Incidence and Prognostic Value of the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome and Organ Dysfunctions in Ward Patients

Evaluation of ERCP-related perforation: a single-center retrospective study

Background

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-related perforation is a rare and serious adverse event. The aim of our study was to evaluate the risk factors and management of ERCP-related perforation, and to further determine the predictive factors associated with perforation outcome.

Methods

A total of 27,018 ERCP procedures performed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University (Nanchang, China) between January 2007 and March 2022 were included in the investigation of ERCP-related perforation. Medical records and endoscopic data were extracted to analyse the risk factors, management, and clinical outcome of ERCP-related perforation.

Results

Seventy-six patients (0.28%) were identified as having experienced perforation following ERCP. Advanced age, Billroth II anatomy, precut sphincterotomy, and papillary balloon dilatation were significantly associated with ERCP-related perforation. Most patients with perforation (n = 65) were recognized immediately during ERCP whereas 11 were recognized later on. The delay in recognition primarily resulted from stent migration (n = 9). In addition, 12 patients experienced poor clinical outcome including death or hospice discharge (n = 3), ICU admission for >3 days (n = 6), and prolonged hospital stay for >1 month due to perforation (n = 3). Cancer and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) are associated with a higher risk of poor outcome.

Conclusions

Advanced age, Billroth II anatomy, precut sphincterotomy, and balloon dilation increase the risk of ERCP-related perforation whereas cancer and SIRS independently predicted poor clinical outcome.

The relationship between red cell distribution width, serum calcium ratio, and in-hospital mortality among patients with acute respiratory failure: A retrospective cohort study of the MIMIC-IV database

To investigate the impact of RDW/CA (the ratio of red cell distribution width to calcium) on in-hospital mortality in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). This retrospective cohort study analyzed the data of 6981 ARF patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) database 2.0. Critically ill participants between 2008 and 2019 at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The primary outcome of interest was in-hospital mortality. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to determine whether the RDW/CA ratio independently correlated with in-hospital mortality. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the survival curves of the RDW/CA. Subgroup analyses were performed to measure the mortality across various subgroups. After adjusting for potential covariates, we found that a higher RDW/CA was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (HR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.01-1.35, P = .0365) in ARF patients. A nonlinear relationship was observed between RDW/CA and in-hospital mortality, with an inflection point of 1.97. When RDW/CA ≥ 1.97 was positively correlated with in-hospital mortality in patients with ARF (HR = 1.554, 95% CI: 1.183-2.042, P = .0015). The Kaplan-Meier curve indicated the higher survival rates for RDW/CA < 1.97 and the lower for RDW/CA ≥ 1.97 after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, and ethnicity. RDW/CA is an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with ARF. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship was observed between RDW/CA and in-hospital mortality in patients with ARF.

Improving Sepsis Outcomes in the Era of Pay-for-Performance and Electronic Quality Measures: A Joint IDSA/ACEP/PIDS/SHEA/SHM/SIDP Position Paper

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Severe Sepsis/Septic Shock Management Bundle (SEP-1) as a pay-for-reporting measure in 2015 and is now planning to make it a pay-for-performance measure by incorporating it into the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. This joint IDSA/ACEP/PIDS/SHEA/SHM/SIPD position paper highlights concerns with this change. Multiple studies indicate that SEP-1 implementation was associated with increased broad-spectrum antibiotic use, lactate measurements, and aggressive fluid resuscitation for patients with suspected sepsis but not with decreased mortality rates. Increased focus on SEP-1 risks further diverting attention and resources from more effective measures and comprehensive sepsis care. We recommend retiring SEP-1 rather than using it in a payment model and shifting instead to new sepsis metrics that focus on patient outcomes. CMS is developing a community-onset sepsis 30-day mortality electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) that is an important step in this direction. The eCQM preliminarily identifies sepsis using systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria, antibiotic administrations or diagnosis codes for infection or sepsis, and clinical indicators of acute organ dysfunction. We support the eCQM but recommend removing SIRS criteria and diagnosis codes to streamline implementation, decrease variability between hospitals, maintain vigilance for patients with sepsis but without SIRS, and avoid promoting antibiotic use in uninfected patients with SIRS. We further advocate for CMS to harmonize the eCQM with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Adult Sepsis Event surveillance metric to promote unity in federal measures, decrease reporting burden for hospitals, and facilitate shared prevention initiatives. These steps will result in a more robust measure that will encourage hospitals to pay more attention to the full breadth of sepsis care, stimulate new innovations in diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately bring us closer to our shared goal of improving outcomes for patients.

Defining sepsis in small animals

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the definitions of sepsis in human and veterinary medicine.

DESIGN

International, multicenter position statement on the need for consensus definitions of sepsis in veterinary medicine.

SETTING

Veterinary private practice and university teaching hospitals.

ANIMALS

Dogs and cats.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition associated with the body's response to an infection. In human medicine, sepsis has been defined by consensus on 3 occasions, most recently in 2016. In veterinary medicine, there is little uniformity in how sepsis is defined and no consensus on how to identify it clinically. Most publications rely on modified criteria derived from the 1991 and 2001 human consensus definitions. There is a divergence between the human and veterinary descriptions of sepsis and no consensus on how to diagnose the syndrome. This impedes research, hampers the translation of pathophysiology insights to the clinic, and limits our abilities to optimize patient care. It may be time to formally define sepsis in veterinary medicine to help the field move forward. In this narrative review, we present a synopsis of prior attempts to define sepsis in human and veterinary medicine, discuss developments in our understanding, and highlight some criticisms and shortcomings of existing schemes.

CONCLUSIONS

This review is intended to serve as the foundation of current efforts to establish a consensus definition for sepsis in small animals and ultimately generate evidence-based criteria for its recognition in veterinary clinical practice.

Methodological quality of systematic reviews on sepsis treatments: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Systematic reviews (SRs) offer updated evidence to support decision-making on sepsis treatments. However, the rigour of SRs may vary, and methodological flaws may limit their validity in guiding clinical practice. This cross-sectional study appraised the methodological quality of SRs on sepsis treatments.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database for eligible SRs on randomised controlled trials on sepsis treatments with at least one meta-analysis published between 2018 and 2023. We extracted SRs' bibliographical characteristics with a pre-designed form and appraised their methodological quality using AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) 2. We applied logistic regressions to explore associations between bibliographical characteristics and methodological quality ratings.

RESULTS

Among the 102 SRs, two (2.0%) had high overall quality, while respectively four (3.9%), seven (6.9%) and 89 (87.3%) were of moderate, low, and critically low quality. Performance in several critical methodological domains was poor, with only 32 (31.4%) considering the risk of bias in primary studies in result interpretation, 22 (21.6%) explaining excluded primary studies, and 16 (15.7%) applying comprehensive searching strategies. SRs published in higher impact factor journals (adjusted odds ratio: 1.19; 95% confidence interval: 1.05 to 1.36) was associated with higher methodological quality.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodological quality of recent SRs on sepsis treatments is unsatisfactory. Future reviewers should address the above critical methodological aspects. More resources should also be allocated to support continuous training in critical appraisal among healthcare professionals and other evidence users.

Hospital-Onset Sepsis Warrants Expanded Investigation and Consideration as a Unique Clinical Entity

Sepsis causes more than a quarter million deaths among hospitalized adults in the United States each year. Although most cases of sepsis are present on admission, up to one quarter of patients with sepsis develop this highly morbid and mortal condition while hospitalized. Compared with patients with community-onset sepsis (COS), patients with hospital-onset sepsis (HOS) are twice as likely to require mechanical ventilation and ICU admission, have more than two times longer ICU and hospital length of stay, accrue five times higher hospital costs, and are twice as likely to die. Patients with HOS differ from those with COS with respect to underlying comorbidities, admitting diagnosis, clinical manifestations of infection, and severity of illness. Despite the differences between these patient populations, patients with HOS sepsis are understudied and warrant expanded investigation. Here, we outline important knowledge gaps in the recognition and management of HOS in adults and propose associated research priorities for investigators. Of particular importance are questions regarding standardization and reporting of research methods, understanding of clinical heterogeneity among patients with HOS, development of tailored management recommendations, optimization of care delivery and quality metrics, identification and correction of disparities in care and outcomes, and how to ensure goal-concordant care for patients with HOS.

Clinical evaluation of Sepsis-1 and Sepsis-3 in infective endocarditis

BACKGROUND

Sepsis is associated with poor survival outcomes in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). However, the prognostic value of the Sepsis-1 and Sepsis-3 criteria of sepsis for IE patients is unclear.

METHODS

A total of 1354 patients with IE was enrolled and classified into the sepsis and non-sepsis groups according to the Sepsis-1 and Sepsis-3. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to test the predictive performances of the Sepsis-1 and Sepsis-3 in assessing the risk of mortality in patients with IE.

