SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19 in an intensive care unit seen by a care team formed by intensive and nonintensive physicians and treatment guided by processes and protocols linked to the “choosing wisely” concept, comparing them with similar data recently published. METHODS: An observational cohort including adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit of Hospital Independence between August 2020 and August 2021. Inclusion criteria were 18 years of age or older and there were no exclusion criteria. RESULTS: The study included 449 patients, of which 64.1% were referred from the ward, 21.6% from emergency rooms, and 14.2% from another hospital (continuity of attendance). The overall mortality was 48.5%, occurring mainly in the elderly and or those undergoing mechanical ventilation. We did not find any associations between different strata of body mass index and mortality. In the multivariate analysis, the time elapsed between the onset of symptoms and hospital admission, mechanical ventilation, C-reactive protein value at the end of the first week in the intensive care unit, and renal failure were independently associated with mortality. Vaccinated people comprised 8.8% of the sample, with no differences in mortality among the different vaccines, and 13.4% of patients underwent palliative treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients admitted for acute respiratory syndrome due to SARS-CoV-2 are severe and have a high mortality rate, mainly if submitted to invasive mechanical ventilation. The emergence of acute renal failure marks an especially severe subgroup with increased mortality. Processes and protocols linked to the “choosing-wisely” concept seemed to significantly benefit our intensive care unit since it had a large contingent of nonspecialist physicians.

SUMMARY INTRODUCTION: Patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and old age, which are associated with a high risk of malnutrition and worse outcomes, are at a higher risk for developing the severe presentation of COVID-19. METHODS: This is an observational and cross-sectional study with a sample defined by convenience. Data were collected in adult inpatient units through information obtained via telephone contact with the patient/companion, records collected by the nursing staff, and medical records, tabulating demographics, body composition, previous illnesses, nutritional diagnoses, diet acceptance, and hospitalization outcomes. The following symptoms were observed: inappetence, smell, dysgeusia, odynophagia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. RESULTS: Most deaths occurred after transfer to the intensive care unit (79.6%). Patients with the worst outcome had lower food intake with a cutoff point of 60% for diet acceptance, which seems to be an adequate discriminator between those who survived and those who did not. Gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly associated with food consumption below 60% of the planned goal. The symptoms most associated with lower energy intake were inappetence, dysgeusia, and nausea/vomiting. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced caloric intake and the presence of nutritional risk or its appearance during hospitalization seemed to be associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 admitted outside the intensive care unit.

RESUMO Há uma nova pandemia global que surgiu na China em 2019 e está ameaçando diferentes populações com insuficiência respiratória aguda grave. A doença tem um enorme potencial de transmissibilidade e requer medidas governamentais drásticas, orientadas para o distanciamento social e pelo uso de dispositivos de proteção (luvas, máscaras e escudos faciais). Uma vez caracterizada a necessidade de admissão na UTI, um conjunto de terapias essencialmente de suporte é adotado para oferecer suporte multiorgânico e permitir tempo para a cura. Normalmente, os pacientes que necessitam de suporte ventilatório apresentam infiltrados bilaterais na radiografia de tórax e na tomografia computadorizada de tórax, mostrando opacidades pulmonares em vidro fosco e consolidações subsegmentares. O suporte ventilatório invasivo não deve ser adiado em um cenário de intenso sofrimento ventilatório. O tratamento é essencialmente de suporte orgânico.

SUMMARY There is a new global pandemic that emerged in China in 2019 that is threatening different populations with severe acute respiratory failure. The disease has enormous potential for transmissibility and requires drastic governmental measures, guided by social distancing and the use of protective devices (gloves, masks, and facial shields). Once the need for admission to the ICU is characterized, a set of essentially supportive therapies are adopted in order to offer multi-organic support and allow time for healing. Typically, patients who require ventilatory support have bilateral infiltrates in the chest X-ray and chest computed tomography showing ground-glass pulmonary opacities and subsegmental consolidations. Invasive ventilatory support should not be postponed in a scenario of intense ventilatory distress. The treatment is, in essence, supportive.

