Continuation vs Discontinuation of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors Before Major Noncardiac Surgery

ImportanceBefore surgery, the best strategy for managing patients who are taking renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASIs) (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers) is unknown. The lack of evidence leads to conflicting guidelines.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether a continuation strategy vs a discontinuation strategy of RASIs before major noncardiac surgery results in decreased complications at 28 days after surgery.Design, setting, and participantsRandomized clinical trial that included patients who were being treated with a RASI for at least 3 months and were scheduled to undergo a major noncardiac surgery between January 2018 and April 2023 at 40 hospitals in France.InterventionPatients were randomized to continue use of RASIs (n = 1107) until the day of surgery or to discontinue use of RASIs 48 hours prior to surgery (ie, they would take the last dose 3 days before surgery) (n = 1115).Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality and major postoperative complications within 28 days after surgery. The key secondary outcomes were episodes of hypotension during surgery, acute kidney injury, postoperative organ failure, and length of stay in the hospital and intensive care unit during the 28 days after surgery.ResultsOf the 2222 patients (mean age, 67 years [SD, 10 years]; 65% were male), 46% were being treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors at baseline and 54% were being treated with angiotensin receptor blockers. The rate of all-cause mortality and major postoperative complications was 22% (245 of 1115 patients) in the RASI discontinuation group and 22% (247 of 1107 patients) in the RASI continuation group (risk ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.87-1.19]; P = .85). Episodes of hypotension during surgery occurred in 41% of the patients in the RASI discontinuation group and in 54% of the patients in the RASI continuation group (risk ratio, 1.31 [95% CI, 1.19-1.44]). There were no other differences in the trial outcomes.Conclusions and relevanceAmong patients who underwent major noncardiac surgery, a continuation strategy of RASIs before surgery was not associated with a higher rate of postoperative complications than a discontinuation strategy.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03374449

Tuméfactions cervico-faciales per et post-opératoires immédiates en chirurgie bucco-dentaire

Il n’est pas rare que le chirurgien-dentiste soit confronté à une tuméfaction cervico-faciale (TCF) per ou post-opératoire immédiate. Bien qu’il s’agisse généralement d’un phénomène bénin, il est souvent source d’inquiétude pour le praticien et le patient. Une revue de littérature se propose de présenter les différentes étiologies de tuméfactions cervico-faciales per et post-opératoires, et d’apporter les éléments pratiques pour leur diagnostic. Parmi ces tuméfactions, l’emphysème sous-cutané est un évènement banal, bénin et facile à diagnostiquer mais souvent méconnu, ce dont témoigne le nombre de cas rapportés. Plus rares, mais potentiellement graves, il convient également de citer l’hématome du plancher buccal et l’angiœdème qui peuvent être la conséquence du geste bucco-dentaire ou des médicaments. Dans ce cadre, il est en effet nécessaire de savoir reconnaître les prodromes d’une détresse respiratoire. Enfin, la fasciite nécrosante cervico-faciale se doit d’être reconnue tôt du fait de son extrême gravité, d’autant que son incidence paraît croissante. Un tableau récapitulatif présente les principales causes de TCF per et post-opératoires après chirurgie dentaire, leur chronologie, leurs principaux symptômes et les mesures thérapeutiques à mettre en œuvre

Surgical Support for Severe COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a French High-Density COVID-19 Cluster

