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Background Sepsis is one of the most frequent reasons for acute intensive care unit (ICU) admission of very old patients and mortality rates are high. However, the impact of pre-existing physical and cognitive function on long-term outcome of ICU patients ≥ 80 years old (very old intensive care patients (VIPs)) with sepsis is unclear. Objective To investigate both the short- and long-term mortality of VIPs admitted with sepsis and assess the relation of mortality with pre-existing physical and cognitive function. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting 241 ICUs from 22 European countries in a six-month period between May 2018 and May 2019. Subjects Acutely admitted ICU patients aged ≥80 years with sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score ≥ 2. Methods Sepsis was defined according to the sepsis 3.0 criteria. Patients with sepsis as an admission diagnosis were compared with other acutely admitted patients. In addition to patients’ characteristics, disease severity, information about comorbidity and polypharmacy and pre-existing physical and cognitive function were collected. Results Out of 3,596 acutely admitted VIPs with SOFA score ≥ 2, a group of 532 patients with sepsis were compared to other admissions. Predictors for 6-month mortality were age (per 5 years): Hazard ratio (HR, 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.09–1.25, P 4): HR, 1.34 (95% CI, 1.18–1.51, P Conclusions There is substantial long-term mortality in VIPs admitted with sepsis. Frailty, age and disease severity were identified as predictors of long-term mortality in VIPs admitted with sepsis.

In the original publication Dr Patrick Meybohm of the Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy, Frankfurt University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany was inadvertently omitted from the list of investigators.

Purpose Premorbid conditions affect prognosis of acutely-ill aged patients. Several lines of evidence suggest geriatric syndromes need to be assessed but little is known on their relative effect on the 30-day survival after ICU admission. The primary aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of frailty, cognition decline and activity of daily life in addition to the presence of comorbidity and polypharmacy and to assess their influence on 30-day survival. Methods Prospective cohort study with 242 ICUs from 22 countries. Patients 80 years or above acutely admitted over a six months period to an ICU between May 2018 and May 2019 were included. In addition to common patients’ characteristics and disease severity, we collected information on specific geriatric syndromes as potential predictive factors for 30-day survival, frailty (Clinical Frailty scale) with a CFS > 4 defining frail patients, cognitive impairment (informant questionnaire on cognitive decline in the elderly (IQCODE) with IQCODE ≥ 3.5 defining cognitive decline, and disability (measured the activity of daily life with the Katz index) with ADL ≤ 4 defining disability. A Principal Component Analysis to identify co-linearity between geriatric syndromes was performed and from this a multivariable model was built with all geriatric information or only one: CFS, IQCODE or ADL. Akaike’s information criterion across imputations was used to evaluate the goodness of fit of our models. Results We included 3920 patients with a median age of 84 years (IQR: 81–87), 53.3% males). 80% received at least one organ support. The median ICU length of stay was 3.88 days (IQR: 1.83–8). The ICU and 30-day survival were 72.5% and 61.2% respectively. The geriatric conditions were median (IQR): CFS: 4 (3–6); IQCODE: 3.19 (3–3.69); ADL: 6 (4–6); Comorbidity and Polypharmacy score (CPS): 10 (7–14). CFS, ADL and IQCODE were closely correlated. The multivariable analysis identified predictors of 1-month mortality (HR; 95% CI): Age (per 1 year increase): 1.02 (1.–1.03, p = 0.01), ICU admission diagnosis, sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA) (per point): 1.15 (1.14–1.17, p

