Changes in diagnostic patterns and resource utilisation in Swiss adult ICUs during the first two COVID-19 waves: an exploratory study.

Background And Aim: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak deeply affected intensive care units (ICUs). We aimed to explore the main changes in the distribution and characteristics of Swiss ICU patients during the first two COVID-19 waves and to relate these figures with those of the preceding two years.

Methods: Using the national ICU registry, we conducted an exploratory study to assess the number of ICU admissions in Switzerland and their changes over time, characteristics of the admissions, the length of stay (LOS) and its trend over time, ICU mortality and changes in therapeutic nursing workload and hospital resources in 2020 and compare them with the average figures in 2018 and 2019.

Misconceptions and do-not-resuscitate preferences of healthcare professionals commonly involved in cardiopulmonary resuscitations: A national survey.

Aims: To assess the DNR preferences of critical care-, anesthesia- and emergency medicine practitioners, to identify factors influencing decision-making, and to raise awareness for misconceptions concerning CPR outcomes.

Methods: A nationwide multicenter survey was conducted in Switzerland confronting healthcare professionals with a case vignette of an adult patient with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The primary outcome was the rate of DNR Code Status vs.

Impact of sex and gender on post-COVID-19 syndrome, Switzerland, 2020.

BackgroundWomen are overrepresented among individuals with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Biological (sex) as well as sociocultural (gender) differences between women and men might account for this imbalance, yet their impact on PASC is unknown.AimWe assessed the impact of sex and gender on PASC in a Swiss population.

Red blood cell distribution width for the prediction of outcomes after cardiac arrest.

The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a routinely available blood marker that measures the variation of the size/volume of red blood cells. The aim of our study was to investigate the prognostic value of RDW in cardiac arrest patients and to assess whether RDW improves the prognostic value of three cardiac arrest-specific risk scores. Consecutive adult cardiac arrest patients admitted to the ICU of a Swiss university hospital were included.

Subjective and objective survival prediction in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study.

Background: ICU risk assessment tools, routinely used for predicting population outcomes, are not recommended for evaluating individual risk. The state of health of single patients is mostly subjectively assessed to inform relatives and presumably to decide on treatment decisions. However, little is known how subjective and objective survival estimates compare.

External validation of the PROLOGUE score to predict neurological outcome in adult patients after cardiac arrest: a prospective cohort study.

Background: The PROLOGUE score (PROgnostication using LOGistic regression model for Unselected adult cardiac arrest patients in the Early stages) is a novel prognostic model for the prediction of neurological outcome after cardiac arrest, which showed exceptional performance in the internal validation. The aim of this study is to validate the PROLOGUE score in an independent cohort of unselected adult cardiac arrest patients and to compare it to the thoroughly validated Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) and Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis (CAHP) scores.

Methods: This study included consecutive adult cardiac arrest patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a Swiss tertiary teaching hospital between October 2012 and July 2022.

Development and validation of a prognostic model for the early identification of COVID-19 patients at risk of developing common long COVID symptoms.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demands reliable prognostic models for estimating the risk of long COVID. We developed and validated a prediction model to estimate the probability of known common long COVID symptoms at least 60 days after acute COVID-19.

Methods: The prognostic model was built based on data from a multicentre prospective Swiss cohort study.

Severe Neuro-COVID is associated with peripheral immune signatures, autoimmunity and neurodegeneration: a prospective cross-sectional study.

Growing evidence links COVID-19 with acute and long-term neurological dysfunction. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms resulting in central nervous system involvement remain unclear, posing both diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Here we show outcomes of a cross-sectional clinical study (NCT04472013) including clinical and imaging data and corresponding multidimensional characterization of immune mediators in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of patients belonging to different Neuro-COVID severity classes.

Non-invasive evaluation of new-onset atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: a protocol for the BigMap study.

Aims: New-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery, occurring in 25-50% of patients. It is associated with post-operative stroke, increased mortality, prolonged hospital length of stay, and higher treatment costs. Previous small observational studies have identified the left atrium as a source of the electrical rotors and foci maintaining NOAF, but confirmation by a large prospective clinical study is still missing.

Mortality 7 years after prolonged treatment on a surgical intensive care unit.

Aims Of The Study: Long-term intensive care treatment confers a substantial physical, psychological and social burden on patients, their relatives and the treatment team. It is essential to know the outcome of patients with long-term treatment and to establish factors that possibly can predict mortality. Only few Swiss studies have previously addressed this issue.

Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Adult Patients after Cardiac Arrest: Results from a Prospective Trial.

Background: We investigated whether Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) serum concentration predicts long-term mortality and poor neurological outcome in adult cardiac arrest patients.

