Th17/Treg balance: the bloom and wane in the pathophysiology of sepsis.

Sepsis is a multi-organ dysfunction characterized by an unregulated host response to infection. It is associated with high morbidity, rapid disease progression, and high mortality. Current therapies mainly focus on symptomatic treatment, such as blood volume supplementation and antibiotic use, but their effectiveness is limited. Th17/Treg balance, based on its inflammatory property, plays a crucial role in determining the direction of the inflammatory response and the regression of organ damage in sepsis patients. This review provides a summary of the changes in T-helper (Th) 17 cell and regulatory T (Treg) cell differentiation and function during sepsis, the heterogeneity of Th17/Treg balance in the inflammatory response, and the relationship between Th17/Treg balance and organ damage. Th17/Treg balance exerts significant control over the bloom and wanes in host inflammatory response throughout sepsis.

Effect of prone positioning on survival in adult patients receiving venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for acute respiratory distress syndrome: a prospective multicenter randomized controlled study.

Background: Current data supporting the use of prone positioning (PP) during venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are limited. This prospective randomized controlled study aimed to determine whether PP implemented within 24 hours of ECMO can improve survival in these patients. Methods: From June 2021 to July 2023, 97 adult patients receiving VV-ECMO for ARDS in three centers were enrolled and 1:1 randomized into PP (n=49) and control groups (n=48). Patients in the PP group receiving prone positioning, while the control group were maintained in the supine position. The primary outcome was 30-day survival, and secondary outcomes included in-hospital survival and other clinical outcomes. Results: All 97 patients were included for analysis. Patient characteristics did not significantly differ between the two groups. The median duration of PP was 81 hours, and the median number of PP sessions was 5 times. PP improved oxygenation and ventilator parameters. The incidence of complications during PP was low, with pressure sores being the most frequent (10.2%). The 30-day survival was significantly higher in the PP group (67.3% vs. 45.8%; P=0.033), as was in-hospital survival (61.2% vs. 39.6%; P=0.033). In the PP group, the successful ECMO weaning rate was significantly higher (77.5% vs. 50.0%; P=0.005), and the duration of ECMO support was significantly shorter {10 [8-11] vs. 10 [8-14] days; P=0.038}. However, in subgroup analysis of COVID patients the 30-day survival, in-hospital survival, successful ECMO weaning rate and the duration of ECMO support did not differ between the groups. The duration of mechanical ventilation, length of intensive care unit stay, and length of hospital stay did not significantly differ between the groups. Conclusions: When initiated within 24 hours of ECMO, PP can improve 30-day survival in patients with ARDS receiving VV-ECMO. In addition, it may improve the successful ECMO weaning rate and reduce the duration of ECMO support. However, considering the limitations, more strictly designed, large sample prospective randomized controlled trials are proposed. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2300075326.

Predictive Value of Glycemic Variability and HDL-C for Secondary Persistent Inflammatory Immunosuppressed Catabolic Syndrome in Patients with Sepsis.

Purpose: Sepsis patients with persistent inflammation, immunosuppression, and catabolism syndrome (PICS) have a poor prognosis, and early detection of biomarkers to predict its prognosis is particularly important. The purpose of this study is to investigate the predictive value of glycemic variability (GV) and high density lipid-cholesterol (HDL-C) for secondary PICS in patients with sepsis. Patients and Methods: One hundred and sixty-five patients with sepsis were enrolled in the retrospective study and divided into sepsis secondary PICS and non-PICS group. The daily blood glucose levels from 1 to 7 days after the diagnosis of sepsis were recorded, and GV was calculated. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of sepsis with PICS, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to evaluate the predictive value of GV, and HDL-C for the prognosis of sepsis with PICS. Results: In a study of 165 patients, PICS group tended to have higher GV and lower HDL-C levels than those in the non-PICS group. Logistic regression analysis identified GV and HDL-C as independent risk factors for the secondary PICS of sepsis. The results of ROC curve showed that GV and HDL-C had a certain predictive value for the secondary PICS of sepsis, the sensitivity of GV was 77.5%, specificity of 81.8%, the sensitivity of HDL-C was 76.6%, and specificity of 74.8%. Conclusion: GV and HDL are risk factors for PICS secondary to sepsis and have predictive value for patients' prognosis.

