Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract Reduces Pneumonia and Mortality

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) has been subject of numerous randomized controlled trials in critically ill patients. Almost all clinical trials showed SDD to prevent pneumonia. Nevertheless, SDD has remained a controversial strategy. One reason for why clinicians remained reluctant to implement SDD into daily practice could be that mortality was reduced in only 2 trials. Another reason could be the heterogeneity of trials of SDD. Indeed, many different prophylactic antimicrobial regimes were tested, and dissimilar diagnostic criteria for pneumonia were applied amongst the trials. This heterogeneity impeded interpretation and comparison of trial results. Two other hampering factors for implementation of SDD have been concerns over the risk of antimicrobial resistance and fear for escalation of costs associated with the use of prophylactic antimicrobials. This paper describes the concept of SDD, summarizes the results of published trials of SDD in mixed medical-surgical intensive care units, and rationalizes the risk of antimicrobial resistance and rise of costs associated with this potentially life-saving preventive strategy

The critically ill older patient with sepsis : a narrative review

Sepsis is a significant public health concern, particularly affecting individuals above 70 years in developed countries. This is a crucial fact due to the increasing aging population, their heightened vulnerability to sepsis, and the associated high mortality rates. However, the morbidity and long-term outcomes are even more notable. While many patients respond well to timely and appropriate interventions, it is imperative to enhance efforts in identifying, documenting, preventing, and treating sepsis. Managing sepsis in older patients poses greater challenges and necessitates a comprehensive understanding of predisposing factors and a heightened suspicion for diagnosing infections and assessing the risk of sudden deterioration into sepsis. Despite age often being considered an independent risk factor for mortality and morbidity, recent research emphasizes the pivotal roles of frailty, disease severity, and comorbid conditions in influencing health outcomes. In addition, it is important to inquire about the patient's preferences and establish a personalized treatment plan that considers their potential for recovery with quality of life and functional outcomes. This review provides a summary of the most crucial aspects to consider when dealing with an old critically ill patient with sepsis

Impaired SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell response in patients with severe COVID-19

Cellular immune responses are of pivotal importance to understand SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) interferon-γ release assay with wild-type spike, membrane and nucleocapsid peptide pools, we longitudinally characterized functional SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell responses in a cohort of patients with mild, moderate and severe COVID-19. All patients were included before emergence of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant. Our most important finding was an impaired development of early IFN-γ-secreting virus-specific T-cells in severe patients compared to patients with moderate disease, indicating that absence of virus-specific cellular responses in the acute phase may act as a prognostic factor for severe disease. Remarkably, in addition to reactivity against the spike protein, a substantial proportion of the SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell response was directed against the conserved membrane protein. This may be relevant for diagnostics and vaccine design, especially considering new variants with heavily mutated spike proteins. Our data further strengthen the hypothesis that dysregulated adaptive immunity plays a central role in COVID-19 immunopathogenesis

Selective Decontamination of the Digestive Tract Reduces Pneumonia and Mortality

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) has been subject of numerous randomized controlled trials in critically ill patients. Almost all clinical trials showed SDD to prevent pneumonia. Nevertheless, SDD has remained a controversial strategy. One reason for why clinicians remained reluctant to implement SDD into daily practice could be that mortality was reduced in only 2 trials. Another reason could be the heterogeneity of trials of SDD. Indeed, many different prophylactic antimicrobial regimes were tested, and dissimilar diagnostic criteria for pneumonia were applied amongst the trials. This heterogeneity impeded interpretation and comparison of trial results. Two other hampering factors for implementation of SDD have been concerns over the risk of antimicrobial resistance and fear for escalation of costs associated with the use of prophylactic antimicrobials. This paper describes the concept of SDD, summarizes the results of published trials of SDD in mixed medical-surgical intensive care units, and rationalizes the risk of antimicrobial resistance and rise of costs associated with this potentially life-saving preventive strategy

Trends in hospital and intensive care admissions in the Netherlands attributable to the very elderly in an ageing population

Abstract Introduction: The Dutch population is ageing and it is unknown how this is affecting trends in the percentage of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions attributable to patients aged 80 years or older, the very elderly. Methods: We present data on the percentage of the very elderly in the general population and the percentage of hospital admissions attributable to the very elderly. We subsequently performed a longitudinal cross-sectional study on ICU admissions from hospitals participating in the National Intensive Care Evaluation registry for the period 2005 to 2014. We modeled the percentage of adult ICU admissions and treatment days attributable to the very elderly separately for ICU admissions following cardiac surgery and other reasons

Outcome of very old patients admitted to the ICU for sepsis : A systematic review

Background: Due to ageing of the general population, an increasing number of very old patients (>. 80. years old) is admitted to the hospital and to the intensive care unit (ICU). Sepsis is one of the most frequent reasons for admission. However, it is questioned whether admission of these very old intensive care patients (VOPs) is always indicated, as survival is generally poor. To enhance decision making, more information about chances of VOPs is of the utmost importance for the physicians, the patients and relatives and policymakers. Methods: A systematic search was performed in Medline and Embase up to 2017 to identify studies that described the outcome (either ICU-, hospital-mortality and/or any other short- or long-term outcome measure; e.g. 30-day mortality or one year mortality and also functional outcome and quality of life) of VOPs admitted for sepsis. Results: We identified 4562 potentially relevant publications, 18 studies could be included. In total, 4256 patients aged 80 years and older were incorporated in this systematic review. The median ICU-mortality was 43% [range 30-79%], the median hospital-mortality 47% [31-84%] and the median 1-year mortality 68% [53-83%]. Conclusions: Although relatively few studies are performed in VOPs admitted with sepsis, mortality rates seem to be high. Future studies are needed to identify factors that can predict survival and quality of life after discharge of VOPs in order to identify subgroups that benefit most from ICU treatment