Background. The COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in a massive surge in the need for intensive care unit (ICU) care. To avoid being overwhelmed, hospitals had to adapt and support the ICU teams in structured ICU care including involving surgical teams. This work aims at describing the collaborative efforts between the ICU care team and the Surgical Task Force (STF) during a surge of ICU activity in a University Hospital in a French high-density COVID-19 cluster. Study Design. This retrospective single center study analyzed the STF workflow and the ICU population. The study included 55 patients hospitalized in our ICU, ICU-converted step-down units, and post-anesthesia care units. The primary measure was the global daily STF activity. The secondary measure was the daily activity for each of the 5 tasks accomplished by the STF. Results. The STF attempted 415 phone calls for 55 patients’ families, 237 mobilizations of patients requiring prone positions, follow-up of 20 patients requiring medevac, and contribution to ethical discussion for 2 patients. The mean (SD) daily number of successful phones calls, ethical discussions, mobilizations of patients requiring prone positions and medevac follow-up were 18 (7), .1 (.4), 10 (7), and 2 (3), respectively. No actions for discharge summaries writing were required. The maximum number of daily mobilizations for patients requiring prone positions was 25. The maximum number of daily attempted phone calls and successful phone calls were 37 and 26, respectively. Conclusion. Surgeons’ technical and nontechnical skills represented an effective support for ICU teams during the COVID-19 pandemic

Skeletal Muscle and Lymphocyte Mitochondrial Dysfunctions in Septic Shock Trigger ICU-Acquired Weakness and Sepsis-Induced Immunoparalysis

Fundamental events driving the pathological processes of septic shock-induced multiorgan failure (MOF) at the cellular and subcellular levels remain debated. Emerging data implicate mitochondrial dysfunction as a critical factor in the pathogenesis of sepsis-associated MOF. If macrocirculatory and microcirculatory dysfunctions undoubtedly participate in organ dysfunction at the early stage of septic shock, an intrinsic bioenergetic failure, sometimes called "cytopathic hypoxia," perpetuates cellular dysfunction. Short-term failure of vital organs immediately threatens patient survival but long-term recovery is also severely hindered by persistent dysfunction of organs traditionally described as nonvital, such as skeletal muscle and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). In this review, we will stress how and why a persistent mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscles and PBMC could impair survival in patients who overcome the first acute phase of their septic episode. First, muscle wasting protracts weaning from mechanical ventilation, increases the risk of mechanical ventilator-associated pneumonia, and creates a state of ICU-acquired muscle weakness, compelling the patient to bed. Second, failure of the immune system ("immunoparalysis") translates into its inability to clear infectious foci and predisposes the patient to recurrent nosocomial infections. We will finally emphasize how mitochondrial-targeted therapies could represent a realistic strategy to promote long-term recovery after sepsis

A novel, automated, quantification of abnormal lung parenchyma in patients with COVID-19 infection: Initial description of feasibility and association with clinical outcome

Objective: Ground-glass opacities are the most frequent radiologic features of COVID-19 patients. We aimed to determine the feasibility of automated lung volume measurements, including ground-glass volumes, on the CT of suspected COVID-19 patients. Our goal was to create an automated and quantitative measure of ground-glass opacities from lung CT images that could be used clinically for diagnosis, triage and research. Design: Single centre, retrospective, observational study. Measurements: Demographic data, respiratory support treatment (synthetised in the maximal respiratory severity score) and CT-images were collected. Volume of abnormal lung parenchyma was measured with conventional semi-automatic software and with a novel automated algorithm based on voxels X-Ray attenuation. We looked for the relationship between the automated and semi-automated evaluations. The association between the ground-glass opacities volume and the maximal respiratory severity score was assessed. Main results: Thirty-seven patients were included in the main outcome analysis. The mean duration of automated and semi-automated volume measurement process were 15 (2) and 93 (41) min, respectively (p=8.05*10-8). The intraclass correlation coefficient between the semi-automated and automated measurement of ground-glass opacities and restricted normally aerated lung were both superior to 0.99. The association between the automated measured lung volume and the maximal clinical severity score was statistically significant for the restricted normally aerated (p=0.0097, effect-size: -385mL) volumes and for the ratio of ground-glass opacities/restricted normally aerated volumes (p=0.027, effect-size: 3.3). Conclusion: The feasibility and preliminary validity of automated impaired lung volume measurements in a high-density COVID-19 cluster was confirmed by our results

Continuous 4 Percent Albumin Versus Intermittent 20 Percent Albumin in Adults with Septic Shock: A Prospective, Phase IV, Open-label Randomized Trial

