Differences in incidence, nature of symptoms, and duration of long COVID among hospitalised migrant and non-migrant patients in the Netherlands: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Comprehensive data on long COVID across ethnic and migrant groups are lacking. We investigated incidence, nature of symptoms, clinical predictors, and duration of long COVID among COVID-19 hospitalised patients in the Netherlands by migration background (Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan, and Surinamese origin, Others). Methods: We used COVID-19 admissions and follow up data (January 2021-July 2022) from Amsterdam University Medical Centers. We calculated long COVID incidence proportions per NICE guidelines by migration background and assessed for clinical predictors via robust Poisson regressions. We then examined associations between migration background and long COVID using robust Poisson regressions and adjusted for derived clinical predictors, and other biologically relevant factors. We also assessed long COVID symptom persistence at one-year post-discharge. Findings: 1886 patients were included. 483 patients had long COVID (26%, 95% CI 24-28%) at 12 weeks post-discharge. Symptoms like dizziness, joint pain, insomnia, and headache varied by migration background. Clinical predictors of long COVID were female sex, hospital admission duration, intensive care unit admission, and receiving oxygen, or corticosteroid therapy. Long COVID risk was higher among patients with migration background than Dutch origin patients after adjustments for derived clinical predictors, age, smoking, vaccination status, comorbidities and remdesivir treatment. Only 14% of long COVID symptoms persisted at one-year post-discharge. Interpretation: There are significant differences in occurrence, nature of symptoms, and duration of long COVID by migration background. Studies assessing the spectrum of functional limitation and access to post-COVID healthcare are needed to help plan for appropriate and accessible healthcare interventions. Funding: The Amsterdam UMC COVID-19 biobank is supported by the Amsterdam UMC Corona Research Fund and the Talud Foundation (Stichting Talud). The current analyses were supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation [NNF21OC0067528].

Host Response Biomarkers for Sepsis in the Emergency Room.

This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2023. Other selected articles can be found online at https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/annualupdate2023 . Further information about the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from https://link.springer.com/bookseries/8901 .

The Platelet Lipidome Is Altered in Patients with COVID-19 and Correlates with Platelet Reactivity.

BACKGROUND: Activated platelets have been implicated in the proinflammatory and prothrombotic phenotype of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While it is increasingly recognized that lipids have important structural and signaling roles in platelets, the lipidomic landscape of platelets during infection has remained unexplored. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the platelet lipidome of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. METHODS: We performed untargeted lipidomics in platelets of 25 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and 23 noninfectious controls with similar age and sex characteristics, and with comparable comorbidities. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent of the 1,650 annotated lipids were significantly different between the groups. The significantly altered part of the platelet lipidome mostly comprised lipids that were less abundant in patients with COVID-19 (20.4% down, 4.6% up, 75% unchanged). Platelets from COVID-19 patients showed decreased levels of membrane plasmalogens, and a distinct decrease of long-chain, unsaturated triacylglycerols. Conversely, platelets from patients with COVID-19 displayed class-wide higher abundances of bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate and its biosynthetic precursor lysophosphatidylglycerol. Levels of these classes positively correlated with ex vivo platelet reactivity-as measured by P-selectin expression after PAR1 activation-irrespective of disease state. CONCLUSION: Taken together, this investigation provides the first exploration of the profound impact of infection on the human platelet lipidome, and reveals associations between the lipid composition of platelets and their reactivity. These results warrant further lipidomic research in other infections and disease states involving platelet pathophysiology.

Mortality and readmission rates among hospitalized COVID-19 patients with varying stages of chronic kidney disease: a multicenter retrospective cohort.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been recognized as a highly prevalent risk factor for both the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and COVID-19 associated adverse outcomes. In this multicenter observational cohort study, we aim to determine mortality and readmission rates of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 across varying CKD stages. We performed a multicenter cohort study among COVID-19 patients included in the Dutch COVIDPredict cohort. The cohort consists of hospitalized patients from March 2020 until July 2021 with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection or a highly suspected CT scan-based infection with a CORADS score ≥ 4. A total of 4151 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were included of who 389 had a history of CKD before admission. After adjusting for all confounding covariables, in patients with CKD stage 3a, stage 3b, stage 4 and patients with KTX (kidney transplantation), odds ratios of death and readmission compared to patients without CKD ranged from 1.96 to 8.94. We demonstrate an evident increased 12-week mortality and readmission rate in patients with chronic kidney disease. Besides justified concerns for kidney transplant patients, clinicians should also be aware of more severe COVID-19 outcomes and increased vulnerability in CKD patients.

