Therapeutic high-dose vitamin D for vitamin D-deficient severe COVID-19 disease: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study (SHADE-S).

BACKGROUND: efficacy of therapeutic cholecalciferol supplementation for severe COVID-19 is sparingly studied. OBJECTIVE: effect of single high-dose cholecalciferol supplementation on sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score in moderate-to-severe COVID-19. METHODS: participants with moderate to severe COVID-19 with PaO2/FiO2 ratio < 200 were randomized to 0.6 million IU cholecalciferol oral (intervention) or placebo. OUTCOMES: primary outcome was change in Day 7 SOFA score and pre-specified secondary outcomes were SOFA and 28-day all-cause mortality. RESULTS: in all, 90 patients (45 each group) were included for intention-to-treat analysis. 25(OH)D3 levels were 12 (10-16) and 13 (12-18) ng/ml (P = 0.06) at baseline; and 60 (55-65) ng/ml and 4 (1-7) ng/ml by Day 7 in vitamin D and placebo groups, respectively. The SOFA score on Day 7 was better in the vitamin D group [3 (95% CI, 2-5) versus 5 (95% CI, 3-7), P = 0.01, intergroup difference - 2 (95% CI, -4 to -0.01); r = 0.4]. A lower all-cause 28-day mortality [24% compared to 44% (P = 0.046)] was observed with vitamin D. CONCLUSIONS: single high-dose oral cholecalciferol supplementation on ICU admission can improve SOFA score at Day 7 and reduce in-hospital mortality in vitamin D-deficient COVID-19. ClinicalTrials.gov  id: NCT04952857 registered dated 7 July 2021. What is already known on this topic-vitamin D has immunomodulatory role. Observational and isolated intervention studies show some benefit in COVID-19. Targeted therapeutic vitamin D supplementation improve outcomes in severe COVID-19 is not studied in RCTs. What this study adds-high-dose vitamin D supplementation (0.6 Million IU) to increase 25(OH)D > 50 ng/ml is safe and reduces sequential organ failure assessment score, in-hospital mortality in moderate to severe COVID-19. How this study might affect research, practice or policy-vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D-deficient patients with severe COVID-19 is useful may be practiced.

Analysis of Predictors and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients Requiring ICU Admission from COVID-19 Registry, India.

Background: Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are associated with high mortality. The present retrospective, multicenter study describes the predictors and outcomes of COVID-19 patients requiring ICU admission from COVID-19 Registry of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India. Materials and methods: Prospectively collected data from participating institutions were entered into the electronic National Clinical Registry of COVID-19. We enrolled patients aged >18 years with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring ICU admission between March 2020 and August 2021. Exclusion criteria were negative in RT-PCR report, death within 24 hours of ICU admission, or incomplete data. Their demographic and laboratory variables, ICU severity indices, treatment strategies, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: A total of 5,865 patients were enrolled. Overall mortality was 43.2%. Non-survivors were older (58.2 ± 15.4 vs 53.6 ± 14.7 years; p = 0.001), had multiple comorbidities (33.2% vs 29.5%, p = 0.001), had higher median D-dimer (1.56 vs 1.37, p = 0.015), higher CT severity index (16.8 ± 5.2 vs 13.5 ± 5.47, p = 0.001) and longer median hospital stay (10 vs 8 days, p = 0.001) and ICU stay (5 vs 4 days, p = 0.001), compared with survivors.On multivariate analysis, high CRP (HR 1.008, 95% CI: 1.006-1.010, p = 0.001) and high D-dimer (HR 1.089, 95% CI: 1.065-1.113, p < 0.001) were associated with invasive mechanical ventilation while older age (HR 1.19, CI: 1.001-1.038, p = 0.039) and high D-dimer (HR-1.121, CI: 1.072-1.172, p = 0.001) were independently associated with mortality and while the use of prophylactic low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) (HR 0.647, CI: 0.527-0.794, p = 0.001) lowered mortality. Conclusion: Among 5,865 COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU, mortality was 43.5%. High CRP and D-dimers were independently associated with the need for invasive mechanical ventilation while older age and high D-dimer were associated with higher mortality. The use of prophylactic LMWH independently reduced mortality. How to cite this article: Kajal K, Singla K, Puri GD, Bhalla A, Mukherjee A, Kumar G, et al. Analysis of Predictors and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients Requiring ICU Admission from COVID-19 Registry, India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(8):552-562.

