Herpes Simplex Virus Encephalitis With Initial Negative Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Cerebrospinal Fluid: Prevalence, Associated Factors, and Clinical Impact.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence, associated factors, and clinical impact of an initial negative herpes simplex virus (HSV) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in critically ill patients with PCR-proven HSV encephalitis. DESIGN: Retrospective multicenter study from 2007 to 2017. SETTING: Forty-seven French ICUs. PATIENTS: Critically ill patients admitted to the ICU with possible/probable acute encephalitis and a positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PCR for HSV. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We included 273 patients with a median Glasgow Coma Scale score of 9 (6-12) at ICU admission. CSF HSV PCR was negative in 11 cases (4%), exclusively in lumbar punctures (LPs) performed less than 4 days after symptoms onset. Patients with an initial negative PCR presented with more frequent focal neurologic signs (4/11 [36.4%] vs 35/256 [13.7%]; p = 0.04) and lower CSF leukocytosis (4 cells/mm3 [3-25 cells/mm3] vs 52 cells/mm3 [12-160 cells/mm3]; p < 0.01). An initial negative PCR was associated with an increased delay between LP and acyclovir treatment (3 d [2-7 ] vs 0 d [0-0 d]; p < 0.01) and was independently associated with a poor neurologic outcome at hospital discharge (modified Rankin Scale score ≥ 4) (adjusted odds ratio, 9.89; 95% CI, 1.18-82.78). CONCLUSIONS: In severe herpes simplex encephalitis, initial negative CSF HSV PCR occurred in 4% of cases and was independently associated with worse neurologic outcome at hospital discharge. In these patients, a systematic multimodal diagnostic approach including early brain MRI and EEG will help clinicians avoid delayed acyclovir initiation or early inappropriate discontinuation.

Assessment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Changes and Functional Outcomes Among Adults With Severe Herpes Simplex Encephalitis.

Importance: Current guidelines recommend brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for clinical management of patients with severe herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). However, the prognostic value of brain imaging has not been demonstrated in this setting. Objective: To investigate the association between early brain MRI data and functional outcomes of patients with HSE at 90 days after intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter cohort study was conducted in 34 ICUs in France from 2007 to 2019 and recruited all patients who received a clinical diagnosis of encephalitis and exhibited cerebrospinal fluid positivity for herpes simplex virus DNA in the polymerase chain reaction analysis. Data analysis was performed from January to April 2020. Exposures: All patients underwent a standard brain MRI during the first 30 days after ICU admission. Main Outcomes and Measures: MRI acquisitions were analyzed by radiologists blinded to patients' outcomes, using a predefined score. Multivariable logistic regression and supervised hierarchical classifiers methods were used to identify factors associated with poor outcome at 90 days, defined by a score of 3 to 6 (indicating moderate-to-severe disability or death) on the Modified Rankin Scale. Results: Overall, 138 patients (median [interquartile range {IQR}] age, 62.6 [54.0-72.0] years; 75 men [54.3%]) with an admission median (IQR) Glasgow Coma Scale score of 9 (6-12) were studied. The median (IQR) delay between ICU admission and MRI was 1 (1-7) days. At 90 days, 95 patients (68.8%) had a poor outcome, including 16 deaths (11.6%). The presence of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI signal abnormalities in more than 3 brain lobes (odds ratio [OR], 25.71; 95% CI, 1.21-554.42), age older than 60 years (OR, 7.62; 95% CI, 2.02-28.91), and the presence of diffusion-weighted MRI signal abnormalities in the left thalamus (OR, 6.90; 95% CI, 1.12-43.00) were independently associated with poor outcome. Machine learning models identified bilateral diffusion abnormalities as an additional factor associated with poor outcome (34 of 39 patients [87.2%] with bilateral abnormalities had poor outcomes) and confirmed the functional burden of left thalamic lesions, particularly in older patients (all 11 patients aged >60 years had left thalamic lesions). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that in adult patients with HSE requiring ICU admission, extensive MRI changes in the brain are independently associated with poor functional outcome at 90 days. Thalamic diffusion signal changes were frequently observed and were associated with poor prognosis, mainly in older patients.

Characterization of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) frequency, severity and characterization in critically ill patients has not been reported. METHODS: Single-centre cohort performed from 3 March 2020 to 14 April 2020 in four intensive care units in Bordeaux University Hospital, France. All patients with COVID-19 and pulmonary severity criteria were included. AKI was defined using Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. A systematic urinary analysis was performed. The incidence, severity, clinical presentation, biological characterization (transient versus persistent AKI; proteinuria, haematuria and glycosuria) and short-term outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients were included, with basal serum creatinine (SCr) of 69 ± 21 µmol/L. At admission, AKI was present in 8/71 (11%) patients. Median [interquartile range (IQR)] follow-up was 17 (12-23) days. AKI developed in a total of 57/71 (80%) patients, with 35% Stage 1, 35% Stage 2 and 30% Stage 3 AKI; 10/57 (18%) required renal replacement therapy (RRT). Transient AKI was present in only 4/55 (7%) patients and persistent AKI was observed in 51/55 (93%). Patients with persistent AKI developed a median (IQR) urine protein/creatinine of 82 (54-140) (mg/mmol) with an albuminuria/proteinuria ratio of 0.23 ± 20, indicating predominant tubulointerstitial injury. Only two (4%) patients had glycosuria. At Day 7 after onset of AKI, six (11%) patients remained dependent on RRT, nine (16%) had SCr >200 µmol/L and four (7%) had died. Day 7 and Day 14 renal recovery occurred in 28% and 52%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Severe COVID-19-associated AKI is frequent, persistent, severe and characterized by an almost exclusive tubulointerstitial injury without glycosuria.

Intermittent noninvasive ventilation after extubation in patients with chronic respiratory disorders: a multicenter randomized controlled trial (VHYPER).

PURPOSE: Early noninvasive ventilation (NIV) after extubation decreases the risk of respiratory failure and lowers 90-day mortality in patients with hypercapnia. Patients with chronic respiratory disease are at risk of extubation failure. Therefore, it could be useful to determine the role of NIV with a discontinuous approach, not limited to patients with hypercapnia. We assessed the efficacy of early NIV in decreasing respiratory failure after extubation in patients with chronic respiratory disorders. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled multicenter study was conducted. We enrolled 144 mechanically ventilated patients with chronic respiratory disorders who tolerated a spontaneous breathing trial. Patients were randomly allocated after extubation to receive either NIV (NIV group, n = 72), performed with a discontinuous approach, for the first 48 h, or conventional oxygen treatment (usual care group, n = 72). The primary endpoint was decreased respiratory failure within 48 h after extubation. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01047852). RESULTS: Respiratory failure after extubation was less frequent in the NIV group: 6 (8.5%) versus 20 (27.8%); p = 0.0016. Six patients (8.5%) in the NIV group versus 13 (18.1%) in the usual care group were reintubated; p = 0.09. Intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and 90-day mortality did not differ significantly between the two groups (p = 0.28 and p = 0.33, respectively). Median postrandomization ICU length of stay was lower in the usual care group: 3 days (IQR 2-6) versus 4 days (IQR 2-7; p = 0.008). Patients with hypercapnia during a spontaneous breathing trial were at risk of developing postextubation respiratory failure [adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) = 4.56 (1.59-14.00); p = 0.006] and being intubated [adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) = 3.60 (1.07-13.31); p = 0.04]. CONCLUSIONS: Early NIV performed following a sequential protocol for the first 48 h after extubation decreased the risk of respiratory failure in patients with chronic respiratory disorders. Reintubation and mortality did not differ between NIV and conventional oxygen therapy.