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JAMA Jul 2023Meropenem is a widely prescribed β-lactam antibiotic. Meropenem exhibits maximum pharmacodynamic efficacy when given by continuous infusion to deliver constant drug...
IMPORTANCE
Meropenem is a widely prescribed β-lactam antibiotic. Meropenem exhibits maximum pharmacodynamic efficacy when given by continuous infusion to deliver constant drug levels above the minimal inhibitory concentration. Compared with intermittent administration, continuous administration of meropenem may improve clinical outcomes.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether continuous administration of meropenem reduces a composite of mortality and emergence of pandrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant bacteria compared with intermittent administration in critically ill patients with sepsis.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A double-blind, randomized clinical trial enrolling critically ill patients with sepsis or septic shock who had been prescribed meropenem by their treating clinicians at 31 intensive care units of 26 hospitals in 4 countries (Croatia, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Russia). Patients were enrolled between June 5, 2018, and August 9, 2022, and the final 90-day follow-up was completed in November 2022.
INTERVENTIONS
Patients were randomized to receive an equal dose of the antibiotic meropenem by either continuous administration (n = 303) or intermittent administration (n = 304).
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary outcome was a composite of all-cause mortality and emergence of pandrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant bacteria at day 28. There were 4 secondary outcomes, including days alive and free from antibiotics at day 28, days alive and free from the intensive care unit at day 28, and all-cause mortality at day 90. Seizures, allergic reactions, and mortality were recorded as adverse events.
RESULTS
All 607 patients (mean age, 64 [SD, 15] years; 203 were women [33%]) were included in the measurement of the 28-day primary outcome and completed the 90-day mortality follow-up. The majority (369 patients, 61%) had septic shock. The median time from hospital admission to randomization was 9 days (IQR, 3-17 days) and the median duration of meropenem therapy was 11 days (IQR, 6-17 days). Only 1 crossover event was recorded. The primary outcome occurred in 142 patients (47%) in the continuous administration group and in 149 patients (49%) in the intermittent administration group (relative risk, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.81-1.13], P = .60). Of the 4 secondary outcomes, none was statistically significant. No adverse events of seizures or allergic reactions related to the study drug were reported. At 90 days, mortality was 42% both in the continuous administration group (127 of 303 patients) and in the intermittent administration group (127 of 304 patients).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
In critically ill patients with sepsis, compared with intermittent administration, the continuous administration of meropenem did not improve the composite outcome of mortality and emergence of pandrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant bacteria at day 28.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03452839.
Topics: Humans; Female; Middle Aged; Male; Meropenem; Shock, Septic; Critical Illness; Double-Blind Method; Sepsis; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Monobactams; Hypersensitivity
PubMed: 37326473
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.10598 -
JAMA Nov 2023Patients with septic shock undergo adrenergic stress, which affects cardiac, immune, inflammatory, and metabolic pathways. β-Blockade may attenuate the adverse effects...
IMPORTANCE
Patients with septic shock undergo adrenergic stress, which affects cardiac, immune, inflammatory, and metabolic pathways. β-Blockade may attenuate the adverse effects of catecholamine exposure and has been associated with reduced mortality.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the efficacy and safety of landiolol in patients with tachycardia and established septic shock requiring prolonged (>24 hours) vasopressor support.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
An open-label, multicenter, randomized trial involving 126 adults (≥18 years) with tachycardia (heart rate ≥95/min) and established septic shock treated for at least 24 hours with continuous norepinephrine (≥0.1 μg/kg/min) in 40 UK National Health Service intensive care units. The trial ran from April 2018 to December 2021, with early termination in December 2021 due to a signal of possible harm.
INTERVENTION
Sixty-three patients were randomized to receive standard care and 63 to receive landiolol infusion.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary outcome was the mean Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score from randomization through 14 days. Secondary outcomes included mortality at days 28 and 90 and the number of adverse events in each group.
RESULTS
The trial was stopped prematurely on the advice of the independent data monitoring committee because it was unlikely to demonstrate benefit and because of possible harm. Of a planned 340 participants, 126 (37%) were enrolled (mean age, 55.6 years [95% CI, 52.7 to 58.5 years]; 58.7% male). The mean (SD) SOFA score in the landiolol group was 8.8 (3.9) compared with 8.1 (3.2) in the standard care group (mean difference [MD], 0.75 [95% CI, -0.49 to 2.0]; P = .24). Mortality at day 28 after randomization in the landiolol group was 37.1% (23 of 62) and 25.4% (16 of 63) in the standard care group (absolute difference, 11.7% [95% CI, -4.4% to 27.8%]; P = .16). Mortality at day 90 after randomization was 43.5% (27 of 62) in the landiolol group and 28.6% (18 of 63) in the standard care group (absolute difference, 15% [95% CI, -1.7% to 31.6%]; P = .08). There were no differences in the number of patients having at least one adverse event.
CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE
Among patients with septic shock with tachycardia and treated with norepinephrine for more than 24 hours, an infusion of landiolol did not reduce organ failure measured by the SOFA score over 14 days from randomization. These results do not support the use of landiolol for managing tachycardia among patients treated with norepinephrine for established septic shock.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
EU Clinical Trials Register Eudra CT: 2017-001785-14; isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN12600919.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Female; Shock, Septic; State Medicine; Sepsis; Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; Norepinephrine; Tachycardia
PubMed: 37877587
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.20134 -
Journal of Personalized Medicine Oct 2023This review of the use of vasopressin aims to be comprehensive and highly practical, based on the available scientific evidence and our extensive clinical experience... (Review)
Review
This review of the use of vasopressin aims to be comprehensive and highly practical, based on the available scientific evidence and our extensive clinical experience with the drug. It summarizes controversies about vasopressin use in septic shock and other vasodilatory states. Vasopressin is a natural hormone with powerful vasoconstrictive effects and is responsible for the regulation of plasma osmolality by maintaining fluid homeostasis. Septic shock is defined by the need for vasopressors to correct hypotension and lactic acidosis secondary to infection, with a high mortality rate. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines recommend vasopressin as a second-line vasopressor, added to norepinephrine. However, these guidelines do not address specific debates surrounding the use of vasopressin in real-world clinical practice.
PubMed: 38003863
DOI: 10.3390/jpm13111548 -
Rheumatic Diseases Clinics of North... Aug 2023Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a delayed postinflammatory disorder associated with the previous infection with severe acute respiratory... (Review)
Review
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a delayed postinflammatory disorder associated with the previous infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Initially, MIS-C was described as highly similar to Kawasaki disease (KD), a pediatric febrile systemic vasculitis that can lead to the development of coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs). While KD and MIS-C are both inflammatory disorders, the 2 entities differ in their epidemiological, clinical, immunological, and pathological features. MIS-C clinical and laboratory characteristics are more closely related to toxic shock syndrome (TSS) than KD, which informs the understanding of pathogenesis and potential therapeutic approaches.
Topics: Humans; Child; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
PubMed: 37331738
DOI: 10.1016/j.rdc.2023.03.002 -
Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin... Dec 2023The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) International Guidelines for the Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock provide recommendations on the care of hospitalized adult... (Review)
Review
The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) International Guidelines for the Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock provide recommendations on the care of hospitalized adult patients with (or at risk for) sepsis. This review discusses what is new or different in the 2021 SSC adult sepsis guidelines compared to 2016. The guidelines include new weak recommendations for use of balanced fluid over saline 0.9%, use of intravenous corticosteroids for septic shock when there is ongoing vasopressor requirement, and peripheral initiation of intravenous vasopressors over delaying initiation in order to obtain central venous access. As before, there is a strong recommendation to initiate antimicrobials within 1 h of sepsis and septic shock, but there are now additional recommendations when the diagnosis is uncertain. The recommendation for initial fluid resuscitation in septic shock of 30 mL/kg crystalloid has been downgraded from strong to weak. Finally, there are 12 new recommendations addressing long-term outcomes from sepsis, including strong recommendations to screen for economic and social support and to make referrals for follow-up where available; use shared decision-making in post-intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital discharge planning; reconcile medications at both ICU and hospital discharge; provide information about sepsis and its sequelae in written and verbal hospital discharge summary; and to provide assessment and follow-up for physical, cognitive, and emotional problems after hospital discharge.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Shock, Septic; Sepsis; Intensive Care Units; Fluid Therapy; Vasoconstrictor Agents
PubMed: 37286842
DOI: 10.1007/s00063-023-01028-5 -
Critical Care (London, England) Oct 2023Septic shock can be caused by a variety of mechanisms including direct effects of bacterial toxins such as endotoxin. Annually, approximately 5-7 million patients... (Review)
Review
Septic shock can be caused by a variety of mechanisms including direct effects of bacterial toxins such as endotoxin. Annually, approximately 5-7 million patients worldwide develop sepsis with very high endotoxin activity in the blood and more than half die. The term endotoxic septic shock has been used for these patients but it is important to emphasize that endotoxin may be a factor in all forms of septic shock including non-bacterial etiologies like COVID-19 since translocation of bacterial products is a common feature of septic shock. A pattern of organ failure including hepatic dysfunction, acute kidney injury and various forms of endothelial dysfunction ranging from disseminated intravascular coagulation to thrombotic microangiopathy characterize endotoxic septic shock. However, while characteristic, the clinical phenotype is not unique to patients with high endotoxin, and the diagnosis relies on the measurement of endotoxin activity in addition to clinical assessment. Therapies for endotoxic septic shock are limited with immune modulating therapies under investigation and extracorporeal blood purification still controversial in many parts of the world.
Topics: Humans; Shock, Septic; Endotoxins; COVID-19; Sepsis
PubMed: 37858258
DOI: 10.1186/s13054-023-04690-5