The increasing population of very old intensive care patients (VIPs) is a major challenge currently faced by clinicians and policymakers. Reliable indicators of VIPs' prognosis and purposefulness of their admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) are urgently needed.This is a report from the Polish sample of the VIP1 multicentre cohort study (NCT03134807). Patients ≥ 80 years of age admitted to the ICU were included in the study. Information on the type and reason for admission, demographics, utilisation of ICU procedures, ICU length of stay, organ dysfunction and the decision to apply end-of-life care was collected. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of frailty syndrome on ICU and 30-day survival of VIPs. Frailty was assessed with the Clinical Frailty Scale (≥ 5 points on a scale of 1-9).We enrolled 272 participants with a median age of 84 (81-87) years. Frailty was diagnosed in 170 (62.5%) patients. The ICU and 30-day survival rates were equal to 54.6% and 47.3% respectively. Three variables were found to significantly increase the odds of death in the ICU in a multiple logistic regression model: SOFA score (OR = 1.16; 95%CI 1.16-1.24), acute mode of admission (OR = 5.1; 95%CI 1.67-15.57) and frailty (OR = 2.25; 95%CI 1.26-4.01).Measuring frailty in critically ill older adults can facilitate making more informed clinical decisions and help avoid futile interventions.

To test the effectiveness of a central venous catheter (CVC) insertion strategy and a hand hygiene (HH) improvement strategy to prevent central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in European intensive care units (ICUs), measuring both process and outcome indicators. Adult ICUs from 14 hospitals in 11 European countries participated in this stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled multicentre intervention study. After a 6 month baseline, three hospitals were randomised to one of three interventions every quarter: (1) CVC insertion strategy (CVCi); (2) HH promotion strategy (HHi); and (3) both interventions combined (COMBi). Primary outcome was prospective CRBSI incidence density. Secondary outcomes were a CVC insertion score and HH compliance. Overall 25,348 patients with 35,831 CVCs were included. CRBSI incidence density decreased from 2.4/1000 CVC-days at baseline to 0.9/1000 (p

Background: The increasing population of very old intensive care patients (VIPs) is a major challenge currently faced by clinicians and policymakers. Reliable indicators of VIPs’ prognosis and purposefulness of their admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) are urgently needed. Methods: This is a report from the Polish sample of the VIP1 multicentre cohort study (NCT03134807). Patients ≥ 80 years of age admitted to the ICU were included in the study. Information on the type and reason for admission, demographics, utilisation of ICU procedures, ICU length of stay, organ dysfunction and the decision to apply end-of-life care was collected. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of frailty syndrome on ICU and 30-day survival of VIPs. Frailty was assessed with the Clinical Frailty Scale (≥ 5 points on a scale of 1–9). Results: We enrolled 272 participants with a median age of 84 (81–87) years. Frailty was diagnosed in 170 (62.5%) patients. The ICU and 30-day survival rates were equal to 54.6% and 47.3% respectively. Three variables were found to significantly increase the odds of death in the ICU in a multiple logistic regression model: SOFA score (OR = 1.16; 95%CI 1.16–1.24), acute mode of admission (OR = 5.1; 95%CI 1.67–15.57) and frailty (OR = 2.25; 95%CI 1.26–4.01). Conclusion: Measuring frailty in critically ill older adults can facilitate making more informed clinical decisions and help avoid futile interventions.

Background Ultrasound measurement of the inferior vena cava diameter and its respiratory variability are amongst the predictors of fluid volume status. The primary purpose of the present study was to compare the consistency of inferior vena cava diameter measurements and the collapsibility index, obtained with convex and cardiac transducers. A secondary aim was to assess the agreement of the patient's allocation to one of the two groups: "fluid responder" or "fluid non-responder", based on inferior vena cava collapsibility index calculation made with two different probes. Methods 20 experienced clinicians blinded to the purpose of the study analysed forty anonymized digital clips of images obtained during ultrasound examination of 20 patients. For each patient, one digital loop was recorded with a cardiac and the second with a convex probe. The participants were asked to determine the maximal and minimal diameters of the inferior vena cava in all presented films. An independent researcher performed a comparative analysis of the measurements conducted with both probes by all participants. The calculation of the collapsibility index and allocation to "fluid responder" or "fluid non-responder" group was performed at this stage of the study. Results The comparison of measurements obtained with cardiac and convex probes showed no statistically significant differences in the measurements of the maximal and minimal dimensions and in the collapsibility index. We also noticed that the decision of allocation to the "fluid responder" or "non-responder" group was not probe-dependent. Conclusion Both transducers can be used interchangeably for the estimation of the studied dimensions.

