Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pulmonary Embolism , Respiratory Distress Syndrome , Humans , Proteoglycans , SARS-CoV-2Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pneumothorax , Humans , Pneumothorax/diagnostic imaging , Risk Factors , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness IndexABSTRACT
Lung ultrasound (LUS) can be used to assess loss of aeration, which is associated with outcome in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presenting to the emergency department. We hypothesized that LUS scores are associated with outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients receiving invasive ventilation. This retrospective international multicenter study evaluated patients with COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with at least one LUS study within 5 days after invasive mechanical ventilation initiation. The global LUS score was calculated by summing the 12 regional scores (range 0-36). Pleural line abnormalities and subpleural consolidations were also scored. The outcomes were successful liberation from the ventilator and intensive care mortality within 28 days, analyzed with multistate, competing risk proportional hazard models. One hundred thirty-seven patients with COVID-19-related ARDS were included in our study. The global LUS score was associated with successful liberation from mechanical ventilation (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.91 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87-0.96; P = 0.0007) independently of the ARDS severity, but not with 28 days mortality (HR: 1.03; 95% CI 0.97-1.08; P = 0.36). Subpleural consolidation and pleural line abnormalities did not add to the prognostic value of the global LUS score. Examinations within 24 hours of intubation showed no prognostic value. To conclude, a lower global LUS score 24 hours after invasive ventilation initiation is associated with increased probability of liberation from the mechanical ventilator COVID-19 ARDS patients, independently of the ARDS severity.
Subject(s)
Airway Extubation , COVID-19/pathology , COVID-19/therapy , Lung/pathology , SARS-CoV-2 , Ultrasonography , Aged , Cohort Studies , Female , Humans , Internationality , Male , Middle AgedSubject(s)
C-Reactive Protein , Interleukin-6 , Bilirubin , Ferritins , Humans , L-Lactate Dehydrogenase , Lymphocytes , Organ Dysfunction ScoresABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: SARS-CoV-2-induced ARDS is a new entity that should be characterized as it appears to be different from standard ARDS. Hypernatremia is a biological alteration that seems to occur very often in this population without any clear cause. The present study aims to clarify the possible causes of hypernatremia and evaluate its impact on patient outcome. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective one-day prevalence study in 2 intensive care units, which only treated COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe ARDS. We measured blood and urine electrolytes in all the patients. Patients with chronic renal failure or renal replacement therapy were excluded from the study. Hypernatremia was defined as plasma sodium levels above 145 mmol/L. Results: Inclusion criteria were met in 17 out of 24 patients. Hypernatremia was present in 52% patients. All had a natriuresis higher than 20 mmol/L and a urine osmolality above 600 mOsm/L. Hypernatremia was acquired in ICU as all the patients had a normal serum sodium level at admission. Conclusion: The incidence of hypernatremia was elevated and appears to be linked to significant insensible water losses. This should trigger us to optimize the maintenance fluid therapy in critically ill patients with SARS-CoV-2-induced ARDS.
ABSTRACT
Two patients with respiratory failure due to confirmed COVID-19 were examined using bedside lung ultrasound (LUS) shortly after intubation and start of invasive ventilation. In the first patient, LUS revealed extensive atelectatic areas. A recruitment maneuver was applied, resulting in some reaeration of areas that showed atelectasis, and some improvement in oxygenation was observed. Oxygenation improved further with the use of prone positioning. In the second patient, LUS showed diffuse abnormalities without atelectatic areas, and ventilation proceeded without a recruitment maneuver but with prone positioning. These two cases illustrate how LUS could be useful in identifying different lung morphologies early after the start of invasive ventilation and help decide on adjunctive therapies. This has possible implications for ventilator management in resource-limited settings, with limited availability of chest computed tomography and blood gas analyzers. Tailoring invasive ventilation based on LUS findings early after the start of invasive ventilation is feasible, but this should be further evaluated in future studies.