Feeding intolerance during prolonged prone position in overweight and obese patients with severe COVID-19.

Introduction: Objective: the aim of this study was to compare the incidence rate of feeding intolerance (FI) during supine (SP) or prone positioning (PP) in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Methods: this was a retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients with overweight or obesity who received enteral nutrition (EN) in prone or supine positioning continuously during the first five days of mechanical ventilation. Nutritional risk, anthropometric measurements and body composition were assessed at the first 24 hours upon Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Biochemical and clinical variables (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA], Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II [APACHE II], Acute Kidney Injury [AKI] or comorbidities diagnosis) were collected. Pharmacotherapy (prokinetics, sedatives or neuromuscular blocking agents) and FI incidence (gastric residual volume [GRV] ≥ 200 ml or ≥ 500 ml, vomiting or diarrhea) were daily recorded. Constipation was defined as the absence of evacuation for five consecutive days. Results: eighty-two patients were included. Higher rate of prophylactic prokinetic prescription was observed in PP (42.8 vs 12.5 %, p = 0.002). GRV ≥ 200 in supine position was not different when compared to PP (p = 0.47). Vomiting episodes in supine compared to PP showed no difference between groups (15 % vs 24 %, p = 0.31). No differences in diarrhea events were detected (10 % vs 4.7 %, p = 0.36). Constipation was common in both groups (95 % vs 82 %, p = 0.06). Conclusion: FI during prone position was not different in comparison to supine position. Routinely use of prokinetics in continuous prone position may help to prevent FI incidence. Algorithm development is necessary for FI prevention and treatment so to avoid EN interruptions and adverse clinical outcomes.

Introducción: Objetivo: comparar la incidencia de intolerancia a la alimentación entre pacientes críticos en posición supino (PS) o prono (PP). Métodos: cohorte retrospectiva de pacientes bajo ventilación mecánica por distrés respiratorio por COVID-19 y sobrepeso y obesidad, quienes recibieron nutrición enteral (NE) en PP o PS. Se evaluaron riesgo nutricional, mediciones antropométricas y composición corporal en las primeras 24 horas de ingreso a la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI). Se recolectaron variables bioquímicas y clínicas (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment [SOFA], Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II [APACHE II], lesión renal aguda y otras comorbilidades). Se registró el esquema de farmacoterapia prescrita durante los primeros cinco días (procinéticos, sedantes y bloqueadores neuromusculares). Se evaluó la incidencia de intolerancia a la alimentación, definida como la presencia de residuo gástrico (RG) ≥ 200 o ≥ 500 ml, vómito, diarrea o estreñimiento. Resultados: fueron incluidos 82 pacientes. Se observó una mayor prescripción de procinéticos como terapia profiláctica en PP (42,8 vs. 12,5 %, p = 0,002). No se observaron diferencias en RG ≥ 200 ml (p = 0,47) ni vómito (p = 0,31) entre ambos grupos. No se observaron diferencias en episodios de diarrea (10 % en PS vs. 4,7 % en PP, p = 0,36). El estreñimiento fue común en ambos grupos de estudio (95 vs. 82 %, p = 0,06). Conclusiones: la PP no se relaciona con una mayor incidencia de intolerancias a la alimentación. El uso rutinario de procinéticos durante la PP continua puede ayudar a prevenir la incidencia de dichas intolerancias. Es necesario el desarrollo de algoritmos para la prevención y tratamiento de las intolerancias a la alimentación para evitar interrupciones en la NE y desenlaces no deseables.

Expression of Surfactant Protein D Distinguishes Severe Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) from Coronavirus Disease 2019.

The differentiation between influenza and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could constitute a diagnostic challenge during the ongoing winter owing to their clinical similitude. Thus, novel biomarkers are required to enable making this distinction. Here, we evaluated whether the surfactant protein D (SP-D), a collectin produced at the alveolar epithelium with known immune properties, was useful to differentiate pandemic influenza A(H1N1) from COVID-19 in critically ill patients. Our results revealed high serum SP-D levels in patients with severe pandemic influenza but not those with COVID-19. This finding was validated in a separate cohort of mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 who also showed low plasma SP-D levels. However, plasma SP-D levels did not distinguish seasonal influenza from COVID-19 in mild-to-moderate disease. Finally, we found that high serum SP-D levels were associated with death and renal failure among severe pandemic influenza cases. Thus, our studies have identified SP-D as a unique biomarker expressed during severe pandemic influenza but not COVID-19.

Low phase angle is associated with 60-day mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition status, body composition indicators, and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) parameters have been associated with increased risk of death in several pathologies. The aim of this study was to describe the associations between phase angle (PhA) indicators obtained by BIA with length of hospital stay, days on mechanical ventilation, and 60-day mortality in critically ill patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: This is a prospective cohort of mechanically ventilated patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We assessed nutrition risk and body composition with BIA within 48 h from intensive care unit admission. Logistic and linear regression models were used to analyze the association between variables and clinical outcomes. Survival analysis by PhA value was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients were included. PhA (odds ratio [OR], 0.36; P = .002), standardized PhA (SPA) (OR, 0.45; P = .001), and extracellular water/total body water ratio (OR, 3.25; P = .002) were significant predictors of 60-day mortality. PhA <3.85° in females and <5.25° in males showed good and fair discrimination, respectively, for mortality prediction. Using cutoff values, low PhA was associated with a significantly increased risk of 60-day mortality (hazard ratio, 3.08; 95% CI, 1.12-8.41; P = .02). No association was detected for SPA. CONCLUSION: Low PhA values could be a predictor of 60-day mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19. This biological marker could be incorporated as part of nutrition and mortality risk assessment in this population.