Objective To depict the clinical presentation and outcomes of a cohort of critically ill patients with esophageal cancer. Methods We carried out a multicenter retrospective study that included patients with esophageal cancer admitted to intensive care units with acute illness between September 2009 and December 2017. We collected the demographic and clinical characteristics of all included patients, as well as organ-support measures and hospital outcomes. We performed logistic regression analysis to identify independent factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Results Of 226 patients included in the study, 131 (58.0%) patients died before hospital discharge. Squamous cell carcinoma was more frequent than adenocarcinoma, and 124 (54.9%) patients had metastatic cancer. The main reasons for admission were sepsis/septic shock and acute respiratory failure. Mechanical ventilation (OR = 6.18; 95%CI 2.86 - 13.35) and metastatic disease (OR = 7.10; 95%CI 3.35 - 15.05) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. Conclusion In this cohort of patients with esophageal cancer admitted to intensive care units with acute illness, the in-hospital mortality rate was very high. The requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation and metastatic disease were independent prognostic factors and should be considered in discussions about the short-term outcomes of these patients.

BackgroundCoexistence of cancer and COVID-19 is associated with worse outcomes. However, the studies on cancer-related characteristics associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes have shown controversial results. The objective of the study was to evaluate cancer-related characteristics associated with invasive mechanical ventilation use or in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care unit (ICU).MethodsWe designed a cohort multicenter study including adults with active cancer admitted to ICU due to COVID-19. Seven cancer-related characteristics (cancer status, type of cancer, metastasis occurrence, recent chemotherapy, recent immunotherapy, lung tumor, and performance status) were introduced in a multilevel logistic regression model as first-level variables and hospital was introduced as second-level variable (random effect). Confounders were identified using directed acyclic graphs.ResultsWe included 274 patients. Required to undergo invasive mechanical ventilation were 176 patients (64.2%) and none of the cancer-related characteristics were associated with mechanical ventilation use. Approximately 155 patients died in hospital (56.6%) and poor performance status, measured with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score was associated with increased in-hospital mortality, with odds ratio = 3.54 (1.60–7.88, 95% CI) for ECOG =2 and odds ratio = 3.40 (1.60–7.22, 95% CI) for ECOG = 3 to 4. Cancer status, cancer type, metastatic tumor, lung cancer, and recent chemotherapy or immunotherapy were not associated with in-hospital mortality.ConclusionsIn patients with active cancer and COVID-19 admitted to ICU, poor performance status was associated with in-hospital mortality but not with mechanical ventilation use. Cancer status, cancer type, metastatic tumor, lung cancer, and recent chemotherapy or immunotherapy were not associated with invasive mechanical ventilation use or in-hospital mortality.

Recently, alternative water treatment systems have been implemented due to the eutrophication of reservoirs, in which high concentrations of organic matter prevent the use of conventional water treatment methods. This paper presents a study on the electrolytic process for water treatment using an alternating current. A reactor with iron and stainless steel electrodes was built and introduced into a water treatment system equipped with conventional coagulation with alum and direct descending filtration. Factors such as pH levels, turbidity, colour, and reductions in the specific UV absorbance were evaluated. The results showed a significant reduction in the specific UV absorbance between raw water and treated water (19.51-26.45%). Furthermore, the reactor did not significantly change the pH of the water. The average turbidity of the treated water was less than or equal to 0.5 NTU, and the average colour reached 2 HU, classifying the treated water as drinking water according to the current ordinance in Brazil. The cost of the electricity used by the reactor was $0.10 per cubic metre of water produced.