Incidence of Interstitial Alveolar Syndrome on Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasonography in Pre-eclamptic Women With Severe Features: A Prospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Lung interstitial edema is a clinically silent pathology that develops before overt pulmonary edema among pre-eclamptic women with severe features. Point-of-care lung ultrasonography (LUS) has been suggested as an accessible bedside tool that may identify lung interstitial edema before developing clinical signs and symptoms. Thus, we planned to use bedside LUS as a diagnostic tool in admitted pre-eclamptic women with severe features, with the aim of identifying alveolar-interstitial fluid, seen as B-lines. Our primary objective was to assess the incidence of interstitial alveolar syndrome on lung ultrasonography. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, single-center, observational study on parturients with pre-eclampsia with severe features over a period of 15 months. LUS in 4 intercostal spaces (ICS) was performed on all eligible patients. The number of single or confluent B-lines in each space was recorded by an independent observer. A scoring system was used to grade the lung fluid content based on the number of single and confluent B-lines per ICS, with scores ranging from 0 to 32 (low, 0-10; moderate, 11-20; and high, 21+). The incidence of B-lines at admission and before and after delivery was calculated. In addition, bedside 2D echocardiography was performed to assess left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. Any correlation between presence of B-lines on LUS and blood pressure, clinical symptoms, or echocardiography findings was assessed. RESULTS: Seventy patients were enrolled in the study. On LUS, B-lines were seen in 64.3% patients at admission (45/70 vs 25/70 without B-lines; P = .02), 65.7% patients before delivery (46/70 vs 24/70 without B-lines; P = .01), and 58.6% patients 24 hours postpartum (41/70 versus 29/70 without B-lines; P = .15). Nearly all patients (94.3%) exhibited low to moderate severity of pulmonary fluid burden at admission. Echocardiography revealed diastolic dysfunction in 47.1% (n = 33/70) patients with associated B-lines in the majority (n = 32/33). The total B-line score and E/e' ratio among patients with diastolic dysfunction was found to be strongly correlated (r = 0.848; P < .001). All pre-eclamptic women with presence of breathlessness (11/11; 100%) and facial puffiness (16/16; 100%) on admission had B-lines on LUS. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that ultrasonographic pulmonary interstitial syndrome is present in more than half of the women with pre-eclampsia with severe features and correlates with diastolic dysfunction, high blood pressure records, and acute-onset breathlessness.

Does Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Provide a Safety Net for Extubation in Surgical Patients?

Background Extubation has always been a critical aspect of anaesthesia. Guidelines and recommendations are in place for achieving successful extubation, but the risk of failure always persists. Through this study, we assess whether arterial blood gas (ABG) values taken intraoperatively help predict extubation success in the operation theatre. Materials and methods This was a prospective observational study for one year of extubated patients whose blood gas values were not within the normal range. The patients of age 18 years and above undergoing high-risk elective and emergency surgeries where at least one intraoperative arterial blood sample was taken for blood gas analysis were included. Apart from parameters of ABG demographic data, urgency and duration of surgery, blood loss, urine output, use of intraoperative fluid(s), and blood product(s) were also observed.  Results Of 578 patients enrolled, 116 patients were extubated based on the predefined extubation criteria. Of these, 24 patients were reintubated within 24 hours. ABG parameters such as partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) and serum HCO3- levels were significantly lower in the reintubated patients compared to non-reintubated patients (p-values of 0.045 and 0.003, respectively). Conclusion This study showed that the PaO2 <100 mm Hg or ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen (P/F ratio) of less than 200 and an HCO3- value of less than 18 are plausible ABG parameters to decide extubation in post-surgery patients in OT. PaCO2, base deficit, and lactate were less reliable parameters for planning extubation.

Heister mouth gag aided endotracheal intubation in patients with maxillofacial trauma: A case report.

Securing the airway in patients with maxillofacial trauma is challenging for the anesthesiologist. Pain and facial deformities limit mouth opening and hence direct laryngoscopy. Fractured bone segments, blood, oral secretions, and tissue edema preclude the use of fiber-optic bronchoscopes for intubation of the trachea. We report a successful attempt of orotracheal intubation with a Macintosh blade in a 25-year-old patient with restricted mouth opening with the use of a Heister mouth gag.

