Project description:Currently, treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, particularly those afflicted with severe pneumonia, is challenging, as no effective pharmacotherapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exists. Severe pneumonia is recognized as a clinical syndrome characterized by hyper-induction of pro-inflammatory cytokine production, which can induce organ damage, followed by edema, dysfunction of air exchange, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute cardiac injury, secondary infection and increased mortality. Owing to the immunoregulatory and differentiation potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), we aimed to outline current insights into the clinical application of MSCs in COVID-19 patients. Based on results from preliminary clinical investigations, it can be predicted that MSC therapy for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 is safe and effective, although multiple clinical trials with a protracted follow-up will be necessary to determine the long-term effects of the treatment on COVID-19 patients.
Project description:ObjectivesCoronavirus disease 2019 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection to which there is no community immunity. Patients admitted to ICUs have high mortality, with only supportive therapies available. Our aim was to profile plasma inflammatory analytes to help understand the host response to coronavirus disease 2019.DesignDaily blood inflammation profiling with immunoassays.SettingTertiary care ICU and academic laboratory.SubjectsAll patients admitted to the ICU suspected of being infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2, using standardized hospital screening methodologies, had daily blood samples collected until either testing was confirmed negative on ICU day 3 (coronavirus disease 2019 negative), or until ICU day 7 if the patient was positive (coronavirus disease 2019 positive).InterventionsNone.Measurements and main resultsAge- and sex-matched healthy controls and ICU patients that were either coronavirus disease 2019 positive or coronavirus disease 2019 negative were enrolled. Cohorts were well-balanced with the exception that coronavirus disease 2019 positive patients were more likely than coronavirus disease 2019 negative patients to suffer bilateral pneumonia. Mortality rate for coronavirus disease 2019 positive ICU patients was 40%. We measured 57 inflammatory analytes and then analyzed with both conventional statistics and machine learning. Twenty inflammatory analytes were different between coronavirus disease 2019 positive patients and healthy controls (p < 0.01). Compared with coronavirus disease 2019 negative patients, coronavirus disease 2019 positive patients had 17 elevated inflammatory analytes on one or more of their ICU days 1-3 (p < 0.01), with feature classification identifying the top six analytes between cohorts as tumor necrosis factor, granzyme B, heat shock protein 70, interleukin-18, interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10, and elastase 2. While tumor necrosis factor, granzyme B, heat shock protein 70, and interleukin-18 were elevated for all seven ICU days, interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 transiently elevated on ICU days 2 and 3 and elastase 2 increased over ICU days 2-7. Inflammation profiling predicted coronavirus disease 2019 status with 98% accuracy, whereas elevated heat shock protein 70 was strongly associated with mortality.ConclusionsWhile many inflammatory analytes were elevated in coronavirus disease 2019 positive ICU patients, relative to healthy controls, the top six analytes distinguishing coronavirus disease 2019 positive ICU patients from coronavirus disease 2019 negative ICU patients were tumor necrosis factor, granzyme B, heat shock protein 70, interleukin-18, interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10, and elastase 2.
Project description:BackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causes direct lung damage, overwhelming endothelial activation, and inflammatory reaction, leading to acute respiratory failure and multi-organ dysfunction. Ongoing clinical trials are evaluating targeted therapies to hinder this exaggerated inflammatory response. Critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have shown heterogeneous severity trajectories, suggesting that response to therapies is likely to vary across patients.Research questionAre critically ill COVID-19 patients biologically and immunologically dissociable based on profiling of currently evaluated therapeutic targets?Study design and methodsWe did a single-center, prospective study in an ICU department in France. Ninety-six critically ill adult patients admitted with a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection were enrolled. We conducted principal components analysis and hierarchical clustering on a vast array of immunologic variables measured on the day of ICU admission.ResultsWe found that patients were distributed in three clusters bearing distinct immunologic features and associated with different ICU outcomes. Cluster 1 had a "humoral immunodeficiency" phenotype with predominant B-lymphocyte defect, relative hypogammaglobulinemia, and moderate inflammation. Cluster 2 had a "hyperinflammatory" phenotype, with high cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF⍺]) associated with CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte defects. Cluster 3 had a "complement-dependent" phenotype with terminal complement activation markers (elevated C3 and sC5b-9).InterpretationPatients with severe COVID-19 exhibiting cytokine release marks, complement activation, or B-lymphocyte defects are distinct from each other. Such immunologic variability argues in favor of targeting different mediators in different groups of patients and could serve as a basis for patient identification and clinical trial eligibility.