RESULTS

Sepsis was diagnosed in 347 (25.6%) patients according to the Sepsis-1 and 496 (36.6%) patients with the Sepsis-3. The in-hospital mortality rate was 11.5% in the Sepsis-1 group and 14.3% in the Sepsis-3 group. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that both Sepsis-1 (Log-rank = 17.2, p < 0.001) and Sepsis-3 (Log-rank = 94.3, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with 6-month mortality. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that the Sepsis-3 was independently associated with the in-hospital mortality (odds ratio = 2.89, 95% CI 1.68-4.97, p < 0.001) and the 6-month mortality (hazard ratio = 3.24, 95% CI 2.08-5.04, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Sepsis-3 shows better predictive performance than Sepsis-1 criteria in assessing the risk of mortality in patients with IE.

Development and external validation of multimodal postoperative acute kidney injury risk machine learning models

Objectives

To develop and externally validate machine learning models using structured and unstructured electronic health record data to predict postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) across inpatient settings.

Materials and Methods

Data for adult postoperative admissions to the Loyola University Medical Center (2009-2017) were used for model development and admissions to the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2009-2020) were used for validation. Structured features included demographics, vital signs, laboratory results, and nurse-documented scores. Unstructured text from clinical notes were converted into concept unique identifiers (CUIs) using the clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System. The primary outcome was the development of Kidney Disease Improvement Global Outcomes stage 2 AKI within 7 days after leaving the operating room. We derived unimodal extreme gradient boosting machines (XGBoost) and elastic net logistic regression (GLMNET) models using structured-only data and multimodal models combining structured data with CUI features. Model comparison was performed using the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), with Delong's test for statistical differences.

Results

The study cohort included 138 389 adult patient admissions (mean [SD] age 58 [16] years; 11 506 [8%] African-American; and 70 826 [51%] female) across the 2 sites. Of those, 2959 (2.1%) developed stage 2 AKI or higher. Across all data types, XGBoost outperformed GLMNET (mean AUROC 0.81 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.80-0.82] vs 0.78 [95% CI, 0.77-0.79]). The multimodal XGBoost model incorporating CUIs parameterized as term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) showed the highest discrimination performance (AUROC 0.82 [95% CI, 0.81-0.83]) over unimodal models (AUROC 0.79 [95% CI, 0.78-0.80]).

Discussion

A multimodality approach with structured data and TF-IDF weighting of CUIs increased model performance over structured data-only models.

Conclusion

These findings highlight the predictive power of CUIs when merged with structured data for clinical prediction models, which may improve the detection of postoperative AKI.

Surviving Sepsis After Burn Campaign

INTRODUCTION

The Surviving Sepsis Campaign was developed to improve outcomes for all patients with sepsis. Despite sepsis being the primary cause of death after thermal injury, burns have always been excluded from the Surviving Sepsis efforts. To improve sepsis outcomes in burn patients, an international group of burn experts developed the Surviving Sepsis After Burn Campaign (SSABC) as a testable guideline to improve burn sepsis outcomes.

METHODS

The International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) reached out to regional or national burn organizations to recommend members to participate in the program. Two members of the ISBI developed specific "patient/population, intervention, comparison and outcome" (PICO) questions that paralleled the 2021 Surviving Sepsis Campaign [1]. SSABC participants were asked to search the current literature and rate its quality for each topic. At the Congress of the ISBI, in Guadalajara, Mexico, August 28, 2022, a majority of the participants met to create "statements" based on the literature. The "summary statements" were then sent to all members for comment with the hope of developing an 80% consensus. After four reviews, a consensus statement for each topic was created or "no consensus" was reported.

RESULTS

The committee developed sixty statements within fourteen topics that provide guidance for the early treatment of sepsis in burn patients. These statements should be used to improve the care of sepsis in burn patients. The statements should not be considered as "static" comments but should rather be used as guidelines for future testing of the best treatments for sepsis in burn patients. They should be updated on a regular basis.

CONCLUSION

Members of the burn community from the around the world have developed the Surviving Sepsis After Burn Campaign guidelines with the goal of improving the outcome of sepsis in burn patients.

Prognostic Potential of Thrombocyte Indices, Acute Phase Proteins, Electrolytes and Acid-Base Markers in Canine Parvovirus Infected Dogs With Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

Dogs with canine parvovirus enteritis (CPVE) that develop systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) frequently have a poor prognosis. The aim of the study was to assess the prognostic potential of thrombocyte indices, acute phase proteins, electrolytes, and acid-base markers in CPVE puppies with SIRS (CPVE-SIRS+) at admission. A case-controlled, prospective, and observational study was performed on 36 CPVE puppies. Mean concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, thrombocyte count, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), chloride (Cl-) and ionized calcium (iCa) were measured and strong ion difference 3 (SID3), ATOT-albumin and ATOT-total protein were determined in CPVE-SIRS+ survivors and nonsurvivors. A prognostic cut-off value for predicting the disease outcome was determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The mean values of MPV, PDW and CRP were significantly higher and the mean values of albumin, Cl- and ATOT-albumin were significantly lower in CPVE-SIRS+ nonsurvivor than CPVE-SIRS+ survivor puppies on the day of admission, but the thrombocyte count, Na+, K+, iCa, SID3 and ATOT- total protein values did not differ significantly. The positive predictive values (PPVs) for survival using cut-off value of MPV (≤15.08 fL), PDW (≤14.85%), CRP (≤180.7 mg/L), albumin (≥1.795 g/dL), Cl- (≥96.00 mmol/L), and ATOT-albumin (≥7.539) were determined as 100%, 100%, 100%, 80%, 100%, and 80%, respectively with better area under ROC curve and sensitivity. Based on sensitivity, specificity, and PPVs from ROC analysis, it is concluded that the determination of Cl- concentration and MPV at admission followed by CRP will serve as the most appropriate biomarkers in predicting the disease outcome of CPVE puppies that develop SIRS.

Does Prehospital Suspicion of Sepsis Shorten Time to Administration of Antibiotics in the Emergency Department? A Retrospective Study in One University Hospital

Early treatment is the mainstay of sepsis therapy. We suspected that early recognition of sepsis by prehospital healthcare providers may shorten the time for antibiotic administration in the emergency department. We retrospectively evaluated all patients above 18 years of age who were diagnosed with sepsis or severe infection in our emergency department between 2018 and 2020. We recorded the suspected diagnosis at the time of presentation, the type of referring healthcare provider, and the time until initiation of antibiotic treatment. Differences between groups were calculated using the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. Of the 277 patients who were diagnosed with severe infection or sepsis in the emergency department, an infection was suspected in 124 (44.8%) patients, and sepsis was suspected in 31 (11.2%) patients by referring healthcare providers. Time to initiation of antibiotic treatment was shorter in patients where sepsis or infection had been suspected prior to arrival for both patients with severe infections (p = 0.022) and sepsis (p = 0.004). Given the well-described outcome benefits of early sepsis therapy, recognition of sepsis needs to be improved. Appropriate scores should be used as part of routine patient assessment to reduce the time to antibiotic administration and improve patient outcomes.

Evaluation of Sepsis-1 and Sepsis-3 Diagnostic Criteria in Patients with Sepsis in Intensive Care Unit

Background

The use of SIRS and SOFA criteria in diagnosing sepsis among patients has been characterized by increasingly growing criticism. Indeed, the definition of sepsis has attracted significant controversy in history across medical and academic realms.

Methods

The study used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III (MIMIC-III) database in assessing the effectiveness of the SIRS and SOFA diagnostic criteria. It ascertained the severity and specificity of sepsis infection in ICU patients. The Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III (MIMIC-III) database was established by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and MIT's Computational Physiology Laboratory. The database is a voluminous single-center database containing information pertaining to 38,000 adults who were admitted to the BIDMC in the 11 years leading up to 2012. The identification of patients with sepsis was conducted using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM) diagnosis codes.

Results

The analysis of data for this study was based on the chi-square test, which is significant in comparing the specificity, mortality, and sensitivity of the data. The process of screening the MIMIC-III database resulted in the identification of 21,368 patients with infections from the hospital admissions in the database. The results also indicate a significantly higher mortality rate within 28 days of admission in sepsis-3 patients compared with sepsis-1. In this experiment, we limited the study period to 28 days to restrict the potential of mortality caused by other factors. Additionally, we evaluated the clinical factors associated with the sepsis-1 or sepsis-3 and found out similar results in the analysis for sepsis-1 and sepsis-3.

Conclusions

The study results also portray numerous challenges in using the sepsis-3 criteria as a diagnostic tool. In particular, the ICD-10-CM diagnosis approach was limiting because it inhibited the measure of uncertainty of infection present at the beginning of the two diagnostic criteria of sepsis-1 and sepsis-3.

