Takuya Sato, Yusuke Sasabuchi, Ryota Inokuchi, Shotaro Aso, Hideo Yasunaga, Kent Doi
{"title":"Mortality of severe pneumonia treated with methylprednisolone versus hydrocortisone: a propensity-matched analysis.","authors":"Takuya Sato, Yusuke Sasabuchi, Ryota Inokuchi, Shotaro Aso, Hideo Yasunaga, Kent Doi","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00810-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00810-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Corticosteroids improve the outcomes of severe pneumonia; however, the most effective type remains unknown. In this study, we compared the mortality rates of patients with severe pneumonia who were treated with methylprednisolone versus those treated with hydrocortisone.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this retrospective observational study, we utilized a nationwide Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination inpatient database to include adult patients with severe pneumonia who were admitted to hospitals between April 2017 and March 2022 and received either methylprednisolone or hydrocortisone. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for measured confounders, with in-hospital mortality as the primary outcome.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among the 5,084 eligible patients, 623 matched pairs were analyzed. In-hospital mortality rates were 23.9% in the hydrocortisone group and 19.4% in the methylprednisolone group (risk difference [RD], 4.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.082 to 9.1; p = 0.054). Subgroup analysis of patients with shock demonstrated significantly higher mortality in the hydrocortisone group than in the methylprednisolone group (44.7% versus 30.1%; RD, 14.6%; 95% CI 1.4-27.8; p = 0.031).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>No significant difference in in-hospital mortality was observed between patients with severe pneumonia treated with methylprednisolone and those treated with hydrocortisone. Nevertheless, patients experiencing severe pneumonia-induced septic shock may derive benefits from methylprednisolone treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"39"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12261853/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144642704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prognostic implication of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in acute myocardial infarction-related cardiogenic shock.","authors":"Jonghu Shin, Eun-Mi Kang, Sang-Hyup Lee, Minju Heo, Yong-Joon Lee, Seung-Jun Lee, Sung-Jin Hong, Jung-Sun Kim, Byeong-Keuk Kim, Young-Guk Ko, Donghoon Choi, Myeong-Ki Hong, Yangsoo Jang, Chul-Min Ahn","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00807-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00807-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Given the conflicting results regarding the clinical outcomes of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) based on etiology, its benefit for patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) remains controversial. This study aimed to report the real-world clinical outcomes of VA-ECMO treatment for patients with CS, based on the presence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Patients treated with peripheral VA-ECMO between 2008 and 2023 at a tertiary cardiovascular center were included and classified into two groups based on CS etiology (AMI-CS and non-AMI-CS). Logistic regression models were used to compare in-hospital mortality and to identify prognostic predictors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among the 667 patients included, 264 (39.6%) were classified as having AMI-CS. The rate of cardiac arrest before VA-ECMO initiation was higher in the AMI-CS group than in the non-AMI-CS group (69.7% vs. 55.8%; P < 0.001). Patients in the AMI-CS group were older (66 vs. 61 years; P < 0.001), more likely to be male (82.6% vs. 57.3%; P < 0.001), and had a lower left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (20% vs. 25%; P < 0.001) than those in the non-AMI-CS group. The AMI-CS group had a lower in-hospital mortality rate (58.6% vs. 69.7%; odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.75; P = 0.002) compared with the non-AMI-CS group. The independent predictors of favorable clinical outcomes after VA-ECMO included younger age, shorter cardiac arrest duration, absence of severe LV dysfunction, absence of renal replacement therapy, higher hemoglobin levels, higher arterial pH, and lower lactate levels. The association between in-hospital mortality and AMI-CS was also demonstrated in the propensity score matching analysis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this single-center study, AMI-CS was associated with a lower in-hospital mortality than non-AMI-CS after VA-ECMO treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"38"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12219146/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144553705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Current corticosteroid therapeutic strategy for community-acquired pneumonia in adults: indications, dosage, and timing.","authors":"Seitaro Fujishima","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00809-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00809-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite advances in treatment and the expansion of standard care, pneumonia remains a major cause of mortality. It frequently leads to complications such as septic shock and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), both of which carry high fatality rates. Although antimicrobial therapy is the cornerstone of treatment, additional supportive care and adjunctive therapies, such as corticosteroids, are often required, especially in severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).Recent updates to major guidelines on CAP, sepsis, ARDS, and critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency generally support corticosteroid use in severe CAP. However, the REMAP-CAP randomized controlled trial, published in 2025, failed to demonstrate significant benefit, potentially influencing future recommendations. Currently, corticosteroid therapy should be individualized based on CAP severity, particularly the degree of hypoxemia and respiratory failure. In eligible patients, early initiation and flexible duration of corticosteroid use based on clinical response may be appropriate. For nonbacterial pneumonia, strong evidence supporting corticosteroid use exists only for COVID-19 and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in HIV-infected individuals. Conversely, observational data do not support corticosteroid use for influenza or fungal infections. In CAP complicated by septic shock or ARDS, corticosteroid use is endorsed by recent guidelines; however, the recommended timing, dosage, and duration vary. Although combination therapy with hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone is a potential option, further direct evidence is needed. Biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and, in the near future, insights into corticosteroid-related immune repair mechanisms in COVID-19 may aid in identifying corticosteroid-responsive phenotypes.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"37"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12210833/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144540511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Miloud Cherbi, Bruno Levy, Hamid Merdji, Etienne Puymirat, Eric Bonnefoy, Fanny Vardon, Meyer Elbaz, Olivier Morel, Guillaume Leurent, Nicolas Lamblin, Edouard Gerbaud, Paul Gautier, François Roubille, Clément Delmas