Probiotics in the Intensive Care Unit.

The understanding of the gut microbiome in health and disease has shown tremendous progress in the last decade. Shaped and balanced throughout life, the gut microbiome is intricately related to the local and systemic immune system and a multitude of mechanisms through which the gut microbiome contributes to the host's defense against pathogens have been revealed. Similarly, a plethora of negative consequences, such as superinfections and an increased rate of hospital re-admissions, have been identified when the gut microbiome is disturbed by disease or by the iatrogenic effects of antibiotic treatment and other interventions. In this review, we describe the role that probiotics may play in the intensive care unit (ICU). We discuss what is known about the gut microbiome of the critically ill, and the concept of probiotic intervention to positively modulate the gut microbiome. We summarize the evidence derived from randomized clinical trials in this context, with a focus on the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Finally, we consider what lessons we can learn in terms of the current challenges, efficacy and safety of probiotics in the ICU and what we may expect from the future. Throughout the review, we highlight studies that have provided conceptual advances to the field or have revealed a specific mechanism; this narrative review is not intended as a comprehensive summary of the literature.

Western-type diet influences mortality from necrotising pancreatitis and demonstrates a central role for butyrate.

OBJECTIVE: The gut microbiota are the main source of infections in necrotising pancreatitis. We investigated the effect of disruption of the intestinal microbiota by a Western-type diet on mortality and bacterial dissemination in necrotising pancreatitis and its reversal by butyrate supplementation. DESIGN: C57BL/6 mice were fed either standard chow or a Western-type diet for 4 weeks and were then subjected to taurocholate-induced necrotising pancreatitis. Blood and pancreas were collected for bacteriology and immune analysis. The cecum microbiota composition of mice was analysed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and cecal content metabolites were analysed by targeted (ie, butyrate) and untargeted metabolomics. Prevention of necrotising pancreatitis in this model was compared between faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy mice, antibiotic decontamination against Gram-negative bacteria and oral or systemic butyrate administration. Additionally, the faecal microbiota of patients with pancreatitis and healthy subjects were analysed. RESULTS: Mortality, systemic inflammation and bacterial dissemination were increased in mice fed Western diet and their gut microbiota were characterised by a loss of diversity, a bloom of Escherichia coli and an altered metabolic profile with butyrate depletion. While antibiotic decontamination decreased mortality, Gram-positive dissemination was increased. Both oral and systemic butyrate supplementation decreased mortality, bacterial dissemination, and reversed the microbiota alterations. Paradoxically, mortality and bacterial dissemination were increased with FMT administration. Finally, patients with acute pancreatitis demonstrated an increase in Proteobacteria and a decrease of butyrate producers compared with healthy subjects. CONCLUSION: Butyrate depletion and its repletion appear to play a central role in disease progression towards necrotising pancreatitis.

Effect of Antibiotic-Mediated Microbiome Modulation on Rotavirus Vaccine Immunogenicity: A Human, Randomized-Control Proof-of-Concept Trial.

Rotavirus vaccines (RVV) protect against childhood gastroenteritis caused by rotavirus (RV) but have decreased effectiveness in low- and middle-income settings. This proof-of-concept, randomized-controlled, open-label trial tested if microbiome modulation can improve RVV immunogenicity. Healthy adults were randomized and administered broad-spectrum (oral vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole), narrow-spectrum (vancomycin), or no antibiotics and then vaccinated with RVV, 21 per group per protocol. Baseline anti-RV IgA was high in all subjects. Although antibiotics did not alter absolute anti-RV IgA titers, RVV immunogenicity was boosted at 7 days in the narrow-spectrum group. Further, antibiotics increased fecal shedding of RV while also rapidly altering gut bacterial beta diversity. Beta diversity associated with RVV immunogenicity boosting at day 7 and specific bacterial taxa that distinguish RVV boosters and RV shedders were identified. Despite the negative primary endpoint, this study demonstrates that microbiota modification alters the immune response to RVV and supports further exploration of microbiome manipulation to improve RVV immunogenicity.

