Response of patients with acute respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 to awake-prone position outside the intensive care unit based on pulmonary involvement.

OBJECTIVES: Since there are difficulties in establishing effective treatments for COVID-19, a vital way to reduce mortality is an early intervention to prevent disease progression. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of patients with COVID-19 with acute hypoxic respiratory failure according to pulmonary impairment in the awake-prone position, outside of the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted on COVID-19 patients under noninvasive respiratory support. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained for each patient before the treatment and after they were placed in the awake-prone position. To identify responders and non-responders after the first prone maneuver, receiver operating characteristic curves with sensitivity and specificity of the PaO2/FiO2 and SpO2/FiO2 indices were analyzed. The maneuver was considered positive if the patient did not require endotracheal intubation for ventilatory assistance. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were included, and 64.6% were categorized as responders. The SpO2/FiO2 index was effective for predicting endotracheal intubation in COVID-19 patients regardless of lung parenchymal damage (area under the curve 0.84, cutoff point 165, sensitivity 85%, specificity 75%). Responders had better outcomes with lower hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR]=0.107, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.012-0.93) and a shorter length of stay (median difference 6 days, HR=0.30, 95% CI: 0.13-0.66) after adjusting for age, body mass index, sex, and comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: The awake-prone position for COVID-19 patients outside the ICU can improve oxygenation and clinical outcomes regardless of the extent of pulmonary impairment. Furthermore, the SpO2/FiO2 index discriminates responders from non-responders to the prone maneuver predicting endotracheal intubation with a cutoff under or below 165.

Postoperative hypothermia following non-cardiac high-risk surgery: A prospective study of temporal patterns and risk factors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hypothermia occurs commonly during surgery and can cause postoperative complications. We aimed to describe the characteristics and outcomes of hypothermia in patients undergoing major surgeries. METHODS: This prospective, observational, multicenter study of a nationally representative sample included all patients over 18 years of age admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Thirty ICUs were selected randomly at national level. The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients who developed postoperative hypothermia in the first 24 hours of ICU admission. Patients were divided into three groups based on temperature: <35°C, <36°C, and ≥36°C (no hypothermia). Patients' characteristics, postoperative complications, and risk factors were evaluated in all groups. To verify whether hypothermia was a strong risk factor for postoperative complications, a Kaplan-Meier curve was generated and adjusted using a Cox regression model. RESULTS: In total, 738 patients had their temperatures measured. The percentage of patients with temperature <35°C (median [Q1-Q3], 34.7°C [34.3-34.9°C]) was 19.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 16.1-22.5) and that of patients with temperature <36°C (median [Q1-Q3], 35.4°C [35.0-35.8°C]) was 64% (95% CI = 58.3-70.0). The percentage of surgical complications was 38.9%. Patients with hypothermia were older, had undergone abdominal surgeries, had undergone procedures of longer duration, and had more comorbidities. A postoperative temperature ≤35°C was an independent risk for composite postoperative complications (hazard ratio = 1.523, 95% CI = 1.15-2.0), especially coagulation and infection. CONCLUSIONS: Inadvertent hypothermia was frequent among patients admitted to the ICU and occurred more likely after abdominal surgery, after a long procedure, in elderly patients, and in patients with a higher number of comorbidities. Low postoperative temperature was associated with postoperative complications.

Response of patients with acute respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 to awake-prone position outside the intensive care unit based on pulmonary involvement

OBJECTIVES: Since there are difficulties in establishing effective treatments for COVID-19, a vital way to reduce mortality is an early intervention to prevent disease progression. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of patients with COVID-19 with acute hypoxic respiratory failure according to pulmonary impairment in the awake-prone position, outside of the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted on COVID-19 patients under noninvasive respiratory support. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained for each patient before the treatment and after they were placed in the awake-prone position. To identify responders and non-responders after the first prone maneuver, receiver operating characteristic curves with sensitivity and specificity of the PaO2/FiO2 and SpO2/FiO2 indices were analyzed. The maneuver was considered positive if the patient did not require endotracheal intubation for ventilatory assistance. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were included, and 64.6% were categorized as responders. The SpO2/FiO2 index was effective for predicting endotracheal intubation in COVID-19 patients regardless of lung parenchymal damage (area under the curve 0.84, cutoff point 165, sensitivity 85%, specificity 75%). Responders had better outcomes with lower hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR]=0.107, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.012-0.93) and a shorter length of stay (median difference 6 days, HR=0.30, 95% CI: 0.13-0.66) after adjusting for age, body mass index, sex, and comorbidities. CONCLUSIONS: The awake-prone position for COVID-19 patients outside the ICU can improve oxygenation and clinical outcomes regardless of the extent of pulmonary impairment. Furthermore, the SpO2/FiO2 index discriminates responders from non-responders to the prone maneuver predicting endotracheal intubation with a cutoff under or below 165.

Impact of perioperative hemodynamic optimization therapies in surgical patients: economic study and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that hemodynamic optimization therapies can reduce complications, the length of hospital stay and costs. However, Brazilian data are scarce. Therefore, the objective of this analysis was to evaluate whether the improvement demonstrated by hemodynamic optimization therapy in surgical patients could result in lower costs from the perspective of the Brazilian public unified health system. METHODS: A meta-analysis was performed comparing surgical patients who underwent hemodynamic optimization therapy (intervention) with patients who underwent standard therapy (control) in terms of complications and hospital costs. The cost-effectiveness analysis evaluated the clinical and financial benefits of hemodynamic optimization protocols for surgical patients. The analysis considered the clinical outcomes of randomized studies published in the last 20 years that involved surgeries and hemodynamic optimization therapy. Indirect costs (equipment depreciation, estate and management activities) were not included in the analysis. RESULTS: A total of 21 clinical trials with a total of 4872 surgical patients were selected. Comparison of the intervention and control groups showed lower rates of infectious (RR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.58-0.74), renal (RR = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.54-0.87), and cardiovascular (RR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.76-0.99) complications and a nonstatistically significant lower rate of respiratory complications (RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.67-1.02). There was no difference in mortality (RR = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.80-1.3) between groups. In the analysis of total costs, the intervention group showed a cost reduction of R$396,024.83-BRL ($90,161.38-USD) for every 1000 patients treated compared to the control group. The patients in the intervention group showed greater effectiveness, with 1.0 fewer days in the intensive care unit and hospital. In addition, there were 333 fewer patients with complications, with a consequent reduction of R$1,630,341.47-BRL ($371,173.27-USD) for every 1000 patients treated. CONCLUSIONS: Hemodynamic optimization therapy is cost-effective and would increase the efficiency of and decrease the burden of the Brazilian public health system.