COVID-19 rebound after oral treatment in a nursing home facility: A case series.

Paxlovid (nirmatrevir/ritonavir) is a 2 drug regimen taken together twice daily for 5 days was authorized for emergency use for nonhospitalized patients who are at risk for the progression of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, recurrence of symptoms 2-8 days after completing the treatment course has been recently recognized. In some cases patients tested negative on a direct SARS-CoV-2 viral test and then tested positive again (rebound COVID-19).

Nitrosative and oxidative stresses contribute to post-ischemic liver injury following severe hemorrhagic shock: the role of hypoxemic resuscitation.

Purpose: Hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation is frequently associated with liver ischemia-reperfusion injury. The aim of the study was to investigate whether hypoxemic resuscitation attenuates liver injury.

Methods: Anesthetized, mechanically ventilated New Zealand white rabbits were exsanguinated to a mean arterial pressure of 30 mmHg for 60 minutes.

Comparison of the sequential organ failure assessment score with the King's College Hospital criteria and the model for end-stage liver disease score for the prognosis of acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure.

Acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure (ALF) is a complex multiorgan illness. An assessment of the prognosis is essential for the accurate identification of patients for whom survival without liver transplantation (LT) is unlikely. The aims of this study were the comparison of prognostic models [King's College Hospital (KCH), Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II)] and the identification of independent prognostic indicators of outcome.

Fasciitis and septic shock complicating retrocecal appendicitis.

Introduction: A case of fasciitis and septic shock complicating retrocecal appendicitis is presented.

Case Report: A 52-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department with lumbar pain, fever of recent onset and subsequently developed septic shock attributed to fasciitis of abdominal, flank and groin region. On intensive care unit, he was managed with broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and surgical debridement.

Cardiac arrest provoked by itraconazole and amiodarone interaction: a case report.

Introduction: Azoles, and specifically itraconazole, are often prescribed for the treatment of fungal diseases or empirically for persistent sepsis in patients who are neutropenic or in intensive care. Occasional cardiovascular adverse events have been associated with itraconazole use, and are usually attributed to the interaction of itraconazole with cisapride, terfenadine or digoxin. Its interaction with amiodarone has not been previously described.

Hypoxemic resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock prevents lung injury and attenuates oxidative response and IL-8 overexpression.

We investigated whether hypoxemic resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock prevents lung injury and explored the mechanisms involved. We subjected rabbits to hemorrhagic shock for 60 min by exsanguination to a mean arterial pressure of 40 mm Hg. By modifying the fraction of the inspired oxygen, we performed resuscitation under normoxemia (group NormoxRes, P(a)O(2)=95-105 mm Hg) or hypoxemia (group HypoxRes, P(a)O(2)=35-40 mm Hg).

Reasons of PEG failure to eliminate gastroesophageal reflux in mechanically ventilated patients.

Aim: To investigate factors predicting failure of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) to eliminate gastroesophageal reflux (GER).

Methods: Twenty-nine consecutive mechanically ventilated patients were investigated. Patients were evaluated for GER by pH-metry pre-PEG and on the 7th post-PEG day.

Oral atovaquone for the treatment of severe Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in a patient with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

We present a case of severe Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia and coexisting cytomegalovirus infection in a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme deficient woman with anaplastic astrocytoma on temozolomide and corticosteroid therapy. She was successfully treated with oral atovaquone and ganciclovir. Atovaquone represents a safe alternative in severe Pneumocystis infection when trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (co-trimoxazole) is contraindicated.

Administration of human protein C improves survival in an experimental model of sepsis.

Objective: Study the effect of human protein C (PC) concentrate administration on organ damage and survival in septic rats.

Design: Animal study.

Setting: University laboratory.

Ampicillin-sulbactam: an update on the use of parenteral and oral forms in bacterial infections.

Ampicillin-sulbactam has a wide range of antibacterial activity that includes Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. However, the drug is not active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and pathogens producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases. The combination could be considered particularly active against Acinetobacter baumannii infections due to the intrinsic activity of sulbactam.