Minimum quality threshold in pre-clinical sepsis studies (MQTiPSS): an international expert consensus initiative for improvement of animal modeling in sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Pre-clinical animal studies precede the majority of clinical trials. While the clinical definitions of sepsis and recommended treatments are regularly updated, a systematic review of pre-clinical models of sepsis has not been done and clear modeling guidelines are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To address this deficit, a Wiggers-Bernard Conference on pre-clinical sepsis modeling was held in Vienna in May 2017. The goal of the conference was to identify limitations of pre-clinical sepsis models and to propose a set of guidelines, defined as the "Minimum Quality Threshold in Pre-Clinical Sepsis Studies" (MQTiPSS), to enhance translational value of these models. METHODS: A total of 31 experts from 13 countries participated and were divided into 6 thematic working groups (WG): (1) study design, (2) humane modeling, (3) infection types, (4) organ failure/dysfunction, (5) fluid resuscitation, and (6) antimicrobial therapy endpoints. As basis for the MQTiPSS discussions, the participants conducted a literature review of the 260 most highly cited scientific articles on sepsis models (2002-2013). RESULTS: Overall, the participants reached consensus on 29 points; 20 at "recommendation" (R) and 9 at "consideration" (C) strength. This executive summary provides a synopsis of the MQTiPSS consensus (Tables 1, 2, and 3). Detailed commentaries to all Rs and Cs are simultaneously published in three separate full-length papers. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that these recommendations and considerations will serve to bring a level of standardization to pre-clinical models of sepsis and ultimately improve translation of pre-clinical findings. These guideline points are proposed as "best practices" for animal models of sepsis that should be implemented. In order to encourage its wide dissemination, this article is freely accessible in Shock, Infection and Intensive Care Medicine Experimental.

The emerging role of the microbiota in the ICU.

This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2018. Other selected articles can be found online at https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/annualupdate2018 . Further information about the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from http://www.springer.com/series/8901 .

Biomarkers in Sepsis.

A biomarker is a characteristic by which a (patho)physiologic process can be identified. Biomarkers can be of diagnostic value (to discriminate infection from noninfectious conditions or to determine the causative pathogen), of prognostic value (assigning risk profiles and predict outcome), and in the future may be of theranostic value (aid in selection and monitoring of therapy). Systems biology provides a promising tool for the discovery of novel biomarkers. Biomarkers can be the key to personalized targeted treatment in the future clinical management of sepsis.

Expression of intra- and extracellular granzymes in patients with typhoid fever.

BACKGROUND: Typhoid fever, caused by the intracellular pathogen Salmonella (S.) enterica serovar Typhi, remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Granzymes are serine proteases promoting cytotoxic lymphocytes mediated eradication of intracellular pathogens via the induction of cell death and which can also play a role in inflammation. We aimed to characterize the expression of extracellular and intracellular granzymes in patients with typhoid fever and whether the extracellular levels of granzyme correlated with IFN-γ release. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed soluble protein levels of extracellular granzyme A and B in healthy volunteers and patients with confirmed S. Typhi infection on admission and day of discharge, and investigated whether this correlated with interferon (IFN)-γ release, a cytokine significantly expressed in typhoid fever. The intracellular expression of granzyme A, B and K in subsets of lymphocytic cells was determined using flow cytometry. Patients demonstrated a marked increase of extracellular granzyme A and B in acute phase plasma and a correlation of both granzymes with IFN-γ release. In patients, lower plasma levels of granzyme B, but not granzyme A, were found at day of discharge compared to admission, indicating an association of granzyme B with stage of disease. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of typhoid fever patients had a higher percentage of lymphocytic cells expressing intracellular granzyme A and granzyme B, but not granzyme K, compared to controls. CONCLUSION: The marked increase observed in extra- and intracellular levels of granzyme expression in patients with typhoid fever, and the correlation with stage of disease, suggests a role for granzymes in the host response to this disease.

Significant Correlation Between the Infant Gut Microbiome and Rotavirus Vaccine Response in Rural Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus (RV) is the leading cause of diarrhea-related death in children worldwide and 95% of RV-associated deaths occur in Africa and Asia where RV vaccines (RVVs) have lower efficacy. We hypothesize that differences in intestinal microbiome composition correlate with the decreased RVV efficacy observed in poor settings. METHODS: We conducted a nested, case-control study comparing prevaccination, fecal microbiome compositions between 6-week old, matched RVV responders and nonresponders in rural Ghana. These infants' microbiomes were then compared with 154 age-matched, healthy Dutch infants' microbiomes, assumed to be RVV responders. Fecal microbiome analysis was performed in all groups using the Human Intestinal Tract Chip. RESULTS: We analyzed findings in 78 Ghanaian infants, including 39 RVV responder and nonresponder pairs. The overall microbiome composition was significantly different between RVV responders and nonresponders (FDR, 0.12), and Ghanaian responders were more similar to Dutch infants than nonresponders (P = .002). RVV response correlated with an increased abundance of Streptococcus bovis and a decreased abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum in comparisons between both Ghanaian RVV responders and nonresponders (FDR, 0.008 vs 0.003) and Dutch infants and Ghanaian nonresponders (FDR, 0.002 vs 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: The intestinal microbiome composition correlates significantly with RVV immunogenicity and may contribute to the diminished RVV immunogenicity observed in developing countries.