Dear Editor, We read the article ‘What’s new in ECMO: scoring the bad indications’ [1] with the utmost interest and we appreciate how detailed and thoroughly the authors have covered the topic, in accordance with latest recommendations and evidence based medicine. As was mentioned the evidence is scarce, yet with the increasing availability of ECMO and the indications being extended we share the opinion that we are witnessing the beginning of the ‘ECMO era’. However we would like to point out one more group of patients that could benefit from ECMO implantation as the last therapeutic resort: patients in accidental hypothermia leading to severe circulatory instability and/or cardiac arrest. Extracorporeal rewarming techniques seem to be an attractive and recognized therapeutic modality in this particular group of patients, allowing for both temperature restoration and hemodynamic and respiratory support; therefore it is recommended that all hypothermic patients (core body temperature below 28 °C) presenting symptoms of cardiac instability (e.g., systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg or ventricular arrhythmia) or who suffered cardiac arrest should be subjected to extracorporeal rewarming [2]. Although the evidence supporting this treatment is limited and for obvious reasons based on case studies, the available data is very promising. In comparison with conventional treatment, extracorporeal rewarming shows high clinical efficiency and a good safety profile, with low mortality rates and fewer complications including improved neurological outcome, even in patients with prolonged CPR [3]. The low frequency of utilization of extracorporeal rewarming in accidental hypothermia stands in stark contrast to its high availability in cardiac centers and with statistical data concerning hypothermia in the general population. In Poland in the years 2009 to 2012, a total of 1,836 deaths were associated with exposure to excessive natural cold [4]. Even more strikingly, 489 (26.6 %) of those patients died in hospital, most likely from reversible hypothermic cardiogenic shock. In our opinion this large number of in-hospital deaths should encourage one to apply advanced methods of active recognition and treatment of severely hypothermic patients. Such a rationale led us to found the Severe Accidental Hypothermia Center, to our knowledge the only such dedicated center worldwide. It works as a part of the Intensive Care Unit of the Cardiac Surgery Department in John Paul II Hospital in Cracow, Poland. It serves all patients in the Malopolskie voivodship (area 15,100 km2, population 3.3 million). We have appointed an on-call severe hypothermia coordinator, who consults all hypothermic patients reported by prehospital emergency teams [5]. From 29 July 2013 to 24 October 2014, we consulted 17 hypothermic patients and accepted five for extracorporeal rewarming, the remaining being rewarmed less invasively because of cardiac stability. After venoarterial ECMO implantation we managed to restore cardiac stability and full neurologic recovery with Glasgow coma scale (GCS) 15, cerebral performance category (CPC) 1 in four patients, one patient died (see Table 1). Table 1 Summary of patients subjected to extracorporeal rewarming as the Severe Accidental Hypothermia Center In light of the relatively high incidence of this medical event and wide availability of ECMO in cardiac centers, these patients should be consulted by specialists with knowledge of extracorporeal techniques, and thus many deaths can be possibly prevented.

Perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to assess platelet activation and oxidative stress in the setting of PMI in patients undergoing CABG. We studied 108 consecutive patients who stopped taking low-dose aspirin 7-10 days prior to elective isolated on- or off-pump CABG. β-thromboglobulin (β-TG), thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α), a marker of oxidative stress, were measured at the baseline and 5-7 days postoperatively. Aspirin (150 mg/d) was administered every morning since 12 hours after CABG. Mean baseline β-TG was 58.5 ± 10.3 IU/ml, TXB2 was 143.6 ± 28.5 ng/ml and 8-iso-PGF2α was 355.2 ± 40.7 pg/ml. Postoperatively, after administration of 4-6 doses of aspirin, β-TG increased by 16.7% and 8-iso-PGF2α increased by 17.2% 5-7 days after surgery (p = 0.005 and p 0.001, respectively). TXB2 decreased by 99.7% to 410.3 ± 52.1 pg/ml (p 0.001). Nine patients (8.3%) developed PMI. Baseline β-TG and TXB2, together with postoperative β-TG and 8-iso-PGF2α were higher in PMI patients than in the remaining subjects (all, p 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that baseline β-TG (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.05-1.57, p = 0.015) was the only independent predictor of PMI. In conclusion, we demonstrated that increased platelet activation and thromboxane production, observed in patients not taking aspirin till the day of CABG, contribute to the occurrence of PMI in early postoperative period.