Methods: Within this prospective observational study, we included consecutive adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after cardiac arrest. NSE was measured upon ICU admission and on days 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7.

Activation of the kynurenine pathway predicts mortality and neurological outcome in cardiac arrest patients: A validation study.

Purpose: Activation of the kynurenine pathway (KP) has been shown to predict outcome in cardiac arrest (CA) patients. We validated these findings in a Swiss cohort.

Methods: We measured admission tryptophan and kynurenine levels in 270 consecutive CA patients (38 in-hospital CA) and investigated associations with in-hospital mortality and neurological outcome at hospital discharge.

Comparing Immunoassays for SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Detection in Patients with and without Laboratory-Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Commercially available SARS-CoV-2-directed antibody assays may assist in diagnosing past exposure to SARS-CoV-2 antigens. We cross-compared the following eight immunoassays detecting antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) or spike (S) antigens in three cohorts consisting of 859 samples from 622 patients: (#1) EDI novel coronavirus COVID-19 (Epitope), (#2) RecomWell SARS-CoV-2 (Mikrogen), (#3) COVID-19 ELISA (VirCell), (#4) Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 N (Roche), (#5) Liaison SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 (DiaSorin), (#6) anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA (EuroImmun), (#7) Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Roche), and (#8) Liaison SARS-CoV-2 TrimericS (DiaSorin). In cross-sectional cohort 1 (68 sera from 38 patients with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection), agreement between assays #1 to #6 ranged from 75% to 93%, whereby discordance mostly resulted from N-based assays #1 to #4.

Adverse Events of Percutaneous Microaxial Left Ventricular Assist Devices-A Retrospective, Single-Centre Cohort Study.

Worldwide, the left ventricular assist device Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA, USA) is increasingly implanted in patients with acute cardiogenic shock or undergoing high-risk cardiac interventions. Despite its long history of use, few studies have assessed its safety and possible complications associated with its use. All patients treated with a left-sided Impella device at the University Hospital of Basel from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2019 were enrolled.

Ninety-day outcome of patients with severe COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab - a single centre cohort study.

Objectives: Patients with severe COVID-19 may be at risk of longer term sequelae. Long-term clinical, immunological, pulmonary and radiological outcomes of patients treated with anti-inflammatory drugs are lacking.

Methods: In this single-centre prospective cohort study, we assessed 90-day clinical, immunological, pulmonary and radiological outcomes of hospitalised patients with severe COVID-19 treated with tocilizumab from March 2020 to May 2020.

Variations in end-of-life practices in intensive care units worldwide (Ethicus-2): a prospective observational study.

Background: End-of-life practices vary among intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide. Differences can result in variable use of disproportionate or non-beneficial life-sustaining interventions across diverse world regions. This study investigated global disparities in end-of-life practices.

Temporal trends of COVID-19 related in-hospital mortality and demographics in Switzerland - a retrospective single centre cohort study.

Aims: The aim of this study was to analyse the demographics, risk factors and in-hospital mortality rates of patients admitted with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to a tertiary care hospital in Switzerland.

Methods: In this single-centre retrospective cohort study at the University Hospital Basel, we included all patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection hospitalised from 27 February 2020 to 10 May 2021. Patients’ characteristics were extracted from the electronic medical record system.

Global Genomic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase Evolution and Antiviral Drug Resistance.

A variety of antiviral treatments for COVID-19 have been investigated, involving many repurposed drugs. Currently, the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp, encoded by ) has been targeted by numerous inhibitors, e.g.

Low dose radiation therapy for severe COVID-19 pneumonia: a randomized double-blind study.

Purpose: The morbidity and mortality of patients requiring mechanical ventilation for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia is considerable. We studied the use of whole-lung low dose radiation therapy (LDRT) in this patient cohort.

Methods And Materials: Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and requiring mechanical ventilation for COVID-19 pneumonia were included in this randomized double-blind study.

5-year results of a newly implemented mechanical circulatory support program for terminal heart failure patients in a Swiss non-cardiac transplant university hospital.

Background: In Switzerland, long-term circulatory support programs have been limited to heart transplant centers. In 2014, to improve the management of patients with end-stage heart failure not eligible for transplantation, we implemented a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) program for destination therapy at the University Hospital of Basel.

Methods: We described the program set-up with practical aspects.

Weekly Internal Ethical Case Discussions in an ICU-Results Based on 9 Years of Experience With a Highly Structured Approach.

Objectives: Various ethical challenges are prevalent in ICUs. In order to handle these problems, a highly structured internal ethical case discussion within the multiprofessional team was implemented in 2011 in a Swiss ICU and has been regularly practiced almost weekly until present. To explore the results of all ethical case discussions taking place in a general ICU and to discuss the outcomes of the patients.