Background: The prevalence of clinical manifestations in severe patients with COVID-19 was highly variable across region, populations, and assessment methods. We investigated the characteristics in patients with COVID-19 and the risk factors associated with severe cases and progression to severe patients during hospitalization. Methods: In this retrospective, multicenter observational study, we collected the clinical manifestations and laboratory regarding from 125 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Liaoning province, China. The collected COVID-19 patients were divided into two groups, including nonsevere group and severe group which were according to the Chinese national guideline for COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment. Results: One hundred and twenty-five laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients from three centralized diagnosis and treatment centers were enrolled. The median age was 44 years old, 68 (54.4%) were male. One hundred and twelve (81.6%) patients were in nonsevere group and 23 (18.4%) were in severe group. The overall hospital mortality is 1.6%. About 34% patients had been to Wuhan, 35.2%patients had contact with confirmed COVID-19 patient in Wuhan. Thirty-five (28%) patients were local and 11 (8.8%) patients had a history of direct contact with wildlife. About 20.8% of the patients had comorbidity, hypertension was the most common comorbidity (14.4%). Four patients changed from nonsevere to severe during hospitalization. Most patients were admitted in January and February (98.4%). The median hospital stay was 16 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 12–21). On admission, fever was the most common symptom (60.8%). Duration from onset symptom to hospitalization was 5 days (IQR, 2–8). Compared with nonsevere group, severe cases were associated with significant increased NE (74.19 ± 13.87 vs. 62.32 ± 12.80, P = 0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) (33.27 ± 38.60 vs. 15.53 ± 29.35, P = 0.003), D2 (1.52 ± 2.83 vs. 0.44 ± 0.93, P = 0.021), lower lymphocyte count (0.81 ± 0.41 vs. 2.32 ± 6.63, P = 0.042), and lymphocyte percentage (LY%) (15.94 ± 10.47 vs. 28.83 ± 11.66, P < 0.001). Kaletra and Chinese medicine were most widely used, the proportion was 61.6% and 66.4%, respectively. Age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.030, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99–1.09; P = 0.042), fever on admission (OR = 5.23, 95% CI, 1.32–20.79; P = 0.019), increased NE (OR = 10.53, 95% CI, 3.55–31.25; P = 0.000), and decreased LY% (OR = 7.72, 95% CI, 2.61–22.83; P = 0.000) were independently associated with the severe COVID-19. Age (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01–1.23; P = 0.025), myalgia (OR, 30.82; 95% CI, 1.58–600.16; P = 0.024), and CRP (OR = 1.04, 95% CI, 1.004–1.073; P = 0.030) were associated with higher risk of development to severe COVID-19 cases. Conclusions: 1. Identification of individuals at risk for severe COVID-19 after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is important 2. The effects of conventional methods on predicting those patients who will go on to develop severe COVID-19 are limited 3. Age, fever on admission, increased NE, and decreased LY% were independently associated with the severe COVID-19 4. Age, myalgia, and CRP were independent risk factors associated with development to severe COVID-19.

Objective: Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) and neurologic deficit continues to be an important neuropsychological adverse affecting patients' outcome. We conducted this systematic review to investigate the relationship between regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) and early POCD in postoperative patients. Materials and Methods: Our search included MEDLINE (PubMed) and Cochrane library, from inception to October 31, 2018. We included studies reporting values of rSO2 at the beginning of and/or during surgery, and the primary outcome was POCD, and excluded articles who do not put postoperative cognitive function as the main observation. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the included articles using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and extracted the data. Results: Seven prospective cohort studies that included 532 patients incorporate into this systematic review. About 37.78% (201/532) patients achieved POCD. POCD was associated with significantly lower overall values of rSO2 during surgery compared to the population that did not achieve POCD (mean difference [MD] −1.98; 95% confidence interval [CI] −3.30 to −0.66; P = 0.003). In the subgroup, the lowest rSO2 values intraoperative period were a better predictor of POCD (MD −2.91; 95% CI −4.37 to − 1.46; P < 0.0001) than the mean rSO2 values (MD − 2.94; 95% CI −5.71 to − 0.17; P = 0.04). However, all of two were proved superior to baseline rSO2 values (MD −0.13; 95% CI -1.33 to 1.07; P = 0.83); patients with intraoperative cerebral oxygen <50% are nearly four times more likely to have early POCD (odds ratio = 3.65; 95% CI 1.62–8.23, P = 0.002). Conclusions: Patients with POCD have significantly lower cerebral oxygenation during operation than their counterparts. The lowest rSO2 values intraoperative period and patients with intraoperative cerebral oxygen <50% were a better predictor of POCD.