The Value of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score and Serum Lactate Level in Sepsis and Its Use in Predicting Mortality

Background and objective Sepsis is a major health burden that leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis and severity prediction using various scoring systems can reduce the mortality rate, particularly in developing nations. There are two aims of this study. One is to evaluate the prognostic accuracy of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and serum lactate levels in patients with sepsis to predict mortality. The other aim is to evaluate the relationship between the SOFA score and lactate so that we may be able to use lactate as a surrogate predictor of organ dysfunction and mortality in sepsis. Methods An observational prognostic accuracy study was conducted in the Department of General Surgery, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, between 1 July 2021 and 1 October 2022. We selected 128 patients, calculated their SOFA and lactate levels, and divided them into survivors and non-survivors according to their outcomes after seven days of assessment. The SOFA score and serum lactate levels were assessed as predictors of mortality, and their correlation was studied. Results We observed a significant decreasing trend in the value of the mean SOFA, maximum SOFA, mean lactate, and maximum lactate among survivors, whereas an increasing trend for the same was observed in non-survivors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed the best diagnostic accuracy of the mean lactate (area under the curve {AUC}=0.996, 95% confidence interval {CI}=0.964-1.00, p≤0.0001). The maximum lactate (AUC=0.987, 95% CI=0.949-0.999, p≤0.0001) and mean SOFA scores (AUC=0.986, 95% CI=0.948-0.999, p≤0.0001) were good at predicting the mortality in sepsis. A slightly lower diagnostic accuracy was found for the maximum SOFA score (AUC=0.969, 95% CI=0.923-0.992, p≤0.0001). There was a strong correlation between the mean lactate and the mean SOFA with a correlation coefficient of 0.883 and p=0.0001. A good correlation was found between maximum lactate and maximum SOFA too (correlation coefficient=0.873, p≤0.0001). Conclusion This study highlights the different predictors of mortality in the patients with sepsis. The maximum lactate was the most accurate in predicting mortality in sepsis. It also demonstrates how serum lactate, due to its strong correlation with the SOFA score, can be used in its place to predict mortality in sepsis and organ dysfunction.

Development and validation of the UCSS score, a novel method to predict septic shock after PCNL

OBJECTIVE

To develop an objective and easily recognizable model to predict septic shock following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

First, we identified differences between 431 patients who underwent PCNL with or without septic shock. These data were used to develop existing models and examine their improvement. Multivariate analysis was applied to identify risk factors of septic shock after PCNL based on the scores allocated to the PCNL postoperative test indicators. Finally, we developed a predictive nomogram using the selected factors and compared its performance with that of the existing nomograms SOFA, qSOFA, and SIRS.

RESULTS

Twelve (2.8%) of the patients met the criteria for postoperative septic shock after PCNL. Baseline data analysis revealed differences in sex, preoperative drainage, urinary culture, and urinary leukocyte between groups. After transforming patient data into measurement-level data, we investigated each index score in these conditions, and found that the incidence of septic shock generally increased with the score. Multivariate analysis and early optimization screening revealed that septic shock factors could be predicted using platelets, leukocytes, bilirubin, and procalcitonin levels. We further compared the prediction accuracy of urinary calculi-associated septic shock (UCSS), SOFA, qSOFA, and SIRS scores using the AUC of the ROC curve. As compared to SIRS [AUC 0.938 (95% CI 0.910-0.959)] and qSOFA [AUC 0.930 (95% CI 0.901-0.952)], UCSS [AUC 0.974 (95% Cl 0.954-0.987)] and SOFA [AUC 0.974 (95% CI 0.954-0.987)] scored better at discriminating septic shock after PCNL. We further compared the ROC curves of UCSS with SOFA (95% CI - 0.800 to 0.0808, P = 0.992), qSOFA (95% CI - 0.0611 to 0.0808, P = 0.409), and SIRS (95% CI - 0.0703 to 0.144, P = 0.502), finding that UCSS was non-inferior to these models.

CONCLUSIONS

UCSS, a new convenient and cost-effective model, can predict septic shock following PCNL and provide more accurate discriminative and corrective capability than existing models by including only objective data. The predictive value of UCSS for septic shock after PCNL was greater than that of qSOFA or SIRS scores.

Comparison of time series clustering methods for identifying novel subphenotypes of patients with infection

OBJECTIVE

Severe infection can lead to organ dysfunction and sepsis. Identifying subphenotypes of infected patients is essential for personalized management. It is unknown how different time series clustering algorithms compare in identifying these subphenotypes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with suspected infection admitted between 2014 and 2019 to 4 hospitals in Emory healthcare were included, split into separate training and validation cohorts. Dynamic time warping (DTW) was applied to vital signs from the first 8 h of hospitalization, and hierarchical clustering (DTW-HC) and partition around medoids (DTW-PAM) were used to cluster patients into subphenotypes. DTW-HC, DTW-PAM, and a previously published group-based trajectory model (GBTM) were evaluated for agreement in subphenotype clusters, trajectory patterns, and subphenotype associations with clinical outcomes and treatment responses.

RESULTS

There were 12 473 patients in training and 8256 patients in validation cohorts. DTW-HC, DTW-PAM, and GBTM models resulted in 4 consistent vitals trajectory patterns with significant agreement in clustering (71-80% agreement, P < .001): group A was hyperthermic, tachycardic, tachypneic, and hypotensive. Group B was hyperthermic, tachycardic, tachypneic, and hypertensive. Groups C and D had lower temperatures, heart rates, and respiratory rates, with group C normotensive and group D hypotensive. Group A had higher odds ratio of 30-day inpatient mortality (P < .01) and group D had significant mortality benefit from balanced crystalloids compared to saline (P < .01) in all 3 models.

DISCUSSION

DTW- and GBTM-based clustering algorithms applied to vital signs in infected patients identified consistent subphenotypes with distinct clinical outcomes and treatment responses.

CONCLUSION

Time series clustering with distinct computational approaches demonstrate similar performance and significant agreement in the resulting subphenotypes.

Early prediction of MODS interventions in the intensive care unit using machine learning

Background

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is one of the leading causes of death in critically ill patients. MODS is the result of a dysregulated inflammatory response that can be triggered by various causes. Owing to the lack of an effective treatment for patients with MODS, early identification and intervention are the most effective strategies. Therefore, we have developed a variety of early warning models whose prediction results can be interpreted by Kernel SHapley Additive exPlanations (Kernel-SHAP) and reversed by diverse counterfactual explanations (DiCE). So we can predict the probability of MODS 12 h in advance, quantify the risk factors, and automatically recommend relevant interventions.

Methods

We used various machine learning algorithms to complete the early risk assessment of MODS, and used a stacked ensemble to improve the prediction performance. The kernel-SHAP algorithm was used to quantify the positive and minus factors corresponding to the individual prediction results, and finally, the DiCE method was used to automatically recommend interventions. We completed the model training and testing based on the MIMIC-III and MIMIC-IV databases, in which the sample features in the model training included the patients' vital signs, laboratory test results, test reports, and data related to the use of ventilators.

Results

The customizable model called SuperLearner, which integrated multiple machine learning algorithms, had the highest authenticity of screening, and its Yordon index (YI), sensitivity, accuracy, and utility_score on the MIMIC-IV test set were 0.813, 0.884, 0.893, and 0.763, respectively, which were all maximum values of eleven models. The area under the curve of the deep-wide neural network (DWNN) model on the MIMIC-IV test set was 0.960, and the specificity was 0.935, which were both the maximum values of all these models. The Kernel-SHAP algorithm combined with SuperLearner was used to determine the minimum value of glasgow coma scale (GCS) in the current hour (OR = 0.609, 95% CI   0.606-0.612), maximum value of MODS score corresponding to GCS in the past 24 h (OR = 2.632, 95% CI 2.588-2.676), and maximum score of MODS corresponding to creatinine in the past 24 h (OR = 3.281, 95% CI   3.267-3.295) were generally the most influential factors.

Conclusion

The MODS early warning model based on machine learning algorithms has considerable application value, and the prediction efficiency of SuperLearner is superior to those of SubSuperLearner, DWNN, and other eight common machine learning models. Considering that the attribution analysis of Kernel-SHAP is a static analysis of the prediction results, we introduce the DiCE algorithm to automatically recommend counterfactuals to reverse the prediction results, which will be an important step towards the practical application of automatic MODS early intervention.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40537-023-00719-2.

The utility of the Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS) compared with three other early warning scores in predicting in-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients in the emergency department: a multicenter validation study

BACKGROUND

Many early warning scores (EWSs) have been validated to prognosticate adverse outcomes of COVID-19 in the Emergency Department (ED), including the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), and the National Early Warning Score (NEWS). However, the Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS) has not been widely validated for this purpose. We aimed to assess and compare the prognostic utility of REMS with that of qSOFA, MEWS, and NEWS for predicting mortality in emergency COVID-19 patients.

METHODS

We conducted a multi-center retrospective study at five EDs of various levels of care in Thailand. Adult patients visiting the ED who tested positive for COVID-19 prior to ED arrival or within the index hospital visit between January and December 2021 were included. Their EWSs at ED arrival were calculated and analysed. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcome was mechanical ventilation.

RESULTS

A total of 978 patients were included in the study; 254 (26%) died at hospital discharge, and 155 (15.8%) were intubated. REMS yielded the highest discrimination capacity for in-hospital mortality (the area under the receiver operator characteristics curves (AUROC) 0.771 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.738, 0.804)), which was significantly higher than qSOFA (AUROC 0.620 (95%CI 0.589, 0.651); p < 0.001), MEWS (AUROC 0.657 (95%CI 0.619, 0.694); p < 0.001), and NEWS (AUROC 0.732 (95%CI 0.697, 0.767); p = 0.037). REMS was also the best EWS in terms of calibration, overall model performance, and balanced diagnostic accuracy indices at its optimal cutoff. REMS also performed better than other EWSs for mechanical ventilation.

