Non-ventilator-associated ICU-acquired pneumonia (NV-ICU-AP) in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD: From the French OUTCOMEREA cohort.

BACKGROUND: Non-ventilator-associated ICU-acquired pneumonia (NV-ICU-AP), a nosocomial pneumonia that is not related to invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), has been less studied than ventilator-associated pneumonia, and never in the context of patients in an ICU for severe acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), a common cause of ICU admission. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with NV-ICU-AP occurrence and assess the association between NV-ICU-AP and the outcomes of these patients. METHODS: Data were extracted from the French ICU database, OutcomeRea™. Using survival analyses with competing risk management, we sought the factors associated with the occurrence of NV-ICU-AP. Then we assessed the association between NV-ICU-AP and mortality, intubation rates, and length of stay in the ICU. RESULTS: Of the 844 COPD exacerbations managed in ICUs without immediate IMV, NV-ICU-AP occurred in 42 patients (5%) with an incidence density of 10.8 per 1,000 patient-days. In multivariate analysis, prescription of antibiotics at ICU admission (sHR, 0.45 [0.23; 0.86], p = 0.02) and no decrease in consciousness (sHR, 0.35 [0.16; 0.76]; p < 0.01) were associated with a lower risk of NV-ICU-AP. After adjusting for confounders, NV-ICU-AP was associated with increased 28-day mortality (HR = 3.03 [1.36; 6.73]; p < 0.01), an increased risk of intubation (csHR, 5.00 [2.54; 9.85]; p < 0.01) and with a 10-day increase in ICU length of stay (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: We found that NV-ICU-AP incidence reached 10.8/1000 patient-days and was associated with increased risks of intubation, 28-day mortality, and longer stay for patients admitted with AECOPD.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in intensive care units: a multicenter study by ESGCIP and EFISG.

BACKGROUND: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is an opportunistic, life-threatening disease commonly affecting immunocompromised patients. The distribution of predisposing diseases or conditions in critically ill patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and subjected to diagnostic work-up for PJP has seldom been explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The primary objective of the study was to describe the characteristics of ICU patients subjected to diagnostic workup for PJP. The secondary objectives were: (i) to assess demographic and clinical variables associated with PJP; (ii) to assess the performance of Pneumocystis PCR on respiratory specimens and serum BDG for the diagnosis of PJP; (iii) to describe 30-day and 90-day mortality in the study population. RESULTS: Overall, 600 patients were included in the study, of whom 115 had presumptive/proven PJP (19.2%). Only 8.8% of ICU patients subjected to diagnostic workup for PJP had HIV infection, whereas hematological malignancy, solid tumor, inflammatory diseases, and solid organ transplants were present in 23.2%, 16.2%, 15.5%, and 10.0% of tested patients, respectively. In multivariable analysis, AIDS (odds ratio [OR] 3.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-9.64, p = 0.029), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (OR 3.71; 95% CI 1.23-11.18, p = 0.020), vasculitis (OR 5.95; 95% CI 1.07-33.22, p = 0.042), metastatic solid tumor (OR 4.31; 95% CI 1.76-10.53, p = 0.001), and bilateral ground glass on CT scan (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.01-4.78, p = 0.048) were associated with PJP, whereas an inverse association was observed for increasing lymphocyte cell count (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.42-1.00, p = 0.049). For the diagnosis of PJP, higher positive predictive value (PPV) was observed when both respiratory Pneumocystis PCR and serum BDG were positive compared to individual assay positivity (72% for the combination vs. 63% for PCR and 39% for BDG). Cumulative 30-day mortality and 90-day mortality in patients with presumptive/proven PJP were 52% and 67%, respectively. CONCLUSION: PJP in critically ill patients admitted to ICU is nowadays most encountered in non-HIV patients. Serum BDG when used in combination with respiratory Pneumocystis PCR could help improve the certainty of PJP diagnosis.

Fatal HSV-2 primary infection most likely acquired by kidney transplantation: A case report.

Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) rarely causes severe disease, even in solid organ transplant recipients. This paper describes a fatal case of HSV-2 infection, probably transmitted from a donor to a kidney transplant recipient. The donor was seropositive for HSV-2 but not for HSV-1, whereas the recipient was seronegative for both viruses before transplantation, suggesting that the graft was the source of infection. The recipient received valganciclovir prophylaxis due to cytomegalovirus seropositivity. Three months after transplantation, the recipient presented with rapidly disseminated cutaneous HSV-2 infection with meningoencephalitis. The HSV-2 strain was resistant to acyclovir, probably acquired under valganciclovir prophylaxis. Despite early initiation of acyclovir therapy, the patient died. This fatal case of HSV-2 infection, probably transmitted by the kidney graft with acyclovir-resistant HSV-2 from the onset, is uncommon.

Levamisole-induced vasculopathy: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize levamisole-induced vasculopathy. METHODS: We performed a systematic review searching MEDLINE for articles published from 1972 to 2016. RESULTS: We retrieved 357 references and abstracts and selected 111 articles. Levamisole-induced vasculopathy was reported in 192 patients, with a female predominance (n = 122, 63.5%). Median [interquartile range] age was 44 [38-50]. Skin was the most frequently involved organ (n = 182, 94.8%). Cutaneous lesions were mostly on the face (n = 136, 70.8%), especially the ears. Purpura (n = 131, 68.2%) was the most reported cutaneous lesion. Organ involvement included acute renal failure (n = 24, 12.5%), and pulmonary involvement (n = 20, 10.4%). Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) were found in 167/178 patients (93.8%), with both anti-myeloperoxydase and anti-proteinase 3 specificity reported in 51/118 patients (43.2%). Anti-phospholipid (APL) antibodies were found in 93/137 patients (67.9%). Leukopenia was detected in 69/138 patients (50%). Skin biopsies identified vasculitis and thrombotic vasculopathy in 73/148 (49.3%) and 62/148 (41.9%) patients, respectively. The outcome was favourable in 116/134 patients (86.6%), but relapses were reported in 33 (28.4%), mainly on levamisole re-exposure. CONCLUSION: Levamisole-induced vasculopathy is characterized by a female predominance, skin involvement, ANCA and/or APL antibody positivity, leukopenia, vasculitis or vascular thrombotic histological lesions, and despite possible systemic involvement, a favourable outcome with levamisole interruption.

Hepatitis E and neuralgic amyotrophy: Five cases and review of literature.

Hepatitis E virus infection - mainly genotype 3 - is increasingly common in industrialized countries. Infection is usually asymptomatic, but cases of central or peripheral neurological symptoms with hepatitis E have been described. The most frequent is Guillain-Barre but somes cases of neuralgic amyotrophy have been described. In our center, since 2010, we have identified five cases of neuralgic amyotrophy associated with acute hepatitis E in immunocompetent patients. For all these patients, neuralgic amyotrophy was diagnosed with electromyogram and positive IgM for hepatitis E, and detectable HEV RNA in 4 of the cases. Including our patients, we count 26 cases in literature. The mean age of the patients was 44 years old, with a large predominance of males (88%). The disorder is bilateral and asymmetric in 69% of cases. Peripheral nerves other than the brachial plexus were affected in 6 patients (23%). In industrialized countries, any neuralgic amyotrophy, particularly if there is bilateral, asymmetric associated with involvement of nerves outside the brachial plexus, should lead physicians to consider a diagnosis of acute hepatitis E.