Severe inflammatory disorder in trisomy 8 without myelodysplastic syndrome and response to methylprednisolone: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Patients with trisomy 8 consistently present with myeloid neoplasms and/or auto-inflammatory syndrome. A possible link between myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with trisomy 8 (+8-MDS) and inflammatory disorders is well recognized, several cases having been reported. However, inflammatory disorders in patients without MDS have been largely overlooked. Generally, Behçet's disease is the most common type in +8-MDS. However, inflammatory disorders with pulmonary involvement are less frequent, and no effective treatment has been established. CASE SUMMARY: A 27-year-old man with recurrent fever, fatigue for > 2 mo, and unconsciousness for 1 day was admitted to our emergency department with a provisional diagnosis of severe pneumonia. Vancomycin and imipenem were administered and sputum collected for metagenomic next-generation sequencing. Epstein-Barr virus and Mycobacterium kansasii were detected. Additionally, chromosomal analysis showed duplications on chromosome 8. Two days later, repeat metagenomic next-generation sequencing was performed with blood culture. Cordyceps portugal, M. kansasii, and Candida portugal were detected, and duplications on chromosome 8 confirmed. Suspecting hematological disease, we aspirated a bone marrow sample from the iliac spine, examination of which showed evidence of infection. We added fluconazole as further antibiotic therapy. Seven days later, the patient's condition had not improved, prompting addition of methylprednisolone as an anti-inflammatory agent. Fortunately, this treatment was effective and the patient eventually recovered. CONCLUSION: Severe inflammatory disorders with pulmonary involvement can occur in patients with trisomy 8. Methylprednisolone may be an effective treatment.

Early computed tomography after extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation on in-hospital survival: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The role of computed tomography (CT) scans after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) implantation in patients with refractory cardiac arrest has not been frequently investigated. Early CT scan findings may have many meaningful findings and contribute significantly to patients' outcome. In this study, we sought to determine whether early CT scans in such patients indirectly improved in-hospital survival. Methods: A computerized search of the electronic medical records systems of 2 ECMO centers was conducted. A total of 132 patients who had undergone extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) between September 2014 and January 2022 were included in the analysis. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on whether they underwent early CT scans (the treatment group) or did not undergo early CT scans (the control group). The findings of early CT scans and in-hospital survival were investigated. Results: A total of 132 patients had undergone ECPR with 71 were male, 61were female and mean age: 48.0±14.3 years. Early CT scans did not improve patient's in-hospital survival [hazard ratio (HR): 0.705; P=0.357]. Overall, a smaller proportion of patients survived in the treatment group (22.5%) than the control group (42.6%; P=0.013). In total, 90 patients were matched in terms of age, initial shockable rhythm, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) duration, ECMO duration, percutaneous coronary intervention, and cardiac arrest location. In the matched cohort, fewer patients survived in the treatment group (28.9%) than the control group (37.8%; P=0.371), but the difference was not significant. According to a log-rank test, in-hospital survival did not differ significantly before and after matching (P=0.69, and P=0.63, respectively). Thirteen patients (18.3%) had complications during transportation, among which a drop in blood pressure was the most common. Conclusions: The in-hospital survival rate between treatment and control group was not different, however, early CT scan after ECPR could help clinicians to gain important information to guide clinical practice.

Survival of a patient who received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation due to postoperative myocardial infarction: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest after noncardiac surgery is a dangerous complication that may contribute to mortality. Because of the high mortality rate and many complications of cardiac arrest, it is very important to identify and correct a reversible etiology early. By reporting the treatment process of this case, we aimed to broaden the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrest after noncardiac surgery and describe how cardiopulmonary resuscitation using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can improve a patient's chance of survival. CASE SUMMARY: A 69-year-old man visited our hospital complaining of low back pain on July 12, 2021. Magnetic resonance imaging showed lumbar disc herniation. Two hours after lumbar disc herniation surgery, the patient developed cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed, and ECMO was started 60 min after the initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Regarding the etiology of early cardiac arrest after surgery, acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism were considered first. Based on ultrasound evaluation, acute myocardial infarction appeared more likely. Coronary angiography confirmed occlusion of the left anterior descending branch, and coronary artery stenting was performed. Pulmonary artery angiography was performed to exclude pulmonary embolism. Due to heparinization during ECMO and coronary angiography, there was a large amount of oozing blood in the surgical incision. Therefore, heparin-free ECMO was performed in the early stage, and routine heparinized ECMO was performed after hemorrhage stabilization. Eventually, the patient was discharged and made a full neurologic recovery. CONCLUSION: For early postoperative cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction should be considered first, and heparin should be used with caution.

