scholarly journals The Use of Dornase Alfa in the Management of COVID-19-Associated Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Andrew Toma ◽  
Christina Darwish ◽  
Michele Taylor ◽  
Justin Harlacher ◽  
Ribal Darwish

Objective. Currently, management of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 infection with invasive mechanical ventilation results in poor prognosis and high mortality rates. Interventions to reduce ventilatory requirements or preclude their needs should be evaluated in order to improve survival rates in critically ill patients. Formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) during the innate immune response could be a contributing factor to the pulmonary pathology. This study suggests the use of dornase alfa, a recombinant DNAse I that lyses NETs, to reduce ventilatory requirements and improve oxygenation status, as well as outcomes in critically ill patients with ARDS subsequent to confirmed or highly suspected COVID-19 infection. Design. A single-institution cohort study. Setting. Intensive care unit in a tertiary medical center. Patients. Adult patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) admitted to the ICU with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Intervention. Treatment with aerosolized dornase alfa. Measurements and Main Results. Of 39 patients evaluated, most patients had improvement in oxygenation measured by increase in the PaO2/FiO2 ratio, reduction in ventilatory support or other supportive oxygen requirements, and partial resolution of bilateral opacities visible on CXR, as well as improved outcome. Conclusions. Administration of inhalational dornase alfa via a filtered nebulizer medication system or through an adapter in a ventilator circuit should be considered in all COVID-19-positive patients with ARDS as early in the disease course as possible.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2935
Author(s):  
Jose Bordon ◽  
Ozan Akca ◽  
Stephen Furmanek ◽  
Rodrigo Silva Cavallazzi ◽  
Sally Suliman ◽  
...  

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia is the main cause of the pandemic’s death toll. The assessment of ARDS and time on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) could enhance the characterization of outcomes and management of this condition. This is a city-wide retrospective study of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia from 5 March 2020 to 30 June 2020. Patients with critical illness were compared with those with non-critical illness. We examined the severity of ARDS and other factors associated with (i) weaning patients off IMV and (ii) mortality in a city-wide study in Louisville, KY. Of 522 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, 219 (41.9%) were critically ill. Among critically ill patients, the median age was 60 years; 53% were male, 55% were White and 32% were African American. Of all critically ill patients, 52% had ARDS, and 38% of these had severe ARDS. Of the 25% of patients who were weaned off IMV, those with severe ARDS were weaned within eleven days versus five days for those without severe ARDS, p = 0.023. The overall mortality for critically ill patients was 22% versus 1% for those not critically ill. Furthermore, the 14-day mortality was 31% for patients with severe ARDS and 12% for patients without severe ARDS, p = 0.019. Patients with severe ARDS versus non-severe ARDS needed twice as long to wean off IMV (eleven versus five days) and had double the 14-day mortality of patients without severe ARDS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Battaglini ◽  
Chiara Robba ◽  
Andrea Fedele ◽  
Sebastian Trancǎ ◽  
Samir Giuseppe Sukkar ◽  
...  

In late December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) quickly spread worldwide, and the syndrome it causes, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has reached pandemic proportions. Around 30% of patients with COVID-19 experience severe respiratory distress and are admitted to the intensive care unit for comprehensive critical care. Patients with COVID-19 often present an enhanced immune response with a hyperinflammatory state characterized by a “cytokine storm,” which may reflect changes in the microbiota composition. Moreover, the evolution to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may increase the severity of COVID-19 and related dysbiosis. During critical illness, the multitude of therapies administered, including antibiotics, sedatives, analgesics, body position, invasive mechanical ventilation, and nutritional support, may enhance the inflammatory response and alter the balance of patients' microbiota. This status of dysbiosis may lead to hyper vulnerability in patients and an inappropriate response to critical circumstances. In this context, the aim of our narrative review is to provide an overview of possible interaction between patients' microbiota dysbiosis and clinical status of severe COVID-19 with ARDS, taking into consideration the characteristic hyperinflammatory state of this condition, respiratory distress, and provide an overview on possible nutritional strategies for critically ill patients with COVID-19-ARDS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1222-1231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine L. Auriemma ◽  
Hanjing Zhuo ◽  
Kevin Delucchi ◽  
Thomas Deiss ◽  
Tom Liu ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 4004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hernández-Beeftink ◽  
Guillen-Guio ◽  
Villar ◽  
Flores

The excessive hospital mortality associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in adults mandates an urgent need for developing new therapies and tools for the early risk assessment of these patients. ARDS is a heterogeneous syndrome with multiple different pathogenetic processes contributing differently in different patients depending on clinical as well as genetic factors. Identifying genetic-based biomarkers holds the promise for establishing effective predictive and prognostic stratification methods and for targeting new therapies to improve ARDS outcomes. Here we provide an updated review of the available evidence supporting the presence of genetic factors that are predictive of ARDS development and of fatal outcomes in adult critically ill patients and that have been identified by applying different genomic and genetic approaches. We also introduce other incipient genomics approximations, such as admixture mapping, metagenomics and genome sequencing, among others, that will allow to boost this knowledge and likely reveal new genetic predictors of ARDS susceptibility and prognosis among critically ill patients.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruxana T. Sadikot ◽  
Arun V. Kolanjiyil ◽  
Clement Kleinstreuer ◽  
Israel Rubinstein

Acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) represent a heterogenous group of lung disease in critically ill patients that continues to have high mortality. Despite the increased understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of ARDS, specific targeted treatments for ARDS have yet to be developed. ARDS represents an unmet medical need with an urgency to develop effective pharmacotherapies. Multiple promising targets have been identified that could lead to the development of potential therapies for ARDS; however, they have been limited because of difficulty with the mode of delivery, especially in critically ill patients. Nanobiotechnology is the basis of innovative techniques to deliver drugs targeted to the site of inflamed organs, such as the lungs. Nanoscale drug delivery systems have the ability to improve the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of agents, allowing an increase in the biodistribution of therapeutic agents to target organs and resulting in improved efficacy with reduction in drug toxicity. Although attractive, delivering nanomedicine to lungs can be challenging as it requires sophisticated systems. Here we review the potential of novel nanomedicine approaches that may prove to be therapeutically beneficial for the treatment of this devastating condition.


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