Factors Associated With Non-invasive Oxygen Therapy Failure in COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Single Center, Retrospective Study in a Tertiary Hospital in North India.

BACKGROUND: Non-invasive oxygen therapy (NIT) consists of high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). NIT is routinely being used for the management of acute respiratory failure secondary to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) with variable outcomes. However, previously published studies show that NIT failure might delay endotracheal intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation and results in worse outcomes in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure. Early prediction of failure of NIT, will help in early decision-making in initiating invasive mechanical ventilation. We retrospectively studied the predictors for NIT failure in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. METHODS: Adult patients (>18 years) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with moderate to severe COVID-19 ARDS and received NIT [HFNO and CPAP non-invasive ventilation (NIV)] were included in this study. Baseline clinical and laboratory data were collected retrospectively from the electronic hospital information system. NIT failure was defined as the need for invasive mechanical ventilation after the initiation of NIT in the ICU. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to find out the possible predictors of NIT failure. RESULTS: Out of 254 patients admitted to ICU, 127 patients were initiated NIT at admission to ICU. During the course of the ICU stay, 33 (26%) patients subsequently required invasive mechanical ventilation (NIT failure). Respiratory rate-oxygenation index (ROX index) of <2.97 at two hours and <3.63 at six hours of ICU admission predicted NIT failure in our cohort of patients with a high positive predictive value. CONCLUSION: Patient selection is crucial for successful NIT in COVID-19. Application of ROX index measured in the first six hours of ICU admission helps in the identification of patients at risk of NIT failure with moderate to severe COVID-19 ARDS.

Incidence & outcomes of clinically significant bleeding events in critically ill COVID-19 patients receiving Therapeutic dose AntiCoagulanTs: A retrospective cohort study (INTerACT study).

Background & objectives: The high mortality associated with the thrombotic events in hospitalized COVID-19 patients resulted in the usage of anticoagulants in varying doses. Whether high-dose anticoagulants have led to better outcomes or higher incidence of clinically significant bleeding events is debatable. Thus, this study was conducted to find the incidence of clinically significant bleeding events in moderate-to-severe COVID-19 ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) patients on therapeutic anticoagulation and their outcomes. Methods: In this retrospective, single-centre study of 155 critically ill COVID-19 patients, the incidence of clinically significant bleeding was observed. Multivariate regression models were used to evaluate the association between anticoagulant regimen, coagulation and inflammatory markers with the incidence of bleeding and thrombotic events. Results: The incidence of clinically relevant non-major bleeding was 33.54 per cent (26.17-41.46%) and major bleeding was 9.03 per cent (5.02-14.69%). The anticoagulation intensity at baseline had a high odds of major bleeding when enoxaparin and dual antiplatelet therapy were used together [adjusted odds ratio OR of 434.09 (3.81-49502.95), P<0.05]. At admission, bleeders had a poorer PaO2/FiO2 ratio with more patients on invasive ventilation. At the time of bleeding, the bleeders had a higher D-dimer, ferritin, C-reactive protein and procalcitonin compared to non-bleeders. The subhazard ratio for death in bleeders was 3.35 (95% confidence interval, 1.97-5.65; P<0.001). Interpretation & conclusions: The incidence of bleeding in critically ill COVID-19 patients on therapeutic anticoagulation may increase with the severity of the disease as well as with concurrent use of dual antiplatelets. Major bleeding may also contribute to higher mortality.

Predictors of the Outcomes Following the Tocilizumab Treatment for Severe COVID-19.