CONCLUSION

REMS was the early warning score with the highest prognostic utility as it outperformed qSOFA, MEWS, and NEWS in predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients in the ED.

Comparison of the Diagnostic Accuracies of Monocyte Distribution Width, Procalcitonin, and C-Reactive Protein for Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES

We performed a systemic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of monocyte distribution width (MDW) and to compare with procalcitonin and C-reactive protein (CRP), in adult patients with sepsis.

DATA SOURCES

A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify all relevant diagnostic accuracy studies published before October 1, 2022.

STUDY SELECTION

Original articles reporting the diagnostic accuracy of MDW for sepsis detection with the Sepsis-2 or Sepsis-3 criteria were included.

DATA EXTRACTION

Study data were abstracted by two independent reviewers using a standardized data extraction form.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Eighteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MDW were 84% (95% CI [79-88%]) and 68% (95% CI [60-75%]). The estimated diagnostic odds ratio and the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) were 11.11 (95% CI [7.36-16.77]) and 0.85 (95% CI [0.81-0.89]). Significant heterogeneity was observed among the included studies. Eight studies compared the diagnostic accuracies of MDW and procalcitonin, and five studies compared the diagnostic accuracies of MDW and CRP. For MDW versus procalcitonin, the area under the SROC was similar (0.88, CI = 0.84-0.93 vs 0.82, CI = 0.76-0.88). For MDW versus CRP, the area under the SROC was similar (0.88, CI = 0.83-0.93 vs 0.86, CI = 0.78-0.95).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the meta-analysis indicate that MDW is a reliable diagnostic biomarker for sepsis as procalcitonin and CRP. Further studies investigating the combination of MDW and other biomarkers are advisable to increase the accuracy in sepsis detection.

Development of a Nomogram for Predicting Mortality Risk in Sepsis Patients During Hospitalization: A Retrospective Study

Purpose

We attempted to establish a model for predicting the mortality risk of sepsis patients during hospitalization.

Patients and Methods

Data on patients with sepsis were collected from a clinical record mining database, who were hospitalized at the Affiliated Dongyang Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between January 2013 and August 2022. These included patients were divided into modeling and validation groups. In the modeling group, the independent risk factors of death during hospitalization were determined using univariate and multi-variate regression analyses. After stepwise regression analysis (both directions), a nomogram was drawn. The discrimination ability of the model was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the GiViTI calibration chart assessed the model calibration. The Decline Curve Analysis (DCA) was performed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the prediction model. Among the validation group, the logistic regression model was compared to the models established by the SOFA scoring system, random forest method, and stacking method.

Results

A total of 1740 subjects were included in this study, 1218 in the modeling population and 522 in the validation population. The results revealed that serum cholinesterase, total bilirubin, respiratory failure, lactic acid, creatinine, and pro-brain natriuretic peptide were the independent risk factors of death. The AUC values in the modeling group and validation group were 0.847 and 0.826. The P values of calibration charts in the two population sets were 0.838 and 0.771. The DCA curves were above the two extreme curves. Moreover, the AUC values of the models established by the SOFA scoring system, random forest method, and stacking method in the validation group were 0.777, 0.827, and 0.832, respectively.

Conclusion

The nomogram model established by combining multiple risk factors could effectively predict the mortality risk of sepsis patients during hospitalization.

Validation of Sepsis-3 using survival analysis and clinical evaluation of quick SOFA, SIRS, and burn-specific SIRS for sepsis in burn patients with suspected infection

PURPOSE

Sepsis-3 is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by dysregulated host responses to infection; and defined using the Sepsis-3 criteria, introduced in 2016, however, the criteria need to be validated in specific clinical fields. We investigated mortality prediction and compared the diagnostic performance of quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and burn-specific SIRS (bSIRS) in burn patients.

METHODS

This single-center retrospective cohort study examined burn patients in Seoul, Korea during January 2010-December 2020. Overall, 1,391 patients with suspected infection were divided into four sepsis groups using SOFA, qSOFA, SIRS, and burn-specific SIRS.

RESULTS

Hazard ratios (HRs) of all unadjusted models were statistically significant; however, the HR (0.726, p = 0.0080.001) in the SIRS ≥2 group is below 1. In the adjusted model, HRs of the SOFA ≥2 (2.426, <0.001), qSOFA ≥2 (7.198, p<0.001), and SIRS ≥2 (0.575, p<0.001) groups were significant. The diagnostic performance of dichotomized qSOFA, SIRS, and bSIRS for sepsis was defined by the Sepsis-3 criteria. The mean onset day was 4.13±2.97 according to Sepsis-3. The sensitivity of SIRS (0.989, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.982-0.994) was higher than that of qSOFA (0.841, 95% CI: 0.819-0.861) and bSIRS (0.803, 95% CI: 0.779-0.825). Specificities of qSOFA (0.929, 95% CI: 0.876-0.964) and bSIRS (0.922, 95% CI: 0.868-0.959) were higher than those of SIRS (0.461, 95% CI: 0.381-0.543).

CONCLUSION

Sepsis-3 is a good alternative diagnostic tool because it reflects sepsis severity without delaying diagnosis. SIRS showed higher sensitivity than qSOFA and bSIRS and may therefore more adequately diagnose sepsis.

Prognostic Accuracy of the Different Scoring Systems for Assessing Coagulopathy in Sepsis: A Retrospective Study

There is no gold standard for the diagnosis of coagulation dysfunction in sepsis, and the use of the current scoring systems is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC), the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (JAAM DIC), and the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis overt DIC (ISTH overt-DIC). The relationship between each scoring system and 28-day all-cause mortality was examined. Among 452 patients (mean age, 65 [48,76] years), 306 [66.7%] were men, the median SOFA score was 6 [4,9], and the median APACHE II score was 15 [11,22]. A total of 132 patients (29.2%) died within 28 days. Both the diagnosis of SIC (AUROC, 0.779 [95% CI, 0.728-0.830], P < 0.001) and ISTH overt-DIC (AUROC, 0.782 [95% CI, 0.732-0.833], P < 0.001) performed equally well in the discrimination of 28-day all-cause mortality (between-group difference: SIC versus ISTH overt-DIC, -0.003 [95% CI, -0.025-0.018], P = 0.766). However, the SIC demonstrated greater calibration for 28-day all-cause mortality than ISTH overt-DIC (the coincidence of the calibration curve of the former is higher than that of the latter). The diagnosis of JAAM DIC was not independently associated with 28-day all-cause mortality in sepsis (RR, 1.115, [95% CI 0.660-1.182], P = 0.684). The SIC scoring system demonstrated superior prognostic prediction ability in comparison with the others and is the most appropriate standard for diagnosing coagulopathy in sepsis.

Ciprofloxacin Alone vs. Ciprofloxacin plus an Aminoglycoside for the Prevention of Infectious Complications following a Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Biopsy: A Retrospective Cohort Study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of augmented prophylaxis (ciprofloxacin augmented with an aminoglycoside) compared with that of empirical prophylaxis (ciprofloxacin alone) on transrectal post-prostate biopsy infectious complication (PBIC) rates. A retrospective cohort study evaluated 2835 patients receiving either augmented or empirical prophylactic regimen before undergoing a transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy between January 2010 and October 2018. The patients were compared according to prophylactic regimen received. The incidence of PBICs and the impact of risk factors were evaluated. A total of 1849 patients received the empirical regimen, and 986 patients received the augmented regimen. The composite PBIC rate was 2.1% (n = 39) and 0.9% (n = 9) (p = 0.019), respectively, and the SIRS rate was 1.9% and 0.8% (p = 0.020), respectively. Of the 50 patients presenting with a PBIC, 29 (58%) had positive cultures (blood and/or urine) for Escherichia coli, of which 28 (97%) were ciprofloxacin-resistant. Taking a fluoroquinolone in the previous 6 months and having a previous urinary tract infection within 1 year prior to the biopsy had significant impact on PBIC rates (p = 0.009 and p = 0.011, respectively). Compared with ciprofloxacin alone, augmented prophylaxis was associated with significantly lower PBICs.

Performance effectiveness of vital parameter combinations for early warning of sepsis-an exhaustive study using machine learning

Objective

To carry out exhaustive data-driven computations for the performance of noninvasive vital signs heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2), and temperature (Temp), considered both independently and in all possible combinations, for early detection of sepsis.

Materials and methods

By extracting features interpretable by clinicians, we applied Gradient Boosted Decision Tree machine learning on a dataset of 2630 patients to build 240 models. Validation was performed on a geographically distinct dataset. Relative to onset, predictions were clocked as per 16 pairs of monitoring intervals and prediction times, and the outcomes were ranked.

