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Abstract Background The clinical impact and outcomes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) have been scarcely investigated in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods Patients admitted over an 18-month period in two intensive care units (ICU) of a university-affiliated hospital and meeting the Berlin criteria for ARDS were retrospectively included. The association between VAP and the probability of death at day 90 (primary endpoint) was appraised through a Cox proportional hazards model handling VAP as a delay entry variable. Secondary endpoints included (i) potential changes in the PaO2/FiO2 ratio and SOFA score values around VAP (linear mixed modelling), and (ii) mechanical ventilation (MV) duration, numbers of ventilator- and vasopressor-free days at day 28, and length of stay (LOS) in patients with and without VAP (median or absolute risk difference calculation). Subgroup analyses were performed in patients with COVID-19-related ARDS and those with ARDS from other causes. Results Among the 336 included patients (101 with COVID-19 and 235 with other ARDS), 176 (52.4%) experienced a first VAP. VAP induced a transient and moderate decline in the PaO2/FiO2 ratio without increase in SOFA score values. VAP was associated with less ventilator-free days (median difference and 95% CI, − 19 [− 20; − 13.5] days) and vasopressor-free days (− 5 [− 9; − 2] days) at day 28, and longer ICU (+ 13 [+ 9; + 15] days) and hospital (+ 11.5 [+ 7.5; + 17.5] days) LOS. These effects were observed in both subgroups. Overall day-90 mortality rates were 35.8% and 30.0% in patients with and without VAP, respectively (P = 0.30). In the whole cohort, VAP (adjusted HR 3.16, 95% CI 2.04–4.89, P

Abstract Background Sepsis is associated with systemic inflammation that may impact lipoprotein function. In particular, high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) that display pleiotropic protective roles may be dysfunctional in septic conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the HDL profile and the inflammatory context in septic shock patients admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU). Methods In this study, 20 septic shock patients and 20 controls (ICU patients without septic shock) were included. Plasma samples were collected on days 1, 2 and 7. Total cholesterol and lipoprotein concentrations were determined. HDL profiles were obtained using the Lipoprint® System (non-denaturing electrophoresis). Quantification of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 1b, 6 and 8), cell-free DNA and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein was also performed. Results HDL concentration was statistically lower in septic shock patients than in controls. At days 1 and 2, septic patients had significantly more large-sized HDL than control patients. Patients recovered a normal lipid profile at day 7. Conclusions Our results emphasize that HDL levels are dramatically decreased in the acute phase of septic shock and that there is a shift toward large HDL particles, which may reflect a major dysfunction of these lipoproteins. Further mechanistic studies are required to explore this shift observed during sepsis.