Association of socioeconomic deprivation with outcomes in critically ill adult patients: an observational prospective multicenter cohort study.

Background: The influence of socioeconomic deprivation on health inequalities is established, but its effect on critically ill patients remains unclear, due to inconsistent definitions in previous studies.

Methods: Prospective multicenter cohort study conducted from March to June 2018 in eight ICUs in the Greater Paris area. All admitted patients aged ≥ 18 years were enrolled.

The other great imitator among infectious diseases: Leptospirosis.

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis responsible for highly diverse clinical presentations with a wide range of severity. Variable environment exposures to infected urines of rodents have been described.

Observation: We report five cases of serologically confirmed leptospirosis leading to hospitalization in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a French center.

Comparison of a preventive or curative strategy of fluid removal on the weaning of mechanical ventilation: a study protocol for a multicentre randomised open-label parallel-group trial.

Introduction: Fluid overload is associated with a poor prognosis in the critically ill patients, especially at the time of weaning from mechanical ventilation as it may promote weaning failure from cardiac origin. Some data suggest that early administration of diuretics would shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation. However, this strategy may expose patients to a higher risk of haemodynamic and metabolic complications.

Invasive aspergillosis and endocarditis.

Introduction: Aspergillusfumigatus can cause a systemic infection called invasive aspergillosis causing pulmonary and extra-pulmonary damage. Aspergillus endocarditis (AE) is a relatively rare disease but can be life-threatening.

Case Reports: We report here on five cases of endocarditis due to invasive aspergillosis: a 58-year-old man receiving immunosuppressive medication following a kidney graft, a 58-year-old man undergoing chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a 55-year-old man receiving corticosteroids for IgA vasculitis, a 52-year-old HIV-infected woman under no specific treatment and a 17-year-old boy under immunosuppressive therapy for auto-immune chronic neutropenia.

Impact of Loading Dose of Caspofungin in Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Target Attainment for Severe Candidiasis Infections in Patients in Intensive Care Units: the CASPOLOAD Study.

This study evaluated the impact of a high loading dose of caspofungin (CAS) on the pharmacokinetics of CAS and the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) target attainment in patients in intensive care units (ICU). ICU patients requiring CAS treatment were prospectively included to receive a 140-mg loading dose of CAS. Plasma CAS concentrations (0, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 24 h postinfusion) were determined to develop a two-compartmental population PK model.