Intensive care unit resources and patient-centred outcomes in severe COVID-19: a prospective single-centre economic evaluation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ICU bed shortages sparked a discussion about resource allocation. We aimed to analyse the value of ICU treatment of COVID-19 from a patient-centred health economic perspective. We prospectively included 49 patients with severe COVID-19 and calculated direct medical treatment costs. Quality of life was converted into aggregated quality-adjusted life years using the statistical remaining life expectancy. Costs for non-treatment as the comparator were estimated using the value of statistical life year approach. We used multivariable linear or logistic regression to identify predictors of treatment costs, quality of life and survival. Mean (SD) direct medical treatment costs were higher in patients in ICU with COVID-19 compared with those without (£60,866 (£42,533) vs. £8282 (£14,870), respectively; p < 0.001). This was not solely attributable to prolonged ICU length of stay, as costs per day were also higher (£3115 (£1374) vs. £1490 (£713), respectively; p < 0.001), independent of overall disease severity. We observed a beneficial cost-utility value of £7511 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, even with a more pessimistic assumption towards the remaining life expectancy. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy provided no additional quality-adjusted life-year benefit. Compared with non-treatment (costs per lost life year, £106,085), ICU treatment (costs per quality-adjusted life-year, £7511) was economically preferable, even with a pessimistic interpretation of patient preferences for survival (sensitivity analysis of the value of statistical life year, £48,848). Length of ICU stay was a positive and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation a negative predictor for quality of life, whereas costs per day were a positive predictor for mortality. These data suggest that despite high costs, ICU treatment for severe COVID-19 may be cost-effective for quality-adjusted life-years gained.

[Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and hyperammonemia: two entities causing cerebral edema and status epilepticus in a female patient after lung transplantation]. / Posteriores reversibles enzephalopathisches Syndrom und Hyperammonämie: zwei Entitäten für Hirnödem und Status epilepticus bei einer Patientin nach Lungentransplantation.

A 58-year-old woman developed rapidly progressive neurological symptoms and finally loss of vigilance 5 weeks following primarily successful lung transplantation. A posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) under treatment with tacrolimus as well as hyperammonemia due to sepsis with Ureaplasma urealyticum could be identified as the causes. Infections with Ureaplasma, bacteria which produce ammonia as a product of metabolism, are increasingly being identified in immunocompromised people by specific PCR (polymerase chain reaction) procedures and should routinely be taken into consideration as the cause of unspecific neurological symptoms.

[Levosimendan for septic shock with takotsubo cardiomyopathy]. / Levosimendan im septischen Schock bei Tako-Tsubo-Kardiomyopathie.

As a stress-induced disease, takotsubo cardiomyopathy can also occur in septic syndromes; however, the hemodynamic management is fundamentally different from the treatment approaches for classical septic cardiomyopathy, as beta mimetics can increase the heart failure symptoms in takotsubo cardiomyopathy. This article reports the case of an 82-year-old female patient who presented with acute abdomen due to adhesion ileus and takotsubo cardiomyopathy, developed severe septic shock with peritonitis and could be successfully hemodynamically stabilized with levosimendan.

Identification of acquired coagulation disorders and effects of target-controlled coagulation factor substitution on the incidence and severity of spontaneous intracranial bleeding during veno-venous ECMO therapy.

INTRODUCTION: Intracranial haemorrhage is a redoubtable complication during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. The underlying mechanisms of haemorrhagic diathesis are still not completely understood. This study was performed to evaluate a coagulation protocol for the regular analysis of acquired coagulation disorders and the systematic substitution of coagulation factors to reach predefined target values. We hypothesised that using this strategy would lead to the identification of acquired bleeding disorders which cannot be monitored with standard coagulation tests and that substitution of the respective factors in a target-controlled approach could have an impact on the incidence and severity of intracranial haemorrhage. METHODS: A protocol for the analysis of acquired coagulation disorders and the subsequent administration of associated factor concentrates was introduced. Previously, coagulation management was mainly based on clinical bleeding signs as the trigger for the administration of blood products. In this investigation, nineteen consecutive patients before (control group) and twenty consecutive patients after the implementation of the protocol (intervention group) have been included in the study. RESULTS: Eighty-eight percent of the patients developed factor XIII deficiency, 79% acquired von Willebrand syndrome, 40% fibrinogen deficiency and 54% of the patients showed a decline in platelet count >20% within the first 24 hours of ECMO therapy. In 6 out of 19 (31%) patients in the control group and in 2 patients out of 20 (10%) in the intervention group, intracranial haemorrhage was detected. Whilst 5 of 6 patients in the control group died because of fatal bleeding, both of the patients in the intervention group recovered with a favourable neurologic outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Veno-venous ECMO therapy leads to thrombocytopenia, factor XIII and fibrinogen deficiency as well as acquired von Willebrand syndrome. The implementation of a coagulation protocol including a standardized determination and target-controlled substitution of coagulation factors may have a beneficial impact on the incidence and severity of intracranial haemorrhage.

