Study Objective: We evaluated the early hemodynamic profile of patients presenting with acute circulatory failure to the Emergency Department (ED) using focused echocardiography performed by emergency physicians after a dedicated training program. Methods: Patients presenting to the ED with an acute circulatory failure of any origin were successively examined by a recently trained emergency physician and by an expert in critical care echocardiography. Operators independently performed and interpreted online echocardiographic examinations to determine the leading mechanism of acute circulatory failure. Results: Focused echocardiography could be performed in 100 of 114 screened patients (55 with sepsis/septic shock and 45 with shock of other origin) after a median fluid loading of 500 mL (interquartile range: 187–1,500 mL). A hypovolemic profile was predominantly observed whether the acute circulatory failure was of septic origin or not (33/55 [60%] vs. 23/45 [51%]: P = 0.37). Although a vasoplegic profile associated with a hyperkinetic left ventricle was most frequently identified in septic patients when compared with their counterparts (17/55 [31%] vs. 5/45 [11%]: P = 0.02), early left or right ventricular failure was observed in 31% of them. Hemodynamic profiles were adequately appraised by recently trained emergency physicians, as reflected by a good-to-excellent agreement with the expert's assessment (Κ: 0.61–0.85). Conclusions: Hypovolemia was predominantly identified in patients presenting to the ED with acute circulatory failure. Although vasoplegia was more frequently associated with sepsis, early ventricular dysfunction was also depicted in septic patients. Focused echocardiography seemed reliable when performed by recently trained emergency physicians without previous experience in ultrasound.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus remains a common cause of ventilatorassociated pneumonia, with little change in infection rates over the past 15 years. This phase 2 study evaluated suvratoxumab, an anti-alpha-toxin monoclonal antibody, in reducing incidence of S. aureus pneumonia in intensive care unit (ICU) subjects on mechanical ventilation (MV). Methods:We did a multicenter, single-dose, randomized, placebo-controlled, doubleblind, phase 2 pilot trial in 9 countries. Eligible subjects were patients in an ICU ≥18 years of age, currently intubated and on MV, positive for S. aureus lower respiratory tract (LRT) colonization as assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of endotracheal aspirate, and with no diagnosis of new-onset pneumonia. Subjects were excluded if they had confirmed or suspected acute ongoing staphylococcal disease; had received anti-S. aureus antibiotics for >48 hours; had a CPIS ≥6, APACHE-II score ≥25, a SOFA score ≥9; or had active pulmonary disease that would impair the ability to diagnose pneumonia. Subjects were screened for S. aureus lower respiratory tract (LRT) colonization using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Colonized subjects were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to a single intravenous infusion of suvratoxumab 2000 mg, 5000 mg or placebo. Randomization was stratified by country and by whether subjects received anti-S. aureus systemic antibiotic therapy. Based on pre-defined PK criteria, the 2000 mg arm was discontinued upon the recommendation of the data monitoring committee at an interim analysis. Primary efficacy endpoint was incidence of S. aureus pneumonia, adjudicated by a blinded independent panel, through 30 days post dose in the modified intent-to-treat study population. Primary safety endpoints were Francois et al. Suvratoxumab Ph2 (NCT02296320) D3 5 treatment-emergent AEs assessed through 30 and 90 days, treatment-emergent SAEs, adverse events of special interest, and new onset chronic disease, all assessed through 190 days. Findings: PCR screening of 737 ICU subjects identified 213 with S. aureus colonization; of these, 96 were randomized to receive suvratoxumab 5000 mg and 100 to placebo. At 30 days, 17/96 (17•7%) suvratoxumab and 26/100 (26•0%) placebo subjects had developed S. aureus pneumonia (relative risk reduction, 31.9%; 90% confidence interval [CI], −7•5 to 56•8; P = 0•166). At 30 days, incidences of treatmentemergent adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs were similar in suvratoxumab and placebo groups (90•6% [87/96] vs. 90•0% [90/100] and 37•5% [36/96] vs 32•0% [32/100], respectively). At 90 and 190 days, incidence of treatment-emergent AEs was still similar in suvratoxumab and placebo groups (92.

Background Urinary tract infection (UTI) is frequently diagnosed in the Emergency Department (ED). Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is an uncommon isolate in urine cultures (0.5–6% of positive urine cultures), except in patients with risk factors for urinary tract colonization. In the absence of risk factors, community-acquired SA bacteriuria may be related to deep-seated SA infection including infective endocarditis. We hypothesized that SA bacteriuria could be a warning microbiological marker of unsuspected infective endocarditis in the ED. Methods This is a retrospective chart review of consecutive adult patients between December 2005 and February 2018. All patients admitted in the ED with both SA bacteriuria (10 4 CFU/ml SA isolated from a single urine sample) and SA bacteremia, without risk factors for UT colonization (i.e., < 1 month UT surgery, UT catheterization) were analyzed. Diagnosis of infective endocarditis was based on the Duke criteria. Results During the study period, 27 patients (18 men; median age: 61 [IQR: 52–73] years) were diagnosed with community-acquired SA bacteriuria and had subsequently documented bacteremia and SA infective endocarditis. Only 5 patients (18%) had symptoms related to UT infection. Median delay between ED admission and SA bacteriuria identification was significantly shorter than that between ED admission and the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (1.4 ± 0.8 vs. 4.3 ± 4.2 days: p = 0.01). Mitral and aortic valves were most frequently involved by infective endocarditis (93%). Mortality on day 60 reached 56%. Conclusions This study suggests that community-acquired SA bacteriuria should warn the emergency physician about a potentially associated left-sided infective endocarditis in ED patients without risk factors for UT colonization.