Whether a specific way of infusing albumin affects outcome in patients with major oxidative stress remains uncertain. To determine whether outcome measurements (survival, organ failure and care-related infections) are different according to different regimens of albumin infusion, we conducted a phase IV, randomized, open-label trial to compare the effects of continuous infusion of 4 percent albumin versus intermittent 20 percent albumin on outcome measurements in three third level-hospital intensive care unit (ICU) patients with septic shock. We randomly assigned 125 consecutive patients with septic shock when serum albumin became <20g/L. Patients received either 4 percent albumin (12.5mL/kg) continuously or 20 percent albumin (100mL over 1h/8h) intermittently (controls) until serum albumin ranged between 25 and 30g/L and norepinephrine could be weaned. The primary outcome measure was death from any cause during the 28-day period after randomization. The other outcome parameters were ICU- and hospital length of stay, serum albumin concentrations, SOFA score and lactate over the 4 days following inclusion, care-related infections and tolerance of albumin over the 28-day period after randomization. Data were analyzed with Bayesian methods. Of the 125 patients who underwent randomization, 63 received 4 percent albumin and 62 received 20 percent albumin; groups had balanced baseline characteristics. There were 19 deaths in the experimental group, as compared with 20 in the control group (Pr=0.40). The proportion of patients with new multiple-organ failure (assessed by daily SOFA) was similar in the groups (RR=0.71 [0.29-1.41], Pr=0.14). There were no differences in the medians [IQR]) numbers of days spent in the ICU (12.0 [7.5; 22.0] versus 13 [8.0; 24.5] days, Pr=0.23), in days spent within hospital (29.0 [10.5; 44.0] versus 24 [14.0; 46.8] days, Pr=0.32). In contrast, there were fewer patients with care-related infection in the study group, (14.3% versus 45.2%, Pr<0.001). Limitations concern lack of double blinding related to different regimens of infusion: this may impact results. To conclude, the continuous supply of 4 percent albumin in septic shock patients with serum albumin <20g/L decreases care-related infection (by two third) but does not result in better survival

Factors associated with coinfections in invasive aspergillosis: a retrospective cohort study

Objectives: To describe the coinfections in invasive aspergillosis (IA), to identify factors associated with coinfections, and to evaluate the impact of coinfection on mortality.Patients and methods: We conducted a monocentric retrospective study of consecutive putative, probable, or proven IA that occurred between 1997 and 2017. All coinfections, with an onset within 7 days before or after the first sign of aspergillosis, were identified. Factors associated with coinfections and mortality were analysed by multivariable analysis.Results: Among the 690 patients with IA included in the study, the median age was 57 years (range 7 days to 90 years). A coinfection was diagnosed in 272/690 patients (39.4%, 95%CI 35.8-43.2). The location of this coinfection was pulmonary only in 131/272 patients (48%), bloodstream only in 66/272 patients (24%) and other/multiple sites in 75/272 patients (28%). Coinfections were bacterial (110/272 patients, 40%), viral (58/272, 21%), fungal (57/272, 21%), parasitic (5/272, 2%) or due to multiple types of pathogens (42/272, 15%). Factors associated with a coinfection in adjusted analysis were: allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (OR 2.3 (1.2-4.4)), other haematological malignancies (OR 2.1 (1.2-3.8)), other underlying diseases (OR 4.3 (1.4-13.6)), lymphopenia (OR 1.7 (1.1-2.5)), C-reactive protein >180 mg/L (OR 1.9 (1.2-3.0)), fever (OR 2.4 (1.5-4.1)), tracheal intubation (OR 2.6 (1.5-4.7)), isolation of two or more different Aspergillus species (OR 2.7 (1.1-6.3)), and the presence of non-nodular lesions on chest computed tomography (OR 2.2 (1.3-3.7) and OR 2.2 (1.2-4.0)). Coinfections were independently associated with a higher mortality at week 12 (adjusted HR 1.5 (1.1-1.9), p < 0.01).Conclusions: Coinfections are frequent in IA patients and are associated with higher mortality