To compare the efficacy to prevent flares of maintenance versus withdrawal of 5 mg/day prednisone in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with clinically quiescent disease.
A monocentric, ...12-month, superiority, open-label, randomised (1:1) controlled trial was conducted with 61 patients continuing 5 mg/day prednisone and 63 stopping it. Eligibility criteria were SLE patients who, during the year preceding the inclusion, had a clinically inactive disease and a stable SLE treatment including 5 mg/day prednisone. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patient experiencing a flare defined with the SELENA-SLEDAI flare index (SFI) at 52 weeks. Secondary endpoints included time to flare, flare severity according to SFI and British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index and increase in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) damage index (SDI).
Proportion of patients experiencing a flare was significantly lower in the maintenance group as compared with the withdrawal group (4 patients vs 17; RR 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.7), p=0.003). Maintenance of 5 mg prednisone was superior with respect to time to first flare (HR 0.2; 95% CI 0.1 to 0.6, p=0.002), occurrence of mild/moderate flares using the SFI (3 patients vs 12; RR 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.8), p=0.012) and occurrence of moderate/severe flares using the BILAG index (1 patient vs 8; RR 0.1 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.9), p=0.013). SDI increase and adverse events were similar in the two treatment groups. Subgroup analyses of the primary endpoint by predefined baseline characteristics did not show evidence of a different clinical response.
Maintenance of long term 5 mg prednisone in SLE patients with inactive disease prevents relapse.
NCT02558517; Results.
Temporary circulatory support (TCS) with venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used as a salvage therapy for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock. This ...article provides an overview of VA-ECMO principles, indications, management, complications, and discusses the results of recent case series and trials.
VA-ECMO is utilized as a bridge to 'decision' that includes weaning after cardiac function recovery, transplantation, long-term mechanical circulatory support, and withdrawal in case of futility. VA-ECMO is considered the first-line TCS as it allows rapid improvement in oxygenation, is less expensive, and is also suitable for patients with biventricular failure. Combining Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA, USA) or intra-aortic balloon pump support with VA-ECMO might decrease left ventricular pressure and improve outcomes. Massive pulmonary embolism, sepsis-associated cardiomyopathy, and refractory cardiac arrest are among emerging indications for TCS.
TCS have become the cornerstone of the management of patients with cardiogenic shock, although the evidence supporting their efficacy is limited. VA-ECMO is considered the first-line option, with a growing number of accepted and emerging indications. Randomized clinical trials are now needed to determine the place VA-ECMO in cardiogenic shock treatment strategies.
Maintenance of remission has become central in the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The importance of interferon-alpha (IFN-α) in the pathogenesis of SLE notwithstanding, its ...expression in remission has been poorly studied as yet. To study its expression in remission and its prognostic value in the prediction of a disease relapse, serum IFN-α levels were determined using an ultrasensitive single-molecule array digital immunoassay which enables the measurement of cytokines at physiological concentrations.
A total of 254 SLE patients in remission, according to the Definition of Remission in SLE classification, were included in the study. Serum IFN-α concentrations were determined at baseline and patients were followed up for 1 year. Lupus flares were defined according to the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus: National Assessment version of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index Flare Index, whereas the Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate the time to relapse and to identify baseline factors associated with time to relapse, respectively.
Of all patients in remission, 26% displayed abnormally high IFN-α serum levels that were associated with the presence of antibodies specific for ribonucleoprotein (RNP), double stranded (ds)DNA and Ro/SSA60, as well as young age. Importantly, elevated-baseline IFN-α serum levels and remission duration were associated in an independent fashion, with shorter time to relapse, while low serum levels of complement component 3 and anti-dsDNA Abs were not.
Direct serum IFN-α assessment with highly sensitive digital immunoassay permits clinicians to identify a subgroup of SLE patients, clinically in remission, but at higher risk of relapse.
Purpose
To describe the characteristics, outcomes, and risk factors associated with poor outcome of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO)-treated patients with refractory shock ...post-cardiac arrest.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed data collected prospectively (March 2007–January 2015) in a 26-bed tertiary hospital intensive care unit. All patients implanted with VA-ECMO for refractory cardiogenic shock after successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest were included. Refractory cardiac arrest patients, given VA-ECMO under cardiopulmonary resuscitation, were excluded.
Results
Ninety-four patients received VA-ECMO for refractory shock post-cardiac arrest. Their hospital and 12-month survival rates were 28 and 27 %, respectively. All 1-year survivors were cerebral performance category 1. Multivariable analysis retained INR >2.4 (OR 4.9; 95 % CI 1.4–17.2), admission SOFA score >14 (OR 5.3; 95 % CI 1.7–16.5), and shockable rhythm (OR 0.3; 95 % CI 0.1–0.9) as independent predictors of hospital mortality, but not SAPS II, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest score, or other cardiac arrest variables. Only 10 % of patients with an admission SOFA score >14 survived, whereas 50 % of those with scores ≤14 were alive at 1 year. Restricting the analysis to the 67 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest of coronary cause yielded similar results.