Results

The combination of HR and Temp was found to be a minimal feature set yielding maximal predictability with area under receiver operating curve 0.94, sensitivity of 0.85, and specificity of 0.90. Whereas HR and RR each directly enhance prediction, the effects of SpO2 and Temp are significant only when combined with HR or RR. In benchmarking relative to standard methods Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS), National Early Warning Score (NEWS), and quick-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), Vital-SEP outperformed all 3 of them.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that using intensive care unit data even 2 vital signs are adequate to predict sepsis upto 6 h in advance with promising accuracy comparable to standard scoring methods and other sepsis predictive tools reported in literature. Vital-SEP can be used for fast-track prediction especially in limited resource hospital settings where laboratory based hematologic or biochemical assays may be unavailable, inaccurate, or entail clinically inordinate delays. A prospective study is essential to determine the clinical impact of the proposed sepsis prediction model and evaluate other outcomes such as mortality and duration of hospital stay.

Sensitivity and specificity of monocyte distribution width (MDW) in detecting patients with infection and sepsis in patients on sepsis pathway in the emergency department

Purpose

Monocyte distribution width (MDW) is a biomarker for the early identification of sepsis. We assessed its accuracy in patients presenting with suspected sepsis in the emergency department (ED).

Methods

This was a single gate, single centre study in consecutive adults (≥ 18 years) admitted to the ED with suspected sepsis and clinical history compatible with infection, between 01 January and 31 December 2020 (n = 2570).

Results

The overall median MDW was 22.0 (IQR 19.3, 25.6). Using Sepsis-3 (qSOFA) to define sepsis, the Area Under Curve (AUC) for a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) relationship was 0.59 (95% CI 0.56, 0.61). Discrimination was similar using other clinical scores, and to that of C-reactive protein. At an MDW cutoff of 20.0, sensitivity was 0.76 (95% CI 0.73, 0.80) and specificity 0.35 (95% CI 0.33, 0.37) for Sepsis-3. MDW showed better performance to discriminate infection, with AUC 0.72 (95% CI 0.69, 0.75). At MDW 20.0, sensitivity for infection was 0.72 (95% CI 0.70, 0.74) and specificity 0.64 (95% CI 0.59, 0.70). A sensitivity analysis excluding coronavirus disease (COVID-19) admissions (n = 552) had no impact on the AUC. MDW distribution at admission was similar for bacteraemia and COVID-19.

Conclusions

In this population of ED admissions with a strong clinical suspicion of sepsis, MDW had a performance to identify sepsis comparable to that of other commonly used biomarkers. In this setting, MDW could be a useful additional marker of infection.

Development and validation of novel sepsis subphenotypes using trajectories of vital signs

PURPOSE

Sepsis is a heterogeneous syndrome and identification of sub-phenotypes is essential. This study used trajectories of vital signs to develop and validate sub-phenotypes and investigated the interaction of sub-phenotypes with treatment using randomized controlled trial data.

METHODS

All patients with suspected infection admitted to four academic hospitals in Emory Healthcare between 2014-2017 (training cohort) and 2018-2019 (validation cohort) were included. Group-based trajectory modeling was applied to vital signs from the first 8 h of hospitalization to develop and validate vitals trajectory sub-phenotypes. The associations between sub-phenotypes and outcomes were evaluated in patients with sepsis. The interaction between sub-phenotype and treatment with balanced crystalloids versus saline was tested in a secondary analysis of SMART (Isotonic Solutions and Major Adverse Renal Events Trial).

RESULTS

There were 12,473 patients with suspected infection in training and 8256 patients in validation cohorts, and 4 vitals trajectory sub-phenotypes were found. Group A (N = 3483, 28%) were hyperthermic, tachycardic, tachypneic, and hypotensive. Group B (N = 1578, 13%) were hyperthermic, tachycardic, tachypneic (not as pronounced as Group A) and hypertensive. Groups C (N = 4044, 32%) and D (N = 3368, 27%) had lower temperatures, heart rates, and respiratory rates, with Group C normotensive and Group D hypotensive. In the 6,919 patients with sepsis, Groups A and B were younger while Groups C and D were older. Group A had the lowest prevalence of congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease, while Group B had the highest prevalence. Groups A and D had the highest vasopressor use (p < 0.001 for all analyses above). In logistic regression, 30-day mortality was significantly higher in Groups A and D (p < 0.001 and p = 0.03, respectively). In the SMART trial, sub-phenotype significantly modified treatment effect (p = 0.03). Group D had significantly lower odds of mortality with balanced crystalloids compared to saline (odds ratio (OR) 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.23-0.67, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Sepsis sub-phenotypes based on vital sign trajectory were consistent across cohorts, had distinct outcomes, and different responses to treatment with balanced crystalloids versus saline.

Cervical vasovagal shock: A rare complication of incomplete abortion case report

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

Cervical vasovagal shock is termed as stimulation either by instruments or products of conception at cervical os results into bradycardia and hypotension. In primary care settings cervical vasovagal shock can occur during insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) or any cervical stimulation during physical examination. This case we highlight an uncommon complication of incomplete abortion which is the rare cause of cervical vasovagal shock.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 42-year-old Gravida 3 Para 2 Living 2 with Gestational age of 12 weeks presented with vaginal spotting for 2 days. Initial examination she was conscious with normal vital signs. However, after initiation of medical management of incomplete abortion, she had increased per vaginal bleeding with hypotension and bradycardia. Speculum examination was done; this revealed products of conceptus in cervical os and a diagnosis of cervical vasovagal shock was made. Patient was then counselled for evacuation and informed consent was sought. She was taken for evacuation; suction and gentle curettage was done. Post evacuation patients' vitals returned to normal ranges, and patient taken to the ward to continue with post procedure management.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION

Bleeding in the first trimester is a common presentation in up to 30 % in early pregnancies and more than 50 % of those will go on to have a normal pregnancy. Most patients with incomplete abortion present at emergence department with shock, this will commonly be due to sepsis, hypovolemia, or haemorrhage. In this case report with discuss a rare cause of shock in women with incomplete abortion.

CONCLUSION

Cervical vasovagal effect of the products of conception passing through the cervix causes a reflex bradycardia. It is crucial as physician attending women with incomplete abortion to make sure all the product of conception are passed out and in situation if there is remaining products of conception in the cervix should be removed using a sponge-holding forceps to prevent vasovagal stimulation in the cervix.

Axial light loss of monocytes as a readily available prognostic biomarker in patients with suspected infection at the emergency department

Objectives

To evaluate the prognostic value of the coefficient of variance of axial light loss of monocytes (cv-ALL of monocytes) for adverse clinical outcomes in patients suspected of infection in the emergency department (ED).

Methods

We performed an observational, retrospective monocenter study including all medical patients ≥18 years admitted to the ED between September 2016 and June 2019 with suspected infection. Adverse clinical outcomes included 30-day mortality and ICU/MCU admission <3 days after presentation. We determined the additional value of monocyte cv-ALL and compared to frequently used clinical prediction scores (SIRS, qSOFA, MEWS). Next, we developed a clinical model with routinely available parameters at the ED, including cv-ALL of monocytes.

Results

A total of 3526 of patients were included. The OR for cv-ALL of monocytes alone was 2.21 (1.98–2.47) for 30-day mortality and 2.07 (1.86–2.29) for ICU/MCU admission <3 days after ED presentation. When cv-ALL of monocytes was combined with a clinical score, the prognostic accuracy increased significantly for all tested scores (SIRS, qSOFA, MEWS). The maximum AUC for a model with routinely available parameters at the ED was 0.81 to predict 30-day mortality and 0.81 for ICU/MCU admission.

Conclusions

Cv-ALL of monocytes is a readily available biomarker that is useful as prognostic marker to predict 30-day mortality. Furthermore, it can be used to improve routine prediction of adverse clinical outcomes at the ED.

Clinical trial registration

Registered in the Dutch Trial Register (NTR) und number 6916.

Screening for infectious maternal morbidity - knowledge, attitudes and perceptions among healthcare providers and managers in Malawi: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Maternal morbidity and mortality related to infection is an international public health concern, but detection and assessment is often difficult as part of routine maternity care in many low- and middle-income countries due to lack of easily accessible diagnostics. Front-line healthcare providers are key for the early identification and management of the unwell woman who may have infection. We sought to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of the use of screening tools to detect infectious maternal morbidity during and after pregnancy as part of routine antenatal and postnatal care. Enabling factors, barriers, and potential management options for the use of early warning scores were explored.

METHODS

Key informant interviews (n = 10) and two focus group discussions (n = 14) were conducted with healthcare providers and managers (total = 24) working in one large tertiary public hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. Transcribed interviews were coded by topic and then grouped into categories. Thematic framework analysis was undertaken to identify emerging themes.

RESULTS

Most healthcare providers are aware of the importance of the early detection of infection and would seek to better identify women with infection if resources were available to do so. In current practice, an early warning score was used in the high dependency unit only. Routine screening was not in place in the antenatal or postnatal departments. Barriers to implementing routine screening included lack of trained staff and time, lack of thermometers, and difficulties with the interpretation of the early warning scores. A locally adapted early warning screening tool was considered an enabler to implementing routine screening for infectious morbidity. Local ownership and clinical leadership were considered essential for successful and sustainable implementation for clinical change.

CONCLUSIONS

Although healthcare providers considered infection during and after pregnancy and childbirth a danger sign and significant morbidity, standardised screening for infectious maternal morbidity was not part of routine antenatal or postnatal care. The establishment of such a service requires the availability of free and easy to access rapid diagnostic testing, training in interpretation of results, as well as affordable targeted treatment. The implementation of early warning scores and processes developed in high-income countries need careful consideration and validation when applied to women accessing care in low resource settings.