Lung ultrasound-guided treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome in a critically ill patient with severe COVID-19: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a very common disease in the intensive care unit (ICU), with rapid progression and high mortality. Infections caused by the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can easily progress to ARDS in severely ill patients. Early and rapid diagnosis as well as screening for ARDS during treatment is very important. Owing to the particularity of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), computed tomography (CT) examination is not always possible, and chest radiographs have a low sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of lung diseases. Therefore, bedside lung ultrasound (LUS) can be used as a new tool for the diagnosis of ARDS in patients with COVID-19. In the non-gravity-dependent pulmonary field, there are bilateral non-uniform B lines. In the dorsal pulmonary field, the B lines are denser and even appears as "white lung". Areas of consolidation are usually found in the dorsal pulmonary field, especially at the basilar part, with static or dynamic air bronchogram sign. In the fused B-line area, the "lung slip" usually decreases or disappears. The pleural line is irregular, thickened, and rough, with multiple small consolidations. The pulmonary ultrasound findings of primary and secondary ARDS were similar. CASE DESCRIPTION: In the abovementioned context, we share our experience with the treatment of one critical COVID-19 case and review the literature. An 81-year-old male patient with ARDS which is caused by COVID-19. The implementation of prone ventilation was guided by LUS, and we found that the pulmonary edema in the gravity-dependent area did improve over time. After 9 h of prone ventilation, the consolidation of the posterior area began to open. LUS shows the change from fragment sign to B line. After 16 h, the B-line was educed, indicating that pulmonary edema was improving. The oxygenation could be improved. Pulmonary ultrasound makes the monitoring of prone ventilation visualized. As the same time, the patient was accepted high-flow nasal oxygen, mechanical ventilation and treated with oseltamivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, abidol and cefoperazone-sulbactam. CONCLUSIONS: LUS-guided treatment was the key factor in the successful treatment of this case.

[The effects of early goal-directed therapy on mortality rate in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock: a systematic literature review and Meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) could lower the mortality rate in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. METHODS: Articles with items sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock, EGDT were retrieved from MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, Wanfang Data and CNKI. Inclusion criteria included randomized controlled trial, subjects concerning patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, endpoints with short-term mortality [ in-hospital, intensive care unit (ICU) or 28-day] and long-term mortality (60-day or 90-day). Related risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used as indices to judge the difference in mortality rate between EGDT group and standard treatment group. RevMan 5.2 software was used for Meta analysis. RESULTS: There were 8 studies meeting inclusive criteria with a total of 4,853 patients. For patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, compared with the group with routine treatment, EGDT showed a decrease in the short-term mortality (RR=0.74, 95%CI=0.66-0.82, P<0.00001), but did not decrease the long-term mortality (RR=0.99, 95%CI=0.92-1.06, P=0.81). CONCLUSIONS: EGDT strategy may decrease the short-term mortality in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, but it showed no influence on the long-term mortality.

[The prediction value of noninvasive bioreactance-based passive leg raising test in assessing fluid responsiveness in elderly patients with sepsis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of bioreactance-based passive leg raising (PLR) test predicting fluid responsiveness of elderly patients with sepsis. METHODS: This prospective and self-controlled clinical study included 31 elderly patients with sepsis in the Department of Intensive Care Medicine of Zhejiang Hospital. Hemodynamic parameters including cardiac output (CO), stroke volume variation (SVV) were continuously recorded by bioreactance-based device (noninvasive cardiac output monitoring, NICOM) before and after PLR and volume expansion (VE) test. Patients were defined as responders if CO increased ≥ 10% after VE. RESULTS: A total of 100 PLR and VE tests in these 31 patients were evaluated.In 28 responders, CO[(5.11 ± 2.10) L/min vs (5.91 ± 2.45) L/min, P < 0.05; (5.06 ± 2.06) L/min vs (5.77 ± 2.47) L/min, P < 0.05] and SV [(59.61 ± 18.22) ml vs (69.29 ± 21.32) ml, P < 0.05; (60.10 ± 15.95) ml vs (70.06 ± 17.96) ml, P < 0.05] were obviously increased both after PLR and VE. The ΔCO after PLR (ΔCOPLR) and ΔCOVE was highly correlated (r = 0.819, P = 0.001) while the SVV before VE and Δ COVE was uncorrelated (r = -0.218, P = 0.059). The areas under the ROC curve of ΔCOPLR, SVV predicting fluid responsiveness were 0.859 and 0.459 respectively. The ΔCOPLR ≥ 10% was found to predict fluid responsiveness with a sensitivity and specificity of 85% and 83% respectively. CONCLUSION: Compared with SVV, PLR test is a simple, effective method for accurately predicting fluid responsiveness of elderly patients with sepsis.

[Clinical observation of post-extension pulling massage in treating lumbar disc herniation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of post-extension pulling massage in treating lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: From January 2008 to December 2008, 61 patients with lumbar disc herniation, 34 males and 27 females, ranging in age from 17 to 67 years with an average of 42.6 years, were treated with post-extension pulling massage after continued traction for 30 minutes (on alternate days one time, 3 times as a course of treatment). There was bulging type in 9 cases, hernia type in 22, free type in 30. After a course of treatment, the clinical effects were evaluated according to standard of Macnab, the items included pain, lumbar activity, normal work and life of patients. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 1 to 9 months with an average of 4.6 months. After treatment, the symptoms and signs of patients had obviously improved in above aspects. According to standard of Macnab, 48 cases got excellent result, 10 good, 2 fair, 1 poor. CONCLUSION: The post-extension pulling massage in treating lumbar disc herniation can obtain satisfactory results, which have localized site of action, small compression for vertebral body and can reduce accidental injury.