Expression and function of S100A8/A9 (calprotectin) in human typhoid fever and the murine Salmonella model.

BACKGROUND: Typhoid fever, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, is a major cause of community-acquired bacteremia and death worldwide. S100A8 (MRP8) and S100A9 (MRP14) form bioactive antimicrobial heterodimers (calprotectin) that can activate Toll-like receptor 4, promoting lethal, endotoxin-induced shock and multi-organ failure. We aimed to characterize the expression and function of S100A8/A9 in patients with typhoid fever and in a murine invasive Salmonella model. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: S100A8/A9 protein levels were determined in acute phase plasma or feces from 28 Bangladeshi patients, and convalescent phase plasma from 60 Indonesian patients with blood culture or PCR-confirmed typhoid fever, and compared to 98 healthy control subjects. To functionally characterize the role of S100A8/A9, we challenged wildtype (WT) and S100A9-/- mice with S. Typhimurium and determined bacterial loads and inflammation 2- and 5- days post infection. We further assessed the antimicrobial function of recombinant S100A8/A9 on S. Typhimurium and S. Typhi replication in vitro. Typhoid fever patients demonstrated a marked increase of S100A8/A9 in acute phase plasma and feces and this increases correlated with duration of fever prior to admission. S100A8/A9 directly inhibited the growth of S. Typhimurium and S. Typhi in vitro in a dose and time dependent fashion. WT mice inoculated with S. Typhimurium showed increased levels of S100A8/A9 in both the liver and the systemic compartment but S100A9-/- mice were indistinguishable from WT mice with respect to bacterial growth, survival, and inflammatory responses, as determined by cytokine release, histopathology and organ injury. CONCLUSION: S100A8/A9 is markedly elevated in human typhoid, correlates with duration of fever prior to admission and directly inhibits the growth of S. Typhimurium and S. Typhi in vitro. Despite elevated levels in the murine invasive Salmonella model, S100A8/A9 does not contribute to an effective host response against S. Typhimurium in mice.

The coagulation system in melioidosis: from pathogenesis to new treatment strategies.

Melioidosis, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a dreadful disease common in South-East Asia and Northern Australia and is characterized by chronic suppurative lesions and pneumonia. Melioidosis may evolve into severe sepsis with multi-organ failure with high mortalities, despite proper antibiotic therapy. Besides activation of a strong pro-inflammatory host response, the coagulation system plays an important role during melioidosis, which is thought to be host-protective. In particular, a procoagulant state together with downregulation of anticoagulant pathways and activation of fibrinolysis are present, all closely interrelated with parameters of inflammation. This review presents an overview of recent studies in which the role of coagulation, anti-coagulation and fibrinolysis during melioidosis was investigated both in patients and in experimental settings.

Host innate immune responses to sepsis.

The immune response to sepsis can be seen as a pattern recognition receptor-mediated dysregulation of the immune system following pathogen invasion in which a careful balance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses is vital. Invasive infection triggers both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory host responses, the magnitude of which depends on multiple factors, including pathogen virulence, site of infection, host genetics, and comorbidities. Toll-like receptors, the inflammasomes, and other pattern recognition receptors initiate the immune response after recognition of danger signals derived from microorganisms, so-called pathogen-associated molecular patterns or derived from the host, so-called danger-associated molecular patterns. Further dissection of the role of host-pathogen interactions, the cytokine response, the coagulation cascade, and their multidirectional interactions in sepsis should lead toward the development of new therapeutic strategies in sepsis.

The systemic pro-inflammatory response in sepsis.

