Ultrafiltration rate is an important determinant of microcirculatory alterations during chronic renal replacement therapy

Background: Hemodialysis (HD) with ultrafiltration (UF) in chronic renal replacement therapy is associated with hemodynamic instability, morbidity and mortality. Sublingual Sidestream Dark Field (SDF) imaging during HD revealed reductions in microcirculatory blood flow (MFI). This study aims to determine underlying mechanisms. Methods: The study was performed in the Medical Centre Leeuwarden and the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Patients underwent 4-h HD session with linear UF. Nine patients were subject to combinations of HD and UF: 4 h of HD followed by 1 h isolated UF and 4 h HD with blood-volume-monitoring based UF. Primary endpoint: difference in MFI before and after intervention. During all sessions monitoring included blood pressure, heartrate and SDF-imaging. Trial registration number: NCT01396980. Results: Baseline characteristics were not different between the two centres as within the HD/UF modalities. MFI was not different before and after HD with UF. Total UF did not differ between modalities. Median MFI decreased significantly during isolated UF [2.8 (2.5-2.9) to 2.5 (2.2-2.8), p = 0.03]. Baseline MFI of each UF session was correlated with MFI after the intervention (r s = 0.52, p = 0.006). Conclusion: During HD with UF or isolated HD we observed no changes in MFI. This indicates that non-flow mediated mechanisms are of unimportance. During isolated UF we observed a reduction in MFI in conjunction with a negative intravascular fluid balance. The correlation between MFI before and after intervention suggests that volume status at baseline is a factor in microvascular alterations. In conclusion we observed a significant decrease of sublingual MFI, related to UF rate during chronic renal replacement therapy

The clinical relevance of oliguria in the critically ill patient : Analysis of a large observational database

Funding Information: Marc Leone reports receiving consulting fees from Amomed and Aguettant; lecture fees from MSD, Pfizer, Octapharma, 3 M, Aspen, Orion; travel support from LFB; and grant support from PHRC IR and his institution. JLV is the Editor-in-Chief of Critical Care. The other authors declare that they have no relevant financial interests. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Urine output is widely used as one of the criteria for the diagnosis and staging of acute renal failure, but few studies have specifically assessed the role of oliguria as a marker of acute renal failure or outcomes in general intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Using a large multinational database, we therefore evaluated the occurrence of oliguria (defined as a urine output 16 years) patients in the ICON audit who had a urine output measurement on the day of admission were included. To investigate the association between oliguria and mortality, we used a multilevel analysis. Results: Of the 8292 patients included, 2050 (24.7%) were oliguric during the first 24 h of admission. Patients with oliguria on admission who had at least one additional 24-h urine output recorded during their ICU stay (n = 1349) were divided into three groups: transient - oliguria resolved within 48 h after the admission day (n = 390 [28.9%]), prolonged - oliguria resolved > 48 h after the admission day (n = 141 [10.5%]), and permanent - oliguria persisting for the whole ICU stay or again present at the end of the ICU stay (n = 818 [60.6%]). ICU and hospital mortality rates were higher in patients with oliguria than in those without, except for patients with transient oliguria who had significantly lower mortality rates than non-oliguric patients. In multilevel analysis, the need for RRT was associated with a significantly higher risk of death (OR = 1.51 [95% CI 1.19-1.91], p = 0.001), but the presence of oliguria on admission was not (OR = 1.14 [95% CI 0.97-1.34], p = 0.103). Conclusions: Oliguria is common in ICU patients and may have a relatively benign nature if only transient. The duration of oliguria and need for RRT are associated with worse outcome.publishersversionPeer reviewe

A worldwide perspective of sepsis epidemiology and survival according to age: Observational data from the ICON audit

Purpose: To investigate age-related differences in outcomes of critically ill patients with sepsis around the world. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of data from the prospective ICON audit, in which all adult ( >16 years ) patients admitted to participating ICUs between May 8 and 18, 2012, were included, except admissions for routine postoperative observation. For this sub-analysis, the 10,012 patients with completed age data were included. They were divided into five age groups - <= 50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, >80 years. Sepsis was defined as infection plus at least one organ failure. Results: A total of 2963 patients had sepsis, with similar proportions across the age groups (<= 50 = 25.2%: 51-60 = 30.3%; 61-70 = 32.8%; 71-80 = 30.7%; >80 = 30.9%). Hospital mortality increased with age and in patients >80 years was almost twice that of patients <= 50 years (493% vs 25.2%, p < .05). The maximum rate of increase in mortality was about 0.75% per year, occurring between the ages of 71 and 77 years. In multilevel analysis, age > 70 years was independently associated with increased risk of dying. Conclusions: The odds for death in ICU patients with sepsis increased with age with the maximal rate of increase occurring between the ages of 71 and 77 years. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Assessment of the worldwide burden of critical illness: The Intensive Care Over Nations (ICON) audit

Background Global epidemiological data regarding outcomes for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are scarce, but are important in understanding the worldwide burden of critical illness. We, therefore, did an international audit of ICU patients worldwide and assessed variations between hospitals and countries in terms of ICU mortality.Methods 730 participating centres in 84 countries prospectively collected data on all adult (>16 years) patients admitted to their ICU between May 8 and May 18, 2012, except those admitted for fewer than 24 h for routine postoperative monitoring. Participation was voluntary. Data were collected daily for a maximum of 28 days in the ICU and patients were followed up for outcome data until death or hospital discharge. In-hospital death was analysed using multilevel logistic regression with three levels: patient, hospital, and country.Findings 10 069 patients were included from ICUs in Europe (5445 patients; 54.1%), Asia (1928; 19.2%), the Americas (1723; 17.1%), Oceania (439; 4.4%), the Middle East (393; 3.9%), and Africa (141; 1.4%). Overall, 2973 patients (29.5%) had sepsis on admission or during the ICU stay. ICU mortality rates were 16.2% (95% CI 15.5-16.9) across the whole population and 25.8% (24.2-27.4) in patients with sepsis. Hospital mortality rates were 22.4% (21.6-23.2) in the whole population and 35.3% (33.5-37.1) in patients with sepsis. Using a multilevel analysis, the unconditional model suggested significant between-country variations (var=0.19, p=0.002) and between-hospital variations (var=0.43, p<0.0001) in the individual risk of in-hospital death. There was a stepwise increase in the adjusted risk of in-hospital death according to decrease in global national income.Interpretation This large database highlights that sepsis remains a major health problem worldwide, associated with high mortality rates in all countries. Our findings also show a significant association between the risk of death and the global national income and suggest that ICU organisation has an important effect on risk of death