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INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of bronchoscopy-guided bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and decisions on management of antimicrobials in critically ill patients with hematological malignancy and/or hematological stem cell transplant (HSCT). The safety and tolerance of bronchoscopy were also reported. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by reviewing health charts of all adult patients with a hematological malignancy and/or an HSCT who were admitted to the intensive care unit and underwent bronchoscopy and BAL over four years from April 2016 to April 2020 at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh. Results: The cohort included 75 critically ill patients. Of these 75 patients, 53 (70.7%) had HSCT (allogenic 66%, autologous 32.1%, haplogenic 3.8%). Computed tomography of the chest was abnormal in all patients. Predominant findings included airspace abnormalities, ground glass opacities, and others. The positive yield was found to be 20% for bacterial, 22% for viral, 21% for fungal, and other organisms were identified in 2%. Although cytology was not performed in 18 patients, malignant cells were identified on BAL in two patients. While the overall mortality of the cohort was high (46.7%), the vast majority (94.7%) tolerated bronchoscopy and BAL without any complications. However, three patients (4%) developed a pneumothorax and one patient bled and developed the acute respiratory distress syndrome post bronchoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: BAL can identify and detect microorganisms directly influencing the clinical care of patients who have received non-invasive diagnostic tests that yielded negative culture results. Bronchoscopy and BAL are generally safe and well tolerated by critically ill patients with hematological malignancy or HSCT.
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PURPOSE: Little is known regarding the burden of infections and clinical practice towards hospitalized patients with limits on life-sustaining measures. We aim to describe the infectious syndromes, clinical care, the emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and outcomes in this population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort of patients labeled as support or comfort care in a tertiary care center between 2016-2019. RESULTS: A total of 347 patients were included with a mean age of 68.5 years, who were predominantly males (59.94%), bedbound (69.74%), on tube feeding (66.86%), and required indwelling urinary catheters (61.96%). The total number of admissions during the first year was 498, with the mean length of stay being 30 days. The number of infectious syndromes identified during that period was 821episodes, with a mean of 2 infectious syndromes per admission. The most common infection identified was pneumonia (41.66%) followed by urinary tract infections (27.16%). A total of 3891 microbiological cultures were taken with a mean of 5 cultures per infectious syndrome. The most commonly identified pathogens were Gram-negative bacteria (61.03%), with a high rate of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) (48.53%). The one-year mortality was 86.4%. Using carbapenem antibiotic and pneumonia were the independent predictors used for the MDROs. CONCLUSION: Our study reflects the high burden of infections, antimicrobial resistance, and hospital admissions among a population with limited life expectancy. A consensus regarding investigating and managing of infectious syndromes, and antimicrobial prescription is needed to reduce the harms associated with overuse of antimicrobials.