Percutaneous tracheostomy in COVID-19 patients: a new apneic approach.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous dilation tracheostomy is an aerosol-generating procedure carrying a documented infectious risk during respiratory virus pandemics. For this reason, during the COVID-19 outbreak, surgical tracheostomy was preferred to the percutaneous one, despite the technique related complications increased risk. METHODS: We describe a new sequence for percutaneous dilation tracheostomy procedure that could be considered safe both for patients and healthcare personnel. A fiberscope was connected to a video unit to allow bronchoscopy. Guidewire positioning was performed as usual. While the established standard procedure continues with the creation of the stoma without any change in mechanical ventilation, we retracted the bronchoscope until immediately after the access valve in the mount tube, allowing normal ventilation. After 3 minutes of ventilation with 100% oxygen, mechanical ventilation was stopped without disconnecting the circuit. During apnea, the stoma was created by dilating the trachea and the tracheostomy cannula was inserted. Ventilation was then resumed. We evaluated the safeness of the procedure by recording any severe desaturation and by performing serological tests to all personnel. RESULTS: Thirty-six patients (38%) of 96 underwent tracheostomy; 22 (23%) percutaneous dilation tracheostomies with the new approach were performed without any desaturation. All personnel (150 operators) were evaluated for serological testing: 9 (6%) had positive serology but none of them had participated in tracheostomy procedures. CONCLUSION: This newly described percutaneous dilation tracheostomy technique was not related to severe desaturation events and we did not observe any positive serological test in health workers who performed the tracheostomies.

COVID-19 second wave: appropriateness of admissions to the Emergency Department of a main metropolitan hospital in Milan.

BACKGROUND: In Europe, Italy and Lombardy, in autumn 2020, there was a steep increase in reported cases due to the second epidemic wave of SARS-Cov-2 infection. We aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of COVID-19 patients' admissions to the ED of the San Raffaele Hospital. METHODS: We compared data between the inter-wave period (IWP, from 1st to 30th September) and the second wave period (WP, 1st October to 15th November) focusing on the ED presentation, discharge priority colour code and outcomes. RESULTS: Out of 977 admissions with a SARS-Cov-2 positive swab, 6% were in the IWP and 94% in the WP. Red, yellow and white code increased (these latter from 1.8% to 5.4%) as well as self-presented in yellow and white code. Discharges home increased from 1.8% to 5.4%, while hospitalizations decreased from 63% to 51%. DISCUSSION: We found a rise in white codes (among self-presented patients), indicating inappropriateness of admissions. The increase in discharges suggests that several patients did not require hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: The pandemic brought out the fundamental role of primary care to manage patients with low-intensity needs. The important increase in ED admissions of COVID-19 patients caused a reduction of NO-COVID-19 patients, with possible inadequate treatment.

Immunosuppressive strategies in invasively ventilated ARDS COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is associated with elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines. We present the characteristics and outcomes of patients treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with immunosuppressive drugs, either tocilizumab or anakinra compared with controls. METHODS: A single-center observational prospective study on ICU invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients. The primary outcome was the clinical improvement at day 28. A Bayesian framework was employed, and all analyses were adjusted for confounders. RESULTS: Sixty-one consecutive invasively ventilated patients were included, nine (14.7%) received tocilizumab and 15 (24.6%) received anakinra. Over the first seven days, tocilizumab was associated with a greater decrease in C-reactive protein (P<0.001). After adjusting for confounders, the probability of clinical improvement at day 28 compared to control was 7∙6% (OR=0.36 [95% CrI: 0.09-1.46]) for tocilizumab and 40.9% (OR=0.89 [95% CrI: 0.32-2.43]) for anakinra. At day 28, the probability of being in a better clinical category was 2.5% (OR=2.98 [95% CrI: 1.00-8.88]) for tocilizumab, and 49.5% (OR=1.00 [95% CrI: 0.42-2.42]) for anakinra. CONCLUSIONS: In invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients, treatment with anakinra was associated with a higher probability of clinical improvement compared to tocilizumab; however, treatment with either drug did not result in clinically meaningful improvements compared with controls.

Continuous infusion versus intermittent administration of meropenem in critically ill patients (MERCY): A multicenter randomized double-blind trial. Rationale and design.

OBJECTIVE: Meropenem is a ß-lactam, carbapenem antibacterial agent with antimicrobial activity against gram-negative, gram-positive and anaerobic micro-organisms and is important in the empirical treatment of serious infections in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients. Multi-drug resistant gram-negative organisms, coupled with scarcity of new antibiotic classes, forced healthcare community to optimize the therapeutic potential of available antibiotics. Our aim is to investigate the effect of continuous infusion of meropenem against bolus administration, as indicated by a composite outcome of reducing death and emergence of extensive or pan drug-resistant pathogens in a population of ICU patients. DESIGN: Double blind, double dummy, multicenter randomized controlled trial (1:1 allocation ratio). SETTING: Tertiary and University hospitals. INTERVENTIONS: 600 ICU patients with sepsis or septic shock, needing by clinical judgment antibiotic therapy with meropenem, will be randomized to receive a continuous infusion of meropenem 3 g/24 h or an equal dose divided into three daily boluses (i.e. 1g q8h). MEASUREMENTS: The primary endpoint will be a composite outcome of reducing death and emergence of extensive or pan drug-resistant pathogens. Secondary endpoints will be death from any cause at day 90, antibiotic-free days at day 28, ICU-free days at day 28, cumulative SOFA-free (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment) score from randomization to day 28 and the two, separate, components of the primary endpoint. We expect a primary outcome reduction from 52 to 40% in the continuous infusion group. CONCLUSIONS: The trial will provide evidence for choosing intermittent or continuous infusion of meropenem for critically ill patients with multi-drug resistant gram-negative infections.