{"title":"Hemoglobin in cardiogenic shock: the lower, the poorer survival.","authors":"Miloud Cherbi, Bruno Levy, Hamid Merdji, Etienne Puymirat, Eric Bonnefoy, Fanny Vardon, Meyer Elbaz, Olivier Morel, Guillaume Leurent, Nicolas Lamblin, Edouard Gerbaud, Paul Gautier, François Roubille, Clément Delmas","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00805-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00805-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cardiogenic shock (CS) is a severe hemodynamic condition with high mortality. Although extremely frequent in daily practice, the impact of anemia in CS is largely unknown. This study focuses on the consequences of low hemoglobin (Hb) level on the outcomes of CS patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>FRENSHOCK is a prospective registry including 772 CS patients from 49 centers. One-month and one-year mortalities were analyzed according to the admission level of Hb.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 754 patients, 71.8% were male, with a mean age of 65.8 (± 14.8) years, and 361 (47.9%) presenting with anemia. Four groups were defined, depending on admission Hb levels by quartiles: Q1: Hb < 11.0 g/dL, Q2: Hb 11-12.6 g/dL, Q3: Hb > 12.6-14 g/dL, and Q4: Hb > 14.0 g/dL. Patients from the Q1 group required more frequent renal replacement therapy and norepinephrine. A significant increase in all-cause mortality was observed across Hb quartiles at 1 month (Ptrend = 0.035) and 1 year (Ptrend < 0.01). Q1 patients had 1.64 times higher mortality at 1 month (1.09-2.47, p = 0.02) and 2.53 times higher mortality at 1 year (1.84-3.49, p < 0.01) compared to Q4. The negative effect of low Hb level was confirmed in multivariate Cox regression adjusted for baseline characteristics, and was stronger in men, non-ischemic CS, patients without CKD and patients aged < 67 years.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Anemia is a common condition frequently intertwined with CS worsening both short- and long-term mortality. Further randomized studies are warranted to understand its mechanisms and adapt the transfusion strategy.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"36"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12183877/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144475642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Combination of C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> as markers of resuscitation or microcirculation in patients with septic shock: a pilot study.","authors":"Luping Cheng, Wenxin Wang, Xia Hu, Chuanliang Pan","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00801-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00801-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The ratio of central venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide content difference to arterial-to-venous oxygen content difference (C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) and central venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide tension difference (P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>) are indicators for monitoring anaerobic metabolism and tissue perfusion in shock. We hypothesized that significant differences in patient outcomes exist across different C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> groups during the early stages of shock resuscitation and that these two indicators reflect microcirculatory perfusion in septic shock patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This single-center, prospective, observational, cohort, exploratory, pilot study involved newly diagnosed patients with septic shock admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) between May 2023 and August 2024. We classified patients into four groups based on their C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> levels at 6 h post-ICU admission (T6), monitored sublingual microcirculation, and followed them for 28 days. The grouping is as follows: Group A is C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> ≤ 1 and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> < 6 mmHg; Group B is C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> ≤ 1 and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> ≥ 6 mmHg; Group C is C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> > 1 and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> < 6 mmHg; and Group D is C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> > 1 and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> ≥ 6 mmHg.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>105 patients were included in the study. The 28-day mortality differed significantly among the four groups of patients (A:8.3%, B:19%, C:30%, and D:46.7%, p < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier curves for the four groups revealed significant differences in the 28-day survival probabilities. (p = 0.014). Multivariate Cox regression revealed that the independent risk factors for 28-day mortality were age [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.05, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.02-1.09, p = 0.001], C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub> (HR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.03-2.69, p = 0.036), and P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub> (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.00-1.27, p = 0.043). There were significant differences among the four groups in terms of the proportion of perfused vessels for all (PPV), proportion of perfused vessels for d < 20 μm (sPPV), microvascular flow index (MFI), and heterogeneity index (HI) values (p < 0.001); correlations were observed for C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, P<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>, and sPPV (r = -0.49, p < 0.001, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.19; r = -0.22, p = 0.028, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.08).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The combined assessment of C<sub>v-a</sub>CO<sub>2</sub>/C<sub>a-v</sub>O<sub>2","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"35"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12172353/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144310018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Areti Papadopoulou, Sarah L Cowan, Jacobus Preller, Robert J B Goudie