Conclusion
Among 94 patients implanted with VA-ECMO for refractory cardiogenic shock post-cardiac arrest resuscitation, the 24 (27 %) 1-year survivors had good neurological outcomes, but survival was significantly better for patients with admission SOFA scores <14, shockable rhythm, and INR ≤2.4. VA-ECMO might be considered a rescue therapy for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock post-cardiac arrest resuscitation.
The literature shows discrepancies in stereotactic brain biopsy complication rates, severities, and outcomes. Little is known about the timeline of postbiopsy complications. This study aimed to ...analyze 1) complications following brain biopsies, using a graded severity scale, and 2) a timeline of complication occurrence. The secondary objectives were to determine factors associated with an increased risk of complications and to assess complication-related management and extra costs.
The authors retrospectively examined 1500 consecutive stereotactic brain biopsies performed in adult patients at their tertiary medical center between April 2009 and April 2019.
Three hundred eighty-one biopsies (25.4%) were followed by a complication, including 88.2% of asymptomatic hemorrhages. Symptomatic complications involved 3.0% of the biopsies, and 0.8% of the biopsies were fatal. The severity grading scale had a 97.6% interobserver reproducibility. Twenty-three (51.1%) of the 45 symptomatic complications occurred within the 1st hour following the biopsy, while 75.6% occurred within the first 6 hours. Age ≥ 65 years, second biopsy procedures, gadolinium-enhanced lesions, glioblastomas, and lymphomas were predictors of biopsy-related complications. Brainstem biopsy-targeted lesions and cerebral toxoplasmosis were predictive of mortality. Asymptomatic hemorrhage was associated with delayed (> 6 hours) symptomatic complications. Symptomatic complications led to extended hospitalization in 86.7% of patients. The average extra cost for management of a patient with postbiopsy symptomatic complication was $35,702.
Symptomatic complications from brain biopsies are infrequent but associated with substantial adverse effects and cost implications for the healthcare system. The use of a severity grading scale, as the authors propose in this article, helps to classify complications according to the therapeutic consequences and the patient's outcome. Because this study indicates that most complications occur within the first few hours following the biopsy, postbiopsy monitoring can be tailored accordingly. The authors therefore recommend systematic monitoring for 2 hours in the recovery unit and a CT scan 2 hours after the end of the biopsy procedure. In addition, they propose a modern algorithm for optimal postoperative management of patients undergoing stereotactic biopsy.
The impact of VA-ECMO on early renal recovery (within 7 days after ECMO onset) in patients with pre-ECMO acute kidney injury and cardiogenic shock is unknown.
This retrospective single-center study ...included adult patients with cardiogenic shock rescued by VA-ECMO and severe AKI occurring before ECMO implantation (pre-ECMO AKI). Patients with early renal recovery (defined as at least a 50% decrease in peak serum creatinine or weaning from renal replacement therapy) were compared to patients without early renal recovery.
During 7 years, 145 patients with severe pre-ECMO AKI were included. Eighty-two patients had no early renal recovery whereas 63 had early renal recovery within 7 days after VA-ECMO onset. The median time to early renal recovery was 4 (3,6) days. Nephrotoxic antibiotics (HR = 0.35 95% CI, 0.21–0.59, p < 0.001), median fluid balance during the first 7 days of VA-ECMO (HR = 0.77 95% CI, 0.64–0.93, p = 0.008), pre-ECMO AKI stage 3 (HR = 0.36 95% CI, 0.20–0.64, p < 0.001) and median vasoactive-inotropic score (HR = 0.99 95% CI, 0.98,1.00, p = 0.035) were independently associated with no early renal recovery.
Only 43% of patients with severe pre-ECMO AKI had early renal recovery after VA-ECMO initiation.
•Take-home message.•Among a large cohort of patients with cardiogenic shock and severe pre-ECMO AKI, only 43%.•AKI stage 3, using nephrotoxic antibiotics, a high dose of vasopressors, and a positive fluid balance were independently associated with a high likelihood of no early renal recovery after VA-ECMO initiation.•Early renal recovery was strongly associated with increased survival at day-90 after VA-ECMO initiation.•Tweet (140 characters).•Only 43% of patients with severe AKI during refractory cardiogenic shock fulfilled early renal recovery criteria after VA-ECMO initiation.
Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is a primary eosinophilic disorder that mainly occurs in young men and can be either idiopathic or triggered by varied inhaled agents 1. AEP can be severe, leading ...to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sometimes requiring venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) 1,2. In most cases of reactive eosinophilia, eosinophil counts usually plummet within days under corticosteroids. Nevertheless, in AEP, peripheral blood eosinophilia can be lacking at the early stage of the disease 3. Here, we report on three patients with AEP-related refractory ARDS with a major rise in blood eosinophil counts despite corticosteroids, successfully treated with ECMO.
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