[Pregnant women with COVID-19 ARDS on the intensive care unit]. / Die Schwangere mit COVID-19-ARDS auf der Intensivstation.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at increased risk of severe disease progression. Comorbidities, such as chronic arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, advanced maternal age and high body mass index, may predispose to severe disease. The management of pregnant COVID-19 patients on the intensive care unit (ICU) is challenging and requires careful consideration of maternal, fetal and ethical issues. OBJECTIVE: Description and discussion of intensive care treatment strategies and perinatal anesthesiological management in patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (CARDS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed the demographic data, maternal medical history, clinical intensive care management, complications, indications and management of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and infant survival of all pregnant patients treated for severe CARDS in the anesthesiological ICU of a German university hospital between March and November 2021. RESULTS: The cohort included 9 patients with a mean age of 30.3 years (range 26-40 years). The gestational age ranged from 21 + 3 weeks to 37 + 2 weeks. None of the patients had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV­2. Of the nine patients seven were immigrants and communication was hampered by inadequate Central European language skills. Of the patients five had a PaO2/FiO2 index < 150 mm Hg despite escalated invasive ventilation (FiO2 > 0.9 and a positive end-expiratory pressure [PEEP] of 14 mbar) and were therefore treated with repeated prolonged prone positioning maneuvers (5-14 prone positions for 16 h each, a total of 47 prone positioning treatments) and 2 required treatment with inhaled nitric oxide and venovenous ECMO. The most common complications were bacterial superinfection of the lungs, urinary tract infection and delirium. All the women and five neonates survived. All newborns were delivered by cesarean section, two patients were discharged home with an intact pregnancy and two intrauterine fetal deaths were observed. None of the newborns tested positive for SARS-CoV­2 at birth. CONCLUSION: High survival rates are possible in pregnant patients with CARDS. The peripartum management of pregnant women with CARDS requires close interdisciplinary collaboration and should prioritize maternal survival in early pregnancy. In our experience, prolonged prone positioning, an essential evidence-based cornerstone in the treatment of ARDS, can also be safely used in advanced stages of pregnancy. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) and ECMO should be considered as life-saving treatment options for carefully selected patients. For cesarean section, neuraxial anesthesia can be safely performed in patients with mild CARDS if well planned but the therapeutic anticoagulation recommended for COVID-19 may increase the risk of bleeding complications, making general anesthesia a more viable alternative, especially in severe disease.

[Acute oxygen desaturation following peritonectomy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy]. / Akuter Sättigungsabfall nach Peritonektomie und hyperthermer intraperitonealer Chemotherapie.

Intraoperative hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) may have a significant impact on physiological functions and is therefore a special challenge for anesthetists. In the presented case after opening the parietal pleura during subphrenical peritonectomy the HIPEC solution accidentally leaked into the right hemithorax with subsequent pleural effusion of more than 2,000 ml. After extubation the patient presented with acute oxygen desaturation and orthopnea. Following pleural sonography and chest X-ray in the operating theatre and recovery area, a thorax drainage was inserted into the pleural space and ventilation support was provided by non-invasive continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) ventilation. With reference to recent publications the anesthesiological management of patients undergoing HIPEC is presented.

[High risk pulmonary embolism. Case report of a successful embolectomy]. / Hochrisikolungenembolie. Fallbeschreibung einer erfolgreichen Embolektomie.

High risk pulmonary embolism commonly presents with a variety of symptoms and is an acute life-threatening event. In patients showing unclear acute circulatory distress, pulmonary embolism should be quickly ruled out by computed tomography or echocardiography. The diagnostic steps and surgical treatment of pulmonary embolism in a 25-year-old female patient suffering from acute circulatory insufficiency resulting in cardiac arrest within 11 min after emergency hospital admission are reported. Due to the reasonable suspicion of acute right heart decompensation, systemic perfusion was re-established by cardiopulmonary bypass after cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 41 min. Sternotomy and surgical embolectomy were performed. The patient was successfully extubated the following day and despite the long resuscitation time the outcome was excellent without any neurological deficit. Recent publications addressing the advantages of primary embolectomy versus intravenous thrombolysis in acute circulatory distress caused by pulmonary embolism are discussed. Primary surgical treatment including cardiopulmonary bypass for right ventricular relief and re-establishing of systemic perfusion is recommended for patients with pulmonary embolism undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.