RESUMO Os avanços tecnológicos que permitem dar suporte às disfunções de órgãos levaram a um aumento nas taxas de sobrevivência para a maioria dos pacientes críticos. Alguns destes pacientes sobrevivem à condição crítica inicial, porém continuam a sofrer com disfunções de órgãos e permanecem em estado inflamatório por longos períodos. Este grupo de pacientes críticos foi descrito desde os anos 1980 e teve diferentes critérios diagnósticos ao longo dos anos. Sabe-se que estes pacientes têm longas permanências no hospital, sofrem importantes alterações do metabolismo muscular e ósseo, apresentam imunodeficiência, consomem quantias substanciais de recursos de saúde, têm reduzida capacidade funcional e cognitiva após a alta, demandam uma considerável carga de trabalho para seus cuidadores, e apresentam elevadas taxas de mortalidade em longo prazo. O objetivo desta revisão foi apresentar as evidências atuais, em termos de definição, fisiopatologia, manifestações clínicas, tratamento e prognóstico da doença crítica persistente.

ABSTRACT The technological advancements that allow support for organ dysfunction have led to an increase in survival rates for the most critically ill patients. Some of these patients survive the initial acute critical condition but continue to suffer from organ dysfunction and remain in an inflammatory state for long periods of time. This group of critically ill patients has been described since the 1980s and has had different diagnostic criteria over the years. These patients are known to have lengthy hospital stays, undergo significant alterations in muscle and bone metabolism, show immunodeficiency, consume substantial health resources, have reduced functional and cognitive capacity after discharge, create a sizable workload for caregivers, and present high long-term mortality rates. The aim of this review is to report on the most current evidence in terms of the definition, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, treatment, and prognosis of persistent critical illness.

Introduction: Although guidelines emphasize that the provision of enteral nutrition (EN) should be as close as the patient's needs, prospective studies question this strategy. Objective: To compare the effect of two EN strategies (underfeeding versus full-feeding) on ICU and overall mortality (hospital mortality or 60-day mortality) and length of stay (LOS), duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), infectious complications, and gastrointestinal tolerance in ICU patients. Methods: Random effects meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT). Our search covered MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS and CENTRAL databases until May 2015. Underfeeding was assigned into two different groups according to the level of energy intake achieved (moderate feeding 46-72% and trophic feeding 16-25%) for subgroup analysis. Results: Five RCTs were included among the 904 studies retrieved (n = 2,432 patients). No difference was found in overall mortality when all five studies were combined. In the subgroup analysis, moderate feeding (three studies) showed lower mortality compared with full-feeding (RR 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-0.98; I2 0% p = 0.59 for heterogeneity). No differences were found for ICU mortality, ICU and hospital LOS, duration of MV, and infectious complications. Underfeeding showed lower occurrence of GI signs and symptoms except for aspiration and abdominal distention (no difference was found). Conclusions: This meta-analysis found no differences in ICU and overall mortality, ICU and hospital LOS, duration of MV, and infectious complications between underfeeding and full-feeding. The subgroup analysis showed lower overall mortality among patients receiving moderate underfeeding. This result should be cautiously interpreted due to the limitations of the small number of studies analyzed and their methodology.

Introducción: a pesar de las directrices que hacen hincapié en que la cantidad de la Nutrición Enteral (NE) administrada debe estar próxima a las necesidades del paciente, los estudios prospectivos cuestionan esta estrategia. Objetivo: comparar el efecto de dos estrategias de NE (subalimentación vs. alimentación completa) sobre la mortalidad en la UCI y general (mortalidad hospitalaria o la mortalidad en 60 días), el tiempo de internación en la UCI y en el hospital, duración de la ventilación mecánica (VM), complicaciones infecciosas y la tolerancia gastrointestinal en pacientes críticos. Métodos: metaanálisis de efectos aleatorios de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados (ECA). Nuestra búsqueda se basa en MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS y CENTRAL hasta mayo de 2015. La subalimentación fue asignada a dos grupos diferentes de acuerdo con el nivel de consumo de energía (alimentación moderada 46-72% y la alimentación trófica 16-25%) para el análisis de subgrupos. Resultados: se incluyeron cinco ECA entre los 904 estudios que se encontraron en la búsqueda (n = 2.432 pacientes). No se encontraron diferencias en la mortalidad general cuando se combinaron los cinco estudios. En el análisis de subgrupos, la alimentación moderada (tres estudios) mostró una mortalidad más baja en comparación con la alimentación completa (RR 0,82; IC 95% 0,68-0,98; I² 0% p = 0,59 para la heterogeneidad). No se encontraron diferencias de mortalidad en la UCI ni en el tiempo de internación hospitalaria, la duración de la VM y las complicaciones infecciosas. La subalimentación mostró menor aparición de signos y síntomas gastrointestinales, excepto para aspiración y distensión abdominal (no se encontró ninguna diferencia). Conclusiones: este metaanálisis no encontró diferencias significativas de mortalidad, duración de la estancia, duración de VM ni complicaciones infecciosas en la UCI o hospitalización total entre los grupos de subalimentación y alimentación completa. El análisis de subgrupos mostró menor mortalidad global entre los pacientes que recibieron la subalimentación moderada. Este resultado debe interpretarse con cautela debido a las limitaciones del pequeño número de estudios analizados y su metodología.

