Decreased serial scores of severe organ failure assessments are associated with survival in mechanically ventilated patients; the prospective Maastricht Intensive Care COVID cohort

This article by Bels and others was first published in the Journal of Critical Care in November 2020.
Background:  The majority of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for mechanical ventilation. The role of multi-organ failure during ICU admission as driver for outcome remains to be investigated yet.
Design and setting:  Prospective cohort of mechanically ventilated critically ill with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Participants and methods:  94 participants of the MaastrICCht cohort (21% women) had a median length of stay of 16 days (maximum of 77). After division into survivors (n = 59) and non-survivors (n = 35), we analysed 1555 serial SOFA scores using linear mixed-effects models.
Results:  Survivors improved one SOFA score point more per 5 days (95% CI: 4–8) than non-survivors. Adjustment for age, sex, and chronic lung, renal and liver disease, body-mass index, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular risk factors, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score did not change this result. This association was stronger for women than men (P-interaction = 0.043).
Conclusions:  The decrease in SOFA score associated with survival suggests multi-organ failure involvement during mechanical ventilation in patients with SARS-CoV-2. Surviving women appeared to improve faster than surviving men. Serial SOFA scores may unravel an unfavourable trajectory and guide decisions in mechanically ventilated patients with SARS-CoV-2.
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Effect of Vitamin C Infusion on Organ Failure and Biomarkers of Inflammation and Vascular Injury in Patients With Sepsis and Severe Acute Respiratory Failure: The CITRIS-ALI Randomized Clinical Trial.

This article by Fowler et al was published in JAMA during October 2019 in volume 322 issue 13.
Importance:  Experimental data suggest that intravenous vitamin C may attenuate inflammation and vascular injury associated with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Objective:  To determine the effect of intravenous vitamin C infusion on organ failure scores and biological markers of inflammation and vascular injury in patients with sepsis and ARDS.
Design, Setting, and Participants:  The CITRIS-ALI trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial conducted in 7 medical intensive care units in the United States, enrolling patients (N = 167) with sepsis and ARDS present for less than 24 hours. The study was conducted from September 2014 to November 2017, and final follow-up was January 2018.InterventionsPatients were randomly assigned to receive intravenous infusion of vitamin C (50 mg/kg in dextrose 5% in water, n = 84) or placebo (dextrose 5% in water only, n = 83) every 6 hours for 96 hours.
Main Outcomes and Measures:  The primary outcomes were change in organ failure as assessed by a modified Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (range, 0-20, with higher scores indicating more dysfunction) from baseline to 96 hours, and plasma biomarkers of inflammation (C-reactive protein levels) and vascular injury (thrombomodulin levels) measured at 0, 48, 96, and 168 hours.
Results:  Among 167 randomized patients (mean [SD] age, 54.8 years [16.7]; 90 men [54%]), 103 (62%) completed the study to day 60. There were no significant differences between the vitamin C and placebo groups in the primary end points of change in mean modified Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score from baseline to 96 hours (from 9.8 to 6.8 in the vitamin C group [3 points] and from 10.3 to 6.8 in the placebo group [3.5 points]; difference, -0.10; 95% CI, -1.23 to 1.03; P = .86) or in C-reactive protein levels (54.1 vs 46.1 μg/mL; difference, 7.94 μg/mL; 95% CI, -8.2 to 24.11; P = .33) and thrombomodulin levels (14.5 vs 13.8 ng/mL; difference, 0.69 ng/mL; 95% CI, -2.8 to 4.2; P = .70) at 168 hours.
Conclusions and Relevance:  In this preliminary study of patients with sepsis and ARDS, a 96-hour infusion of vitamin C compared with placebo did not significantly improve organ dysfunction scores or alter markers of inflammation and vascular injury. Further research is needed to evaluate the potential role of vitamin C for other outcomes in sepsis and ARDS.
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Rescue stem cell allograft in intensive care unit patients during septic shock with multi-organ failure

This research by Lepretre and colleagues was first published online in the Journal of Critical Care during July 2019.
Purpose:  We describe what we believe to be the first two cases of patients who received an allograft in intensive care unit (ICU) despite severe septic shock with multi-organ failure (MOF).
Results:  One patient had aggressive large B-cell lymphoma. After allograft, the patient initially improved after withdrawing norepinephrine and renal replacement therapy but he subsequently died thirty-two days later because of a new relapse of the disease. The second patient had acute myeloid leukemia type 1 with a need for an allograft after a first complete remission. She was discharged from ICU at D23 after allograft and still alive 7 months later with complete remission. For the two patients, allograft conditioning was performed before admission to our ICU. These two cases highlight one major problem in such situations which is to find the best time to perform the allograft, particularly in ventilated patients with septic shock and MOF. We performed the allograft when we thought that the risk-benefit ratio was in favor of restoring immunity.
Conclusion:  Allograft should be considered as a rescue therapy in ICU for patients with aplasia, during septic shock with multi-organ failure, however close multidisciplinary discussion is required between intensivists and onco-hematologists.
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A Comparison of the Quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment Score and the National Early Warning Score in Non-ICU Patients With/Without Infection

This research by Redfern and colleagues was published in Critical Care Medicine in August 2018.
Objectives:  The Sepsis-3 task force recommended the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment score for identifying patients with suspected infection who are at greater risk of poor outcomes, but many hospitals already use the National Early Warning Score to identify high-risk patients, irrespective of diagnosis. We sought to compare the performance of quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment and National Early Warning Score in hospitalized, non-ICU patients with and without an infection.
Design:  Retrospective cohort study.  Setting:  Large U.K. General Hospital.
Patients:  Adults hospitalized between January 1, 2010, and February 1, 2016.
Measurement and main results:  We applied the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment score and National Early Warning Score to 5,435,344 vital signs sets (241,996 hospital admissions). Patients were categorized as having no infection, primary infection, or secondary infection using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition codes. National Early Warning Score was significantly better at discriminating in-hospital mortality, irrespective of infection status (no infection, National Early Warning Score 0.831 [0.825-0.838] vs quick Sequential [Sepsis-Related] Organ Failure Assessment 0.688 [0.680-0.695]; primary infection, National Early Warning Score 0.805 [0.799-0.812] vs quick Sequential [Sepsis-Related] Organ Failure Assessment 0.677 [0.670-0.685]). Similarly, National Early Warning Score performed significantly better in all patient groups (all admissions, emergency medicine admissions, and emergency surgery admissions) for all outcomes studied. Overall, quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment performed no better, and often worse, in admissions with infection than without.
Conclusions:  The National Early Warning Score outperforms the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment score, irrespective of infection status. These findings suggest that quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment should be re-evaluated as the system of choice for identifying non-ICU patients with suspected infection who are at greater risk of poor outcome.
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