Improved survival among ICU-hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia by unidentified organisms: a multicenter case-control study.

A retrospective analysis from prospectively collected data was conducted in intensive care units (ICUs) at 33 hospitals in Europe comparing the trend in ICU survival among adults with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) due to unknown organisms from 2000 to 2015. The secondary objective was to establish whether changes in antibiotic policies were associated with different outcomes. ICU mortality decreased (p = 0.02) from 26.9 % in the first study period (2000-2002) to 15.7 % in the second period (2008-2015). Demographic data and clinical severity at admission were comparable between groups, except for age over 65 years and incidence of cardiomyopathy. Over time, patients received higher rates of combination therapy (94.3 vs. 77.2 %; p < 0.01) and early (<3 h) antibiotic delivery (72.9 vs. 50.3 %; p < 0.01); likewise, the 2008-2015 group was more likely to receive adequate antibiotic prescription [as defined by the Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society (IDSA/ATS) guidelines] than the 2000-2002 group (70.7 vs. 48.2 %; p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed an independent association between decreased ICU mortality and early (<3 h) antibiotic administration [odds ratio (OR) 3.48 [1.70-7.15], p < 0.01] or adequate antibiotic prescription according to guidelines (OR 2.22 [1.11-4.43], p = 0.02). In conclusion, our findings suggest that ICU mortality in severe CAP due to unidentified organisms has decreased in the last 15 years. Several changes in management and better compliance with guidelines over time were associated with increased survival.

Macrolide-based regimens in absence of bacterial co-infection in critically ill H1N1 patients with primary viral pneumonia.

PURPOSE: To determine whether macrolide-based treatment is associated with mortality in critically ill H1N1 patients with primary viral pneumonia. METHODS: Secondary analysis of a prospective, observational, multicenter study conducted across 148 Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Spain. RESULTS: Primary viral pneumonia was present in 733 ICU patients with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection with severe respiratory failure. Macrolide-based treatment was administered to 190 (25.9 %) patients. Patients who received macrolides had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease more often, lower severity on admission (APACHE II score on ICU admission (13.1 ± 6.8 vs. 14.4 ± 7.4 points, p < 0.05), and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome less often (23.4 vs. 30.1 %, p < 0.05). Length of ICU stay in survivors was not significantly different in patients who received macrolides compared to patients who did not (10 (IQR 4-20) vs. 10 (IQR 5-20), p = 0.9). ICU mortality was 24.1 % (n = 177). Patients with macrolide-based treatment had lower ICU mortality in the univariate analysis (19.2 vs. 28.1 %, p = 0.02); however, a propensity score analysis showed no effect of macrolide-based treatment on ICU mortality (OR = 0.87; 95 % CI 0.55-1.37, p = 0.5). Moreover, the sensitivity analysis revealed very similar results (OR = 0.91; 95 % CI 0.58-1.44, p = 0.7). A separate analysis of patients under mechanical ventilation yielded similar results (OR = 0.77; 95 % CI 0.44-1.35, p = 0.4). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that macrolide-based treatment was not associated with improved survival in critically ill H1N1 patients with primary viral pneumonia.

Early non-invasive ventilation treatment for severe influenza pneumonia.

The role of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in acute respiratory failure caused by viral pneumonia remains controversial. Our objective was to evaluate the use of NIV in a cohort of (H1N1)v pneumonia. Usefulness and success of NIV were assessed in a prospective, observational registry of patients with influenza A (H1N1) virus pneumonia in 148 Spanish intensive care units (ICUs) in 2009-10. Significant variables for NIV success were included in a multivariate analysis. In all, 685 patients with confirmed influenza A (H1N1)v viral pneumonia were admitted to participating ICUs; 489 were ventilated, 177 with NIV. The NIV was successful in 72 patients (40.7%), the rest required intubation. Low Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, low Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and absence of renal failure were associated with NIV success. Success of NIV was independently associated with fewer than two chest X-ray quadrant opacities (OR 3.5) and no vasopressor requirement (OR 8.1). However, among patients with two or more quadrant opacities, a SOFA score ≤7 presented a higher success rate than those with SOFA score >7 (OR 10.7). Patients in whom NIV was successful required shorter ventilation time, shorter ICU stay and hospital stay than NIV failure. In patients in whom NIV failed, the delay in intubation did not increase mortality (26.5% versus 24.2%). Clinicians used NIV in 25.8% of influenza A (H1N1)v viral pneumonia admitted to ICU, and treatment was effective in 40.6% of them. NIV success was associated with shorter hospital stay and mortality similar to non-ventilated patients. NIV failure was associated with a mortality similar to those who were intubated from the start.

Community-acquired Legionella Pneumonia in the intensive care unit: Impact on survival of combined antibiotic therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To compare intensive care unit (ICU) mortality in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) caused by Legionella pneumophila receiving combined therapy or monotherapy. METHODS: A prospective multicenter study was made, including all patients with sporadic, community-acquired Legionnaires' disease (LD) admitted to the ICU. Admission data and information on the course of the disease were recorded. Antibiotic prescriptions were left to the discretion of the attending physician and were not standardized. RESULTS: Twenty-five cases of SCAP due to L. pneumophila were included, and 7 patients (28%) out of 25 died after a median of 7 days of mechanical ventilation. Fifteen patients (60%) presented shock. Levofloxacin and clarithromycin were the antibiotics most commonly used in monotherapy, while the most frequent combination was rifampicin plus clarithromycin. Patients subjected to combination therapy presented a lower mortality rate versus patients subjected to monotherapy (odds ratio for death [OR] 0.15; 95%CI 0.02-1.04; p=0.08). In patients with shock, this association was stronger and proved statistically significant (OR for death 0.06; 95%CI 0.004-0.86; p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Combined antibiotic therapy decreases mortality in patients with SCAP and shock caused by L. pneumophila.

