Albumin Kinetics in Sepsis and COVID-19.

Hypoalbuminemia has been associated with poor outcome in critically ill population including sepsis and COVID-19. The observational study by Su et al showed a favorable albumin kinetics, with an initial downwards trend followed by recovery back to the predicted albumin levels, in survivors of COVID-19 and sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, nonsurvivors in COVID-19 group did not have an upwards recovery slope, while those in sepsis group did not follow any sort of albumin kinetics. Thus, authors concluded that the pattern of albumin kinetics may be predictive of outcome in COVID-19 and sepsis-induced ARDS. Here, we would like to highlight a few more points in this letter.

The evolution of clot strength in critically ill COVID-19 patients: a prospective observational thromboelastography study.

The authors have done commendable work in exploring the utility of a comprehensive viscoelastic test for assessment of the coagulation cascade in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. This article published in your esteemed journal in November 2021 "The evolution of clot strength in critically-ill COVID-19 patients: a prospective observational thromboelastography study" found hypercoagulability in most of the patients at Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission and also noted a persistently increased fibrin contribution to clot strength. However, we would like to comment upon a few points which may be of importance to the readers.

Intravenous Immunoglobulin may Reverse Multisystem Inflammation in COVID-19 Pneumonitis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented crisis for public health, although several potential therapies have been provisionally applied but a unified consensus is yet to be achieved. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 75-year-old man, COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive on admission, presented with acute onset progressively ascending weakness of all four limbs. Nerve conduction velocity (NCV) study suggested acute demyelinating and axonal type of motor polyradiculoneuropathy. Hence, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) related to COVID-19 infection was considered. His respiratory status worsened to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) on the second week of illness. He was started on intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) dosed over 5 days. His ventilator support started to improve after the 10th day of admission. His inflammatory markers started to improve, ventilator supports were weaned down and he was extubated on the 17th day of illness. Intravenous immunoglobulin is rich in viral immunoglobulin G (IgG), competitively binds Fcy receptor, preventing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein from attaching to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2) receptor, inhibiting viral entry into the cell. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Intravenous immunoglobulin can inhibit the production of inflammatory factors and decrease inflammatory injury, multisystem inflammation (MSI) in SARS-CoV-2. CONCLUSION: While the use of hyperimmune globulin requires a tedious job of collection from convalescent patients with verified and adequate titers, the use of IVIg could be an easier option to modulate the immune storm and faster recovery in SARS-CoV-2. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Chakraborty N, Kumar H. Intravenous Immunoglobulin may Reverse Multisystem Inflammation in COVID-19 Pneumonitis and Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(12):1264-1268.

Profile and outcome of sudden cardiac arrests in the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in South India.

BACKGROUND: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one of the common emergencies encountered in the emergency department (ED) of any hospital. Although several studies have reported the predictors of CPR outcome in general, there are limited data from the EDs in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included all patients above 18 years with SCA who were resuscitated in the ED of a tertiary care hospital with an annual census of 60,000 patients between August 2014 and July 2015. A modified Utstein template was used for data collection. Factors relating to a sustained return of spontaneous circulation and mortality were analyzed using descriptive analytic statistics and logistic regressions. RESULTS: The study cohort contained 254 patients, with a male predominance (64.6%). Median age was 55 (interquartile range: 42-64) years. Majority were in-hospital cardiac arrests (73.6%). Only 7.4% (5/67) of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrests received bystander resuscitation before ED arrival. The initial documented rhythm was pulseless electrical activity (PEA)/asystole in the majority (76%) of cases while shockable rhythms pulseless ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation were noted in only 8% (21/254) of cases. Overall ED-SCA survival to hospital admission was 29.5% and survival to discharge was 9.9%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed age ≥65 years (odds ratio [OR]: 12.33; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.38-109.59; P = 0.02) and total duration of CPR >10 min (OR: 5.42; 95% CI: 1.15-25.5; P = 0.03) to be independent predictors of mortality. CONCLUSION: SCA in the ED is being increasingly seen in younger age groups. Despite advances in resuscitation medicine, survival rates of both in-hospital and out-of-hospital SCA remain poor. There exists a great need for improving prehospital care as well as control of risk factors to decrease the incidence and improve the outcome of SCA.