RESUMO No último ano, o interesse pela posição prona no tratamento da síndrome da angústia respiratória aguda (Sara) ressurgiu com a demonstração da redução da mortalidade por um grande estudo clínico randomizado. Os relatos, na literatura, sugerem que a incidência de eventos adversos é significativamente reduzida com uma equipe treinada e experiente no processo. O objetivo desta revisão é revisitar as evidências atuais, discutir e propor a construção de um protocolo de cuidados para esses pacientes. Foi realizada busca nas principais bases eletrônicas: Medline, Lilacs e Cochrane Library. A posição prona é cada vez mais utilizada na prática diária, sendo imprescindível a presença de uma equipe adequadamente treinada e um protocolo de cuidados bem estabelecido.

SUMMARY Last year, interest in prone positioning to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) resurfaced with the demonstration of a reduction in mortality by a large randomized clinical trial. Reports in the literature suggest that the incidence of adverse events is significantly reduced with a team trained and experienced in the process. The objective of this review is to revisit the current evidence in the literature, discuss and propose the construction of a protocol of care for these patients. A search was performed on the main electronic databases: Medline, Lilacs and Cochrane Library. Prone positioning is increasingly used in daily practice, with properly trained staff and a well established care protocol are essencial.

OBJETIVO: Descrever as interações entre fármacos e nutriente e sua frequência nas unidades de terapia intensiva bem como avaliar o grau de consciência a esse respeito por parte da equipe de profissionais. MÉTODOS: Foram revisados, na base de dados eletrônica PubMed, especificamente no MeSH, os unitermos: "drug interactions" e "nutrition therapy". Os estudos foram sistematicamente revisados para a descrição de tipos de interações entre fármacos e nutrientes, suas frequências e consequências. RESULTADOS: Foram encontrados 67 artigos. Dentre estes, 20 artigos estavam adequados à metodologia adotada e atingiram os objetivos do estudo. Destes, 14 artigos descreviam interações entre fármacos e nutrição enteral, 3 descreviam interações entre fármacos e nutrição parenteral, e 3 descreviam a importância e os cuidados para evitar tais interações. CONCLUSÃO: A literatura referente a interações entre fármacos e nutrientes é escassa e sugere a fragilidade das equipes assistenciais em reconhecer o potencial para interações. Possivelmente a construção de um protocolo para avaliação de interação fármaco-nutriente aumente a segurança e eficácia dos processos terapêuticos.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the interactions between drugs and nutrients and their frequency in the intensive care unit and to assess the professional team's awareness regarding this subject. METHODS: The keywords "drug interactions" and "nutrition therapy" were searched in the PubMed (specifically MeSH) electronic database. The studies were systematically reviewed for descriptions of the types of interactions between drugs and nutrients, including their frequency and consequences. RESULTS: Sixty-seven articles were found. Among these, 20 articles were appropriate for the methodology adopted and accomplished the objectives of the study. Of these 20 articles, 14 articles described interactions between drugs and enteral nutrition, three described interactions between drugs and parenteral nutrition, and three described the importance and care required to avoid such interactions. CONCLUSIONS: The literature about drug and nutrient interactions is limited and suggests the inability of health care teams to recognize the potential for these interactions. Possibly, the elaboration of a protocol to evaluate drug-nutrient interactions will increase the safety and efficacy of therapeutics.

Os autores relatam o caso de um homem imunocompetente admitido com comprometimento agudo do sistema nervoso, crise hipertensiva e insuficiência renal, vindo a receber diagnóstico de meningite e endocardite infecciosa por Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. Até onde sabemos, esta é a primeira descrição de infecção simultânea das meninges e do endotélio causada por Rhodotorula em um paciente sem comprometimento imunológico.

The authors report the case of an immunocompetent man who presented with acute impairment of the neurological system, hypertensive crisis and renal failure. The patient was eventually diagnosed with Rhodotorula mucilaginosa meningitis and infective endocarditis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of simultaneous infection of the meninges and endothelium caused by Rhodotorula in a non-immunocompromised patient.