In summary, only 56.6% of ICU patients receiving SAT had CP. Most strains were susceptible to SAT. A similar 28-day mortality rate was observed among groups; the late administration of SAT significantly worsened the prognosis of patients with less severe CP.

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Continuous monitoring of mixed venous (SvO2) and central venous (ScO2) oxygen saturation was compared in 7 critically-ill patients (Apache II score: 19 +/- 2.1) to determine whether or not information derived from ScO2 were reliable in clinical practice. Patients were catheterized with both a pulmonary artery (PA) and a central venous (CV) catheter, each of them mounted with fiberoptic sensors (Opticath PA Catheter P7110 and Opticath CV Catheter U440, Abbott). A total of 580 comparative measurements were obtained during periods without and with therapeutic interventions (drug-titration, bronchial suction, use of PEEP, changes in FiO2 ...). The systematic error between the 2 measurement techniques was 0.6% and 0.3% in periods with and without therapeutic interventions, respectively. The variability between the 2 techniques was 10% for both periods. Differences between the values were greater than or equal to 5% in 49% of values during periods of stability and in 50% of values during periods with therapeutic interventions. There were poor correlations between the values during periods without (r = 0.48) and with therapeutic interventions (r = 0.62). Better, but still less than ideal, correlations were obtained with changes in SvO2 and ScO2 during periods without (r = 0.70) and with therapeutic interventions (r = 0.77). Although there is a need to develop a simple technique to monitor mixed venous oxygen saturation, the present study indicates that ScO2 monitoring was not reliable in the study patients.

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Objectives: The aim was to assess the incidence of sink contamination by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae, risk factors for sink contamination and splashing, and their association with clinical infections in the intensive care setting. Methods: A prospective French multicentre study (1 January to 30 May 2020) including in each intensive care unit (ICU) a point-prevalence study of sink contamination, a questionnaire of risk factors for sink contamination (sink use, disinfection procedure) and splashing (visible plashes, distance and barrier between sink and bed), and a 3-month prospective infection survey. Results: Seventy-three ICUs participated in the study. In total, 50.9% (606/1191) of the sinks were contaminated by MDR bacteria: 41.0% (110/268) of the sinks used only for handwashing, 55.3% (510/923) of those used for waste disposal, 23.0% (62/269) of sinks daily bleached, 59.1% (126/213) of those daily exposed to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and 62.0% (285/460) of those untreated; 459 sinks (38.5%) showed visible splashes and 30.5% (363/1191) were close to the bed (<2 m) with no barrier around the sink. MDR-associated bloodstream infection incidence rates 0.70/1000 patient days were associated with ICUs meeting three or four of these conditions, i.e. a sink contamination rate 51%, prevalence of sinks with visible splashes 14%, prevalence of sinks close to the patient's bed 21% and no daily bleach disinfection (6/30 (20.0%) of the ICUs with none, one or two factors vs. 14/28 (50.0%) of the ICUs with three or four factors; p 0.016). Discussion: Our data showed frequent and multifactorial infectious risks associated with contaminated sinks in ICUs.