Project description:BackgroundCardiac injury has been reported in up to 30% of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. However, cardiac injury is defined mainly by troponin elevation without description of associated structural abnormalities and its time course has not been studied.Research questionWhat are the ECG and echocardiographic abnormalities as well as their time course in critically ill COVID-19 patients?Study design and methodsThe cardiac function of 43 consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to two ICUs was assessed prospectively and repeatedly, combining ECG, cardiac biomarker, and transthoracic echocardiographic analyses from ICU admission to ICU discharge or death or to a maximum follow-up of 14 days. Cardiac injury was defined by troponin elevation and newly diagnosed ECG or echocardiographic abnormalities, or both.ResultsAt baseline, 49% of patients demonstrated a cardiac injury, and 70% of patients experienced cardiac injury within the first 14 days of ICU stay, with a median time of occurrence of 3 days (range, 0-7 days). The most frequent abnormalities were ECG or echocardiographic signs, or both, of left ventricular (LV) abnormalities (87% of patients with cardiac injury), right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction (47%), pericardial effusion (43%), new-onset atrial arrhythmias (33%), LV relaxation impairment (33%), and LV systolic dysfunction (13%). Between baseline and day 14, the incidence of pericardial effusion and of new-onset atrial arrhythmias increased and the incidence of ECG or echocardiographic signs, or both, of LV abnormalities as well as the incidence of LV relaxation impairment remained stable, whereas the incidence of RV and LV systolic dysfunction decreased.InterpretationCardiac injury is common and early in critically ill COVID-19 patients. ECG or echocardiographic signs, or both, of LV abnormalities were the most frequent abnormalities, and patients with cardiac injury experienced more RV than LV systolic dysfunction.
Project description:Objective: To compare Anti-Xa directed thromboprophylaxis using low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) (anti-Xa peak goal 0.2-0.5 IU/mL) to alternative anticoagulation strategies in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Methods: This was a retrospective, multicenter, single health-system study. Primary outcomes were thromboembolic events and clinically important bleeding events. Secondary outcomes included dosing comparisons between LMWH cohorts. Main Results: A total of 695 patients were included. No differences were found in the incidence of thrombotic events with any of the dosing strategies. The incidence of major bleeding was significantly higher in the standard dose thromboprophylaxis, intermediate dose subcutaneous heparin (SQH), and therapeutic anticoagulation cohorts. Forty-nine percent of patients within the anti-Xa directed group had their first anti-Xa peak at goal, while 43% were above goal. Patients who had levels above goal had dose modifications made, therefore anti-Xa directed LMWH resulted in significantly lower total daily doses compared to intermediate dose LMWH. Conclusions: Anti-Xa directed LMWH dosing provided comparable thromboprophylaxis with lower total daily doses of LMWH in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm our findings.
Project description:ObjectivesTo determine mortality rates among adults with critical illness from coronavirus disease 2019.DesignObservational cohort study of patients admitted from March 6, 2020, to April 17, 2020.SettingSix coronavirus disease 2019 designated ICUs at three hospitals within an academic health center network in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.PatientsAdults greater than or equal to 18 years old with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 disease who were admitted to an ICU during the study period.InterventionsNone.Measurements and main resultsAmong 217 critically ill patients, mortality for those who required mechanical ventilation was 35.7% (59/165), with 4.8% of patients (8/165) still on the ventilator at the time of this report. Overall mortality to date in this critically ill cohort is 30.9% (67/217) and 60.4% (131/217) patients have survived to hospital discharge. Mortality was significantly associated with older age, lower body mass index, chronic renal disease, higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, lower PaO2/FIO2 ratio, higher D-dimer, higher C-reactive protein, and receipt of mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, renal replacement therapy, or vasodilator therapy.ConclusionsDespite multiple reports of mortality rates exceeding 50% among critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019, particularly among those requiring mechanical ventilation, our early experience indicates that many patients survive their critical illness.
