Clinical spectrum and outcomes of patients with encephalitis requiring intensive care.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Our aim was to characterize the clinical profile, temporal changes and outcomes of patients with severe encephalitis. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on adult patients with encephalitis admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital over a 20-year period. Patients' characteristics and outcomes were compared between two 10-year periods: (i) 1991-2001 and (ii) 2002-2012. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with a poor outcome, as defined by a modified Rankin scale (mRS) score of 4-6 (severe disability or death) 90 days after admission. RESULTS: A total of 279 patients were studied. Causes of encephalitis were infections (n = 149, 53%), immune-mediated causes (n = 41, 15%) and undetermined causes (n = 89, 32%). The distribution of causes differed significantly between the two periods, with an increase in the proportion of encephalitis recognized to be of immune-mediated causes. At day 90, 208 (75%) patients had an mRS = 0-3 and 71 (25%) had an mRS = 4-6. After adjustment for functional status before admission, the following parameters were independently associated with a poor outcome: coma [odds ratio (OR) 7.09, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 3.06-17.03], aspiration pneumonia (OR 4.02, 95% CI 1.47-11.03), a lower body temperature (per 1 degree, OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.53-0.97), elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein levels (per 1 g/l, OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.17-2.11) and delayed ICU admission (per 1 day, OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.07). CONCLUSIONS: Indicators of outcome in adult patients with severe encephalitis reflect both the severity of illness and systemic complications. Our data suggest that patients with acute encephalitis may benefit from early ICU admission.

Alveolar fibroblasts in acute lung injury: biological behaviour and clinical relevance.

Although fibroblasts are key cells in the lung repair/fibrosis process, their characteristics are poorly studied in acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The aims of our study were to: 1) determine the biological behaviour of alveolar fibroblasts during ALI; and 2) to evaluate the clinical relevance of positive alveolar fibroblast culture from patients with ALI/ARDS. Cells were cultured from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) obtained from 68 critically ill, ventilated patients: ALI n = 17; ARDS n = 31; and ventilated controls n = 20. Patients were followed for 28 days and clinical data was recorded. We studied proliferation, migration and collagen-1 synthesis capacities of fibroblasts. Cells expressing fibroblast markers were cultured from BAL obtained in six (35%) ALI patients and six (19%) ARDS patients, but never from ventilated controls. Alveolar fibroblasts exhibited a persistent activated phenotype with enhanced migratory and collagen-1 production capacities, with hyporesponsiveness to prostaglandin E(2) compared to normal lung fibroblasts (p< or =0.04). Positive fibroblast culture was associated with both an increased collagen-1 concentration and monocyte/macrophage percentage in BAL fluid (p< or =0.01), and with a reduced duration of mechanical ventilation (p<0.001). We conclude that activated alveolar fibroblasts can be cultured either in ALI or ARDS and that their presence might reflect the initiation of the organising phase of ALI.

Impact of colonization pressure on acquisition of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in two intensive care units: a 19-year retrospective surveillance.

BACKGROUND: Colonization pressure is a risk factor for intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs). AIM: To measure the long-term respective impact of colonization pressure on ICU-acquired extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). METHODS: All patients admitted to two ICUs (medical and surgical) between January 1997 and December 2015 were included in this retrospective observational study. Rectal and nasal surveillance cultures were obtained at admission and weekly thereafter. Contact precautions were applied for colonized or infected patients. Colonization pressure was defined as the ratio of the number of MDRO-positive patient-days (PDs) of each MDRO to the total number of PDs. Single-level negative binomial regression models were used to evaluate the incidence of weekly MDRO acquisition. FINDINGS: Among the 23,423 patients included, 2327 (10.0%) and 1422 (6.1%) were colonized with ESBL-PE and MRSA, respectively, including 660 (2.8%) and 351 (1.5%) acquisitions. ESBL-PE acquisition increased from 0.51/1000 patient-exposed days (PEDs) in 1997 to 6.06/1000 PEDs in 2015 (P<0.001). In contrast, MRSA acquisition decreased steadily from 3.75 to 0.08/1000 PEDs (P<0.001). Controlling for period-level covariates, colonization pressure in the previous week was associated with MDRO acquisition for ESBL-PE (P<0.001 and P=0.04 for medical and surgical ICU, respectively), but not for MRSA (P=0.34 and P=0.37 for medical and surgical ICU, respectively). The increase in colonization pressure was significant above 100/1000 PDs for ESBL-PE. CONCLUSION: Colonization pressure contributed to the increasing incidence of ESBL-PE but not MRSA. This study suggests that preventive control measures should be customized to MDROs.

[Place of biomarkers in the management of pulmonary infections]. / Place des biomarqueurs dans la prise en charge des infections pulmonaires.

