Association between fat-free mass and survival in critically ill patients with COVID-19:A prospective cohort study

Background: Most critically ill patients with COVID-19 experience malnutrition and weight loss associated with negative clinical outcomes. Our primary aim was to assess body composition during acute and late phase of illness in these patients in relation to clinical outcome and secondary to tailored nutrition support. Methods: This prospective cohort study included adult critically ill patients with COVID-19. Body composition (fat-free mass [FFM] [exposure of interest], fat mass [FM], skeletal muscle mass [SMM], and phase angle [PA]) was determined with multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analyses in the acute and late phase. Nutrition support data were collected simultaneously. Clinical outcome was defined as intensive care unit (ICU) survival (primary outcome) and 30–90 days thereafter, duration of mechanical ventilation, and length of ICU stay and length of hospital stay (LOS). Nonparametric tests and regression analyses were performed. Results: We included 70 patients (73% male, median age 60 years). Upon admission, median BMI was 30 kg/m 2, 54% had obesity (BMI &gt; 30 kg/m 2). Median weight change during ICU stay was −3 kg: +3 kg FM and −6 kg FFM (−4 kg SMM). Body composition changed significantly (P &lt; 0.001). Regarding clinical outcome, only low PA was associated with prolonged LOS (odds ratio = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.72–0.96; P = 0.015). Patients with optimal protein intake (&gt;80%) during acute phase maintained significantly more FFM (2.7 kg, P = 0.047) in the late phase compared with patients who received &lt;80%. Conclusion: FFM decreased significantly during acute and late phase of illness, but we observed no association with ICU survival. Only low PA was associated with prolonged LOS. FFM wasting likely occurred because of disease severity and immobility.</p

Association between fat-free mass and survival in critically ill patients with COVID-19:A prospective cohort study

Background: Most critically ill patients with COVID-19 experience malnutrition and weight loss associated with negative clinical outcomes. Our primary aim was to assess body composition during acute and late phase of illness in these patients in relation to clinical outcome and secondary to tailored nutrition support. Methods: This prospective cohort study included adult critically ill patients with COVID-19. Body composition (fat-free mass [FFM] [exposure of interest], fat mass [FM], skeletal muscle mass [SMM], and phase angle [PA]) was determined with multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analyses in the acute and late phase. Nutrition support data were collected simultaneously. Clinical outcome was defined as intensive care unit (ICU) survival (primary outcome) and 30–90 days thereafter, duration of mechanical ventilation, and length of ICU stay and length of hospital stay (LOS). Nonparametric tests and regression analyses were performed. Results: We included 70 patients (73% male, median age 60 years). Upon admission, median BMI was 30 kg/m 2, 54% had obesity (BMI &gt; 30 kg/m 2). Median weight change during ICU stay was −3 kg: +3 kg FM and −6 kg FFM (−4 kg SMM). Body composition changed significantly (P &lt; 0.001). Regarding clinical outcome, only low PA was associated with prolonged LOS (odds ratio = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.72–0.96; P = 0.015). Patients with optimal protein intake (&gt;80%) during acute phase maintained significantly more FFM (2.7 kg, P = 0.047) in the late phase compared with patients who received &lt;80%. Conclusion: FFM decreased significantly during acute and late phase of illness, but we observed no association with ICU survival. Only low PA was associated with prolonged LOS. FFM wasting likely occurred because of disease severity and immobility.</p

Surface Engineering Methods for Powder Bed Printed Tablets to Optimize External Smoothness and Facilitate the Application of Different Coatings

In a previous attempt to achieve ileo-colonic targeting of bovine intestinal alkaline phosphatase (BIAP), we applied a pH-dependent coating, the ColoPulse coating, directly on powder bed printed (PBP) tablets. However, the high surface roughness necessitated an additional sub-coating layer [Nguyen, K. T. T., Pharmaceutics 2022]. In this study, we aimed to find a production method for PBP tablets containing BIAP that allows the direct application of coating systems. Alterations of the printing parameters, binder content, and printing layer height, when combined, were demonstrated to create visually less rough PBP tablets. The addition of ethanol vapor treatment further improved the surface’s smoothness significantly. These changes enabled the direct application of the ColoPulse, or enteric coating, without a sub-coating. In vitro release testing showed the desired ileo-colonic release or upper-intestinal release for ColoPulse or enteric-coated tablets, respectively. Tablets containing BIAP, encapsulated within an inulin glass, maintained a high enzymatic activity (over 95%) even after 2 months of storage at 2–8 °C. Importantly, the coating process did not affect the activity of BIAP. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the successful production of PBP tablets with surfaces that are directly coatable with the ColoPulse coating while preserving the stability of the encapsulated biopharmaceutical, BIAP.</p

Sol-gel deposited Sb-doped tin oxide films

The structural, electrical and optical properties of single sol-gel derived antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) films sintered at 550°C have been measured. The reproducibility of both the preparation and the characterization procedures have been tested by a round-robin test involving eight laboratories within a Concerted European Action (CEA) project. The resistivity measured as a function of Sb content has been obtained by electric and reflectance and transmission measurements. Their differences are discussed in terms of structural and grain boundary effects. An increase of Sb content results in a decrease of the crystallite size (7.0 to 5.4 nm) and a greater influence of the grain boundary