Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in COVID-19 critically ill patients: Results of a French monocentric cohort.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 is a new infectious disease responsible for potentially severe respiratory impairment associated with initial immunosuppression. Similarly to influenza, several authors have described a higher risk of fungal infection after COVID-19, in particular for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The main objective here is to define the prevalence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in a cohort of COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a large monocentric retrospective study investigating all the ventilated COVID-19 patients with ARDS hospitalized at Valenciennes' general hospital, France, between March 15, 2020 and April 30, 2020. In the center a systematic IPA screening strategy was carried out for all ARDS patients, with weekly tests of serum galactomannan and beta-D-glucan. Bronchoalveolar lavage with culture and chest CT scan were performed when the serum assays were positives. RESULTS: A total of 54 patients were studied. Their median age was 65 years, and 37 of the patients (71%) were male. Two patients had chronic immunosuppression and among all the patients, only 2 non-immunocompromised presented a putative IPA during their stay. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IPA in this cohort of COVID-19 patients (3.7%) is not higher than what is described in the other ARDS populations in the literature. These results are however different from the previous publications on COVID-19 patients and must therefore be confirmed by larger and multicentric studies.

Impacts of ramadan on intensive care unit admission patterns and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Ramadan fasting is a religious obligation for healthy adult Muslims. Even though those unable to fast are exempt, many individuals refuse this authorization and insist to fast. This may lead to life threatening conditions and an increase in intensive care unit (ICU) demand. AIM: To investigate the impacts of lifestyle changes during Ramadan on ICU admission patterns and outcomes. METHODS: It was a retrospective study carried out in the medical ICU of Farhat HACHED teaching hospital (Sousse, Tunisia). Patients who were admitted to the ICU during Ramadan (G2), Chaaban (G1), and Shawal (G3) over a period of 10 years were included. Demographic, clinical features and outcomes were compared. RESULTS: During the review period, 748 patients were included (G1=257; G2=230 and G3=261). Compared to Chaaban, during Ramadan and Shawal, the percentages of admitted patients with, chronic kidney disease (CKD) (2.3, 3.5 and 7.3%, respectively) and for hypovolemic shock (1.6, 6.1 and 5.0%, respectively) were significantly higher. Furthermore, compared to Chaaban, during Ramadan and Shawal, patients were more likely to have inverted urinary sodium to potassium ratio (28.3, 48.7, 36.8% respectively). There was no significant difference in length-of-stay nor in mortality between the three months' periods. CONCLUSION: While there were no differences in any studied outcomes in patients admitted to ICU before, during or after Ramadan, there was a significant increase in patients presenting with past history of CKD, hypovolemic shock and inverted urinary sodium to potassium ratio.