Project description:ObjectivesHypercoagulability may be a key mechanism for acute organ injury and death in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019, but the relationship between elevated plasma levels of d-dimer, a biomarker of coagulation activation, and mortality has not been rigorously studied. We examined the independent association between d-dimer and death in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019.DesignMulticenter cohort study.SettingICUs at 68 hospitals across the United States.PatientsCritically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019 admitted to ICUs between March 4, 2020, and May 25, 2020, with a measured d-dimer concentration on ICU day 1 or 2.InterventionsNone.Measurements and main resultsThe primary exposure was the highest normalized d-dimer level (assessed in four categories: < 2×, 2-3.9×, 4-7.9×, and ≥ 8× the upper limit of normal) on ICU day 1 or 2. The primary endpoint was 28-day mortality. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for confounders. Among 3,418 patients (63.1% male; median age 62 yr [interquartile range, 52-71 yr]), 3,352 (93.6%) had a d-dimer concentration above the upper limit of normal. A total of 1,180 patients (34.5%) died within 28 days. Patients in the highest compared with lowest d-dimer category had a 3.11-fold higher odds of death (95% CI, 2.56-3.77) in univariate analyses, decreasing to a 1.81-fold increased odds of death (95% CI, 1.43-2.28) after multivariable adjustment for demographics, comorbidities, and illness severity. Further adjustment for therapeutic anticoagulation did not meaningfully attenuate this relationship (odds ratio, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.36-2.19).ConclusionsIn a large multicenter cohort study of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019, higher d-dimer levels were independently associated with a greater risk of death.
Project description:In late 2019, a novel betacoronavirus, later termed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was discovered in patients with an unknown respiratory illness in Wuhan, China. SARS-CoV-2 and the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), spread rapidly and resulted in the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic in March 2020. In a minority of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, severe illness develops characterized by a dysregulated immune response, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and multisystem organ failure. Despite the development of antiviral and multiple immunomodulatory therapies, outcomes of severe illness remain poor. In response, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States authorized the emergency use of several extracorporeal blood purification (EBP) devices for critically ill patients with COVID-19. Extracorporeal blood purification devices target various aspects of the host response to infection to reduce immune dysregulation. This review highlights the underlying technology, currently available literature on use in critically ill COVID-19 patients, and future studies involving four EBP platforms: 1) oXiris filter, 2) CytoSorb filter, 3) Seraph 100 Microbind blood affinity filter, and 4) the Spectra Optia Apheresis System with the Depuro D2000 Adsorption Cartridge.
Project description:To describe the epidemiology of superinfections (occurring > 48 hr after hospital admission) and their impact on the ICU and 28-day mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 with acute respiratory distress syndrome, requiring mechanical ventilation.DesignRetrospective analysis of prospectively collected observational data.SettingUniversity-affiliated adult ICU.PatientsNinety-two coronavirus disease 2019 patients admitted to the ICU from February 21, 2020, to May 6, 2020.InterventionsNone.Measurements and main resultsThe prevalence of superinfection at ICU admission was 21.7%, and 53 patients (57.6%) had at least one superinfection during ICU stay, with a total of 75 (82%) ventilator-associated pneumonia and 57 (62%) systemic infections. The most common pathogens responsible for ventilator-associated pneumonia were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 26, 34.7%) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (n = 14, 18.7%). Bloodstream infection occurred in 16 cases, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (n = 8, 14.0%), Enterococcus species (n = 6, 10.5%), and Streptococcus species (n = 2, 3.5%). Fungal infections occurred in 41 cases, including 36 probable (30 by Candida albicans, six by C. nonalbicans) and five proven invasive candidiasis (three C. albicans, two C. nonalbicans). Presence of bacterial infections (odds ratio, 10.53; 95% CI, 2.31-63.42; p = 0.005), age (odds ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.07-1.31; p = 0.001), and the highest Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.06-1.63; p = 0.032) were independently associated with ICU or 28-day mortality.ConclusionsPrevalence of superinfections in coronavirus disease 2019 patients requiring mechanical ventilation was high in this series, and bacterial superinfections were independently associated with ICU or 28-day mortality (whichever comes first).