Modern general anaesthesia is complex and reversible.It involves a temporary loss of consciousness, analgesia,a decrease in muscle tension or complete muscle relaxation,suppressed reactions of the autonomic nervous system,and the provision of amnesia of events after its completion.

The aim of this study was to analyse the epidemiology and aetiology of laboratoryconfirmed bloodstream infections (LC-BSI) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) after pulmonary and coronary surgery, in postoperative intensive care units in 2009.Sources of infections were identified by the hospital Infection Control Team in cooperation with ITU personnel using the CDC definitions.A total of 37 LC-BSI and 21 CLA-BSI cases in 3.096 patients were detected. Central line device utilization ratio was 0.50. The total cumulative LC-BSI incidence rate was 1.2% and CLA-BSI rate 8.7 per 1,000 central line days. The most common causes of LC-BSI were Gram-positive cocci (Staphylococcus aureus - 5.9%, CNS - 50.0%, Enterococcus faecium - 5.9%).We found that in those units in which surveillance of CLA-BSI had been conducted since 2002, BSI incidence rates were higher than those reported in the NHSN programme.

Bleeding is the most frequent complication related to implantation of a mechanical cardiac assist device. 1 Recombinant activated factor VII (NovoSeven; Novo Nordisk, Bagsvaerd, Denmark) was developed as a prohemostatic agent. We report the successful use of recombinant activated factor VII to control bleeding abnormalities in a patient with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Clinical Summary

Funding Information: This study was endorsed by the ESICM. Free support for running the electronic database and was granted from the dep. of Epidemiology, University of Aarhus, Denmark. Financial support for creation of the e-CRF and maintenance of the database was possible from a grant (open project support) by Western Health region in Norway) 2018 who also funded the participating Norwegian ICUs. DRC Ile de France and URC Est helped conducting VIP2 in France. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s). Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients age 90 years or older represent a growing subgroup and place a huge financial burden on health care resources despite the benefit being unclear. This leads to ethical problems. The present investigation assessed the differences in outcome between nonagenarian and octogenarian ICU patients. Methods: We included 7900 acutely admitted older critically ill patients from two large, multinational studies. The primary outcome was 30-day-mortality, and the secondary outcome was ICU-mortality. Baseline characteristics consisted of frailty assessed by the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), ICU-management, and outcomes were compared between octogenarian (80–89.9 years) and nonagenarian (> 90 years) patients. We used multilevel logistic regression to evaluate differences between octogenarians and nonagenarians. Results: The nonagenarians were 10% of the entire cohort. They experienced a higher percentage of frailty (58% vs 42%; p < 0.001), but lower SOFA scores at admission (6 + 5 vs. 7 + 6; p < 0.001). ICU-management strategies were different. Octogenarians required higher rates of organ support and nonagenarians received higher rates of life-sustaining treatment limitations (40% vs. 33%; p < 0.001). ICU mortality was comparable (27% vs. 27%; p = 0.973) but a higher 30-day-mortality (45% vs. 40%; p = 0.029) was seen in the nonagenarians. After multivariable adjustment nonagenarians had no significantly increased risk for 30-day-mortality (aOR 1.25 (95% CI 0.90–1.74; p = 0.19)). Conclusion: After adjustment for confounders, nonagenarians demonstrated no higher 30-day mortality than octogenarian patients. In this study, being age 90 years or more is no particular risk factor for an adverse outcome. This should be considered– together with illness severity and pre-existing functional capacity - to effectively guide triage decisions. Trial registration: NCT03134807 and NCT03370692. publishersversion published