Sepsis and COVID-19: outcomes in young adults in intensive care.
Talita Andrade Santos, José Edilson de Oliveira, Cassiane Dezoti da Fonseca and 3 others
PMID 38055486WHAT IT FOUND
Young adults admitted to ICU with SARS-CoV-2 infection developed sepsis in 38 of 58 admissions.
Sepsis was associated with emergency unit admission, higher mortality prediction, mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury, and death.
Key findings
01Sepsis occurred in 38 of 58 young adult ICU admissions with SARS-CoV-2, and 42.1% of patients with sepsis died while no patient without sepsis died.
02Admission from the emergency care unit and higher mortality prediction on admission were associated with developing sepsis.
03Among patients with sepsis, 92.11% used vasoactive drugs, 86.34% used mechanical ventilation, and 71.05% developed acute kidney injury.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done at one centre with a small convenience sample, so the rates may not apply to other hospitals or to all young adults with COVID-19. Data came from electronic medical records, and incomplete records led to excluded participants, so missing information may have affected the results. The methods describe including patients who developed sepsis, but the results compare patients with and without sepsis, so the sampling basis is unclear. The study did not report functional, cognitive, or rehabilitation outcomes after discharge, so it cannot guide physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech-language therapy planning.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the death difference as proof that sepsis caused death or that any treatment would have prevented it. This was a retrospective observational study of 58 ICU admissions, and it did not test treatment effects.