Two-months quality of life of COVID-19 invasively ventilated survivors; an Italian single-center study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 disease can lead to severe functional impairments after discharge. We assessed the quality of life of invasively ventilated COVID-19 ARDS survivors. METHODS: We carried out a prospective follow-up study of the patients admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of a teaching hospital. Patients affected by COVID-19 ARDS who required invasive ventilation and were successfully discharged home were assessed through the telephone administration of validated tests. We explored survival, functional outcomes, return to work, quality of life, cognitive and psychological sequelae. The main variables of interest were the following: demographics, severity scores, laboratory values, comorbidities, schooling, working status, treatments received during ICU stay, complications, and psychological, cognitive, functional outcomes. RESULTS: Out of 116 consecutive invasively ventilated patients, overall survival was 65/116 (56%) with no death occurring after hospital discharge. Forty-two patients were already discharged home with a median follow-up time of 61 (51-71) days after ICU discharge and 39 of them accepted to be interviewed. Only one patient (1/39) experienced cognitive decline. The vast majority of patients reported no difficulty in walking (32/35:82%), self-care (33/39:85%), and usual activities (30/39:78%). All patients were either malnourished (15/39:38%) or at risk for malnutrition (24/39:62%). Exertional dyspnea was present in 20/39 (51%) patients. 19/39 (49%) reported alterations in senses of smell and/or taste either before or after hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Invasively ventilated COVID-19 ARDS survivors have an overall good recovery at a 2-months follow-up which is better than what was previously reported in non-COVID-19 ARDS patients.

Prevalence, Characteristics, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Invasively Ventilated COVID-19 Patients with Acute Kidney Injury and Renal Replacement Therapy.

BACKGROUND: There is no information on acute kidney injury (AKI) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) among invasively ventilated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Western healthcare systems. OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence, characteristics, risk factors and outcome of AKI and CRRT among invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Observational study in a tertiary care hospital in Milan, Italy. RESULTS: Among 99 patients, 72 (75.0%) developed AKI and 17 (17.7%) received CRRT. Most of the patients developed stage 1 AKI (33 [45.8%]), while 15 (20.8%) developed stage 2 AKI and 24 (33.4%) a stage 3 AKI. Patients who developed AKI or needed CRRT at latest follow-up were older, and among CRRT treated patients a greater proportion had preexisting CKD. Hospital mortality was 38.9% for AKI and 52.9% for CRRT patients. CONCLUSIONS: Among invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients, AKI is very common and CRRT use is common. Both carry a high risk of in-hospital mortality.

Refractory anti-NMDAR encephalitis successfully treated with bortezomib and associated movements disorders controlled with tramadol: a case report with literature review.

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a potentially fatal autoimmune disease, characterized by autoantibody-mediated neurotransmission impairment in multiple brain locations. The course of this condition often comprises altered mental status, autonomic dysfunctions, refractory seizures and hyperkinetic movement disorders. Available disease-modifying therapies include corticosteroids, i.v. immunoglobulins, plasma exchange, rituximab and cyclophosphamide. In a subgroup of patients not responding to B-cell depletion, bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, has shown promising evidence of efficacy. The time course of recovery from acute phase may be very slow (weeks/months), and only few data are available in literature about the concurrent management of encephalitis-associated movement disorders. We report a case of severe anti-NMDAR encephalitis in a 29-year-old woman, not responsive to first- and second-line treatments, with persistent involuntary motor manifestations. Starting three months after symptom onset, four cycles of bortezomib have been administered; subsequently we observed a progressive improvement of neurological status. Meanwhile, motor manifestations were controlled after the administration of tramadol, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist.

Contributing factors for a late spontaneous peripherally inserted central catheter migration: a case report and review of literature.

PURPOSE: Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are associated with some adverse events, the most frequent are thrombosis, tip catheter malposition and spontaneous late migration. However, the cause of spontaneous late migration in most cases remains unknown. We carried out this study to add data to the literature on PICCs late spontaneous migration. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of all manuscripts describing PICC spontaneous late migration in adult populations and we also described two cases of late PICCs migration. RESULTS: We identified five studies for a total of 58 cases of PICC late migration. In our two cases, patients' activity is an important contributing factor for late spontaneous PICC migration. CONCLUSIONS: To avoid late catheter misplacement, initial malposition should be immediately identified and promptly corrected and a detailed patients training should be carried out.