Extubation Failure in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: Risk Factors and Impact on In-Hospital Mortality.

PURPOSE: We sought to identify clinical factors that predict extubation failure (reintubation) and its prognostic implications in critically ill COVID-19 patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective, multi-center cohort study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Multivariate competing risk models were employed to explore the rate of reintubation and its determining factors. RESULTS: Two hundred eighty-one extubated patients were included (mean age, 61.0 years [±13.9]; 54.8% male). Reintubation occurred in 93 (33.1%). In multivariate analysis accounting for death, reintubation risk increased with age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.04 per 1-year increase, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02 -1.06), vasopressors (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.04-3.60), renal replacement (HR 2.01, 95% CI 1.22-3.29), maximum PEEP (HR 1.07 per 1-unit increase, 95% CI 1.02 -1.12), paralytics (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.08-2.25) and requiring more than nasal cannula immediately post-extubation (HR 2.19, 95% CI 1.37-3.50). Reintubation was associated with higher mortality (36.6% vs 2.1%; P < 0.0001) and risk of inpatient death after adjusting for multiple factors (HR 23.2, 95% CI 6.45-83.33). Prone ventilation, corticosteroids, anticoagulation, remdesivir and tocilizumab did not impact the risk of reintubation or death. CONCLUSIONS: Up to 1 in 3 critically ill COVID-19 patients required reintubation. Older age, paralytics, high PEEP, need for greater respiratory support following extubation and non-pulmonary organ failure predicted reintubation. Extubation failure strongly predicted adverse outcomes.

Recurrent chylothorax: a clinical mystery.

Chylothorax is an unusual cause of pleural effusion, typically caused by trauma or malignancy. Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia (WM) is a clinicopathological entity demonstrating lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma in the bone marrow with an IgM monoclonal gammopathy in the blood. Recurrent chylous effusions are often resistant to conservative treatment and may require surgical intervention. We present a unique case of a 50-year-old woman with recurrent chylothorax secondary to WM that completely resolved with ibrutinib therapy. To our knowledge, this is the eighth such case reported in literature and the first case of successful resolution of chylothorax with monoclonal antibody therapy.

Use of fibrin sealant glue as a treatment for massive hemoptysis.

In patients presenting with massive hemoptysis, it is often challenging to control bleeding. Uncontrolled bleeding can lead to hemodynamic compromise, asphyxiation, and high mortality. We present a case of a patient who presented with massive hemoptysis, and the use of fibrin sealant glue through a bronchoscopic catheter, which was effective in controlling bleeding.