The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is the predominantly cytokine-mediated, pro-inflammatory response of the host to invading pathogens and is considered the hallmark sign of sepsis. Molecular components of this response can be divided into cytokines, plasma cascades and acute phase proteins while the predominant cellular components are leukocytes and the endothelium. High-throughput genetic profiling studies have led to increased insights into leukocyte regulation during sepsis. New players in the pro-inflammatory cytokine network include interleukin-17, high-mobility group box-1 protein, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, the myeloid-related proteins Mrp8 and Mrp14, and soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1. Activation of coagulation with concurrent downregulation of anticoagulant systems and fibrinolysis are almost universally present in septic patients with SIRS. Increasing evidence points to an extensive cross-talk between inflammation and coagulation, in which the protease-activated cell receptors play an important role. Sepsis causes excessive activation of the complement system in which C5a plays a key part. Further dissection of the role of host-pathogen interactions, the cytokine network, the coagulation cascade, the complement system and their multidirectional interactions in sepsis will pave the way for new treatment targets that can modify the excessive and collective activation of all these systems.

Immunosuppression associated with interleukin-1R-associated-kinase-M upregulation predicts mortality in Gram-negative sepsis (melioidosis).

OBJECTIVES: Sepsis is associated with immunosuppression (characterized by a reduced capacity of circulating monocytes to release proinflammatory cytokines), which has been implicated in late mortality. Melioidosis, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is an important cause of community-acquired sepsis in Southeast Asia with a mortality of up to 40%. Previous in vitro and murine studies have suggested a key role for the so-called negative regulators of the toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway in immunosuppression. In this study, we investigated the expression of these negative TLR regulators in patients with septic melioidosis in association with the responsiveness of peripheral blood leukocytes of these patients to lipopolysaccharide and B. pseudomallei. DESIGN: Ex vivo study. SETTING: Academic research laboratory. PATIENTS: Thirty-two healthy controls and 34 patients with sepsis caused by B. pseudomallei. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS: 1) Plasma cytokine levels; 2) ex vivo cytokine production capacity of whole blood; and 3) purified mononuclear cell-derived messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of key inhibitory molecules of the TLR-signaling cascade were investigated. MAIN RESULTS: In accordance with an immunosuppressed state, whole blood of patients demonstrated a strongly decreased capacity to release the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-[alpha], interleukin-1[beta], and the chemokine interleukin-8 after ex vivo stimulation with lipopolysaccharide or B. pseudomallei. Analysis of myeloid-differentiation-88-short, interleukin-1R-associated-kinase (IRAK)-M, IRAK-1, suppressor-of-cytokine signaling-3, Src-homology-2-domain-containing inositol-5-phosphatase-1, single-immunoglobulin-interleukin-1R-related-molecule, and A20 mRNA expression in purified mononuclear cells showed decreased IRAK-1 and elevated IRAK-M expression in patients with septic melioidosis. Immunosuppression was correlated with mortality; furthermore, patients who eventually died had higher IRAK-M mRNA levels on admission than the patients who survived. CONCLUSIONS: Immunosuppression in sepsis caused by B. pseudomallei is associated with an upregulation of IRAK-M and an indicator of poor outcome.

Inflammation, endothelium, and coagulation in sepsis.

Sepsis is a systemic response to infection, and symptoms are produced by host defense systems rather than by the invading pathogens. Amongst the most prominent features of sepsis, contributing significantly to its outcome, is activation of coagulation with concurrent down-regulation of anticoagulant systems and fibrinolysis. Inflammation-induced coagulation on its turn contributes to inflammation. Another important feature of sepsis, associated with key symptoms such as hypovolemia and hypotension, is endothelial dysfunction. Under normal conditions, the endothelium provides for an anticoagulant surface, a property that is lost in sepsis. In this review, data about the interplay between inflammation and coagulation in sepsis are summarized with a special focus on the influence of the endothelium on inflammation-induced coagulation and vice versa. Possible procoagulant properties of the endothelium are described, such as expression of tissue factor (TF) and von Willebrand factor and interaction with platelets. Possible procoagulant roles of microparticles, circulating endothelial cells and endothelial apoptosis, are also discussed. Moreover, the important roles of the endothelium in down-regulating the anticoagulants TF pathway inhibitor, antithrombin, and the protein C (PC) system and inhibition of fibrinolysis are discussed. The influence of coagulation on its turn on inflammation and the endothelium is described with a special focus on protease-activated receptors (PARs). We conclude that the relationship between endothelium and coagulation in sepsis is tight and that further research is needed, for example, to better understand the role of activated PC signaling via PAR-1, the role of the endothelial PC receptor herein, and the role of the glycocalyx.