Predictive accuracy of the modified SOFA score, SIRS criteria, and qSOFA score for uroseptic shock after mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy

The purpose of this study was to determine the plausibility and utility of utilizing a modified SOFA (mSOFA) score for predicting uroseptic shock after mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy. A cohort of 707 patients who received mini-PCNL from August 2019 to December 2020 was retrospectively evaluated. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to compare the predictive value of septic shock between mSOFA, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and qSOFA. Among 707 patients, 24 patients experienced uroseptic shock after mini-PCNL. Compared with the no uroseptic shock group, the proportion of females and rates of preoperative urine culture, renal pelvis urine culture and stone culture positivity were higher in the uroseptic shock group, with high levels of preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) and postoperative procalcitonin (PCT). In the uroseptic shock group, the mSOFA score increased by two or more points in 83.3%; 79.2% had at least two SIRS criteria, and 100% had a qSOFA score of at least one point. mSOFA score (AUROC = 0.866, 95% CI: 0.779-0.954) exhibited greater discrimination for uroseptic shock after PCNL than SIRS (AUROC = 0.838, 95% CI: 0.742-0.943) and qSOFA (AUROC = 0.851, 95% CI: 0.811-0.892). In conclusion, the predictive value of the modified SOFA score for uroseptic shock after mini-PCNL was greater than that of the qSOFA score or SIRS.

Cluster analysis integrating age and body temperature for mortality in patients with sepsis: a multicenter retrospective study

It is not clear whether mortality is associated with body temperature (BT) in older sepsis patients. This study aimed to evaluate the mortality rates in sepsis patients according to age and BT and identify the risk factors for mortality. We investigated the clusters using a machine learning method based on a combination of age and BT, and identified the mortality rates according to these clusters. This retrospective multicenter study was conducted at five hospitals in Korea. Data of sepsis patients aged ≥ 18 years who were admitted to the intensive care unit between January 1, 2011 and April 30, 2021 were collected. BT was divided into three groups (hypothermia < 36 °C, normothermia 36‒38 °C, and hyperthermia > 38 °C), and age groups were divided using a 75-year age threshold. Kaplan‒Meier analysis was performed to assess the cumulative mortality over 90 days. A K-means clustering algorithm using age and BT was used to characterize phenotypes. During the study period, 15,574 sepsis patients were enrolled. Overall, 90-day mortality was 20.5%. Kaplan‒Meier survival analyses demonstrated that 90-day mortality rates were 27.4%, 19.6%, and 11.9% in the hypothermia, normothermia, and hyperthermia groups, respectively, in those ≥ 75 years old (Log-rank p < 0.001). Cluster analysis demonstrated three groups: Cluster A (relatively older age and lower BT), Cluster B (relatively younger age and wide range of BT), and Cluster C (relatively higher BT than Cluster A). Kaplan‒Meier curve analysis showed that the 90-day mortality rates of Cluster A was significantly higher than those of Clusters B and C (24.2%, 17.1%, and 17.0%, respectively; Log-rank p < 0.001). The 90-day mortality rate correlated inversely with BT groups among sepsis patients in either age group (< 75 and ≥ 75 years). Clustering analysis revealed that the mortality rate was higher in the cluster of patients with relatively older age and lower BT.

Predictors of mortality in patients with acute small-bowel perforation transferred to ICU after emergency surgery: a single-centre retrospective cohort study

Background

Although small-bowel perforation is a life-threatening emergency even after immediate surgical intervention, studies have rarely investigated surgical outcomes due to its relatively low incidence. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of emergency surgery for patients with small-bowel perforation transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) and the risk factors for mortality.

Methods

Consecutive patients with small-bowel perforation who were confirmed via emergency surgery and transferred to the ICU in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University (Shanghai, China) between February 2011 and May 2020 were retrospectively analysed. Medical records were reviewed to determine clinical features, laboratory indicators, surgical findings, and pathology.

Results

A total of 104 patients were included in this study, among whom 18 (17.3%), 59 (56.7%), and 27 (26.0%) underwent perforation repair, segmental resection with primary anastomosis, and small-bowel ostomy, respectively. Malignant tumours were the leading cause of perforation in these patients (40.4%, 42/104). The overall post-operative complication rate and mortality rates were 74.0% (77/104) and 19.2% (20/104), respectively. Malignant tumour-related perforation (odds ratio [OR], 4.659; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.269–17.105; P = 0.020) and high post-operative arterial blood-lactate level (OR, 1.479; 95% CI, 1.027–2.131; P = 0.036) were identified as independent risk factors for post-operative mortality in patients with small-bowel perforation transferred to the ICU.

Conclusions

Patients with small-bowel perforation who are transferred to the ICU after emergency surgery face a high risk of post-operative complications and mortality. Moreover, those patients with malignant tumour-related perforation and higher post-operative blood-lactate levels have poor prognosis.

Organ failure, aetiology and 7-day all-cause mortality among acute adult patients on arrival to an emergency department: a hospital-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Organ failure is both a frequent and dangerous condition among adult patients on arrival to an emergency department (ED). The risk of an unfavourable outcome could depend on the underlying aetiology. Knowledge of the relation between aetiology and prognosis could improve the risk stratification at arrival.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the relation between organ failure, aetiology and prognosis through 7-day all-cause mortality.

METHODS

An observational three-year cohort study at the ED at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, including all acute adult patients.First-measured vital signs and laboratory values were included to evaluate the presence of the following organ failures: respiratory, coagulation, hepatic, circulatory, cerebral or renal.The primary outcome was 7-day all-cause mortality. Aetiological disease categories were based on primary discharge diagnoses. We described the association between 7-day mortality, aetiology category, site of organ failures and number of patients at risk.

RESULTS

Of 40 423 patients with a first-time visit at the ED, 5883(14.6%) had an organ failure on arrival. The median age was 69 (IQR 54-80), and 50% were men. The most frequent aetiology was infection (1495, 25.4%). Seven-day all-cause mortality ranged between aetiologies from 0.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.0-14.2) allergy) to 45.6% (95% CI, 41.3-50.0) (cardiac). Combining aetiology and site of organ failure, 7-day all-cause mortality was the highest in the cardiac category, from 14.8% (95% CI, 4.2-3.7) with hepatic failure to 79.2% (95% CI, 73.6-84.1) with cerebral failure. The combination of infection and respiratory failure characterised most patients (n = 949).

CONCLUSION

Infection was the most prevalent aetiology, and 7-day all-cause mortality was highly associated with the site of organ failure and aetiology.

Comparison of early warning scores for sepsis early identification and prediction in the general ward setting

The objective of this study was to directly compare the ability of commonly used early warning scores (EWS) for early identification and prediction of sepsis in the general ward setting. For general ward patients at a large, academic medical center between early-2012 and mid-2018, common EWS and patient acuity scoring systems were calculated from electronic health records (EHR) data for patients that both met and did not meet Sepsis-3 criteria. For identification of sepsis at index time, National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS 2) had the highest performance (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.803 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.795-0.811], area under the precision recall curves: 0.130 [95% CI: 0.121-0.140]) followed NEWS, Modified Early Warning Score, and quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA). Using validated thresholds, NEWS 2 also had the highest recall (0.758 [95% CI: 0.736-0.778]) but qSOFA had the highest specificity (0.950 [95% CI: 0.948-0.952]), positive predictive value (0.184 [95% CI: 0.169-0.198]), and F1 score (0.236 [95% CI: 0.220-0.253]). While NEWS 2 outperformed all other compared EWS and patient acuity scores, due to the low prevalence of sepsis, all scoring systems were prone to false positives (low positive predictive value without drastic sacrifices in sensitivity), thus leaving room for more computationally advanced approaches.

Heterogeneity in the Number of Astrocytes in the Central Nervous System after Peritonitis

Sepsis remains a major medical emergency that describes the body's systemic immune response to an infectious process and can lead to end-stage organ dysfunction and death. Clinical studies have introduced the concept of sepsis associated encephalopathy, which seems to have a plethora of cellular and molecular triggers starting from systemic inflammatory cytokines, blood-brain barrier (BBB) rupture, microscopic brain injury, altered cerebral circulation, neurotransmission, or even metabolic dysfunction. The purpose of our study is to reproduce the sepsis model previously described using the cecal ligature and puncture (CLP), and to take a closer look to the acute modifications that occur on cellular level when it comes to the brain-blood-barrier of the mice with systemic inflammation. After a rapid systemic response to peritonitis, we show a heterogeneity in astrocytic response within different cortical structures; hippocampus having the longest change in the number of GFAP+cells, while no difference was seen in the number of cortical astrocytes. With even more increasing roles of astrocytes in different pathologies, the relation between sepsis and astrocytes could prove a valuable in discovering new therapy in sepsis.

