Browsing by Author "Severino, Nicolás"

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    Beta-Lactam Antibiotics Can Be Measured in the Exhaled Breath Condensate in Mechanically Ventilated Patients: a Pilot Study
    (2023) Escalona Solari, José Antonio; Soto Muñoz, Dagoberto Igor; Oviedo Álvarez, Vanessa Andrea; Rivas Garrido, Elizabeth Alexis; Severino, Nicolás; Kattan Tala, Eduardo José; Andresen Hernández, Max Alfonso; Bravo Morales, Sebastián Ignacio; Basoalto Escobar, Roque Ignacio; Bachmann Barron, María Consuelo; Kwok-Yin, Wong; Pavez, Nicolás; Bruhn Cruz, Alejandro Rodrigo; Bugedo Tarraza, Guillermo Jaime; Retamal Montes, Jaime Alejandro
    Different techniques have been proposed to measure antibiotic levels within the lung parenchyma; however, their use is limited because they are invasive and associated with adverse effects. We explore whether beta-lactam antibiotics could be measured in exhaled breath condensate collected from heat and moisture exchange filters (HMEFs) and correlated with the concentration of antibiotics measured from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). We designed an observational study in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation, which required a BAL to confirm or discard the diagnosis of pneumonia. We measured and correlated the concentration of beta-lactam antibiotics in plasma, epithelial lining fluid (ELF), and exhaled breath condensate collected from HMEFs. We studied 12 patients, and we detected the presence of antibiotics in plasma, ELF, and HMEFs from every patient studied. The concentrations of antibiotics were very heterogeneous over the population studied. The mean antibiotic concentration was 293.5 (715) ng/mL in plasma, 12.3 (31) ng/mL in ELF, and 0.5 (0.9) ng/mL in HMEF. We found no significant correlation between the concentration of antibiotics in plasma and ELF (R2 = 0.02, p = 0.64), between plasma and HMEF (R2 = 0.02, p = 0.63), or between ELF and HMEF (R2 = 0.02, p = 0.66). We conclude that beta-lactam antibiotics can be detected and measured from the exhaled breath condensate accumulated in the HMEF from mechanically ventilated patients. However, no correlations were observed between the antibiotic concentrations in HMEF with either plasma or ELF.
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    The impact of norepinephrine dose reporting heterogeneity on mortality prediction in septic shock patients
    (2024-07-03) Morales, Sebastian; Wendel-Garcia, Pedro D.; Ibarra-Estrada, Miguel; Jung, Christian; Castro, Ricardo; Retamal, Jaime; Cortinez, Luis I.; Severino, Nicolás; Kiavialaitis, Greta E.; Ospina-Tascón, Gustavo; Bakker, Jan; Hernández, Glenn; Kattan, Eduardo
    Background: Norepinephrine (NE) is a cornerstone drug in the management of septic shock, with its dose being used clinically as a marker of disease severity and as mortality predictor. However, variations in NE dose reporting either as salt formulations or base molecule may lead to misinterpretation of mortality risks and hinder the process of care. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the MIMIC-IV database to assess the impact of NE dose reporting heterogeneity on mortality prediction in a cohort of septic shock patients. NE doses were converted from the base molecule to equivalent salt doses, and their ability to predict 28-day mortality at common severity dose cut-offs was compared. Results: 4086 eligible patients with septic shock were identified, with a median age of 68 [57–78] years, an admission SOFA score of 7 [6–10], and lactate at diagnosis of 3.2 [2.4–5.1] mmol/L. Median peak NE dose at day 1 was 0.24 [0.12–0.42] μg/kg/min, with a 28-day mortality of 39.3%. The NE dose showed significant heterogeneity in mortality prediction depending on which formulation was reported, with doses reported as bitartrate and tartrate presenting 65 (95% CI 79–43)% and 67 (95% CI 80–47)% lower ORs than base molecule, respectively. This divergence in prediction widened at increasing NE doses. When using a 1 μg/kg/min threshold, predicted mortality was 54 (95% CI 52–56)% and 83 (95% CI 80–87)% for tartrate formulation and base molecule, respectively. Conclusions: Heterogeneous reporting of NE doses significantly affects mortality prediction in septic shock. Standardizing NE dose reporting as base molecule could enhance risk stratification and improve processes of care. These findings underscore the importance of consistent NE dose reporting practices in critical care settings.