Impairment of central language processing in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 patients with delirium.

Accumulating evidence indicates that coronavirus disease 2019 is a major cause of delirium. Given the global dimension of the current pandemic and the fact that delirium is a strong predictor of cognitive decline for critically ill patients, this raises concerns regarding the neurological cost of coronavirus disease 2019. Currently, there is a major knowledge gap related to the covert yet potentially incapacitating higher-order cognitive impairment underpinning coronavirus disease 2019 related delirium. The aim of the current study was to analyse the electrophysiological signatures of language processing in coronavirus disease 2019 patients with delirium by using a specifically designed multidimensional auditory event-related potential battery to probe hierarchical cognitive processes, including self-processing (P300) and semantic/lexical priming (N400). Clinical variables and electrophysiological data were prospectively collected in controls subjects (n = 14) and in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 patients with (n = 19) and without (n = 22) delirium. The time from intensive care unit admission to first clinical sign of delirium was of 8 (3.5-20) days, and the delirium lasted for 7 (4.5-9.5) days. Overall, we have specifically identified in coronavirus disease 2019 patients with delirium, both a preservation of low-level central auditory processing (N100 and P200) and a coherent ensemble of covert higher-order cognitive dysfunctions encompassing self-related processing (P300) and sematic/lexical language priming (N400) (spatial-temporal clustering, P-cluster ≤ 0.05). We suggest that our results shed new light on the neuropsychological underpinnings of coronavirus disease 2019 related delirium, and may constitute a valuable method for patient's bedside diagnosis and monitoring in this clinically challenging setting.

Remdesivir for Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 Severe Pneumonia: A National Cohort Study (Remdeco-19).

BACKGROUND: Given the rapidly evolving pandemic of COVID-19 in 2020, authorities focused on the repurposing of available drugs to develop timely and cost-effective therapeutic strategies. Evidence suggested the potential utility of remdesivir in the framework of an early access program. REMDECO-19 is a multicenter national cohort study assessing the ability of remdesivir to improve the outcome of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective real-life study that included all patients from the early access program of remdesivir in France. The primary endpoint was the clinical course evolution of critically ill and hospitalized COVID-19 patients treated with remdesivir. Secondary endpoints were the SOFA score evolution within 29 days following the admission and mortality at 29 and 90 days. RESULTS: Eighty-five patients were enrolled in 22 sites from January to April 2020. The median WHO and SOFA scores were respectively reduced by two and six points between days 1 and 29. Improvement in the WHO-CPS and the SOFA score were observed in 83.5% and 79.3% of patients, respectively, from day 10. However, there was no effect of remdesivir on the 90-day survival based on the control cohort for hospitalized COVID-19 patients with invasive ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: SOFA score appeared to be an attractive approach to assess remdesivir efficacy and stratify its utilization or not in critically ill patients with COVID-19. This study brings a new clinical benchmark for therapeutic decision making and supports the use of remdesivir for some hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Co-Infection and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Considering virus-related and drug-induced immunocompromised status of critically ill COVID-19 patients, we hypothesize that these patients would more frequently develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) than patients with ARDS from other viral causes. We conducted a retrospective observational study in two intensive care units (ICUs) from France, between 2017 and 2020. We compared bacterial co-infection at ICU admission and throughout the disease course of two retrospective longitudinally sampled groups of critically ill patients, who were admitted to ICU for either H1N1 or SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection and depicted moderate-to-severe ARDS criteria upon admission. Sixty patients in the H1N1 group and 65 in the COVID-19 group were included in the study. Bacterial co-infection at the endotracheal intubation time was diagnosed in 33% of H1N1 and 16% COVID-19 patients (p = 0.08). The VAP incidence per 100 days of mechanical ventilation was 3.4 (2.2-5.2) in the H1N1 group and 7.2 (5.3-9.6) in the COVID-19 group (p < 0.004). The HR to develop VAP was of 2.33 (1.34-4.04) higher in the COVID-19 group (p = 0.002). Ten percent of H1N1 patients and 30% of the COVID-19 patients had a second episode of VAP (p = 0.013). COVID-19 patients have fewer bacterial co-infections upon admission, but the incidence of secondary infections increased faster in this group compared to H1N1 patients.

Lung Ultrasound to Assist ICU Admission Decision-Making Process of COVID-19 Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure.

There is only low-certainty evidence on the use of predictive models to assist COVID-19 patient's ICU admission decision-making process. Accumulative evidence suggests that lung ultrasound (LUS) assessment of COVID-19 patients allows accurate bedside evaluation of lung integrity, with the added advantage of repeatability, absence of radiation exposure, reduced risk of virus dissemination, and low cost. Our goal is to assess the performance of a quantified indicator resulting from LUS data compared with standard clinical practice model to predict critical respiratory illness in the 24 hours following hospital admission. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Critical Care Unit from University Hospital Purpan (Toulouse, France) between July 2020 and March 2021. PATIENTS: Adult patients for COVID-19 who were in acute respiratory failure (ARF), defined as blood oxygen saturation as measured by pulse oximetry less than 90% while breathing room air or respiratory rate greater than or equal to 30 breaths/min at hospital admission. Linear multivariate models were used to identify factors associated with critical respiratory illness, defined as death or mild/severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (Pao2/Fio2 < 200) in the 24 hours after patient's hospital admission. INTERVENTION: LUS assessment. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: One hundred and forty COVID-19 patients with ARF were studied. This cohort was split into two independent groups: learning sample (first 70 patients) and validation sample (last 70 patients). Interstitial lung water, thickening of the pleural line, and alveolar consolidation detection were strongly associated with patient's outcome. The LUS model predicted more accurately patient's outcomes than the standard clinical practice model (DeLong test: Testing: z score = 2.50, p value = 0.01; Validation: z score = 2.11, p value = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: LUS assessment of COVID-19 patients with ARF at hospital admission allows a more accurate prediction of the risk of critical respiratory illness than standard clinical practice. These results hold the promise of improving ICU resource allocation process, particularly in the case of massive influx of patients or limited resources, both now and in future anticipated pandemics.

BMI and pneumonia outcomes in critically ill covid-19 patients: An international multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have unveiled a relationship between the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia and obesity. The aims of this multicenter retrospective cohort study were to disentangle the association of BMI and associated metabolic risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and current smoking status) in critically ill patients with COVID-19. METHODS: Patients admitted to intensive care units for COVID-19 in 21 centers (in Europe, Israel, and the United States) were enrolled in this study between February 19, 2020, and May 19, 2020. Primary and secondary outcomes were the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and 28-day mortality, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 1,461 patients were enrolled; the median (interquartile range) age was 64 years (40.9-72.0); 73.2% of patients were male; the median BMI was 28.1 kg/m2 (25.4-32.3); a total of 1,080 patients (73.9%) required IMV; and the 28-day mortality estimate was 36.1% (95% CI: 33.0-39.5). An adjusted mixed logistic regression model showed a significant linear relationship between BMI and IMV: odds ratio = 1.27 (95% CI: 1.12-1.45) per 5 kg/m2 . An adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression model showed a significant association between BMI and mortality, which was increased only in obesity class III (≥40; hazard ratio = 1.68 [95% CI: 1.06-2.64]). CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill COVID-19 patients, a linear association between BMI and the need for IMV, independent of other metabolic risk factors, and a nonlinear association between BMI and mortality risk were observed.