Performance of the PEdiatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 score in critically ill children requiring plasma transfusions

BACKGROUND: Organ dysfunction scores, based on physiological parameters, have been created to describe organ failure. In a general pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) population, the PEdiatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction-2 score (PELOD-2) score had both a good discrimination and calibration, allowing to describe the clinical outcome of critically ill children throughout their stay. This score is increasingly used in clinical trials in specific subpopulation. Our objective was to assess the performance of the PELOD-2 score in a subpopulation of critically ill children requiring plasma transfusions. METHODS: This was an ancillary study of a prospective observational study on plasma transfusions over a 6-week period, in 101 PICUs in 21 countries. All critically ill children who received at least one plasma transfusion during the observation period were included. PELOD-2 scores were measured on days 1, 2, 5, 8, and 12 after plasma transfusion. Performance of the score was assessed by the determination of the discrimination (area under the ROC curve: AUC) and the calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test). RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-three patients were enrolled in the study (median age and weight: 1 year and 9.1 kg, respectively). Observed mortality rate was 26.9 % (119/443). For PELOD-2 on day 1, the AUC was 0.76 (95 % CI 0.71-0.81) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was p = 0.76. The serial evaluation of the changes in the daily PELOD-2 scores from day 1 demonstrated a significant association with death, adjusted for the PELOD-2 score on day 1. CONCLUSIONS: In a subpopulation of critically ill children requiring plasma transfusion, the PELOD-2 score has a lower but acceptable discrimination than in an entire population. This score should therefore be used cautiously in this specific subpopulation

Abundance and Distribution of Enteric Bacteria and Viruses in Coastal and Estuarine Sediments—a Review

The long term survival of fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) and human pathogenic microorganisms in sediments is important from a water quality, human health and ecological perspective. Typically, both bacteria and viruses strongly associate with particulate matter present in freshwater, estuarine and marine environments. This association tends to be stronger in finer textured sediments and is strongly influenced by the type and quantity of clay minerals and organic matter present. Binding to particle surfaces promotes the persistence of bacteria in the environment by offering physical and chemical protection from biotic and abiotic stresses. How bacterial and viral viability and pathogenicity is influenced by surface attachment requires further study. Typically, long-term association with surfaces including sediments induces bacteria to enter a viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Inherent methodological challenges of quantifying VBNC bacteria may lead to the frequent under-reporting of their abundance in sediments. The implications of this in a quantitative risk assessment context remain unclear. Similarly, sediments can harbor significant amounts of enteric viruses, however, the factors regulating their persistence remains poorly understood. Quantification of viruses in sediment remains problematic due to our poor ability to recover intact viral particles from sediment surfaces (typically <10%), our inability to distinguish between infective and damaged (non-infective) viral particles, aggregation of viral particles, and inhibition during qPCR. This suggests that the true viral titre in sediments may be being vastly underestimated. In turn, this is limiting our ability to understand the fate and transport of viruses in sediments. Model systems (e.g., human cell culture) are also lacking for some key viruses, preventing our ability to evaluate the infectivity of viruses recovered from sediments (e.g., norovirus). The release of particle-bound bacteria and viruses into the water column during sediment resuspension also represents a risk to water quality. In conclusion, our poor process level understanding of viral/bacterial-sediment interactions combined with methodological challenges is limiting the accurate source apportionment and quantitative microbial risk assessment for pathogenic organisms associated with sediments in aquatic environments

Anemia at pediatric intensive care unit discharge: prevalence and risk markers

Abstract Background Anemia is prevalent at pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission and incident during PICU stay, but little is known about anemia at PICU discharge . Anemia after critical illness is an important issue because it could impact post-PICU outcome. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of anemia at PICU discharge and to determine its risk markers. Methods This is an ancillary study of a prospective observational study on transfusion practices conducted in the PICU of a tertiary care children’s hospital. All children consecutively admitted to the PICU during a 1-year period were considered for inclusion. Data were prospectively collected from medical charts, except for hemoglobin (Hb) levels at PICU and hospital discharge that were collected retrospectively. Anemia was defined by an Hb concentration below the lower limit of the normal range for age. Results Among the 679 children retained for analysis, 390 (57.4%) were anemic at PICU discharge. After multivariate adjustment, anemia at PICU admission was the strongest risk marker of anemia at PICU discharge. The strength of this association varied according to age (interaction): The odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) of anemia at PICU discharge was 4.85 (1.67–14.11) for 1–5-month-old infants anemic versus not anemic at PICU admission, and it was 73.13 (13.43, 398.19) for adolescents anemic versus not anemic at PICU admission. Children admitted after a non-cardiac surgery had an increased risk of anemia at PICU discharge [OR 2.30 (1.37, 3.88), p = 0.002]. The proportion of anemic children differed between age categories, while the median Hb level did not exhibit significant variations according to age. Conclusions Anemia is highly prevalent at PICU discharge and is strongly predicted by anemia at PICU admission. The usual age-based definitions of anemia may not be relevant for critically ill children. The consequences of anemia at PICU discharge are unknown and deserve further scrutiny

