The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology
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Observational Study
Acute respiratory distress syndrome in mechanically ventilated patients with community-acquired pneumonia.
Our aim was to assess the incidence, characteristics, aetiology, risk factors and mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) using the Berlin definition. We prospectively enrolled consecutive mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients with CAP over 20 years, and compared them with mechanically ventilated patients without ARDS. The main outcome was 30-day mortality. ⋯ Higher organ system dysfunction and previous antibiotic use were independent risk factors for ARDS in the multivariate analysis, while previous inhaled corticosteroids were independently associated with a lower risk. The 30-day mortality was similar between patients with and without ARDS (25% versus 30%, p=0.25), confirmed by propensity-adjusted multivariate analysis. ARDS occurs as a complication of CAP in 29% of mechanically ventilated patients, but is not related to the aetiology or mortality.
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Observational Study
Elastase activity on sputum neutrophils correlates with severity of lung disease in cystic fibrosis.
Neutrophil elastase (NE) is a key risk factor for severity of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. Recent studies identified increased NE activity on the surface of airway neutrophils from CF-like mice and patients with CF. However, the role of surface-bound NE in CF lung disease remains unknown. ⋯ Surface-bound and free NE activity correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s % predicted (p<0.01 and p<0.05), but only surface-bound NE activity correlated with plethysmographic functional residual capacity % pred (p<0.01) in patients with CF. We demonstrate that surface-bound NE activity on airway neutrophils correlates with severity of lung disease in patients with CF. Our results suggest that surface-bound NE activity may play an important role in the pathogenesis and serve as novel biomarker in CF lung disease.
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The aim of this planned analysis of the prospective multinational TAVeM database was to determine the incidence, aetiology and impact on outcome of ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTI) in immunocompromised patients. All patients receiving mechanical ventilation for >48 h were included. Immunocompromised patients (n=663) were compared with non-immunocompromised patients (n=2297). ⋯ In patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia, mortality rates were higher among immunocompromised than among non-immunocompromised patients (64% versus 34%; p<0.001). Incidence of VA-LRTI was significantly lower among immunocompromised patients, but it was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate. Multidrug-resistant pathogens were more frequently found in immunocompromised patients with VA-LRTI.