{"title":"Validation of PREdiction of DELIRium in ICu patients (PRE-DELIRIC) model for ICU delirium in general ICU and patients with liver disease: a retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Areti Papadopoulou, Sarah L Cowan, Jacobus Preller, Robert J B Goudie","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00800-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00800-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Delirium, a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by disturbances in attention, cognition, and awareness, is a common complication among intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Several predictive models have been developed that aim to identify patients at high risk of delirium. PRE-DELIRIC (PREdiction of DELIRium in ICu) and its recalibrated version, have been externally validated in several studies, but modest sample sizes have meant uncertainty remains, particularly in patient subgroups. Of particular relevance to our population (as a tertiary liver disease centre), performance in patients with liver disease has not been specifically assessed.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective cohort study evaluated the PRE-DELIRIC model using data from 3312 adult ICU patients at Cambridge University Hospital, between February 2017 and September 2021. Delirium was primarily defined as either a positive Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) or any new administration of antipsychotic medication. Predictive performance was assessed according to discrimination, measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) and precision-recall curves; and calibration, as quantified by calibration slope and intercept. We also conducted subgroup analyses in patients with liver disease, sedated patients, and across varying opioid dosing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Delirium occurred in 32.9% of patients. Overall, PRE-DELIRIC demonstrated moderate-to-good discriminative performance (AUROC 0.74; 95% CI 0.72-0.76); but the model significantly underpredicted delirium incidence for those patients predicted to have moderate-to-high delirium risk (PRE-DELIRIC score 0.2-0.6); and overpredicted for those predicted to be at very high risk (PRE-DELIRIC score > 0.6). Among patients with liver disease (41.6% delirium incidence), discrimination was similar to the overall cohort (AUROC 0.73; 95% CI 0.66-0.81), but calibration was poor, with significant under-prediction of delirium. Discrimination was significantly poorer in both sedated patients and patients receiving high opioid dosing.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This is the largest validation study of the PRE-DELIRIC model to date, and the first to specifically consider patients with liver disease. We found moderate-to-good discriminative predictive performance both overall and in liver disease patients, but calibration was only moderate overall, and significantly under-predicted risk in patients with liver disease. Recalibration of the model and further subgroup-specific adjustments may enhance its utility in clinical practice.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"33"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12168250/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144310020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rethinking diuretic use in acute kidney injury: effective prevention or false hope?","authors":"Hiroyuki Yamada, Maki Murata, Hiroyuki Hashimoto","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00804-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00804-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (with pre-specified methods and the largest sample to date) found that prophylactic diuretics significantly reduce acute kidney injury (AKI) incidence in high-risk patients but provide no benefit in treating established AKI. These findings challenge current AKI management guidelines, which generally discourage prophylactic diuretic use. However, given heterogeneity among trials and some risk of bias, caution is advised before generally altering clinical practice until further research confirms these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"34"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12168346/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144310019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Disseminated intravascular coagulation.","authors":"Satoshi Gando, Marcel Levi, Cheng-Hock Toh","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00794-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00794-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is characterized by systemic coagulation activation, anticoagulation pathway impairment, and persistent fibrinolysis suppression, resulting in widespread microvascular thrombosis, followed by hemorrhagic consumption coagulopathy and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. This article aimed to provide a comprehensive and updated DIC overview.</p><p><strong>Main body: </strong>The International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis provides definitions, underlying disorders, diagnostic algorithms, and management guidelines for DIC. Two clinical features of DIC are hemorrhagic consumption coagulopathy, characterized by oozing and difficult-to-control bleeding, and microvascular thrombosis, leading to dysfunctions in multiple vital organs. Histones derived from cellular damage play central roles in the innate-immune-based coagulation model, comprising the initiation, amplification, propagation, and reinforcement phases, which, if dysregulated, develop into DIC. Thus, the innate immune-mediated pathogenic pathways in DIC have become clear. Cell death, damage-associated molecular patterns (including histones), crosstalk between hypoxic inflammation and coagulation, and the serine protease network (comprising coagulation and fibrinolysis, the Kallikrein-Kinin system, and complement pathways) play major roles in DIC pathogenesis. Conversely, these pathogenic pathways and DIC synergistically contribute to organ dysfunction, leading to poor prognoses. Effective DIC management requires treating the underlying condition, along with substitution therapies and, in some cases, antifibrinolytics. Anticoagulant use has been extensively debated; however, the selection of optimal target patients could optimize their application and improve patient outcomes in the near future.