratorydistress syndrome(ARDS).The question of the specificities of COVID-19-associated ARDS compared to othercauses of ARDS is of utmost importance,as it may justify changes in ventilatory strategies.This review aims todescribe the pathophysiology of COVID-19-associated ARDS and discusses whether specific ventilatory strategiesare required in these patients.

Sources of Heterogeneity in Trials Reporting Hydroxyethyl Starch 130/0.4 or 0.42 Associated Excess Mortality in Septic Patients： A Systematic Review and Meta-regression

Background： This meta-analysis was to determine the association of the cumulative dose of 130/0.4 or 0.42 （hydroxyethyl starch [HES] 130/0.4＊） or delta daily fluid balance （i.e., daily fluid balance in HES group over or below control group） with the heterogeneity of risk ratio （RR） for mortality in randomized control trials （RCTs）. Methods： Three databases （PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane） were searched to identify prospective RCTs reporting mortality in adult patients with sepsis to compare HES 130/0.4＊ with crystalloids or albumin. Meta-analysis was performed using random effects. Sensitivity and meta-regression analyses were used to examine the heterogeneity sources of RR for mortality, Results： A total number of 4408 patients from 11 RCTs were included. The pooled RR showed no significant difference for overall mortality in patients with administration of liES130/0.4＂ compared with treatment of control fluids （RR： 1.02, 95% confidence interval： 0.9-1.17; P = 0.73）. Heterogeneity was moderate across recruited trials （l^2 = 34%, P = 0.13）. But, a significant variation was demonstrated in subgroup with crystalloids as control fluids （l^2 = 42%, P 〈 0.1）. Sensitivity analysis revealed that trials with high risk of bias did not significantly impact the pooled estimates for mortality. Meta-regression analysis also did not determine a dose-effect relationship of HES 130/0.4＊ with mortality （P - 0.298）, but suggested daily delta fluid balance being likely associated with mortality in septic patients receiving HES130/130/0.4＊ （P = 0.079）.Conclusions： Inappropriate daily positive fluid balance was likely an important source of heterogeneity in these trials reporting HES 130/0.4＊ associated with excess mortality in septic patients.

Epidemiology of Sepsis-3 in a sub-district of Beijing: secondary analysis of a population-based database

Background: With the publication of Sepsis-3 definition, epidemiological data based on Sepsis-3 definition from middle-income countries including China are scarce, which prohibits understanding of the disease burden of this newly defined syndrome in these settings. The purpose of this study was to describe incidence and outcome of Sepsis-3 in Yuetan sub-district of Beijing and to estimate the incidence rate of Sepsis-3 in China. Methods: The medical records of all adult residents hospitalized from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014 in Yuetan sub-district of Beijing were reviewed. Patients with sepsis-3 and severe sepsis/septic shock were identified. The incidence rates and mortality rate of sepsis-3 and sepsis/septic shock were calculated, incidence rates and in-hospital mortality rates were normalized to the population distribution in the 2010 National Census. Population incidence rate and case fatality rate between sexes were compared with the Z test, as the data conformed to Poisson distribution. Results: Of the 21,191 hospitalized patients, 935 patients were diagnosed with Sepsis-3, and 498 cases met severe sepsis/septic shock criteria. The crude annual incidence rate of Sepsis-3 in Yuetan sub-district was 363 cases per 100,000 population, corresponding to standardized incidence rates of 236 cases per 100,000 population per year, respectively. The overall case fatality rate of Sepsis-3 was 32.0%, the crude population mortality rates of Sepsis-3 was 116 cases per 100,000 population per year, the standardized mortality rate was 67 cases per 100,000 population per year, corresponding to a speculative extrapolation of 700,437 deaths in China. The incidence rate and mortality rate of Sepsis-3 were significantly higher in males, elderly people, and patients with more comorbidities. The 62.1% of patients with Sepsis-3 had community-acquired infections, compared with 75.3% of infected patients without Sepsis-3 (P < 0.001). The most common infection in patients with Sepsis-3 was lower respiratory tract infection. When compared with patients with Sepsis-3, patients diagnosed as severe sepsis/septic shock were more likely to have higher case fatality rate (53.4% vs. 32.0%, P < 0.001) Conclusions: This study found the standardized incidence rate of 236 cases per 100,000 person-year for Sepsis-3, which was more common in males and elderly population. This corresponded to about 2.5 million new cases of Sepsis-3 per year, resulting in more than 700,000 deaths in China.

Combination therapy of thiamine,vitamin C and hydrocortisone in treating patients with sepsis and septic shock:a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

Background:The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of thiamine and vitamin C with or without hydrocortisone coadministration on the treatment of sepsis and septic shock.Methods:MEDLINE,EMBASE and CENTRAL databases were searched for randomized controlled trials(RCTs)that made a comparative study between the combination therapy of vitamin C and thiamine with or without hydrocortisone and the administration of placebo in patients with sepsis or septic shock.Two reviewers independently performed study selection,data extraction and quality assessment.Both short-term mortality and change in the sequential organ failure assessment(SOFA)score from baseline(delta SOFA)were set as the primary outcomes.Secondary endpoints included intensive care unit(ICU)mortality,new onset of acute kidney injury,total adverse events,ICU and hospital length of stay,duration of vasopressor usage and ventilator-free days.Meanwhile,trial sequential analysis was conducted for primary outcomes.Results:Eight RCTs with 1428 patients were included in the current study.The results showed no significant reduction of short-term mortality in sepsis and septic shock patients who received combination therapy of vitamin C and thiamine with or without hydrocortisone compared to those with placebo{risk ratio(RR),1.02[95%confidence interval(CI),0.87 to 1.20],p=0.81,I2=0%;risk difference(RD),0[95%CI,−0.04 to 0.05]}.Nevertheless,the combination therapy was associated with significant reduction in SOFA score[mean difference(MD),−0.63,(95%CI,−0.96 to−0.29,p<0.001,I^(2)=0%]and vasopressors duration(MD,−22.11[95%CI,−30.46 to−13.77],p<0.001,I2=6%).Additionally,there were no statistical differences in the pooled estimate for other outcomes.Conclusions:In the current meta-analysis,the combination therapy of vitamin C and thiamine,with or without hydrocortisone had no impact on short-term mortality when compared with placebo,but was associated with significant reduction in SOFA score among patients with sepsis and septic shock.