BACKGROUND:  Tocilizumab is used in severe COVID-19 yet has significant rates of treatment failure. OBJECTIVES:  This retrospective study aimed to identify early predictors of the response to tocilizumab therapy. METHODS:  Biochemical and clinical characteristics of adult patients who received tocilizumab for severe COVID-19 pneumonia were retrospectively examined. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to identify factors that could predict the failure of tocilizumab therapy. A predictive nomogram was also created using the selected model. RESULTS:  Out of 101 eligible patients, 30 had treatment failure, and 71 survived on a 28-day follow-up. The partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen ratio (PFR) on the day of tocilizumab administration (100 vs 80.5), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; 668 vs 507 U/L), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NL ratio; 24.7 vs 10), and creatine kinase myocardial band (CKMB; 30.9 vs 22.7 U/L) were significantly different among the non-survivors and survivors, respectively. A logistic regression model was created, identifying LDH, NL ratio, pro-brain natriuretic peptide (ProBNP), and PFR on the day of tocilizumab administration as best predictors of mortality with an optimism-corrected area under the receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve of 0.82. The model-implied odds ratios for mortality were 1.89 (95% CI 1.13-3.15) for every 100 U/L rise in serum LDH, 2.29 (95% CI 2.2-4.39) for every 10 unit rise in NL ratio, 1.23 (95% CI 0.95-1.58) for every 100 pg/ml increase in ProBNP, and 0.36 (95% CI 0.13-0.95) for every mmHg rise in PFR at intervention. CONCLUSION:  This study identified NL ratio, LDH, CKMB, and PFR at intervention as important markers of risk of treatment failure following the tocilizumab therapy. A multivariable logistic regression model including LDH, NL ratio, ProBNP, and PFR at intervention best predicted the risk of mortality in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia treated with tocilizumab.

The Effect of Video-Based Preanaesthetic Preparation Versus Conventional Approach on Parental Anxiety in Paediatric Dental Procedures: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background Parental anxiety has been identified as a risk factor affecting the behaviour of children before operative intervention. A preanaesthetic visit is a standard component of preoperative preparation, which may reduce parental anxiety. The use of audiovisual aids to demonstrate the conduct of anaesthesia may help improve parental education and reduce anxiety. Patient and methods We analysed data from a prospective randomised trial conducted at a tertiary care hospital. Parents of children posted for day care dental procedures were enrolled in the study. Children could be of either gender, aged 2-6 years, and categorised as American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS) 1 or 2. Parents' anxiety regarding the surgical and anaesthesia procedure was assessed using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). The first APAIS scoring was recorded on arrival in the preoperative holding area. Thereafter, the participants were randomly allocated into two groups; one group was shown a short video on a smartphone of a dental operating theatre (OT), dental chair and anaesthesia equipment (SPG group), while the other group was verbally explained the dental procedure (conventional management or CM group). The second APAIS scoring was done in the postoperative recovery area one hour after the procedure. Demographic characteristics, socio-economic conditions and history were recorded. Anxiety scores were compared between the two groups, and any change was analysed. Results Seventy parents were included in the study, with 36 randomised to the SPG group and 34 to the CM group. Both groups were comparable in terms of demographic characteristics. There was a statistically significant decrease in anxiety scores in the SPG group, from a mean of 25.47 at the preoperative assessment to 14.92 at the postoperative timepoint (p<0.001). In the CM group, the mean APAIS score decreased from 25.26 to 24.56 (p=0.059). Conclusion There was a significant reduction in anxiety scores in the postoperative period among parents who were shown an operating room video in the preoperative period.

COVID-19-related dynamic coagulation disturbances and anticoagulation strategies using conventional D-dimer and point-of-care Sonoclot tests: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Coagulation changes associated with COVID-19 suggest the presence of a hypercoagulable state with pulmonary microthrombosis and thromboembolic complications. We assessed the dynamic association of COVID-19-related coagulation abnormalities with respiratory failure and mortality. DESIGN: Single-centre, prospective cohort study with descriptive analysis and logistic regression. SETTING: Tertiary care hospital, North India. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission between August 2020 and November 2020. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We compared the coagulation abnormalities using standard coagulation tests like prothrombin time, D-dimer, platelet count, etc and point-of-care global coagulation test, Sonoclot (glass beaded(gb) and heparinase-treated(h)). Incidence of thromboembolic or bleeding events and presence of endogenous heparinoids were assessed. Cox proportional Hazards test was used to assess the predictors of 28-day mortality. MEASUREMENT: All patients underwent Sonoclot (glass beaded) test at admission apart from the routine investigations. In patients at risk of thromboembolic or bleeding phenomena, paired tests were performed at day 1 and 3 with Sonoclot. Activated clotting time (ACT) <110 s and peak amplitude >75 units were used as the cut-off for hypercoagulable state. Presence of heparin-like effect (HLE) was defined by a correction of ACT ≥40 s in h-Sonoclot. RESULTS: Of 215 patients admitted to ICU, we included 74 treatment naive subjects. A procoagulant profile was seen in 45.5% (n=5), 32.4% (n=11) and 20.7% (n=6) in low-flow, high-flow and invasive ventilation groups. Paired Sonoclot assays in a subgroup of 33 patients demonstrated the presence of HLE in 17 (51.5%) and 20 (62.5%) at day 1 and 3, respectively. HLE (day 1) was noted in 59% of those who bled during the disease course. Mortality was observed only in the invasive ventilation group (16, 55.2%) with overall mortality of 21.6%. HLE predicted the need for mechanical ventilation (HR 1.2 CI 1.04 to 1.4 p=0.00). On multivariate analysis, the presence of HLE (HR 1.01; CI 1.006 to 1.030; p=0.025), increased C reactive protein (HR 1.040; CI 1.020 to 1.090; p=0.014), decreased platelet function (HR 0.901; CI 0.702 to 1.100 p=0.045) predicted mortality at 28days. CONCLUSION: HLE contributed to hypocoagulable effect and associated with the need for invasive ventilation and mortality in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04668404; ClinicalTrials.gov.in. Available from https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04668404.