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This review provides an updated overview of DIC, aiming to help readers understand various aspects of DIC today.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"32"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12143096/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144234345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Probiotic treatment in an intensive care unit: a narrative review.","authors":"Sato Takeaki","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00803-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00803-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Diarrhea is common in critically ill patients and can lead to malnutrition, electrolyte imbalance, and dehydration. While its direct impact on outcomes, such as mortality or intensive care unit (ICU) stay, remains unclear due to inconsistent definitions, it often results from drug-induced causes, such as antibiotics and antacids. These agents can also contribute to dysbiosis and increase the risk of infections including Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).Probiotics, defined as live beneficial microorganisms, can counteract dysbiosis by modulating immune responses, restoring microbial balance, and reducing intestinal inflammation. Evidence suggests that probiotics may help prevent diarrhea and secondary infections. Clinical trials and meta-analyses have shown that probiotics may reduce the incidence of VAP, length of ICU stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and potential in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients.However, evaluating probiotic efficacy remains challenging due to the lack of standardized markers and the influence of confounding factors like antacid use. In a randomized controlled trial, synbiotic therapy was associated with improved fecal microbiota and reduced infections; however, the role of antacids was not addressed.Probiotics are generally safe, although rare adverse events, such as probiotic-associated bacteremia, have been reported, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.The 2024 Japanese Critical Care Nutrition Guidelines included a systematic review and meta-analysis supporting the potential benefits of probiotics in critically ill patients. However, due to significant heterogeneity in strains, dosing, duration, and concurrent antibiotic/antacid use, a weak recommendation (GRADE 2C; low certainty) was issued.Future research should focus on the standardized evaluation of diarrhea and microbiota changes, the use of objective markers-such as fecal pH and short-chain fatty acid levels-and clarification of the interactions of probiotics with other medications. Comprehensive bowel management, including the cautious use of antibiotics and antacids, may be essential to fully recognize the therapeutic potential of probiotics in critical care settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"31"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12139345/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144234346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Molecular endotypes in sepsis: integration of multicohort transcriptomics based on RNA sequencing.","authors":"Kengo Mekata, Michihito Kyo, Modong Tan, Nobuaki Shime, Nobuyuki Hirohashi","doi":"10.1186/s40560-025-00802-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40560-025-00802-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The heterogeneity of host responses in sepsis has hindered efforts to develop targeted therapies for this large patient population. Although growing evidence has identified sepsis endotypes based on the microarray data, studies using RNA-seq data-which offers higher sensitivity and a broader dynamic range-remain limited. We hypothesized that integrating RNA-seq data from patients with sepsis would reveal molecular endotypes with distinct biological and clinical signatures.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this meta-analysis, we systematically searched for publicly available RNA-seq datasets of sepsis. Using identified datasets, we applied a consensus clustering algorithm to identify distinct endotypes. To characterize the biological differences between these endotypes, we performed gene-set enrichment analysis and immune cell deconvolution. Next, we investigated the association between these endotypes and mortality risks. We finally developed gene classifiers for endotype stratification and validated our endotype classification by applying these classifiers to an external cohort.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 280 adults with sepsis from four datasets were included in this analysis. Using an unsupervised approach, we identified three distinct endotypes: coagulopathic (n = 83, 30%), inflammatory (n = 118, 42%), and adaptive endotype (n = 79, 28%). The coagulopathic endotype exhibited upregulated coagulation signaling, along with an increased monocyte and neutrophil composition, although the adaptive endotype demonstrated enhanced adaptive immune cell responses, marked by elevated T and B cell compositions. The inflammatory endotype was characterized by upregulated TNF-α/NF-κB signaling and IL-6/JAK/STAT3 pathways with an increased neutrophil composition. Patients with the coagulopathic endotype had a significantly higher risk of mortality than those with the adaptive endotype (30% vs. 16%, odds ratio 2.19, 95% confidence interval 1.04-4.78, p = 0.04). To enable the practical application of these findings, we developed endotype classification models and identified 14 gene classifiers. In a validation cohort of 123 patients, we consistently identified these three endotypes. Furthermore, the mortality risk pattern was reproduced, with the coagulopathic endotype showing greater mortality risk than the adaptive endotype (34% vs 18%, p = 0.10).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This multicohort RNA-seq meta-analysis identified three biologically and clinically distinct sepsis endotypes characterized by coagulopathic, adaptive, and inflammatory responses. This endotype-based approach to patient stratification may facilitate the development of more precise therapeutic strategies for sepsis.</p>","PeriodicalId":16123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Intensive Care","volume":"13 1","pages":"30"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12123803/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144187149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}