Objectives: Upper airway injury is a recognized complication of prolonged endotracheal intubation, yet little attention has been paid to the consequences of laryngeal injury and functional impact. The purpose of our study was to prospectively define the incidence of acute laryngeal injury and investigate the impact of injury on breathing and voice outcomes. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Tertiary referral critical care center. Patients: Consecutive adult patients intubated greater than 12 hours in the medical ICU from August 2017 to May 2018 who underwent laryngoscopy within 36 hours of extubation. Interventions: Laryngoscopy following endotracheal intubation. Measurements and Main Results: One hundred consecutive patients (62% male; median age, 58.5 yr) underwent endoscopic examination after extubation. Acute laryngeal injury (i.e., mucosal ulceration or granulation tissue in the larynx) was present in 57 patients (57%). Patients with laryngeal injury had significantly worse patient-reported breathing (Clinical Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Questionnaire: median, 1.05; interquartile range, 0.48–2.10) and vocal symptoms (Voice Handicap Index-10: median, 2; interquartile range, 0–6) compared with patients without injury (Clinical Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Questionnaire: median, 0.20; interquartile range, 0–0.80; p < 0.001; and Voice Handicap Index-10: median, 0; interquartile range, 0–1; p = 0.005). Multivariable logistic regression independently associated diabetes, body habitus, and endotracheal tube size greater than 7.0 with the development of laryngeal injury. Conclusions: Acute laryngeal injury occurs in more than half of patients who receive mechanical ventilation and is associated with significantly worse breathing and voicing 10 weeks after extubation. An endotracheal tube greater than size 7.0, diabetes, and larger body habitus may predispose to injury. Our results suggest that acute laryngeal injury impacts functional recovery from critical illness.

Background Little is known about the relationships between SARS-CoV-2, the respiratory virus responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiome. Objective Our objectives were 1) to compare the URT microbiome between SARS-CoV-2-infected and -uninfected adults, and 2) to examine the association of SARS-CoV-2 viral load with the URT microbiome during COVID-19. Methods We characterized the URT microbiome using 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing in 59 adults (38 with confirmed, symptomatic, mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and 21 asymptomatic, uninfected controls). In those with COVID-19, we measured SARS-CoV-2 viral load using quantitative reverse transcription PCR. We then examined the association of SARS-CoV-2 infection status and its viral load with the ⍺-diversity, β-diversity, and abundance of bacterial taxa of the URT microbiome. Our main models were all adjusted for age and sex. Results The observed species index was significantly higher in SARS-CoV-2-infected than in -uninfected adults (β linear regression coefficient=7.53, 95%CI=0.17-14.89, p =0.045). In differential abundance testing, 9 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were significantly different in both of our comparisons, with Peptoniphilus lacrimalis , Campylobacter hominis , Prevotella 9 copri , and an Anaerococcus unclassified ASV being more abundant in those with SARS-CoV-2 infection and in those with high viral load during COVID-19, whereas Corynebacterium unclassified, Staphylococcus haemolyticus , Prevotella disiens , and 2 Corynebacterium_1 unclassified ASVs were more abundant in those without SARS-CoV-2 infection and in those with low viral load during COVID-19. Conclusion Our findings suggest complex associations between SARS-CoV-2 and the URT microbiome in adults. Future studies are needed to examine how these viral-bacterial interactions can impact the clinical progression, severity, and recovery of COVID-19.

4. Laryngoscope, 127:1600-1603, 2017.

BackgroundThe upper respiratory tract (URT) is the portal of entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and SARS-CoV-2 likely interacts with the URT microbiome. However, understanding of the associations between the URT microbiome and the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still limited.ObjectiveOur primary objective was to identify URT microbiome signature/s that consistently changed over a spectrum of COVID-19 severity.MethodsUsing data from 103 adult participants from two cities in the United States, we compared the bacterial load and the URT microbiome between five groups: 20 asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-negative participants, 27 participants with mild COVID-19, 28 participants with moderate COVID-19, 15 hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19, and 13 hospitalized patients in the ICU with very severe COVID-19.ResultsURT bacterial load, bacterial richness, and within-group microbiome composition dissimilarity consistently increased as COVID-19 severity increased, while the relative abundance of an amplicon sequence variant (ASV), Corynebacterium_unclassified.ASV0002, consistently decreased as COVID-19 severity increased.ConclusionsWe observed that the URT microbiome composition significantly changed as COVID-19 severity increased. The URT microbiome could potentially predict which patients may be more likely to progress to severe disease or be modified to decrease severity. However, further research in additional longitudinal cohorts is needed to better understand how the microbiome affects COVID-19 severity.

How to Cite this Article Kimura KS Freeman MH Wessinger BC et al Interim analysis of an open-label randomized controlled trial evaluating nasal irrigations in non-hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease Int Forum Allergy Rhinol-Response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has primarily focused on pharmacologic and medical interventions, including antivirals, 1 convalescent sera, 2 and vaccinations, 3 with each potentially critical in the fight against COVID-19, particularly among high-risk and hospitalized populations. Non-hospitalized patients with mild to moderate disease comprise an estimated 81% of those affected with COVID-19, 4 and there are currently no widely available interventions with proven ability to hasten symptom resolution or reduce viral shedding. We started an open-label randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effect of nasal irrigation with hypertonic saline (HTS) or saline with surfactant on upper respiratory symptoms and viral load. Viral shedding is highest in the nasal