Development and validation of a clinical prediction model for early ventilator weaning in post-cardiac surgery.

Background: Weaning patients from mechanical ventilation is a critical clinical challenge post cardiac surgery. The effective liberation of patients from the ventilator significantly improves their recovery and survival rates. This study aimed to develop and validate a clinical prediction model to evaluate the likelihood of successful extubation in post-cardiac surgery patients. Method: A predictive nomogram was constructed for extubation success in individual patients, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration curves were generated to assess its predictive capability. The superior performance of the model was confirmed using Delong's test in the ROC analysis. A decision curve analysis (DCA) was conducted to evaluate the clinical utility of the nomogram. Results: Among 270 adults included in our study, 107 (28.84%) experienced delayed extubation. A predictive nomogram system was derived based on five identified risk factors, including the proportion of male patients, EuroSCORE II, operation time, pump time, bleeding during operation, and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) level. Based on the predictive system, five independent predictors were used to construct a full nomogram. The area under the curve values of the nomogram were 0.880 and 0.753 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The DCA and clinical impact curves showed good clinical utility of this model. Conclusion: Delayed extubation and weaning failure, common and potentially hazardous complications following cardiac surgery, vary in timing based on factors such as sex, EuroSCORE II, pump duration, bleeding, and postoperative BNP reduction. The nomogram developed and validated in this study can accurately predict when extubation should occur in these patients. This tool is vital for assessing risks on an individual basis and making well-informed clinical decisions.

Exosome-Derived From Sepsis Patients' Blood Promoted Pyroptosis of Cardiomyocytes by Regulating miR-885-5p/HMBOX1.

Background: Septic myocardial depression has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. miR-885-5p has been shown to regulate cell growth, senescence, and/or apoptosis. Published studies demonstrated that Homeobox-containing protein 1 (HMBOX1) inhibits inflammatory response, regulates cell autophagy, and apoptosis. However, the role of miR-885-5p/HMBOX1 in sepsis and septic myocardial depression and the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Materials and Methods: Exosomes (exos) derived from sepsis patients (sepsis-exos) were isolated using ultracentrifugation. Rats were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture surgery and treated with sepsis-exos. HMBOX1 was knocked down or overexpressed in AC16 cells using lentiviral plasmids carrying short interfering RNAs targeting human HMBOX1 or carrying HMBOX1 cDNA. Cell pyroptosis was measured by flow cytometry. The secretion of IL-1ß and IL-18 was examined by ELISA kits. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or western blot was used for gene expression. Results: Sepsis-exos increased the level of miR-885-5p, decreased HMBOX1, elevated IL-1ß and IL-18, and promoted pyroptosis in AC16 cells. Septic rats treated with sepsis-exos increased the serum inflammatory cytokines is associated with increased pyroptosis-related proteins of hearts. MiR-885-5p bound to the three prime untranslated regions of HMBOX1 to negatively regulate its expression. Overexpressing HMBOX1 reversed miR-885-5p-induced elevation of inflammatory cytokines and upregulation of NLRP3, caspase-1, and GSDMD-N in AC16 cells. The mechanistic study indicated that the effect of HMBOX1 was NF-κB dependent. Conclusion: Sepsis-exos promoted the pyroptosis of AC16 cells through miR-885-5p via HMBOX1. The results show the significance of the miR-885-5p/HMBOX1 axis in myocardial cell pyroptosis and provide new directions for the treatment of septic myocardial depression.

Early Enteral Nutrition Tolerance in Patients With Cardiogenic Shock Requiring Mechanical Circulatory Support.

Background: Enteral nutrition (EN) is recommended within the first 24-48 h for patients with hemodynamic stability, following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). However, for patients with approximate stable hemodynamics requiring mechanical circulatory support and vasoactive drugs, the application of early EN remains controversial. We sought to evaluate the tolerance of early EN in patients with cardiogenic shock who required vasoactive drugs and mechanical circulatory support after cardiac surgery. Methods: This single-center, prospective observational study included patients with cardiogenic shock, requiring vasoactive drugs and mechanical circulatory support after cardiac surgery, undergoing EN. The primary endpoint was EN tolerance and secondary endpoints were mortality, length of mechanical ventilation, and length of ICU stay. Results: From February 2019 to December 2020, 59 patients were enrolled, of which 25 (42.37%) developed intolerance within 3 days of starting EN. Patients in the EN intolerant group had a longer median length of mechanical ventilation (380 vs. 128 h, p = 0.006), a longer median ICU stay (20 vs. 11.5 days, p = 0.03), and a higher proportion of bloodstream infections (44 vs. 14.71%, p = 0.018). The median EN calorie levels for all patients in the first 3 days of EN were 4.00, 4.13, and 4.28 kcal/kg/day, respectively. Median protein intake levels of EN in the first 3 days were 0.18, 0.17, and 0.17 g/kg/day, respectively. No significant difference was observed in the median dose of vasoactive drugs between the groups (0.035 vs. 0.05 µg/kg/min, p = 0.306). Conclusions: Patients with cardiogenic shock after cardiac surgery had a high proportion of early EN intolerance, and patients with EN intolerance had a worse prognosis, but no significant correlation was identified between EN tolerance and the dose of vasoactive drugs.