An Automated Quality Evaluation Framework of Psychotherapy Conversations with Local Quality Estimates.

Text-based computational approaches for assessing the quality of psychotherapy are being developed to support quality assurance and clinical training. However, due to the long durations of typical conversation based therapy sessions, and due to limited annotated modeling resources, computational methods largely rely on frequency-based lexical features or dialogue acts to assess the overall session level characteristics. In this work, we propose a hierarchical framework to automatically evaluate the quality of transcribed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interactions. Given the richly dynamic nature of the spoken dialog within a talk therapy session, to evaluate the overall session level quality, we propose to consider modeling it as a function of local variations across the interaction. To implement that empirically, we divide each psychotherapy session into conversation segments and initialize the segment-level qualities with the session-level scores. First, we produce segment embeddings by fine-tuning a BERT-based model, and predict segment-level (local) quality scores. These embeddings are used as the lower-level input to a Bidirectional LSTM-based neural network to predict the session-level (global) quality estimates. In particular, we model the global quality as a linear function of the local quality scores, which allows us to update the segment-level quality estimates based on the session-level quality prediction. These newly estimated segment-level scores benefit the BERT fine-tuning process, which in turn results in better segment embeddings. We evaluate the proposed framework on automatically derived transcriptions from real-world CBT clinical recordings to predict session-level behavior codes. The results indicate that our approach leads to improved evaluation accuracy for most codes when used for both regression and classification tasks.

Characteristics and outcomes of parturients with COVID-19, admitted to a critical care unit: A single-center retrospective observational study.

Background: Data on outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnancy are scarce, although they represent a unique physiological state affecting both the mother and child. We present collated data from a tertiary care center in North India, encompassing the outcome, clinical characteristics, and management of these patients. Materials and Methods: Parturients ≥ 18 years old, with COVID-19 reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission at a tertiary care hospital were included. Data were retrospectively collected from April 2020 to November 2021. Results: In all, 26 parturients were admitted to ICU with COVID-19. Five patients were admitted during the first wave, and all were asymptomatic. Twenty-one patients presented during the second wave (March 2021 onward), among which four were asymptomatic and 17 symptomatic (all with severe pneumonia). Three patients presented in the second trimester, all with critical disease, out of which one did not survive. Two patients had twin gestation, and others were singleton pregnancies. Seven patients (27%) were primigravida, and five patients (19.2%) had more than third pregnancy. Twenty critically ill women (77%) delivered during the hospital stay. Six patients died during the second wave, and four deaths (66.7%) were because of COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Conclusions: The number of admissions and mortality related to COVID-19 ARDS was higher in the second wave than in the first. We report the safe use of remdesivir and tocilizumab in our patients.

Automated evaluation of psychotherapy skills using speech and language technologies.