[Recommendations of the Infectious Diseases Work Group (GTEI) of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) and the Infections in Critically Ill Patients Study Group (GEIPC) of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) for the diagnosis and treatment of influenza A/H1N1 in seriously ill adults admitted to the Intensive Care Unit]. / Recomendaciones del Grupo de Trabajo Enfermedades Infecciosas (GTEI) de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Intensiva, Crítica y Unidades Coronarias (SEMICYUC) y el Grupo de Estudio de Infecciones en el Paciente Crítico (GEIPC) de la Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología clínica (SEIMC) para el diagnóstico y tratamiento de la gripe A/H1N1 en pacientes adultos graves hospitalizados en las Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos.

The diagnosis of influenza A/H1N1 is mainly clinical, particularly during peak or seasonal flu outbreaks. A diagnostic test should be performed in all patients with fever and flu symptoms that require hospitalization. The respiratory sample (nasal or pharyngeal exudate or deeper sample in intubated patients) should be obtained as soon as possible, with the immediate start of empirical antiviral treatment. Molecular methods based on nucleic acid amplification techniques (RT-PCR) are the gold standard for the diagnosis of influenza A/H1N1. Immunochromatographic methods have low sensitivity; a negative result therefore does not rule out active infection. Classical culture is slow and has low sensitivity. Direct immunofluorescence offers a sensitivity of 90%, but requires a sample of high quality. Indirect methods for detecting antibodies are only of epidemiological interest. Patients with A/H1N1 flu may have relative leukopenia and elevated serum levels of LDH, CPK and CRP, but none of these variables are independently associated to the prognosis. However, plasma LDH> 1500 IU/L, and the presence of thrombocytopenia <150 x 10(9)/L, could define a patient population at risk of suffering serious complications. Antiviral administration (oseltamivir) should start early (<48 h from the onset of symptoms), with a dose of 75 mg every 12h, and with a duration of at least 7 days or until clinical improvement is observed. Early antiviral administration is associated to improved survival in critically ill patients. New antiviral drugs, especially those formulated for intravenous administration, may be the best choice in future epidemics. Patients with a high suspicion of influenza A/H1N1 infection must continue with antiviral treatment, regardless of the negative results of initial tests, unless an alternative diagnosis can be established or clinical criteria suggest a low probability of influenza. In patients with influenza A/H1N1 pneumonia, empirical antibiotic therapy should be provided due to the possibility of bacterial coinfection. A beta-lactam plus a macrolide should be administered as soon as possible. The microbiological findings and clinical or laboratory test variables may decide withdrawal or not of antibiotic treatment. Pneumococcal vaccination is recommended as a preventive measure in the population at risk of suffering severe complications. Although the use of moderate- or low-dose corticosteroids has been proposed for the treatment of influenza A/H1N1 pneumonia, the existing scientific evidence is not sufficient to recommend the use of corticosteroids in these patients. The treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with influenza A/H1N1 must be based on the use of a protective ventilatory strategy (tidal volume <10 ml / kg and plateau pressure <35 mmHg) and positive end-expiratory pressure set to high patient lung mechanics, combined with the use of prone ventilation, muscle relaxation and recruitment maneuvers. Noninvasive mechanical ventilation cannot be considered a technique of choice in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, though it may be useful in experienced centers and in cases of respiratory failure associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation or heart failure. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a rescue technique in refractory acute respiratory distress syndrome due to influenza A/H1N1 infection. The scientific evidence is weak, however, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is not the technique of choice. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation will be advisable if all other options have failed to improve oxygenation. The centralization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in referral hospitals is recommended. Clinical findings show 50-60% survival rates in patients treated with this technique. Cardiovascular complications of influenza A/H1N1 are common. Such problems may appear due to the deterioration of pre-existing cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, ischemic heart disease and right ventricular dysfunction. Early diagnosis and adequate monitoring allow the start of effective treatment, and in severe cases help decide the use of circulatory support systems. Influenza vaccination is recommended for all patients at risk. This indication in turn could be extended to all subjects over 6 months of age, unless contraindicated. Children should receive two doses (one per month). Immunocompromised patients and the population at risk should receive one dose and another dose annually. The frequency of adverse effects of the vaccine against A/H1N1 flu is similar to that of seasonal flu. Chemoprophylaxis must always be considered a supplement to vaccination, and is indicated in people at high risk of complications, as well in healthcare personnel who have been exposed.

Tracheal colonisation within 24 h of intubation in patients with head trauma: risk factor for developing early-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if tracheal colonisation within 24 h of intubation is a risk factor for developing early-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia (EP) in patients with head trauma. DESIGN: A prospective study in an intensive care unit of a university hospital. POPULATION: One hundred intubated patients were included with head trauma and Glasgow coma score at admission < or =12. METHODS: We took tracheal aspirate samples within 24 h of intubation and performed a protected bronchoalveolar mini-lavage when clinical diagnosis of pneumonia was made. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: On admission time 68 patients (68%) were colonised in trachea, 22 patients were colonised by Staphylococcus aureus, 20 by Haemophilus influenzae, six by Streptococcus pneumoniae and 20 by gram-negative bacilli. The incidence of EP was 26%, and the microorganisms involved were Staph. aureus (44%), H. influenzae (31%), Strep. pneumoniae (12%), and gram-negative bacilli (13%). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the tracheal colonization by Staph. aureus, H. influenzae or Strep. pneumoniae within 24 h of intubation was an independent risk factor for developing EP (odds ratio: 28.9; 95% confidence interval: 1.59-52.5). CONCLUSION: Colonisation of the trachea within 24 h of intubation by Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae or Streptococcus pneumoniae is a risk factor for developing EP in patients with head trauma.