INTRODUCTION: The management of acute lower respiratory tract infections and, in particular, the decision whether or not to commence antibiotic therapy, still remains difficult in the absence of reliable clinical or radiological criteria allowing confident distinction between bacterial and viral infections. Numerous biomarkers have been developed to help the clinician in his/her diagnostic and therapeutic approach, but the role and significance of each has not been clearly defined. BACKGROUND: Though procalcitonin (PCT) or C-reactive protein (CRP) seem equal in helping the clinician to decide whether to commence antibiotic therapy or not during the course of an exacerbation of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), PCT is currently the most useful biomarker to distinguish sepsis from other causes of inflammation and to determine the bacterial or viral origin of a pneumonia. OUTLOOK: The ability of PCT to reduce the global exposure to antibiotics remains uncertain and the results of randomised trials are contradictory. CONCLUSIONS: Prescription algorithms involving PCT may be used without increased risk for patients even though clinical signs of severity remain important. Changes in PCT also have a prognostic value in identifying those patients with unfavourable outcome.

Functional outcomes in adult patients with herpes simplex encephalitis admitted to the ICU: a multicenter cohort study.

PURPOSE: We aimed to study the association of body temperature and other admission factors with outcomes of herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) adult patients requiring ICU admission. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicenter study on patients diagnosed with HSE in 47 ICUs in France, between 2007 and 2017. Fever was defined as a body temperature higher or equal to 38.3 °C. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with poor outcome at 90 days, defined by a score of 3-6 (indicating moderate-to-severe disability or death) on the modified Rankin scale. RESULTS: Overall, 259 patients with a score on the Glasgow coma scale of 9 (6-12) and a body temperature of 38.7 (38.1-39.2) °C at admission were studied. At 90 days, 185 (71%) patients had a poor outcome, including 44 (17%) deaths. After adjusting for age, fever (OR = 2.21; 95% CI 1.18-4.16), mechanical ventilation (OR = 2.21; 95% CI 1.21-4.03), and MRI brain lesions > 3 lobes (OR = 3.04; 95% CI 1.35-6.81) were independently associated with poor outcome. By contrast, a direct ICU admission, as compared to initial admission to the hospital wards (i.e., indirect ICU admission), was protective (OR = 0.52; 95% CI 0.28-0.95). Sensitivity analyses performed after adjustment for functional status before admission and reason for ICU admission yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: In HSE adult patients requiring ICU admission, several admission factors are associated with an increased risk of poor functional outcome. The identification of potentially modifiable factors, namely, elevated admission body temperature and indirect ICU admission, provides an opportunity for testing further intervention strategies.

Correction to: Functional outcomes in adult patients with herpes simplex encephalitis admitted to the ICU: a multicenter cohort study.

The original article unfortunately contained a mistake. Due to technical problems the study group was not tagged correctly. Please find the correct tagging down below. We apologize for the mistake.

Concurrent Graves disease thyrotoxicosis and myasthenia gravis: the treatment of the former may dangerously reveal the latter.

Autoimmune thyroxicosis and myasthenia gravis are often associated. In both diseases, clinical features may include neuromuscular weakness, making their distinction challenging. We report a patient with known Graves disease who presented with generalised fatigue, initially attributed solely to thyrotoxicosis, and who experienced severe respiratory failure linked to associated myasthenia gravis that was unmasked by medication used in the perioperative management of his thyroxicosis. Anaesthetists should always consider myasthenia gravis in cases of hyperthyroidism presenting with neuromuscular features.

ICU survival and need of renal replacement therapy with respect to AKI duration in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Transient and persistent acute kidney injury (AKI) could share similar physiopathological mechanisms. The objective of our study was to assess prognostic impact of AKI duration on ICU mortality. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of a prospective database via cause-specific model, with 28-day ICU mortality as primary end point, considering discharge alive as a competing event and taking into account time-dependent nature of renal recovery. Renal recovery was defined as a decrease of at least one KDIGO class compared to the previous day. SETTING: 23 French ICUs. PATIENTS: Patients of a French multicentric observational cohort were included if they suffered from AKI at ICU admission between 1996 and 2015. INTERVENTION: None. RESULTS: A total of 5242 patients were included. Initial severity according to KDIGO creatinine definition was AKI stage 1 for 2458 patients (46.89%), AKI stage 2 for 1181 (22.53%) and AKI stage 3 for 1603 (30.58%). Crude 28-day ICU mortality according to AKI severity was 22.74% (n = 559), 27.69% (n = 327) and 26.26% (n = 421), respectively. Renal recovery was experienced by 3085 patients (58.85%), and its rate was significantly different between AKI severity stages (P < 0.01). Twenty-eight-day ICU mortality was independently lower in patients experiencing renal recovery [CSHR 0.54 (95% CI 0.46-0.63), P < 0.01]. Lastly, RRT requirement was strongly associated with persistent AKI whichever threshold was chosen between day 2 and 7 to delineate transient from persistent AKI. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term renal recovery, according to several definitions, was independently associated with higher mortality and RRT requirement. Moreover, distinction between transient and persistent AKI is consequently a clinically relevant surrogate outcome variable for diagnostic testing in critically ill patients.

