Purpose Patients with hematologic malignancies are increasingly admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) when life-threatening events occur. We sought to report outcomes and prognostic factors in these patients. Patients and Methods Ours was a prospective, multicenter cohort study of critically ill patients with hematologic malignancies. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and disease status were collected after 3 to 6 months. Results Of the 1,011 patients, 38.2% had newly diagnosed malignancies, 23.1% were in remission, and 24.9% had received hematopoietic stem-cell transplantations (HSCT, including 145 allogeneic). ICU admission was mostly required for acute respiratory failure (62.5%) and/or shock (42.3%). On day1, 733 patients (72.5%) received life-supporting interventions. Hospital, day-90, and 1-year survival rates were 60.7%, 52.5%, and 43.3%, respectively. By multivariate analysis, cancer remission and time to ICU admission less than 24 hours were associated with better hospital survival. Poor performance status, Charlson comorbidity index, allogeneic HSCT, organ dysfunction score, cardiac arrest, acute respiratory failure, malignant organ infiltration, and invasive aspergillosis were associated with higher hospital mortality. Mechanical ventilation (47.9% of patients), vasoactive drugs (51.2%), and dialysis (25.9%) were associated with mortality rates of 60.5%, 57.5%, and 59.2%, respectively. On day 90, 80% of survivors had no HRQOL alterations (physical and mental health similar to that of the overall cancer population). After 6 months, 80% of survivors had no change in treatment intensity compared with similar patients not admitted to the ICU, and 80% were in remission. Conclusion Critically ill patients with hematologic malignancies have good survival, disease control, and post-ICU HRQOL. Earlier ICU admission is associated with better survival.

Programme Hospitalier Recherche Clinique, Institut Pasteur, Inserm, French Public Health Agency.

Purpose: Although patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection have several risk factors for ventilator-associated lower respiratory tract infections (VA-LRTI), the reported incidence of hospital-acquired infections is low. We aimed to determine the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, as compared to influenza pneumonia or no viral infection, and the incidence of VA-LRTI.Methods: Multicenter retrospective European cohort performed in 36 ICUs. All adult patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation > 48 h were eligible if they had: SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, influenza pneumonia, or no viral infection at ICU admission. VA-LRTI, including ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), were diagnosed using clinical, radiological and quantitative microbiological criteria. All VA-LRTI were prospectively identified, and chest-X rays were analyzed by at least two physicians. Cumulative incidence of first episodes of VA-LRTI was estimated using the Kalbfleisch and Prentice method, and compared using Fine-and Gray models.Results: 1576 patients were included (568 in SARS-CoV-2, 482 in influenza, and 526 in no viral infection groups). VA-LRTI incidence was significantly higher in SARS-CoV-2 patients (287, 50.5%), as compared to influenza patients (146, 30.3%, adjusted sub hazard ratio (sHR) 1.60 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.26 to 2.04)) or patients with no viral infection (133, 25.3%, adjusted sHR 1.7 (95% CI 1.2 to 2.39)). Gram-negative bacilli were responsible for a large proportion (82% to 89.7%) of VA-LRTI, mainly Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp., and Klebsiella spp.

IMPORTANCE High-flow nasal oxygen therapy is increasingly used for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF). OBJECTIVE To determine whether high-flow oxygen therapy decreases mortality among immunocompromised patients with AHRF compared with standard oxygen therapy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The HIGH randomized clinical trial enrolled 776 adult immunocompromised patients with AHRF (PaO 2 <60 mm Hg or SpO 2 <90% on room air, or tachypnea >30/min or labored breathing or respiratory distress, and need for oxygen Ն6 L/min) at 32 intensive care units (ICUs) in France between May 19, 2016, and December 31, 2017. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized 1:1 to continuous high-flow oxygen therapy (n = 388) or to standard oxygen therapy (n = 388). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was day-28 mortality. Secondary outcomes included intubation and mechanical ventilation by day 28, PaO 2 :FIO 2 ratio over the 3 days after intubation, respiratory rate, ICU and hospital lengths of stay, ICU-acquired infections, and patient comfort and dyspnea. RESULTS Of 778 randomized patients (median age, 64 [IQR, 54-71] years; 259 [33.3%] women), 776 (99.7%) completed the trial. At randomization, median respiratory rate was 33/min (IQR, 28-39) vs 32 (IQR, 27-38) and PaO 2 :FIO 2 was 136 (IQR, 96-187) vs 128 (IQR, 92-164) in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Median SOFA score was 6 (IQR, 4-8) in both groups. Mortality on day 28 was not significantly different between groups (35.6% vs 36.1%; difference, −0.5% [95% CI, −7.3% to +6.3%]; hazard ratio, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.77 to 1.24]; P = .94). Intubation rate was not significantly different between groups (38.7% vs 43.8%; difference, −5.1% [95% CI, −12.3% to +2.0%]). Compared with controls, patients randomized to high-flow oxygen therapy had a higher PaO 2 :FIO 2 (150 vs 119; difference, 19.5 [95% CI, 4.4 to 34.6]) and lower respiratory rate after 6 hours (25/min vs 26/min; difference, −1.8/min [95% CI, −3.2 to −0.2]). No significant difference was observed in ICU length of stay (8 vs 6 days; difference, 0.6 [95% CI, −1.0 to +2.2]), ICU-acquired infections (10.0% vs 10.6%; difference, −0.6% [95% CI, −4.6 to +4.1]), hospital length of stay (24 vs 27 days; difference, −2 days [95% CI, −7.3 to +3.3]), or patient comfort and dyspnea scores. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among critically ill immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure, high-flow oxygen therapy did not significantly decrease day-28 mortality compared with standard oxygen therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02739451.

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01915719.