Effect of an Early Resuscitation Protocol on In-hospital Mortality Among Adults With Sepsis and Hypotension: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The effect of an early resuscitation protocol on sepsis outcomes in developing countries remains unknown. Objective: To determine whether an early resuscitation protocol with administration of intravenous fluids, vasopressors, and blood transfusion decreases mortality among Zambian adults with sepsis and hypotension compared with usual care. Design, Setting, and Participants: Randomized clinical trial of 212 adults with sepsis (suspected infection plus ≥2 systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria) and hypotension (systolic blood pressure ≤90 mm Hg or mean arterial pressure ≤65 mm Hg) presenting to the emergency department at a 1500-bed referral hospital in Zambia between October 22, 2012, and November 11, 2013. Data collection concluded December 9, 2013. Interventions: Patients were randomized 1:1 to either (1) an early resuscitation protocol for sepsis (n = 107) that included intravenous fluid bolus administration with monitoring of jugular venous pressure, respiratory rate, and arterial oxygen saturation and treatment with vasopressors targeting mean arterial pressure (≥65 mm Hg) and blood transfusion (for patients with a hemoglobin level <7 g/dL) or (2) usual care (n = 105) in which treating clinicians determined hemodynamic management. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and the secondary outcomes included the volume of intravenous fluid received and receipt of vasopressors. Results: Among 212 patients randomized to receive either the sepsis protocol or usual care, 3 were ineligible and the remaining 209 completed the study and were included in the analysis (mean [SD] age, 36.7 [12.4] years; 117 men [56.0%]; 187 [89.5%] positive for the human immunodeficiency virus). The primary outcome of in-hospital mortality occurred in 51 of 106 patients (48.1%) in the sepsis protocol group compared with 34 of 103 patients (33.0%) in the usual care group (between-group difference, 15.1% [95% CI, 2.0%-28.3%]; relative risk, 1.46 [95% CI, 1.04-2.05]; P = .03). In the 6 hours after presentation to the emergency department, patients in the sepsis protocol group received a median of 3.5 L (interquartile range, 2.7-4.0 L) of intravenous fluid compared with 2.0 L (interquartile range, 1.0-2.5 L) in the usual care group (mean difference, 1.2 L [95% CI, 1.0-1.5 L]; P < .001). Fifteen patients (14.2%) in the sepsis protocol group and 2 patients (1.9%) in the usual care group received vasopressors (between-group difference, 12.3% [95% CI, 5.1%-19.4%]; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: Among adults with sepsis and hypotension, most of whom were positive for HIV, in a resource-limited setting, a protocol for early resuscitation with administration of intravenous fluids and vasopressors increased in-hospital mortality compared with usual care. Further studies are needed to understand the effects of administration of intravenous fluid boluses and vasopressors in patients with sepsis across different low- and middle-income clinical settings and patient populations. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01663701.

Simplified severe sepsis protocol: a randomized controlled trial of modified early goal-directed therapy in Zambia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of a simple, goal-directed sepsis treatment protocol for reducing mortality in patients with severe sepsis in Zambia. DESIGN: Single-center nonblinded randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Emergency department, ICU, and medical wards of the national referral hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. PATIENTS: One hundred twelve patients enrolled within 24 hours of admission with severe sepsis, defined as systemic inflammatory response syndrome with suspected infection and organ dysfunction INTERVENTIONS: : Simplified Severe Sepsis Protocol consisting of up to 4 L of IV fluids within 6 hours, guided by jugular venous pressure assessment, and dopamine and/or blood transfusion in selected patients. Control group was managed as usual care. Blood cultures were collected and early antibiotics administered for both arms. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause mortality. One hundred nine patients were included in the final analysis and 88 patients (80.7%) were HIV positive. Pulmonary infections were the most common source of sepsis. In-hospital mortality rate was 64.2% in the intervention group and 60.7% in the control group (relative risk, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.79-1.41). Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was isolated from 31 of 82 HIV-positive patients (37.8%) with available mycobacterial blood culture results. Patients in Simplified Severe Sepsis Protocol received significantly more IV fluids in the first 6 hours (2.7 L vs 1.7 L, p = 0.002). The study was stopped early because of high mortality rate among patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure in the intervention arm (8/8, 100%) compared with the control arm (7/10, 70%; relative risk, 1.43; 95% CI, 0.95-2.14). CONCLUSION: Factors other than tissue hypoperfusion probably account for much of the end-organ dysfunction in African patients with severe sepsis. Studies of fluid-based interventions should utilize inclusion criteria to accurately capture patients with hypovolemia and tissue hypoperfusion who are most likely to benefit from fluids. Exclusion of patients with severe respiratory distress should be considered when ventilatory support is not readily available.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis bloodstream infection prevalence, diagnosis, and mortality risk in seriously ill adults with HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual patient data.

