Risk Factors for Mortality in Sepsis Patients without Lactate Levels Increasing Early.

Objectives: Our purpose was to investigate the influencing factors for mortality in sepsis patients without lactate levels increasing in the early stage. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study involving 830 adult sepsis patients admitted to ICU. We calculated time-weighted lactate (LacTW), a dynamic value that incorporates both the magnitude of change and the time interval of such change, to represent lactate levels in the first 24 hours. ROC curve was used to find the cutoff of LacTW for predicting mortality, and the influencing factors for lactate levels and mortality in the low lactate group were further studied. The primary outcome was hospital mortality. Results: Among 830 patients, LacTW > 1.975 mmo/L was found to be the cutoff threshold for predicting mortality (AUC = 0.646, P < 0.001). The following indexes related to organ dysfunction influenced LacTW: acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score (P < 0.001), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) (P = 0.002), total bilirubin (P = 0.012), creatinine (P = 0.037), with hypotension (P < 0.001), chronic kidney disease (P = 0.013), and required continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) (P < 0.001). Of the 394 patients in the low lactate group, age (P = 0.002), malignancy (P < 0.001), lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.006), required treatment such as mechanical ventilation (P < 0.001), CRRT (P < 0.001), vasoactive drugs (P < 0.001), and glucocorticoid (P < 0.001), and failure to reach the target fluid resuscitation of 30 ml/kg within 6 hours (P = 0.003) were independently associated with hospital mortality. Conclusions: Due to the lower incidence of early organ dysfunction, lactate levels are not increased or delayed in some septic shock patients in the early stage, thus affecting the alertness of clinicians and the timeliness and adequacy of fluid resuscitation, and finally affects the prognosis.

The clinical application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in sepsis of immunocompromised patients.

Background: Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was commonly applied given its ability to identify and type all infections without depending upon culture and to retrieve all DNA with unbiasedness. In this study, we strive to compare outcomes of mNGS with conventional culture methods in adults with sepsis, investigate the differences between the immunocompromised and control group, and assess the clinical effects of mNGS. Methods: In our study, 308 adult sepsis patients were included. We used both mNGS and conventional culture methods to analyze diagnostic results, pathogens, and sample types. The correlation between some laboratory tests and the frequency of pathogens by groups was also analyzed. Furthermore, the clinical impacts of mNGS were estimated. Results: 308 samples were assigned to an immunocompromised group (92/308,29.9%) and a control group (216/308,70.1%). There was the sensitivity of mNGS considered greater than that of the culture method in all samples (88.0% vs 26.3%; P <​ 0.001), in the immunocompromised group (91.3% vs 26.1%; P <​ 0.001), and the control group (86.6% vs 26.4%; P <​ 0.001), particularly in all sample types of blood (P <​ 0.001), BALF (P <​ 0.001), CSF (P <​ 0.001), sputum (P <​ 0.001) and ascitic fluid (P = 0.008). When examining the mNGS results between groups, Pneumocystis jirovecii (P < 0.001), Mucoraceae (P = 0.014), and Klebsiella (P = 0.045) all showed significant differences. On the whole, mNGS detected more pathogens than culture methods (111 vs 25), found 89 organisms that were continuously overlooked in entire samples by culture methods, and showed a favorable positive clinical effect in 76.3% (235 of 308) of patients. In 185 (60.1%) patients, mNGS prompted a modification in the course of management, which included antibiotic de-escalation in 61(19.8%) patients. Conclusions: The research discovered that mNGS was more sensitive than the culture method, particularly in samples of blood, BALF, CSF, sputum, and ascitic fluid. When examining the mNGS results, Pneumocystis jirovecii and Mucoraceae were the pathogens seen more commonly in immunocompromised patients with sepsis, which required more attention from clinicians. There was a substantial benefit of mNGS in enhancing the diagnosis of sepsis and advancing patient treatment.