With the growing prevalence of psychological interventions, it is vital to have measures which rate the effectiveness of psychological care to assist in training, supervision, and quality assurance of services. Traditionally, quality assessment is addressed by human raters who evaluate recorded sessions along specific dimensions, often codified through constructs relevant to the approach and domain. This is, however, a cost-prohibitive and time-consuming method that leads to poor feasibility and limited use in real-world settings. To facilitate this process, we have developed an automated competency rating tool able to process the raw recorded audio of a session, analyzing who spoke when, what they said, and how the health professional used language to provide therapy. Focusing on a use case of a specific type of psychotherapy called "motivational interviewing", our system gives comprehensive feedback to the therapist, including information about the dynamics of the session (e.g., therapist's vs. client's talking time), low-level psychological language descriptors (e.g., type of questions asked), as well as other high-level behavioral constructs (e.g., the extent to which the therapist understands the clients' perspective). We describe our platform and its performance using a dataset of more than 5000 recordings drawn from its deployment in a real-world clinical setting used to assist training of new therapists. Widespread use of automated psychotherapy rating tools may augment experts' capabilities by providing an avenue for more effective training and skill improvement, eventually leading to more positive clinical outcomes.

Effect of head-end of bed elevation on respiratory mechanics in mechanically ventilated patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 ARDS - A cohort study.

Background: Head-end elevation (HEE) is known to improve oxygenation and respiratory mechanics. In ARDS, poor lung compliance limits positive pressure ventilation causing delivery of inadequate minute ventilation (MVe). We observed that, in moderate-to-severe COVID-19 ARDS, the respiratory system compliance (Crs) reduces upon elevating the head-end of the bed, and vice-versa, which can be utilized to improve ventilation and avoid respiratory acidosis.We hypothesized that increasing the degree of HEE reduces Crs. Methods: We included 20 consecutive mechanically ventilated, moderate-to-severe COVID-19 ARDS patients in this pilot study (CTRI/2021/06/034,182). The Crs, Mve and Rinsp were recorded at 0°, 10°, 20° and 30° HEE. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine significant differences in measurements with increasing degrees and repeated measures correlation (rmcorr) for correlation. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference (p < 0.0001) between values of Crs, MVe and Rinsp. Rmcorr showed a strong negative correlation between increasing degrees and Crs and Mve (r-0.87 [95% CI -0.79 to -0.92, p < 0.0001 and r-0.77 [95% CI -0.64 to -0.85, p < 0.0001]) and a moderate negative correlation for Rinsp (r-0.67; 95% CI -0.79 to -0.50; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Increasing degree of HEE reduces compliance in moderate-to-severe COVID-19 ARDS. Reducing HEE may optimize ventilation and mitigate ventilator induced lung injury.

Pulmonary Function, Mental and Physical Health in Recovered COVID-19 Patients Requiring Invasive Versus Non-invasive Oxygen Therapy: A Prospective Follow-Up Study Post-ICU Discharge.

Background Survivors of COVID-19 pneumonia may have residual lung injury and poor physical and mental health even after discharge. We hypothesized that COVID-19 severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients needing mechanical ventilation may be at a greater risk of deterioration in pulmonary function, mental health, and quality of life (QOL). This study analyses the differences in pulmonary function, mental health, and QOL after recovery, in patients having received non-invasive oxygen therapy versus invasive mechanical ventilation during ICU stay. Methods Patients aged >18 years, who had completed 3 months post ICU discharge, with moderate to severe COVID-19 ARDS, were consecutively enrolled from May 1 to July 31, 2021. Patients were allocated into Group A - having required high flow nasal cannula (HFNC)/non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and Group B - having received invasive mechanical ventilation. Pulmonary function tests, 6-minute walk test (6-MWT), and health-related quality of life were compared. Results Of the 145 eligible patients, 31 were lost to follow-up and 21 died. Seventy-four patients were allocated into Groups A (57 patients) and B (17 patients). In Group A, abnormal forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory flow in mid-half of FVC (FEF25-75), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) values were obtained in 27 (47.37%), 43 (75.44%), 11 (19.3%), and 25 (43.86%) patients, and in Group B, in 13 (76.47%), 17 (100%), 1 (5.88%), and 8 (47%) patients, respectively. No patient had abnormal FEV1/FVC. All Group B patients had a restrictive pattern in spirometry as compared to 77% in Group A. Group B had a lower arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) (p=0.0019), % predicted FVC (p<0.0001), % predicted FEV1 (p=0.001), and 6-MWT distance (p<0.001). The physical component score in the short-form survey 12 questionnaire was higher in group A, p<0.001, whereas the mental component score was comparable. Conclusions Patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) have a greater risk of impaired pulmonary function and reduced QOL post-ICU discharge. This warrants a greater need for following these patients for better rehabilitation.