Identification and cloning of the gene encoding BmpC: an outer-membrane lipoprotein associated with Brachyspira pilosicoli membrane vesicles

The intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli causes colitis in a wide variety of host species. Little is known about the structure or protein constituents of the B. pilosicoli outer membrane (OM). To identify surface-exposed proteins in this species, membrane vesicles were isolated from B. pilosicoli strain 95-1000 cells by osmotic lysis in dH(2)O followed by isopycnic centrifugation in sucrose density gradients. The membrane vesicles were separated into a high-density fraction (HDMV; p = 1.18 g CM-3) and a low-density fraction (LDMV; rho=1.12 g cm(-3)). Both fractions were free of flagella and soluble protein contamination. LDMV contained predominantly OM markers (lipo-oligosaccharide and a 29 kDa B. pilosicoli OM protein) and was used as a source of antigens to produce mAbs. Five B. pilosicoli-specific mAbs reacting with proteins with molecular masses of 23, 24, 35, 61 and 79 kDa were characterized. The 23 kDa protein was only partially soluble in Triton X-114, whereas the 24 and 35 kDa proteins were enriched in the detergent phase, implying that they were integral membrane proteins or lipoproteins. All three proteins were localized to the B. pilosicoli OM by immunogold labelling using specific mAbs. The gene encoding the abundant, surface-exposed 23 kDa protein was identified by screening a B. pilosicoli 95-1000 genome library with the mAb and was expressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis showed that it encoded a unique lipoprotein, designated BmpC. Recombinant BmpC partitioned predominantly in the OM fraction of E. coli strain SOLR. The mAb to BmpC was used to screen a collection of 13 genetically heterogeneous strains of B. pilosicoli isolated from five different host species. Interestingly, only strain 95-1000 was reactive with the mAb, indicating that either the surface-exposed epitope on BmpC is variable between strains or that the protein is restricted in its distribution within B. pilosicoli

IFCT-GFPC-0701 MAPS trial, a multicenter randomized phase III trial of pemetrexed-cisplatin with or without bevacizumab in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

TPS7112 Background: MPM median OS does not exceed 13 months with pem/CDDP doublet. U.S. Intergroup phase II trial of gemcitabine/CDDP, with or without bevacizumab, gave an appealing 15.6 months median OS in the bevacizumab arm. French Intergroup aimed to test pem/CDDP with bevacizumab (PCB), in a randomized phase III trial. Methods: Eligible patients had unresectable histologically proved MPM, no prior chemo, PS 0-2, no thrombosis, nor bleeding. Primary endpoint: The primary outcome will be survival. The secondary endpoint will be Progression-Free Survival. Patients received pem 500 mg/m2, CDDP 75 mg/m2 (PC),at D1, and vitamin B12 +B9 substitution, with (arm B) or without bevacizumab (arm A), 15 mg/kg Q21D, for 6 cycles. Arm B nonprogressive patients received bevacizumab maintenance therapy until progression or toxicity. 445 patients to be recruited during a period 48 months, with at least 24 months of follow-up, and 385 events (deaths), will be needed to assure a power of 80% and detect at least a 4.3 months of median survival increase. This hypothesis leads to a Hazard Ratio (HR) of 1.33 and a 3-years survival of 14.7% in control arm and 23.6 % in experimental arm, with an absolute difference of 8.9% in survival rates. Accrual status: The first patient was included in February 2008. On January 31, 2012, 257 patients from 85 French centers had been enrolled. The end of accrual can be expected for September 2013. Ancillary studies: For molecular biomarker analyses, thoracoscopic tissue specimens (TS, ERCC1, MSH2, TUBB3, NF2, p16, RASSF1A methylation,15 microRNAs ) and blood samples (micro-RNAS, VEGF, osteopontin, SRMP) at diagnosis are centrally collected. Finally, a prospective study comparing PET-CT to standard CT with central blinded analysis, is currently on-going for evaluation of response, and accuracy of modified RECIST criteria for mesothelioma. </jats:p

How 217 Pediatric Intensivists Manage Anemia at PICU Discharge: Online Responses to an International Survey.

To describe the management of anemia at PICU discharge by pediatric intensivists.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe