BackgroundPrognostic tools for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients are potentially useful for ascertaining prognosis and recommended in guidelines to facilitate streamline assessment and communication between providers. In this systematic review with meta-analysis we identified and characterized all existing prognostic tools for this population, performed a methodological evaluation of the conducting and reporting of such studies and compared different methods of prognostic tool derivation in terms of discrimination for mortality and functional outcome prediction.MethodsPubMed, ISI, Scopus and CENTRAL were searched up to 15th September 2016, with additional studies identified using reference check. Two reviewers independently extracted data regarding the population studied, process of tool derivation, included predictors and discrimination (c statistic) using a predesignated spreadsheet based in the CHARMS checklist. Disagreements were solved by consensus. C statistics were pooled using robust variance estimation and meta-regression was applied for group comparisons using random effect models.ResultsFifty nine studies were retrieved, including 48,133 patients and reporting on the derivation of 72 prognostic tools. Data on discrimination (c statistic) was available for 53 tools, 38 focusing on mortality and 15 focusing on functional outcome. Discrimination was high for both outcomes, with a pooled c statistic of 0.88 for mortality and 0.87 for functional outcome. Forty three tools were regression based and nine tools were derived using machine learning algorithms, with no differences found between the two methods in terms of discrimination (p = 0.490). Several methodological issues however were identified, relating to handling of missing data, low number of events per variable, insufficient length of follow-up, absence of blinding, infrequent use of internal validation, and underreporting of important model performance measures.ConclusionsPrognostic tools for ICH discriminated well for mortality and functional outcome in derivation studies but methodological issues require confirmation of these findings in validation studies. Logistic regression based risk scores are particularly promising given their good performance and ease of application.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12874-018-0613-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Objectives: To systematically assess the discrimination and calibration of the Intracerebral Hemorrhage score for prediction of short-term mortality in intracerebral hemorrhage patients and to study its determinants using heterogeneity analysis. Data Sources: PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and CENTRAL from inception to September 15, 2018. Study Selection: Adult studies validating the Intracerebral Hemorrhage score for mortality prediction in nontraumatic intracerebral hemorrhage at 1 month/discharge or sooner. Data Extraction: Data were collected on the following aspects of study design: population studied, level of care, timing of outcome measurement, mean study year, and mean cohort Intracerebral Hemorrhage score. The summary measures of interest were discrimination as assessed by the C-statistic and calibration as assessed by the standardized mortality ratio (observed:expected mortality ratio). Random effect models were used to pool both measures. Heterogeneity was measured using the I 2 statistic and explored using subgroup analysis and meta-regression. Data Synthesis: Fifty-five studies provided data on discrimination, and 35 studies provided data on calibration. Overall, the Intracerebral Hemorrhage score discriminated well (pooled C-statistic 0.84; 95% CI, 0.82–0.85) but overestimated mortality (pooled observed:expected mortality ratio = 0.87; 95% CI, 0.78–0.97), with high heterogeneity for both estimates (I 2 80% and 84%, respectively). Discrimination was affected by study mean Intracerebral Hemorrhage score (β = –0.05), and calibration was affected by disease severity, with the score overestimating mortality for patients with an Intracerebral Hemorrhage score greater than 3 (observed:expected mortality ratio = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78–0.91). Mortality rates were reproducible across cohorts for patients with an Intracerebral Hemorrhage score 0–1 (I 2 = 15%). Conclusions: The Intracerebral Hemorrhage score is a valid clinical prediction rule for short-term mortality in intracerebral hemorrhage patients but discriminated mortality worse in more severe cohorts. It also overestimated mortality in the highest Intracerebral Hemorrhage score patients, with significant inconsistency between cohorts. These results suggest that mortality for these patients is dependent on factors not included in the score. Further studies are needed to determine these factors.

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Introduction and objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread quickly around the world. Although mainly a respiratory illness, there is growing interest in non-respiratory manifestations, particularly cardiovascular ones. At our center, mobilization of cardiologists with intensive care training was needed. Our aim is to describe patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to a Portuguese intensive care unit (ICU), the cardiovascular impact of the disease and the experience of cardiologists working in a COVID-19 ICU. Methods Data from adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU of Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho between 16 March 2020 and 21 April 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Results Thirty-five patients were admitted. Mean age was 62.6±6.0 years and 23 (65.7%) were male. Dyslipidemia was the most common cardiovascular risk factor (65.7%, n=23), followed by hypertension (57.1%, n=20). Mean ICU stay time was 15.9±10.0 days. Patients had high rates of mechanical ventilation (88.6%, n=31) and vasopressor support (88.6%, n=31). Low rates of new onset left systolic dysfunction were detected (8.5%, n=2). One patient required venoarterial extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation. Mortality was 25% (n=9). Acute myocardial injury and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) elevation was detected in 62.9% (n=22). Patients that died had higher NT-proBNP compared to those discharged alive (p<0.05). Care by cardiologists frequently changed decision making. Conclusions The cardiovascular impact of COVID-19 seems relevant but is still widely unknown. Studies are needed to clarify the role of cardiac markers in COVID-19 prognosis. Multidisciplinary care most likely results in improved patient care.

Multiresistant microorganism infection often can produce a life-threatening situation. We report two cases in which fecal microbiota transplantation used for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection were effective in eradicating colonization by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The presented cases illustrate the potential benefit of fecal microbiota transplantation in resolution of asymptomatic carrier states of multiresistant microorganisms, suggesting the need for further investigations with a view to their applicability in this area.

Background The past years have witnessed dramatic changes in the population admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Older and sicker patients are now commonly treated in this setting due to the newly available sophisticated life support. However, the short- and long-term benefit of this strategy is scarcely studied. Methods The Critically Ill patients’ mortality by age: Long-Term follow-up (CIMbA-LT) was a multicentric, nationwide, retrospective, observational study addressing short- and long-term prognosis of patients admitted to Portuguese multipurpose ICUs, during 4 years, according to their age and disease severity. Patients were followed for two years after ICU admission. The standardized hospital mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated according to the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II and the follow-up risk, for patients discharged alive from the hospital, according to official demographic national data for age and gender. Survival curves were plotted according to age group. Results We included 37.118 patients, including 15.8% over 80 years old. The mean SAPS II score was 42.8 ± 19.4. The ICU all-cause mortality was 16.1% and 76% of all patients survive until hospital discharge. The SAPS II score overestimated hospital mortality [SMR at hospital discharge 0.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63–0.76] but accurately predicted one-year all-cause mortality [1-year SMR 1.01; (95% CI 0.98–1.08)]. Survival curves showed a peak in mortality, during the first 30 days, followed by a much slower survival decline thereafter. Older patients had higher short- and long-term mortality and their hospital SMR was also slightly higher (0.76 vs. 0.69). Patients discharged alive from the hospital had a 1-year relative mortality risk of 6.3; [95% CI 5.8–6.7]. This increased risk was higher for younger patients [21.1; (95% CI 15.1–39.6) vs. 2.4; (95% CI 2.2–2.7) for older patients]. Conclusions Critically ill patients’ mortality peaked in the first 30 days after ICU admission. Older critically ill patients had higher all-cause mortality, including a higher hospital SMR. A long-term increased relative mortality risk was noted in patients discharged alive from the hospital, but this was more noticeable in younger patients.