A Machine Learning Understanding of Sepsis

Sepsis is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality and yet its pathophysiology remains elusive. Recently, medical and technological advances have helped redefine the criteria for sepsis incidence, which is otherwise poorly understood. With the recording of clinical parameters and outcomes of patients, enabling technologies, such as machine learning, open avenues for early prognostic systems for sepsis. In this work, we propose a two-phase approach towards prognostic scoring by predicting two outcomes in sepsis patients - Sepsis Severity and Comorbidity Severity. We train and evaluate multiple machine learning models on a dataset of 80 parameters collected from 800 patients at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kerala, India. We present an analysis of these results and harmonize consistencies and/or contradictions between elements of human knowledge and that of the model, using local interpretable model-agnostic explanations and other methods.

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020)

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high-quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J-SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU-acquired weakness [ICU-AW], post-intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J-SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient- and family-centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro-intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large-scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members.As a result, 79 GRADE-based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J-SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.

Comparison of Sepsis Definitions as Automated Criteria

OBJECTIVES

Assess the impact of heterogeneity among established sepsis criteria (Sepsis-1, Sepsis-3, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adult Sepsis Event, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid severe sepsis core measure 1) through the comparison of corresponding sepsis cohorts.

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of data extracted from electronic health record.

SETTING

Single, tertiary-care center in St. Louis, MO.

PATIENTS

Adult, nonsurgical inpatients admitted between January 1, 2012, and January 6, 2018.

INTERVENTIONS

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

In the electronic health record data, 286,759 encounters met inclusion criteria across the study period. Application of established sepsis criteria yielded cohorts varying in prevalence: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adult Sepsis Event (4.4%), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid severe sepsis core measure 1 (4.8%), International Classification of Disease code (7.2%), Sepsis-3 (7.5%), and Sepsis-1 (11.3%). Between the two modern established criteria, Sepsis-3 (n = 21,550) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adult Sepsis Event (n = 12,494), the size of the overlap was 7,763. The sepsis cohorts also varied in time from admission to sepsis onset (hr): Sepsis-1 (2.9), Sepsis-3 (4.1), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adult Sepsis Event (4.6), and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid severe sepsis core measure 1 (7.6); sepsis discharge International Classification of Disease code rate: Sepsis-1 (37.4%), Sepsis-3 (40.1%), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid severe sepsis core measure 1 (48.5%), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adult Sepsis Event (54.5%); and inhospital mortality rate: Sepsis-1 (13.6%), Sepsis-3 (18.8%), International Classification of Disease code (20.4%), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid severe sepsis core measure 1 (22.5%), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Adult Sepsis Event (24.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

The application of commonly used sepsis definitions on a single population produced sepsis cohorts with low agreement, significantly different baseline demographics, and clinical outcomes.

Evaluation of leukopenia during sepsis as a marker of sepsis-defining organ dysfunction

Background

Although both leukocytosis and leukopenia have been considered Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome criteria, leukopenia is not generally considered a normal response to infection. We sought to evaluate the prognostic validity of leukopenia as a sign of sepsis-defining hematological organ dysfunction within the Sepsis-3 framework. We hypothesized that leukopenia is associated with higher risk of mortality than leukocytosis among patients with suspected infection.

Methods

We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Medical Information Mart v1.4 in Intensive Care-III database. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate the association between leukopenia and mortality in patients with suspected infection defined by Sepsis-3.

Results

We identified 5,909 ICU patients with suspected infection; 250 (4.2%) had leukopenia. Leukopenia was associated with increased in-hospital mortality compared with leukocytosis (OR, 1.5; 95% CI 1.1–1.9). After adjusting for demographics and comorbidities in the Sepsis-3 consensus model, leukopenia remained associated with increased risk of mortality compared with leukocytosis (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2–2.2). Further adjustment for the platelet component of the SOFA attenuated the association between leukopenia and mortality (OR decreased from 1.5 to 1.1). However, 83 (1.4%) of patients had leukopenia without thrombocytopenia and 14 had leukopenia prior to thrombocytopenia.

Conclusions

Among ICU patients with suspected infection, leukopenia was associated with increased risk of death compared with leukocytosis. Due to correlation with thrombocytopenia, leukopenia did not independently improve the prognostic validity of SOFA; however, leukopenia may present as a sign of sepsis prior to thrombocytopenia in a small subset of patients.

Bacterial infections in cirrhosis: Current treatment

Bacterial infections frequently cause decompensating events in cirrhotic patients and are also the most common factor identified for the development of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). The increase in the prevalence of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms has resulted in the reduced effectiveness of empiric antimicrobial treatment. We conducted a PubMed search from the last 20 years using the Keywords cirrhosis; multidrug-resistant; infections; diagnosis; treatment; prophylaxis; monitoring; sepsis; nutrition and antibiotic resistant. We made a review about bacterial infections among cirrhotic patients; we mainly focus on the description of diagnostic tools; biomarkers; clinical scores for diagnosis and prognosis also; we made an analysis concerning the monitoring of cirrhotic patients with sepsis and finally made some recommendations about the treatment; prophylaxis and prevention.

ANALGESIC EFFECT OF TRAMADOL IS NOT ALTERED BY POSTOPERATIVE SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION AFTER MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY

Tramadol is a commonly used analgesic in intensive care units (ICUs) for acute postoperative pain. Conversion of tramadol into active metabolites may be impaired in inflammatory states. Catechol-O-methyltransferase may influence pain. The aim of the study was to examine differences in the analgesic effect of tramadol between ICU patients with and without signs of systemic inflammation. Forty-three patients were admitted to ICU after a major abdominal surgery. The patients received a dose of 100 mg of tramadol intravenously every 6 hours during the first 24 hours after surgical procedure. Pain scores were measured by the Numeric Rating Scale before and 30 minutes after tramadol administration in awake patients. Systemic inflammation was considered when at least two of the following postoperative parameters were present in the first 24 hours of ICU admission: fever or hypothermia, tachycardia, pCO₂ <4.3 kPa, white blood cells >12000/mm³ or <4000/mm³, or preoperative value of C-reactive protein (CRP) >50 mg/L or/and procalcitonin (PCT) >0.5 mg/L. Catechol-O-methyltransferase was analyzed postoperatively. Fifteen (34.8%) patients met the criteria for systemic inflammation. Tramadol was proven to be an effective analgesic for the treatment of postoperative pain regardless of the presence of systemic inflammation (p<0.05). Lower perception of pain before tramadol application was observed in patients with systemic inflammation, but the difference was not significant. A negative correlation was observed between the preoperative values of CRP and PCT and the analgesic effect of tramadol assessed at the second measurement point (r=-0.358, p=0.03, and r=-0.364, p=0.02, respectively). Catechol-O-methyltransferase variants were not in correlation with pain and opioid consumption. Based on our findings, tramadol is effective in lowering pain scores after major abdominal surgery irrespective of the presence of systemic inflammation.

Prediction of Acute Respiratory Failure Requiring Advanced Respiratory Support in Advance of Interventions and Treatment: A Multivariable Prediction Model From Electronic Medical Record Data

Background

Acute respiratory failure occurs frequently in hospitalized patients and often begins outside the ICU, associated with increased length of stay, cost, and mortality. Delays in decompensation recognition are associated with worse outcomes.

Objectives

The objective of this study is to predict acute respiratory failure requiring any advanced respiratory support (including noninvasive ventilation). With the advent of the coronavirus disease pandemic, concern regarding acute respiratory failure has increased.

Derivation Cohort

All admission encounters from January 2014 to June 2017 from three hospitals in the Emory Healthcare network (82,699).

Validation Cohort

External validation cohort: all admission encounters from January 2014 to June 2017 from a fourth hospital in the Emory Healthcare network (40,143). Temporal validation cohort: all admission encounters from February to April 2020 from four hospitals in the Emory Healthcare network coronavirus disease tested (2,564) and coronavirus disease positive (389).

Prediction Model

All admission encounters had vital signs, laboratory, and demographic data extracted. Exclusion criteria included invasive mechanical ventilation started within the operating room or advanced respiratory support within the first 8 hours of admission. Encounters were discretized into hour intervals from 8 hours after admission to discharge or advanced respiratory support initiation and binary labeled for advanced respiratory support. Prediction of Acute Respiratory Failure requiring advanced respiratory support in Advance of Interventions and Treatment, our eXtreme Gradient Boosting-based algorithm, was compared against Modified Early Warning Score.

Results

Prediction of Acute Respiratory Failure requiring advanced respiratory support in Advance of Interventions and Treatment had significantly better discrimination than Modified Early Warning Score (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.85 vs 0.57 [test], 0.84 vs 0.61 [external validation]). Prediction of Acute Respiratory Failure requiring advanced respiratory support in Advance of Interventions and Treatment maintained a positive predictive value (0.31-0.21) similar to that of Modified Early Warning Score greater than 4 (0.29-0.25) while identifying 6.62 (validation) to 9.58 (test) times more true positives. Furthermore, Prediction of Acute Respiratory Failure requiring advanced respiratory support in Advance of Interventions and Treatment performed more effectively in temporal validation (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.86 [coronavirus disease tested], 0.93 [coronavirus disease positive]), while achieving identifying 4.25-4.51× more true positives.

