Background: Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is one of the ultimate treatments for acute respiratory failure. However, the effectiveness of ECMO in patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is unknown.Case Presentation: A 72-year-old woman who was a passenger of a cruise ship tested positive for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) while in quarantine on board using throat swab. Three days after admission, her condition deteriorated, and she was subsequently intubated. On day 6, VV-ECMO was introduced. Lopinavir/ritonavir was given; continuous renal replacement therapy was also introduced. On day 10, her chest radiography and lung compliance improved. She was weaned off ECMO on day 12.Conclusion: Treatment of severe pneumonia in COVID-19 by ECMO should recognize lung plasticity considering time to ECMO introduction and interstitial biomarkers. In Japan, centralization of ECMO patients has not been sufficient. Thus, we suggest nationwide centralization and further research to respond to the crisis caused by COVID-19.

Background Outcomes in emergent patients with suspected infection depend on how quickly clinicians evaluate the patients and start treatment. This study was performed to compare the predictive ability of the quantitative capillary refill time (Q-CRT) as a new rapid index versus the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score for sepsis screening in the emergency department. Methods This was a multicenter, observational, retrospective study of adult patients with suspected infection. The area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve analyses and multivariate analyses were used to explore associations of the Q-CRT with the qSOFA score, SIRS score, and lactate concentration. Results Of the 75 enrolled patients, 48 had sepsis. The AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of Q-CRT were 0.74, 58%, and 81%, respectively; those for the qSOFA score were 0.83, 66%, and 100%, respectively; those for the SIRS score were 0.61, 81%, and 40%, respectively, for SIRS score; and those for the lactate concentration were 0.76, 72%, and 81%, respectively. We found no statistically significant differences in the AUC between the scores. We then combined the Q-CRT and qSOFA score (Q-CRT/qSOFA combination) for sepsis screening. The AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of Q-CRT/qSOFA combination were 0.82, 83%, and 81%, respectively. Conclusions In this study, Q-CRT/qSOFA combination had better sensitivity than the qSOFA score alone and better specificity than the SIRS score alone. There was no significant difference in accuracy between Q-CRT/qSOFA combination and the qSOFA score or lactate concentration. The ability of the Q-CRT to predict sepsis may be similar to that of the qSOFA score or serum lactate concentration; therefore, measurement of the Q-CRT may be an alternative for invasive measurement of the blood lactate concentration in evaluating patients with suspected sepsis. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40560-019-0382-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a rare demyelinating condition which has been reported to occur in a variety of clinical settings, but most commonly in association with a rapid rise in plasma osmolality during correction of chronic hyponatremia. The clinical consequences can vary from a mild motor weakness that resolves completely over time to the devastating locked-in syndrome. In this presentation, we report a case of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome (HHS) with ponto-occipital disintegration. A 71-year-old female was transferred to our ER by an ambulance due to consciousness disorder and continuous fever for 10 days. We diagnosed septic shock caused by urinary tract infection (UTI), cerebral multiple infarctions, acute kidney injury (AKI) and HHS without treatment for diabetes. Then, we started therapeutic interventions for them based on the guideline with severe control for blood sugar (BS; primary 1635 mg/dl) under insulin therapy and hypernatremia (primary 153 mEq/l) under crystal infusion control in advanced care unit, apparently on routine lab data. However, the initial serum sodium value of 153 mEq/l was slowly compensated to 148 mEq/l in 60 hours under guideline on routine lab data, the initial compensated sodium value with osmolality was changed from 178 mEq/l to 150 mEq/l in the period. She recovered from her primary diagnosis and unconsciousness. After stabilized sepsis and HHS, we detected CPM on brain MRI due to following up multiple cerebral infarctions with left leg paralysis and verbal disorder. She gradually recovered over several months with intensive rehabilitation and eventually regained near normal functional capacity with stabilized BS. When we consider HHS with hypernatremia, it may be necessary to pay attention to not only to BS control and sodium control according to the guideline but also to osmolality changes to prevent CPM.

Aim This study compared the clinical outcomes of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pneumonia treated with high‐dose methylprednisolone and other steroids. Methods This retrospective observational study included critically ill COVID‐19 pneumonia adult patients with tracheal intubation treated between April 1, 2020, and September 15, 2021. Of the 46 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 36 received steroid pulse therapy (Group P) and 10 received steroids without pulse therapy (Group NP). Subgroup analyses in Group P by methylprednisolone dose of 1000 or 500 mg for 3 days during intensive care unit stay were carried out. The primary and secondary outcomes were 28‐day mortality and steroid‐associated complications, respectively. Results In the Kaplan–Meier curve analysis, there was no difference in the 28‐day survival between P and NP groups (log–rank P = 0.046). Univariate Cox proportional hazard model also showed that Group P had a decreased 28‐day mortality (hazard ratio 0.30; [95% confidence interval, 0.20–0.44]; P < 0.01). After adjusting for covariates (age, sex, remdesivir, baricitinib, and favipiravir), using the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, Group P had improved 28‐day mortality (0.50 [0.30–0.85], P = 0.01). Conclusion Steroid pulse therapy might improve the 28‐day and in‐hospital mortality in critically ill patients with COVID‐19 pneumonia.