Adults with spontaneous aerobic Gram-negative bacillary meningitis admitted to the intensive care unit.

The characteristics of spontaneous aerobic Gram-negative bacillary meningitis (AGNBM) were determined in 40 adults requiring admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) during a 16-year period in ten French ICUs. Eight infections were hospital-acquired and most patients had predisposing factors, mainly chronic alcoholism and an immunocompromised status. Three immunosuppressed patients had disseminated strongyloidiasis. Gram's stain, cerebrospinal fluid and blood cultures were positive for 85%, 98% and 80% of cases, respectively. Escherichia coli (57%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (17%) were the most frequent pathogens. In-ICU mortality was 38%. Spontaneous AGNBM is a rare complication of bacteraemia in adults. The severity of predisposing underlying diseases might explain the poor prognosis despite appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

[Acute renal failure after amoxicillin crystallization]. / Insuffisance rénale aiguë par cristallisation d'amoxicilline.

BACKGROUND: Drug-induced nephrolithiasis is a rare finding, especially with beta-lactamins. We report a case of acute renal failure due to amoxicillin crystallization. CASE REPORT: A 48 year-old woman was admitted because of pneumococcal meningitis. After 4 days on high-dose amoxicillin (320 mg/kg/day), she developed acute oliguric renal failure and amoxicillin crystallization was documented by infrared spectrometry. The outcome was favorable after amoxicillin dosage tapering, together with one single hemodialysis session and further hydratation. DISCUSSION: Amoxicillin is mainly excreted in the urine in its unchanged form. The risk of crystalluria is increased by low urinary pH, low urine output and high-dose of the drug. Such a crystalluria should be accurately identified by infrared spectrometry.

Neurological complications of infective endocarditis: new breakthroughs in diagnosis and management.

Neurological complications are frequent in infective endocarditis (IE) and increase morbidity and mortality rates. A wide spectrum of neurological disorders may be observed, including stroke or transient ischemic attack, cerebral hemorrhage, mycotic aneurysm, meningitis, cerebral abscess, or encephalopathy. Most complications occur early during the course of IE and are a hallmark of left-sided abnormalities of native or prosthetic valves. Ischemic lesions account for 40% to 50% of IE central nervous system complications. Systematic brain MRI may reveal cerebral abnormalities in up to 80% of patients, including cerebral embolism in 50%, mostly asymptomatic. Neurological complications affect both medical and surgical treatment and should be managed by an experimented multidisciplinary team including cardiologists, neurologists, intensive care specialists, and cardiac surgeons. Oral anticoagulant therapy given to patients presenting with cerebral ischemic lesions should be replaced by unfractionated heparin for at least 2 weeks, with a close monitoring of coagulation tests. Recently published data suggest that after an ischemic stroke, surgery indicated for heart failure, uncontrolled infection, abscess, or persisting high emboli risk should not be delayed, provided that the patient is not comatose or has no severe deficit. Surgery should be postponed for 2 to 3 weeks for patients with intracranial hemorrhage. Endovascular treatment is recommended for cerebral mycotic aneurysms, if there is no severe mass effect. Recent data suggests that neurological failure, which is associated with the location and extension of brain injury, is a major determinant for short-term prognosis.

Neurological complications of HIV infection in critically ill patients: clinical features and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the prognosis of HIV-infected patients with acute neurological complications at the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study in HIV-infected patients admitted to a medical ICU with neurological complications between 2001 and 2008. RESULTS: Among the 210 studied patients (median [interquartile range] CD4-cell count: 80 [18-254]/µL; HIV viral load: 4.8 [2-5.3] log10/mL), 40 (19%) had unknown HIV status at admission. Neurological complications consisted in delirium (45%), coma (39%), seizures (32%) and/or intracranial hypertension (21%). Admission diagnoses were AIDS-defining CNS disease for 88 (42%) patients, non-AIDS-defining CNS disease for 45 (21%), and systemic disease with neurological signs for 77 (37%). Seizures (p=0.003), focal deficit (p<0.001) and intracranial hypertension (p<0.001) were more frequently observed in patients with AIDS-defining CNS disease. Factors independently associated with ICU mortality (29.5%) were intracranial hypertension [odds ratio (OR), 5.09; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 2.17-11.91], vasopressor use [OR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.78-8.60] and SAPS II score [per 10-point increment, OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.31-1.93]. CONCLUSIONS: Prognosis of HIV-infected patients with neurological complications depends rather on clinical presentation than on HIV-related parameters. Intracranial hypertension symptoms at admission have a major impact on outcome.