Search

Introduction: Patients in intensive care units (ICU) are often developing severe infections in which are associated with significant mortality rates. A number of novel technologies for the rapid microbiological diagnosis of these infections have been developed, introducing the era of 'fast microbiology.' Treatment of bacterial and fungal infections in ICU is however complicated by alterations in the pharmacokinetics of antimicrobial agents., Areas Covered: We review novel pharmacologic tools that can be used to optimize anti-infective therapies and patient management in ICU. A MEDLINE Pubmed search for articles published from January 1995 to 2019 was completed matching the terms pharmacokinetics and pharmacology with antimicrobial agents and ICU or critically ill patients. Moreover, additional studies were identified from the reference list of retrieved articles., Expert Opinion: Several tools are in development for the full automation of the analytical methods used for the quantification of antimicrobial concentrations within a few hours after sample collection. Ad hoc software with adaptive feedback is also available for appropriate dose adjustments based on both individual patient covariate data and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) data when available. The application of these technological improvements in the clinical practice should open the way to a 'fast pharmacology' at the bedside.

Background: Severe imported Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease with a reported mortality rate of 5-10% when patients are admitted to the Intensive Care Unit., Methods: To retrospectively review the clinical aspects, the value of severity predictive scores and the management of patients with severe P. falciparum malaria admitted to an ICU in Milano, Italy between January 2010 and December 2015., Results: Twelve patients were included: seven were male and five female with a median age of 43 years. All were initially treated with intravenous quinine. Median parasitaemia upon admission was 14,5% (range 1-20%). At the time of ICU admission, 3 patients (25%) had 5 or more World Health Organization criteria for severe malaria while another 6 of them developed one or more of the latter during their stay in ICU. Five required mechanical ventilation because of respiratory failure due to ARDS. Four patients required renal replacement therapy. Three patients underwent blood exchange transfusion. All patients survived., Conclusions: Our retrospective evaluation of adults patients admitted to the ICU with severe imported P. falciparum malaria demonstrated a favourable outcome. Severity predictive scores currently in use probably overestimate the risk of malaria mortality in patients treated in health care systems of high income countries., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) are highly susceptible to healthcare-associated infections caused by fungi. A prospective sequential survey of invasive fungal infections was conducted from May 2006 to April 2008 in 38 ICUs of 27 Italian hospitals. A total of 384 fungal infections (318 invasive Candida infections, three cryptococcosis and 63 mould infections) were notified. The median rate of candidaemia was 10.08 per 1000 admissions. In 15% of cases, the infection was already present at the time of admission to ICU. Seventy-seven percent of Candida infections were diagnosed in surgical patients. Candida albicans was isolated in 60% of cases, Candida glabrata and Candida parapsilosis in 13%, each. Candida glabrata had the highest crude mortality rate (60%). Aspergillus infection was diagnosed in 32 medical and 25 surgical patients. The median rate was 6.31 per 1000 admissions. Corticosteroid treatment was the major host factor. Aspergillosis was demonstrated to be more severe than candidiasis as the crude mortality rate was significantly higher (63% vs. 46%), given an equal index of severity, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS-II). The present large nationwide survey points out the considerable morbidity and mortality of invasive fungal infections in surgical as well as medical patients in ICU., (© 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

Background and Objective: To survey the Italian intensivist policy towards critically ill patients with HIV or AIDS in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)., Methods: This was a multicentre questionnaire survey involving all of the 239 ICUs of the GiViTI (Italian Group for Evaluation of Interventions in ICU) network. In January 2006, a detailed questionnaire (see Appendix) was e-mailed to the GiViTI referring ICU physician in each of the 239 ICUs on the GiViTI list. There were no interventions., Results: A total of 126 ICU physicians (52.7%) responded. The number of referred yearly admissions was low: 85.7% of ICUs usually admit five or fewer patients infected with HIV or AIDS per year; only 10.2 and 4.2% of them admitted at least 15 HIV-infected and at least 15 AIDS patients, respectively; the admission of patients with HIV or AIDS is perceived as always appropriate in only 30.4 and 14.3% of ICUs, respectively. A bivariate correlation was found between the presence of an infectious disease ward and the number of referred yearly admissions of both HIV-infected (Spearman rho=0.295, P<0.05) and AIDS patients (Spearman rho=0.304, P<0.05) and the decision to admit or not patients with HIV or AIDS patients to ICU. If an infectious disease ward was available, the intensivist was more likely to take the decision to admit a patient with HIV (Spearman rho=0.637, P<0.05) or AIDS in consultation with an infectious disease specialist (Spearman rho=0.578, P=0.01)., Conclusion: The recorded wide variation in intensivists' approach towards patients with HIV or AIDS requires the production of high-quality evidence to identify an optimal shared policy for such patients.

Continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRTs) and sequential extracorporeal blood purification (EBP) therapies can be used in patients with severe COVID‐19 disease to support kidney failure and restore immune homeostasis. EBP prescription should be based on the patient's clinical needs and frequently re‐evaluated during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Personalization of treatment at the bedside plays a fundamental role for patient recovery. This aim can be simplified by using both clinical and molecular data collected from a patient‐individualized web registry. In this case report, we describe how we apply a sequential approach to EBP therapies following the rapid evolution of a critically ill COVID‐19 patient with acute kidney injury. We show patient strategies and outcomes using bedside data from a registry‐based method for the routine use of EBP. We explain the choice of specific hemofilter prescription, also focusing on dose and anticoagulation strategies. We describe the difficulties, uncertainties, and mistakes made during EBP prescription. Furthermore, we discuss the causes and workable solutions that can be adopted by the ICU physician for a better EBP prescription, considering the current lack of well‐recognized indications. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03807414 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In patients that are admitted to intensive care units (ICUs), the clinical outcome of severe infections depends on several factors, as well as the early administration of chemotherapies and comorbidities. Antimicrobials may be used in off-label regimens to maximize the probability of therapeutic concentrations within infected tissues and to prevent the selection of resistant clones. Interestingly, the literature clearly shows that the rate of tissue penetration is variable among antibacterial drugs, and the correlation between plasma and tissue concentrations may be inconstant. The present review harvests data about tissue penetration of antibacterial drugs in ICU patients, limiting the search to those drugs that mainly act as protein synthesis inhibitors and disrupting DNA structure and function. As expected, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, linezolid, and tigecycline have an excellent diffusion into epithelial lining fluid. That high penetration is fundamental for the therapy of ventilator and healthcare-associated pneumonia. Some drugs also display a high penetration rate within cerebrospinal fluid, while other agents diffuse into the skin and soft tissues. Further studies are needed to improve our knowledge about drug tissue penetration, especially in the presence of factors that may affect drug pharmacokinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence, incidence and characteristics of bacterial infections and their impact on outcome in critically ill patients infected with COVID-19. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study in eight Italian ICUs from February to May 2020; data were collected through an interactive electronic database. Kaplan–Meier analysis (limit product method) was used to identify the occurrence of infections and risk of acquisition. Results: During the study period 248 patients were recruited in the eight participating ICUs. Ninety (36.3%) patients developed at least one episode of secondary infection. An ICU length of stay between 7 and 14 days was characterized by a higher occurrence of infectious complications, with ventilator-associated pneumonia being the most frequent. At least one course of antibiotic therapy was given to 161 (64.9%) patients. Overall ICU and hospital mortality were 33.9% and 42.9%, respectively. Patients developing bacteremia had a higher risk of ICU mortality [45.9% vs. 31.6%, odds ratio 1.8 (95% CI 0.9–3.7), p = 0.069] and hospital mortality [56.8% vs. 40.3%, odds ratio 1.9 (95% CI 1.1–3.9), p = 0.04]. Conclusion: In critically ill patients infected with COVID-19 the incidence of bacterial infections is high and associated with worse outcomes. Regular microbiological surveillance and strict infection control measures are mandated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the comparison of efficacy and safety between scheduled low-dose haloperidol (SLDH) and placebo in preventing subsyndromal delirium (SSD) conversion to full-blown delirium in intensive care unit (ICU). Topics include the importance of conversion of SSD prevention, the physiological effect of haloperidol particularly in modifying delirium duration, and the several considerations for the treatment such as the association between structured clinical model and specific drug.