The efficacy of parenteral fish oil in critical illness patients with sepsis: a prospective, non-randomized, observational study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical outcomes in septic patients receiving parenteral fish oil. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, non-randomized, observational clinical study was carried out in 112 patients with sepsis from March, 2013 to May, 2015 in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) of a tertiaryreferral hospital. The patients were put into one of two groups; either the control or the study group. Patients received the standard treatment of sepsis based on guidelines in the control group. In the study group, patients received parenteral nutrition (PN) containing fish oil. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores, the length of ICU and hospital stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, mortality, and readmission into the ICU were recorded. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and procalcitonin (PCT) levels were also evaluated. RESULTS: The study group showed a significant reduction for all-cause mortality (20.0% vs 10.0% in study and control groups, p=0.034) and APACHE II score on day 5 (p=0.015), day 7 (p=0.036) and day out of SICU (p=0.045) compared with the control group. The study group tended to show a shortened length of stay in the ICU compared to the control group. However, TNF-α and PCT level, 28 d mortality, the length of hospital stay and the duration of mechanical ventilation did not show statistical differences between the two groups. There were no drug-related adverse effects shown during the study. CONCLUSIONS: PN with fish oil is probably safe and may improve clinical outcome in critical ill patients with sepsis.

[Effect of Xuebijing injection on rabbits ischemia/reperfusion injury induced by femoral arterial disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in serum malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatinine (Cr) after the reproduction of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury model, and the protective effects of liver and kidney with Xuebijing injection on acute I/R injury in rabbits. METHODS: Sixty rabbits were divided into six groups with a random number: A, normal group; B, sham operated group; C, model group, and D, E, F groups (Xuebijing low, middle, high dosage treatment groups). I/R injury model was reproduced (after a 4-hour ischemia, the femoral vessels were reperfusion). Physiological saline (2 ml/kg) or 0.33, 0.66 and 1.32 g/kg Xuebijing injection were given at 0, 12, 36, 60 hours after operation via ear vein. MDA, IL-1ß, TNF-α, AST and Cr were determined at 6, 12, 24 and 72 hours after reperfusion in each group. RESULTS: MDA, IL-1ß, TNF-α at different time points, AST and Cr at 72 hours after reperfusion in C group were significantly higher than those in A group and B group. Compared with the C group, the above indexes were gradually decreased with does-dependence, the values of MDA (µmol/L), IL-1ß (ng/L) and TNF-α (µg/L) in serum of group F at 6, 12, 24 and 72 hours after reperfusion were significantly lower (MDA: 9.74 ± 3.71 vs. 12.35 ± 4.64, 11.26 ± 4.14 vs. 12.82 ± 3.85, 9.72 ± 2.25 vs. 13.30 ± 2.83, 9.12 ± 2.72 vs. 13.10 ± 2.72; IL-1ß: 83.49 ± 12.79 vs. 100.09 ± 17.53, 85.10 ± 11.75 vs. 102.64 ± 19.64, 75.97 ± 11.29 vs. 99.24 ± 14.62, 81.96 ± 14.81 vs. 99.59 ± 12.05; TNF-α: 8.95 ± 1.13 vs. 9.94 ± 1.29, 8.79 ± 1.80 vs. 9.56 ± 0.89, 8.27 ± 1.83 vs. 9.51 ± 1.32, 7.23 ± 1.39 vs. 9.23 ± 1.05, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The values of AST(U/L) and Cr (µmol/L) in serum of groups D, E and F at 24 hours and 72 hours after reperfusion were significantly lower (AST 24 hours: 24.00 ± 1.27, 23.80 ± 1.11, 22.90 ± 1.65 vs. 39.50 ± 1.73, 72 hours: 32.15 ± 1.95, 32.90 ± 1.77, 32.25 ± 2.25 vs. 52.86 ± 2.43; Cr 24 hours: 273.78 ± 17.04, 267.07 ± 19.59, 265.25 ± 15.59 vs. 347.60 ± 18.83, 72 hours: 437.38 ± 18.48, 343.77 ± 16.79, 351.48 ± 20.22 vs. 437.50 ± 19.86, all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: It is demonstrated that I/R injury could dramatically lead to systemic inflammatory response and oxygen free radical injury. Xuebijing injection in higher dosage can reduce the systemic inflammatory response significantly, and also MDA level in serum. Xuebijing injection in low dosage, middle dosage and high dosage can produce protective effects against the damages to liver and kidney function.