BACKGROUND: The clinical and epidemiological significance of HIV-associated Mycobacterium tuberculosis bloodstream infection (BSI) is incompletely understood. We hypothesised that M tuberculosis BSI prevalence has been underestimated, that it independently predicts death, and that sputum Xpert MTB/RIF has suboptimal diagnostic yield for M tuberculosis BSI. METHODS: We did a systematic review and individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of studies performing routine mycobacterial blood culture in a prospectively defined patient population of people with HIV aged 13 years or older. Studies were identified through searching PubMed and Scopus up to Nov 10, 2018, without language or date restrictions and through manual review of reference lists. Risk of bias in the included studies was assessed with an adapted QUADAS-2 framework. IPD were requested for all identified studies and subject to harmonised inclusion criteria: age 13 years or older, HIV positivity, available CD4 cell count, a valid mycobacterial blood culture result (excluding patients with missing data from lost or contaminated blood cultures), and meeting WHO definitions for suspected tuberculosis (presence of screening symptom). Predicted probabilities of M tuberculosis BSI from mixed-effects modelling were used to estimate prevalence. Estimates of diagnostic yield of sputum testing with Xpert (or culture if Xpert was unavailable) and of urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) testing for M tuberculosis BSI were obtained by two-level random-effect meta-analysis. Estimates of mortality associated with M tuberculosis BSI were obtained by mixed-effect Cox proportional-hazard modelling and of effect of treatment delay on mortality by propensity-score analysis. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number 42016050022. FINDINGS: We identified 23 datasets for inclusion (20 published and three unpublished at time of search) and obtained IPD from 20, representing 96·2% of eligible IPD. Risk of bias for the included studies was assessed to be generally low except for on the patient selection domain, which was moderate in most studies. 5751 patients met harmonised IPD-level inclusion criteria. Technical factors such as number of blood cultures done, timing of blood cultures relative to blood sampling, and patient factors such as inpatient setting and CD4 cell count, explained significant heterogeneity between primary studies. The predicted probability of M tuberculosis BSI in hospital inpatients with HIV-associated tuberculosis, WHO danger signs, and a CD4 count of 76 cells per µL (the median for the cohort) was 45% (95% CI 38-52). The diagnostic yield of sputum in patients with M tuberculosis BSI was 77% (95% CI 63-87), increasing to 89% (80-94) when combined with urine LAM testing. Presence of M tuberculosis BSI compared with its absence in patients with HIV-associated tuberculosis increased risk of death before 30 days (adjusted hazard ratio 2·48, 95% CI 2·05-3·08) but not after 30 days (1·25, 0·84-2·49). In a propensity-score matched cohort of participants with HIV-associated tuberculosis (n=630), mortality increased in patients with M tuberculosis BSI who had a delay in anti-tuberculosis treatment of longer than 4 days compared with those who had no delay (odds ratio 3·15, 95% CI 1·16-8·84). INTERPRETATION: In critically ill adults with HIV-tuberculosis, M tuberculosis BSI is a frequent manifestation of tuberculosis and predicts mortality within 30 days. Improved diagnostic yield in patients with M tuberculosis BSI could be achieved through combined use of sputum Xpert and urine LAM. Anti-tuberculosis treatment delay might increase the risk of mortality in these patients. FUNDING: This study was supported by Wellcome fellowships 109105Z/15/A and 105165/Z/14/A.

High prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia among a cohort of HIV-infected patients with severe sepsis in Lusaka, Zambia.

Tuberculosis is recognised as one of the leading causes of severe sepsis among HIV-infected patients. Most patients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia have advanced HIV disease with CD4 counts less than 100 cells/µl and its presentation is non-specific in most instances. This was a cross-sectional study which was done by analyzing data from 201 adult HIV-infected patients who met the inclusion criteria for severe sepsis. The prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bactraemia in the study population was 34.8%. Severe sepsis caused by other etiologies was observed in 33 (16.4%) of the participants. Concomitant infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bactraemia with other organisms is not uncommon in patients with severe sepsis. This cohort of HIV-infected patients had severe immunosuppression with a median CD4 count of 51 (20-136) cells/µl with moderate anaemia, mean haemoglobin 8.0 (3.0) g/dl, and were generally underweight with a mean mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) of 21.0 (3.4) cm. Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia is very common in HIV-infected patients with advanced HIV disease who present with severe sepsis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia co-infection with aerobic organisms is not uncommon. Factors that were independently associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteraemia in our study population were MUAC and sodium level.