Dynamics of disease characteristics and clinical management of critically ill COVID-19 patients over the time course of the pandemic: an analysis of the prospective, international, multicentre RISC-19-ICU registry.

BACKGROUND: It remains elusive how the characteristics, the course of disease, the clinical management and the outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) worldwide have changed over the course of the pandemic. METHODS: Prospective, observational registry constituted by 90 ICUs across 22 countries worldwide including patients with a laboratory-confirmed, critical presentation of COVID-19 requiring advanced organ support. Hierarchical, generalized linear mixed-effect models accounting for hospital and country variability were employed to analyse the continuous evolution of the studied variables over the pandemic. RESULTS: Four thousand forty-one patients were included from March 2020 to September 2021. Over this period, the age of the admitted patients (62 [95% CI 60-63] years vs 64 [62-66] years, p < 0.001) and the severity of organ dysfunction at ICU admission decreased (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment 8.2 [7.6-9.0] vs 5.8 [5.3-6.4], p < 0.001) and increased, while more female patients (26 [23-29]% vs 41 [35-48]%, p < 0.001) were admitted. The time span between symptom onset and hospitalization as well as ICU admission became longer later in the pandemic (6.7 [6.2-7.2| days vs 9.7 [8.9-10.5] days, p < 0.001). The PaO2/FiO2 at admission was lower (132 [123-141] mmHg vs 101 [91-113] mmHg, p < 0.001) but showed faster improvements over the initial 5 days of ICU stay in late 2021 compared to early 2020 (34 [20-48] mmHg vs 70 [41-100] mmHg, p = 0.05). The number of patients treated with steroids and tocilizumab increased, while the use of therapeutic anticoagulation presented an inverse U-shaped behaviour over the course of the pandemic. The proportion of patients treated with high-flow oxygen (5 [4-7]% vs 20 [14-29], p < 0.001) and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (14 [11-18]% vs 24 [17-33]%, p < 0.001) throughout the pandemic increased concomitant to a decrease in invasive mechanical ventilation (82 [76-86]% vs 74 [64-82]%, p < 0.001). The ICU mortality (23 [19-26]% vs 17 [12-25]%, p < 0.001) and length of stay (14 [13-16] days vs 11 [10-13] days, p < 0.001) decreased over 19 months of the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Characteristics and disease course of critically ill COVID-19 patients have continuously evolved, concomitant to the clinical management, throughout the pandemic leading to a younger, less severely ill ICU population with distinctly different clinical, pulmonary and inflammatory presentations than at the onset of the pandemic.

Multilocular Hepatic Abscess Formation and Sepsis due to Yersinia enterocolitica in a Patient with Hereditary Hemochromatosis and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Infection with Yersinia enterocolitica (YE) typically presents with mild gastroenteritis without systemic infection. However, systemic YE infection has been described in states of iron overload. We present the case of a patient with sepsis with hepatic abscesses due to YE infection. Workup revealed a past diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and hemochromatosis which had been untreated for the previous 5 years due to patient refusal. This case highlights risk factors for systemic infection with YE. A high degree of suspicion for YE infection is warranted in patients with iron overload, diabetes mellitus, or immunosuppression.

Association of intraoperative transfusion of blood products with mortality in lung transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: The impact of intraoperative transfusion on postoperative mortality in lung transplant recipients is still elusive. METHODS: Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to investigate the influence of red blood cells (RBCs) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP) on mortality in 134 consecutive lung transplants recipients from September 2003 until December 2008. RESULTS: Intraoperative transfusion of RBCs and FFP was associated with a significant increase in mortality with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.10 (1.03 to 1.16, P = 0.02) and 1.09 (1.02 to 1.15, P = 0.03), respectively. For more than four intraoperatively transfused RBCs multivariate analysis showed a hazard ratio for mortality of 3.8 (1.40 to 10.31, P = 0.003). Furthermore, non-survivors showed a significant increase in renal replacement therapy (RRT) (36.6% versus 6.9%, P <0.0001), primary graft dysfunction (PGD) (39.3% versus 5.9%, P <0.0001), postoperative need of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (26.9% versus 3.1%, P = 0.0019), sepsis (24.2% versus 4.0%, P = 0.0004), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) (26.9% versus 3.1%, P <0.0001), infections (18.1% versus 0.9%, P = 0.0004), retransplantation (12.1% versus 6.9%, P = 0.039) and readmission to the ICU (33.3% versus 12.8%, P = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative transfusion is associated with a strong negative influence on outcome in lung transplant recipients.

Progressive multi-focal leukoencephalopathy as a rare lethal complication in untreated sarcoidosis.

Progressive multi-focal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system caused by reactivation of John Cunningham virus. It is an opportunistic infection affecting patients who are severely immunocompromised due to an underlying disease or secondary to immunosuppressive therapy. To date, no effective antiviral therapy has been established, though several substances are being investigated. The authors present the case of a 39-year-old previously healthy patient who was diagnosed with PML and sarcoidosis stage III without having received prior immunosuppressive treatment. The patient did not respond to treatment with mirtazapine, which has been used empirically, and deceased shortly after diagnosis.