Hypoxemic resuscitation after hemorrhagic shock is accompanied by reduced serum levels of angiopoietin-2.

Background: To investigate whether angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are implicated in the hypoxemic resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock.

Methods: Twenty rabbits were subjected to hemorrhagic shock after blood exsanguination; resuscitation was performed by infusion of the shed blood in ten rabbits under normoxemic conditions (NormoxRes) and in 10 under hypoxemic conditions (HypoxRes); four rabbits were subjected to sham operation. Serum was drawn at serial time intervals; serum was applied for stimulation of U937 monocytes.

Administration of Human Protein-C concentrate prevents apoptotic brain cell death after experimental sepsis.

Activated Protein C renders anti-apoptotic properties in neurons and endothelial cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vivo cytoprotective role of Protein C zymogen (PC) administration in septic rat brain. Male Wistar rats (n=60) were subjected to sepsis via Cecal Ligation and Puncture (CLP).

The level of hypotension during hemorrhagic shock is a major determinant of the post-resuscitation systemic inflammatory response: an experimental study.

Background: To evaluate whether the level of hypotension during hemorrhagic shock may influence the oxidative and inflammatory responses developed during post-ischemic resuscitation.

Methods: Fifteen rabbits were equally allocated into three groups: sham-operated (group sham); bled within 30 minutes to mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 40 mmHg (group shock-40); bled within 30 minutes to MAP of 30 mmHg (group shock-30). Shock was maintained for 60 min.

Efficacy and safety of high-dose ampicillin/sulbactam vs. colistin as monotherapy for the treatment of multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of ampicillin/sulbactam (Amp/Sulb) and colistin (COL) in the treatment of multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Methods: A prospective cohort study in adult critically ill patients with VAP. Patients were randomly assigned to receive Amp/Sulb (9 g every 8h) or COL (3 MIU every 8h) intravenously.

Prognostic models in cirrhotics admitted to intensive care units better predict outcome when assessed at 48 h after admission.

Background And Aim: The accuracy of prognostic models in critically ill cirrhotics at admission to intensive care units (ICU) may be unreliable. Predictive accuracy could be improved by evaluating changes over time, but this has not been published. The aim of the present study was to assess the performance of prognostic models in cirrhotics at admission (baseline) and at 48 h to predict mortality in the ICU or within 6 weeks after discharge from the ICU.

The effect of hypoxemic resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock on blood pressure restoration and on oxidative and inflammatory responses.

Objective: We investigated whether hypoxemic resuscitation from hemorrhagic shock prevents the late circulatory instability and attenuates the oxidative and inflammatory responses associated with the standard strategy.

Design And Setting: Prospective, randomized, controlled animal study in an experimental laboratory of a university intensive care unit.

Subjects: Thirty-one New Zealand white rabbits weighting 3.

High-dose ampicillin-sulbactam as an alternative treatment of late-onset VAP from multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

The increased incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients poses a severe therapeutic problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 2 high-dose treatment regimens of ampicillin-sulbactam (A/S) for MDR Acinetobacter baumannii VAP. We undertook a randomized, prospective trial of critically ill patents with (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii VAP.

Purpura fulminans in sepsis.

Sepsis-induced purpura fulminans is a rare but life-threatening disorder, characterized by hemorrhagic infarction of the skin caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation and dermal vascular thrombosis. The pathogenesis is linked to enhanced expression of the natural procoagulants and depletion of the natural anticoagulant proteins particularly protein C. Meningococcal sepsis is the most common cause, followed by pneumococcal sepsis in adults.

Meningococcal purpura fulminans in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: a mimic for catastrophic antiphospholipid antibody syndrome?

Purpura fulminans (PF) is a life-threatening disorder characterized by acute onset of progressive cutaneous hemorrhage, necrosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Acute infectious PF occurs most commonly in the setting of meningococcal sepsis. When PF occurs in the setting of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the catastrophic antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (CAPS) must be ruled out because urgent therapy is required.