Conclusions

Prediction of Acute Respiratory Failure requiring advanced respiratory support in Advance of Interventions and Treatment is more effective than Modified Early Warning Score in predicting respiratory failure requiring advanced respiratory support at external validation and in coronavirus disease 2019 patients. Silent prospective validation necessary before local deployment.

Incidence, Risk Factors, and Attributable Mortality of Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections in the Intensive Care Unit After Suspected Catheters Infection: A Retrospective 10-year Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION

Catheter management strategies for suspected catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) remain a major challenge in intensive care units (ICUs). The objective of this study was to determine the incidence, risk factors, and mortality attributable to CRBSIs in those patients.

METHODS

A population-based surveillance on suspected CRBSI was conducted from 2009 to 2018 in a tertiary care hospital in China. We used the results of catheter tip culture to identify patients with suspected CRBSIs. Demographics, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria, interventions, and microorganism culture results were analysed and compared between patients with and without confirmed CRBSIs. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified the risk factors for CRBSIs, and attributable mortality was evaluated with a time-varying Cox proportional hazard model.

RESULTS

In total, 686 patients with 795 episodes of suspected CRBSIs were included; 19.2% (153/795) episodes were confirmed as CRBSIs, and 17.4% (119/686) patients died within 30 days. The multifactor model shows that CRBSIs were associated with fever, hypotension, acute respiratory distress syndrome, hyperglycaemia and the use of continuous renal replacement therapy. The AUC was 77.0% (95% CI 73.3%-80.7%). The population attributable mortality fraction of CRBSI in patients was 18.2%, and mortality rate did not differ significantly between patients with and without CRBSIs (95% CI 0.464-1.279, P = 0.312).

CONCLUSIONS

This initial model based on the SIRS criteria is relatively better at identifying patients with CRBSI but only in domains of the sensitivity. There were no significant differences in attributable mortality due to CRBSI and other causes in patients with suspected CRBSI, which prompt catheter removal and re-insertion of new catheter may not benefit patients with suspected CRBSIs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

China Clinical Trials Registration number; ChiCTR1900022175.

Different Pharmacokinetics of Tramadol, O-Demethyltramadol and N-Demethyltramadol in Postoperative Surgical Patients From Those Observed in Medical Patients

Background: Most studies examining tramadol metabolism have been carried out in non-surgical patients and with oral tramadol. The aim of this study was 1) to measure concentrations of tramadol, O-demethyltramadol (ODT), and N-demethyltramadol (NDT) in the surgical patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) within the first 24 postoperative hours after intravenous application of tramadol, and 2) to examine the effect of systemic inflammation on tramadol metabolism and postoperative pain. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in the surgical ICU in the tertiary hospital. In the group of 47 subsequent patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, pre-operative blood samples were taken for CYP2D6 polymorphism analysis. Systemic inflammation was assessed based on laboratory and clinical indicators. All patients received 100 mg of tramadol intravenously every 6 h during the first postoperative day. Postoperative pain was assessed before and 30 min after tramadol injections. Tramadol, ODT, and NDT concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: CYP2D6 analysis revealed 2 poor (PM), 22 intermediate (IM), 22 extensive (EM), and 1 ultrafast metabolizer. After a dose of 100 mg of tramadol, t1/2 of 4.8 (3.2-7.6) h was observed. There were no differences in tramadol concentration among metabolic phenotypes. The area under the concentration-time curve at the first dose interval (AUC1-6) of tramadol was 1,200 (917.9-1944.4) μg ×h ×L-1. NDT concentrations in UM were below the limit of quantification until the second dose of tramadol was administrated, while PM had higher NDT concentrations compared to EM and IM. ODT concentrations were higher in EM, compared to IM and PM. ODT AUC1-6 was 229.6 (137.7-326.2) μg ×h ×L-1 and 95.5 (49.1-204.3) μg ×h ×L-1 in EM and IM, respectively (p = 0.004). Preoperative cholinesterase activity (ChE) of ≤4244 U L-1 was a cut-off value for a prediction of systemic inflammation in an early postoperative period. NDT AUC1-6 were significantly higher in patients with low ChE compared with normal ChE patients (p = 0.006). Pain measurements have confirmed that sufficient pain control was achieved in all patients after the second tramadol dose, except in the PM. Conclusions: CYP2D6 polymorphism is a major factor in O-demethylation, while systemic inflammation accompanied by low ChE has an important role in the N-demethylation of tramadol in postoperative patients. Concentrations of tramadol, ODT, and NDT are lower in surgical patients than previously reported in non-surgical patients. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04004481.

Catalase activity as signal of antioxydant system affection under influence of limb ischemia-reperfusion

The use of hemostatic tourniquet is a proved means of primary care. However, systemic disorders, as well as ultrastructural, in the area of compression can significantly worsen the condition of the injured organism. The aim. Estimation of catalase level in rats’ liver on the background of modifications of ischemic-reperfusion syndrome to know the severest pathogenic combination for organism. Materials and methods. 260 white adult male rats were divided into 5 groups: control (KG), EG1 – simulation of isolated ischemia-reperfusion syndrome (IRS) of the limb, EG2 – simulation of isolated volumetric blood loss, EG3 – combination of IRS of the limb with blood loss, EG4 – simulation of isolated mechanical injury of the thigh, EG5 – combination of IRS of the limb and mechanical injury. The variability of catalase level in liver was analyzed. Results. It was found that each of the experimental interventions has led to changes of catalase activity in the liver. The most expressed pathological expressions were observed on the 3rd after interventions, when the studied index in EG3 was lower than in EG1 and EG2 in 6,2 times and by 33,1 %. On the 7th day catalase activity in EG3 was in 9,4 times and by 44,5 % times lower than in EG1 and in EG2 data concordantly. The combination of limb ischemia-reperfusion with blood loss in EG3 led to exhausting of liver antioxydant enzyme catalase in the most critical posttraumatic period (day 3). The same, but less significant effect was registered in the group of combination of mechanical trauma with ischemia-reperfusion in EG5. This proved the role of the tourniquet as a factor that complicated the course of traumatic disease due to ischemic reperfusion. Conclusions. In this experiment, founded risk factors of combination of ischemia-reperfusion with heavy blood loss emphasized the importance and particular attention on such widespread method of bleeding tratment, as the imposition of a tourniquet, as in our experiment it triggered risk factors of ischemia-reperfusion. It was shown katalase activity depression respectively to the periods of increasing of lipid peroxydation. There was peculiarity, that on the base of isolated IRS catalase activity was increased in 2,5 times comparely to control group, whereas the hardest depression of it was found on the background of IRS, combined with blood loss – catalase activity was lower, comparely to KG – in 2,5 times. The importance of understanding the suppression of hepatocytes’ antyoxydants is great, as it might help in prevention the development of liver failure or hepatorenal syndrome on the background of limb ischemia-reperfusion.

Hypophosphatemia in Dogs With Presumptive Sepsis: A Retrospective Study (2008-2018)

Background: In humans with sepsis, hypophosphatemia is a marker of illness severity and a negative prognostic indicator. Hypophosphatemia has not been previously investigated in dogs with sepsis, however. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of hypophosphatemia in dogs, the prevalence of presumptive sepsis in dogs with hypophosphatemia, the prevalence of hypophosphatemia in dogs with presumptive sepsis and the association between outcome and hypophosphatemia in dogs with presumptive sepsis. Methods: Electronic medical records of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals from 2008-2018 were queried to identify all dogs with hypophosphatemia and all dogs with presumptive sepsis. Hypophosphatemia was defined as a serum phosphate concentration <2.7 mg/dL. Sepsis was presumed where ≥2 of 4 systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria were satisfied associated with a documented or highly suspected infection. Variables were assessed for normality using the D'Agostino-Pearson test. Continuous variables were compared between groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. Differences in frequency between categorical variables were analyzed using contingency tables, calculation of Fisher's exact test or Chi² and estimation of odds ratios. Results: In the study period, 47,992 phosphate concentration measurements from 23,752 unique dogs were identified. After eliminating repeat analyses, the period prevalence of hypophosphatemia on a per dog basis over the 11-year study period was 10.6% (2,515/23,752). The prevalence of presumptive sepsis within dogs with hypophosphatemia was 10.7% (268/2,515). During the 11-year study period, 4,406 dogs with an infection were identified, of which 1,233 were diagnosed with presumptive sepsis and had a contemporaneous phosphate concentration. Hypophosphatemia was more prevalent in dogs with presumptive sepsis than in dogs without 21.7 vs. 10.2%; OR 2.44 [95% CI 2.12-2.81]; P < 0.0001. The mortality rate was greater in dogs with hypophosphatemia and presumptive sepsis than in dogs with hypophosphatemia without presumptive sepsis (15.3 vs. 3.1%; OR 5.70 [95% CI 3.76-8.52]; P < 0.0001), however hypophosphatemia was not associated with outcome in dogs with presumptive sepsis OR 0.87 [95% CI 0.60-1.26]; P = 0.518. Conclusions: In dogs with hypophosphatemia, a presumed diagnosis of sepsis was associated with increased mortality compared to other associated disease processes. In dogs with presumptive sepsis, hypophosphatemia was not associated with outcome.