Introduction: Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) is an emerging problem in critically ill patients and the prevalence and risk factors are unclear in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This multicenter prospective observational study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of PICS in ventilated patients with COVID-19 after ICU discharge. Methods: Questionnaires were administered twice in surviving patients with COVID-19 who had required mechanical ventilation, concerning Barthel Index, Short-Memory Questionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores. The risk factors for PICS were examined using a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The first and second PICS surveys were obtained at 5.5 and 13.5 months (mean) after ICU discharge, with 251 and 209 patients completing the questionnaires and with a prevalence of PICS of 58.6% and 60.8%, respectively, along with the highest percentages of cognitive impairment. Delirium (with an odds ratio of (OR) 2.34, 95% CI 1.1–4.9, and p = 0.03) and the duration of mechanical ventilation (with an OR of 1.29, 95% CI 1.05–1.58, and p = 0.02) were independently identified as the risk factors for PICS in the first PICS survey. Conclusion: Approximately 60% of the ventilated patients with COVID-19 experienced persistent PICS, especially delirium, and required longer mechanical ventilation.

Background Arterial lactate (AL) level is an important predictor of patient prognosis. AL and peripheral venous lactate (PVL) in blood gas analysis have a low concordance rate, and PVL cannot be used as a substitute for AL. However, if the AL range can be predicted from PVL, PVL may be an alternative method for predicting patient prognosis, and the risk of arterial puncture complications with AL may be reduced. This could be a safe and rapid test method. Methods This was a retrospective observational study of 125 cases in which blood gas analysis was performed on both arterial and venous blood with an infectious disease in an emergency department. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (r) and Bland–Altman analyses were performed. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated for PVL to predict AL < 2 mmol/L or < 4 mmol/L. Results The median [interquartile range] AL and PVL were 1.82 [1.25–2.46] vs. 2.08 [1.57–3.28], respectively, r was 0.93 (p < 0.0001), and a strong correlation was observed; however, Bland–Altman analysis showed disagreement. When AL < 2 mmol/L was used as the outcome, AUC was 0.970, the PVL cutoff value was 2.55 mmol/L, sensitivity was 85.71%, and specificity was 96.05%. If PVL < 2 mmol/L was the outcome, the sensitivity for AL < 2mmol/L was 100%, and for PVL levels ≥ 3 mmol/L, the specificity was 100%. When AL < 4 mmol/L was used as the outcome, AUC was 0.967, the PVL cutoff value was 3.4 mmol/L, sensitivity was 100%, and specificity was 85.84%. When PVL < 3.5 mmol/L was the outcome, the sensitivity for AL < 4 mmol/L was 100%, and for PVL levels ≥ 4 mmol/L, the specificity was 93.81%. Conclusions This study revealed that PVL and AL levels in the same critically ill patients did not perfectly agree with each other but were strongly correlated. Furthermore, the high accuracy for predicting AL ranges from PVL levels explains why PVL levels could be used as a substitute for AL level ranges.

Lung ultrasound (LUS), a rapid, bedside, goal-oriented diagnostic test, can be quantitatively assessed, and the scores can be used to evaluate disease progression. However, little data exists on predicting prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) and successful extubation using serial LUS scores. We examined the relationship of PMV with successful extubation in patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by using two types of serial LUS scores. One LUS score evaluated both the pleura and lung fields, while the other assessed each separately (modified-LUS score). Both LUS scores were determined for 20 consecutive patients with severe COVID-19 at three timepoints: admission (day-1), after 48 h (day-3), and on the seventh follow-up day (day-7). We compared LUS scores with the radiographic assessment of the lung oedema (RALE) scores and laboratory test results, at the three timepoints. The PMV and successful extubation groups showed no significant differences in mortality, but significant differences occurred on day-3 and day-7 both LUS scores, day-7 RALE score, and day-7 PaO2/FiO2 ratio, in the PMV group (p<0.05); and day-3 and day-7 modified-LUS scores, day-7 C-reactive protein levels, and day-7 PaO2/FiO2 ratio, in the successful extubation group (p<0.05). The area under the curves (AUC) of LUS scores on day-3 and day-7, modified-LUS scores on day-3 and day-7,RALE score on day-7, and PaO2/FiO2 ratio on day-7 in the PMV group were 0.98, 0.85, 0.88, 0.98, 0.77, and 0.80, respectively. The AUC of modified-LUS scores on day-3 and day-7, C-reactive protein levels on day-7, and PaO2/FiO2 ratio on day-7 in the successful extubation group were 0.79, 0.90, 0.82, and 0.79, respectively. The modified-LUS score on day 7 was significantly higher than that on day 1 in PMV group (p<0.05). While the LUS score did not exhibit significant differences. The serial modified-LUS score of patients with severe COVID-19 could predict PMV.