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Background: Leptospirosis is an anthropozoonosis that occurs worldwide but is more common in tropical regions. Severe forms may require intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Whether the clinical patterns and outcomes differ between tropical and non-tropical regions with similar healthcare systems is unclear. Our objective here was to address this issue by comparing two cohorts of ICU patients with leptospirosis managed in mainland France and in the overseas French department of Réunion, respectively. Methodology/Principal findings: We compared two retrospective cohorts of patients admitted to intensive care for severe leptospirosis, one from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean (tropical climate) and the other from metropolitan France (temperate climate). Chi-square and Student's t tests were used for comparisons. After grouping the two cohorts, we also performed multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering to search for distinct clinical phenotypes. The Réunion and Metropolitan France cohorts comprised 128 and 160 patients respectively. Compared with the Réunion cohort, the metropolitan cohort had a higher mean age (42.5±14.1 vs. 51.4±16.5 years, p<0.001). Severity scores, length of stay and mortality did not differ between the two cohorts. Three phenotypes were identified: hepato-renal leptospirosis (54.5%) characterized by significant hepatic, renal and coagulation failure, with a mortality of 8.3%; moderately severe leptospirosis (38.5%) with less severe organ failure and the lowest mortality rate (1.8%); and very severe leptospirosis (7%) manifested by neurological, respiratory and cardiovascular failure, with a mortality of 30%. Conclusions/Significance: The outcomes of severe leptospirosis requiring ICU admission did not differ between tropical and temperate regions with similar healthcare access, practices, and resources, despite some differences in patient characteristics. The identification of three different clinical phenotypes may assist in the early diagnosis and management of severe leptospirosis. Author summary: This study aims to discern whether there are variations in the clinical manifestations and outcomes of severe Leptospirosis between tropical and non-tropical regions with comparable healthcare infrastructures. Conducted in France, the research scrutinizes the distinctions in patient characteristics, clinical presentations, and prognoses between a tropical area and a temperate one. The analysis reveals minimal discrepancies in patient profiles and clinical patterns across these regions. Additionally, no statistically significant differences were observed regarding the duration of intensive care unit (ICU) or hospital stays, as well as ICU or hospital mortality rates, between the tropical and non-tropical locales. The findings suggest that the clinical features and outcomes of individuals afflicted with severe leptospirosis exhibit substantial uniformity across tropical and temperate regions endowed with similar healthcare resources. This study contributes valuable insights into the understanding of leptospirosis, highlighting the consistency in disease presentation and prognosis irrespective of climatic distinctions, given comparable healthcare capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with severe mental illness (SMI) (i.e., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder) have been reported to have excess mortality rates from infection compared to patients without SMI, but whether SMI is associated with higher or lower case fatality rates (CFRs) among infected patients remains unclear. The primary objective was to compare the 90-day CFR in septic shock patients with and without SMI admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), after adjusting for social disadvantage and physical health comorbidity. Methods and findings: We conducted a nationwide, population-based cohort study of all adult patients with septic shock admitted to the ICU in France between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, using the French national hospital database. We matched (within hospitals) in a ratio of 1:up to 4 patients with and without SMI (matched-controls) for age (5 years range), sex, degree of social deprivation, and year of hospitalization. Cox regression models were conducted with adjustment for smoking, alcohol and other substance addiction, overweight or obesity, Charlson comorbidity index, presence of trauma, surgical intervention, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II score, organ failures, source of hospital admission (home, transfer from other hospital ward), and the length of time between hospital admission and ICU admission. The primary outcome was 90-day CFR. Secondary outcomes were 30- and 365-day CFRs, and clinical profiles of patients. A total of 187,587 adult patients with septic shock admitted to the ICU were identified, including 3,812 with schizophrenia, 2,258 with bipolar disorder, and 5,246 with major depressive disorder. Compared to matched controls, the 90-day CFR was significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia (1,052/3,269 = 32.2% versus 5,000/10,894 = 45.5%; adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65,0.75, p < 0.001), bipolar disorder (632/1,923 = 32.9% versus 2,854/6,303 = 45.3%; aHR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.63,0.76, p < 0.001), and major depressive disorder (1,834/4,432 = 41.4% versus 6,798/14,452 = 47.1%; aHR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.81,0.90, p < 0.001). Study limitations include inability to capture deaths occurring outside hospital, lack of data on processes of care, and problems associated with missing data and miscoding in medico-administrative databases. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, after adjusting for social disadvantage and physical health comorbidity, there are improved septic shock outcome in patients with SMI compared to patients without. This finding may be the result of different immunological profiles and exposures to psychotropic medications, which should be further explored Author summary: Why was this study done?: Patients with severe mental illness (SMI) have been reported to have excess mortality from sepsis (number of deaths due to sepsis in the whole population). Whether SMI is associated with higher or lower sepsis-associated case fatality remains unclear (number of deaths due to sepsis in the population with sepsis). No study has determined whether SMI is associated with excess case fatality in patients with septic shock, the most severe form of sepsis when accounting for the most relevant confounding variables. What did the researchers do and find?: In this nationwide, population-based cohort study, we compared 30-, 90-, and 365-day case fatality rates (CFRs) in septic shock patients with and without SMI admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). We identified 187,587 adult patients with septic shock admitted to the ICU, including 3,812 with schizophrenia, 2,258 with bipolar disorder, and 5,246 with major depressive disorder. The 30-, 90-, and 365-day CFRs were lower in patients with SMI than in patients without SMI after controlling for multiple potential confounding factors (using intrahospital matching and adjustments for multiple comorbidities and illness severity) and addressing potential biases not considered in previous studies. What do these findings mean?: Our findings suggest improved septic shock outcomes in patients with SMI compared to patients without. Our findings also suggest that the excess mortality from sepsis is due to an increased risk of sepsis/infection among patients with SMI, but not due to increase case fatality among septic patients. This finding may be the result of different immunological profiles and exposures to psychotropic medications, a hypothesis that needs to be confirmed in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the characteristics, management, and prognosis of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) for coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 during the first two waves of the outbreak and to evaluate the relationship between ICU strain (ICU demand due to COVID-19 admissions) and mortality. Methods: In a multicentre retrospective study, 1166 COVID-19 patients admitted to five ICUs in France between 20 February and 31 December 2020 were included. Data were collected at each ICU from medical records. A Cox proportional-hazards model identified factors associated with 28-day mortality. Results: 640 patients (55%) were admitted during the first wave (February to June 2020) and 526 (45%) during the second wave (July to December 2020). ICU strain was lower during the second wave (-0.81 [-1.04 –-0.31] vs. 1.18 [-0.34–1.29] SD when compared to mean COVID-19 admission in each center during study period, P<0.001). Patients admitted during the second wave were older, had more profound hypoxemia and lower SOFA. High flow nasal cannula was more frequently used during the second wave (68% vs. 39%, P<0.001) and intubation was less frequent (46% vs. 69%, P<0.001). Neither 28-day mortality (30% vs. 26%, P = 0.12) nor hospital mortality (37% vs. 31%, P = 0.27) differed between first and second wave. Overweight and obesity were associated with lower 28-day mortality while older age, underlying chronic kidney disease, severity at ICU admission as assessed by SOFA score and ICU strain were associated with higher 28-day mortality. ICU strain was not associated with hospital mortality. Conclusion: The characteristics and the management of patients varied between the first and the second wave of the pandemic. Rather than the wave, ICU strain was independently associated with 28-day mortality, but not with hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among 197 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in ICU, 88 (44.7%) experienced at least one bacterial infection, with pneumonia (39.1%) and bloodstream infections (15,7%) being the most frequent. Unusual findings include frequent suspicion of bacterial translocations originating from the digestive tract as well as bacterial persistence in the lungs despite adequate therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A new respiratory virus, SARS-CoV-2, has emerged and spread worldwide since late 2019. This study aims at analysing clinical presentation on admission and the determinants associated with admission in intensive care units (ICUs) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Patients and methods: In this prospective hospital-based study, socio-demographic, clinical and biological characteristics, on admission, of adult COVID-19 hospitalized patients presenting from the community for their first admission were prospectively collected and analysed. Characteristics of patients hospitalized in medical ward to those admitted in ICU were compared using Mann-Whitney and Chi-square or Fisher exact test when appropriate. Univariate logistic regression was first used to identify variables on admission that were associated with the outcome i.e. admission to an ICU versus total hospital stay in a medical ward. Forward selection was then applied beginning with sex, age and temperature in the multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Of the 412 patients included, 325 were discharged and 87 died in hospital. Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of ICU hospitalization with temperature (OR, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.06–2.28] per degree Celsius increase), oxygen saturation <90% (OR, 12.45 [95% CI, 5.27–29.4]), abnormal lung auscultation on admission (OR, 3.58 [95% CI, 1.58–8.11]), elevated level of CRP (OR, 2.7 [95% CI, 1.29–5.66for CRP>100mg/L vs CRP<10mg/L). and monocytopenia (OR, 3.28 [95% CI, 1.4–7.68]) were also associated with increasing odds of ICU hospitalization. Older patients were less likely to be hospitalized in ICU (OR, 0.17 [95%CI, 0.05–0.51]. Conclusions: Age and delay between onset of symptoms and hospital admission were associated with the risk of hospitalisation in ICU. Age being a fixed variable, interventions that shorten this delay would improve the prognosis of Covid-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]