Introduction: Rotating shift patterns and night shifts are associated with fatigue and sleep deprivation, which in turn contribute to burnout. The aim of this quality improvement initiative at Mayo Clinic Rochester critical care fellowship programs was to implement a new critical care fellow shift schedule in the medical intensive care unit while evaluating the impact on self-reported burnout scores. Materials and Methods: Focus groups of fellows weighed pros and cons of the existing schedule and selected a revision of the schedule in which night shifts were grouped into blocks with limited frequency and incorporated a recovery period. Baseline self-reported burnout amongst critical care fellows was assessed using an abbreviated Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) screening questionnaire and re-evaluated at the end of the implementation period. Results: At baseline, 33 of 45 (73%) fellows responded to a survey with the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Index questionnaire. Median (IQR) scores for each of the domains were 10 (6-12) emotional exhaustion, 3 (1-9) depersonalization, and 15 (13-17) personal accomplishment. For the post-intervention survey, 17 out of 24 (71%) responded. The median (IQR) score for critical care internal medicine and pulmonary and critical care fellows was 7 (4-11), P=.06 and 9 (7-11), P=0.5 for emotional exhaustion; 3 (0-6), P=.07 and 5 (0-11), P=1.0 for depersonalization score; and 16 (11-17), P=.31 and 15 (12-17), P=.75 for personal accomplishment score. Discussion: Reducing the number of day-night rotations, incorporating a scheduled recovery period, and limiting the number of recurrent consecutive nights resulted in a trend towards improvement of self-reported burnout amongst critical care fellows.

Background and Objective: This study aims to evaluate the predictive value of the diaphragmatic excursion for weaning from mechanical ventilation in postoperative patients with rheumatic heart disease complicated with cachexia. Methods: Eighty-four postoperative patients with rheumatic heart disease complicated with cachexia who need mechanical ventilation >72 h were enrolled for this prospective study. All patients were evaluated during the weaning process from June 2015 to March 2018. Patients received SBT for 1 h, and we performed ultrasound for the right hemidiaphragm and tested the diaphragmatic excursion. Patients who passed the SBT and no need for reintubation or non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) within 48 h were classified as Group A and others were classified as Group B. Results: We found that the diaphragmatic excursion of Group B (0.76 ± 0.23 cm) was significantly smaller than that of Group A (1.19 ± 0.62 cm), and the oxygen partial pressure of Group B (70.1 ± 9.2 mmHg) was significantly lower than that of Group A (98.6 ± 7.8 mmHg). Conclusion: The assessment of diaphragmatic excursion using ultrasound may be helpful to predict the outcome of weaning for postoperative patients with rheumatic heart disease complicated with cachexia.

Objective: The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of critical care transition programs (TPs) on the short-term outcomes in critically ill cancer patients. Methods: Data of critically ill cancer patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College between September 2017 and August 2018 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Patients were grouped as TP group or non-TP (nTP) group according to whether patients received post-ICU follow-up. Results: In unmatched groups, compared with nTP group, patients in TP group were more severe with higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3 score, and higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score and decreased ICU mortality (0 vs. 3.1%, P = 0.001) and in-hospital mortality (0 vs. 3.2%, P = 0.001). After matching, there were no significant differences in readmission rate, in-hospital mortality, readmission/in-hospital mortality, ICU length of stay (LOS), and hospital LOS between TP and nTP groups (all P > 0.05). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that in severe group (APACHE II >15), compared with nTP group, patients in TP group had increased readmission rate (8.3% vs. 62.5%, P < 0.001) and increased duration of hospital LOS (13.92 ± 10.54 vs. 26.38 ± 15.46 days; P = 0.003). There is a trend that ICU mortality (23.6% vs. 0, P = 0.121) and hospital mortality (25.8% vs. 0, P = 0.108) were decreased in TP group than in nTP group. In less severe group (APACHE II ≤ 15), there were no significant differences in readmission rate (4.5% vs. 3.8%, P = 0.655), ICU LOS (3.00 ± 4.40 vs. 2.92 ± 3.23 days; P = 0.790), ICU mortality (1.0% vs. 0, P = 0.117), and hospital mortality (1.0% vs. 0, P = 0.117). Conclusions: Critical care TPs may decrease ICU mortality and hospital mortality in critically ill cancer patients with APACHE II >15. It has no role in less severe critically ill cancer patients with APACHE II ≤15.