Search

The article "Risk Reduction by Direct Thrombin Antagonism during ECMO Therapy" published in the journal Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgeon discusses the feasibility and safety of treating ECLS patients with direct thrombin antagonism (DTA) as opposed to heparin. A study of 254 ECMO patients found that DTA was not inferior to heparin in terms of preventing complications such as bleeding, stroke, amputation, thrombosis, and device occlusion. DTA also showed superiority in overall complication rates and bleeding, while maintaining therapy stability and requiring fewer adjustments. The authors conclude that DTA is a safe and effective alternative for ECLS/ECMO therapy in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia Type II. [Extracted from the article]

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 causes a considerable degradation of pulmonary function to the point of an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Over the course of the disease the gas exchange capability of the lung can get impaired to such an extent that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is needed as a life-saving intervention. In patients COVID-19 as well as ECMO may cause severe coagulopathies which manifest themselves in micro and macro thrombosis. Previous studies established D-dimers as a marker for critical thrombosis of the ECMO system while on admission increased D-dimers are associated with a higher mortality in COIVD-19 patients. It is therefore crucial to determine if COVID-19 poses an increased risk of early thrombosis of the vital ECMO system. METHODS: 40 patients who required ECMO support were enrolled in a retrospective analysis and assigned into 2 groups. The COVID group consist of 20 COVID-19 patients who required ECMO support (n = 20), whereas 20 ECMO patients without COVID-19 were assigned to the control group. D-dimers, fibrinogen, antithrombin III (AT III), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and platelet count were analysed using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing and MANOVAs. RESULTS: The analysis of both groups shows highly significant differences in the dynamics of hemostasis. The increase in D-dimers that is associated with thrombosis of the ECMO systems occurs in COVID-19 patients around 2 days earlier (p = 2,8115 10–11) while fibrinogen is consumed steadily. In the control group fibrinogen levels increase rapidly after ten days with a plateau phase of around five days (p = 1,407 10–3) . Both groups experience a rapid increase in AT III after start of support by ECMO (p = 5,96 10–15). In the COVID group platelet count decreased from 210 giga/l to 130 giga/l within eight days, while in the same time span in the control group platelets decreased from 180 giga/l to 105 giga/l (p = 1,1 10–15). In both groups a marked increase in LDH beyond 5000 U/l occurs (p = 3,0865 10–15). CONCLUSION: The early increase in D-dimers and decrease in fibrinogen suggests that COVID-19 patients bear an increased risk of early thrombosis of the ECMO system compared to other diseases treated with ECMO. Additionally, the control group shows signs of severe inflammation 10 days after the start of ECMO which were absent in COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 causes a considerable degradation of pulmonary function to the point of an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Over the course of the disease the gas exchange capability of the lung can get impaired to such an extent that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is needed as a life-saving intervention. In patients COVID-19 as well as ECMO may cause severe coagulopathies which manifest themselves in micro and macro thrombosis. Previous studies established D-dimers as a marker for critical thrombosis of the ECMO system while on admission increased D-dimers are associated with a higher mortality in COIVD-19 patients. It is therefore crucial to determine if COVID-19 poses an increased risk of early thrombosis of the vital ECMO system. METHODS: 40 patients who required ECMO support were enrolled in a retrospective analysis and assigned into 2 groups. The COVID group consist of 20 COVID-19 patients who required ECMO support (n = 20), whereas 20 ECMO patients without COVID-19 were assigned to the control group. D-dimers, fibrinogen, antithrombin III (AT III), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and platelet count were analysed using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing and MANOVAs. RESULTS: The analysis of both groups shows highly significant differences in the dynamics of hemostasis. The increase in D-dimers that is associated with thrombosis of the ECMO systems occurs in COVID-19 patients around 2 days earlier (p = 2,8115 10–11) while fibrinogen is consumed steadily. In the control group fibrinogen levels increase rapidly after ten days with a plateau phase of around five days (p = 1,407 10–3) . Both groups experience a rapid increase in AT III after start of support by ECMO (p = 5,96 10–15). In the COVID group platelet count decreased from 210 giga/l to 130 giga/l within eight days, while in the same time span in the control group platelets decreased from 180 giga/l to 105 giga/l (p = 1,1 10–15). In both groups a marked increase in LDH beyond 5000 U/l occurs (p = 3,0865 10–15). CONCLUSION: The early increase in D-dimers and decrease in fibrinogen suggests that COVID-19 patients bear an increased risk of early thrombosis of the ECMO system compared to other diseases treated with ECMO. Additionally, the control group shows signs of severe inflammation 10 days after the start of ECMO which were absent in COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The German guideline on intensive care treatment of cardiac surgical patients provides evidence-based recommendations on management and monitoring. It remains unclear if, respectively, to which degree the guidelines are implemented into the daily practice. Therefore, this study aims to characterize the implementation of guideline recommendations in German cardiac surgical intensive care units (ICUs)., Methods: An internet-based online survey (42 questions, 9 topics) was sent to 158 German head physicians of cardiac surgical ICUs. To compare the effect over time, most questions were based on a previously performed survey (2013) after introduction of the last guideline update in 2008., Results: A total of n  = 65 (41.1%) questionnaires were included. Monitoring changed to increased provision of available transesophageal echocardiography specialists in 86% (2013: 72.6%), S v O 2 measurement in 93.8% (2013: 55.1%), and electroencephalography in 58.5% (2013: 2.6%). The use of hydroxyethyl starch declined (9.4% vs. 2013: 38.7%), gelatin 4% presented the most administered colloid with 23.4% (2013: 17.4%). Low cardiac output syndrome was primarily treated with levosimendan (30.8%) and epinephrine (23.1%), while norepinephrine (44.6%) and dobutamine (16.9%) represented the most favored drug combination. The main way of distribution was web-based (50.9%), with increasing impact on therapy regimens (36.9% vs. 2013: 24%)., Conclusion: Changes were found in all questioned sectors compared with the preceding survey, with persisting variability between ICUs. Recommendations of the updated guideline have increasingly entered clinical practice, with participants valuing the updated publication as clinically relevant., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: It is crucial to rapidly identify sepsis so that adequate treatment may be initiated. Accordingly, the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) and the quick SOFA (qSOFA) scores are used to evaluate intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients, respectively. As demand for ICU beds rises, the intermediate care unit (IMCU) carries greater importance as a bridge between the ICU and the regular ward. This study aimed to examine the ability of SOFA and qSOFA scores to predict suspected infection and mortality in IMCU patients., Methods: Retrospective data analysis included 13,780 surgical patients treated at the IMCU, ICU, or both between January 01, 2012, and September 30, 2018. Patients were screened for suspected infection (i.e., the commencement of broad-spectrum antibiotics) and then evaluated for the SOFA score, qSOFA score, and the 1992 defined systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria., Results: Suspected infection was detected in 1306 (18.3%) of IMCU, 1365 (35.5%) of ICU, and 1734 (62.0%) of IMCU/ICU encounters. Overall, 458 (3.3%) patients died (IMCU 45 [0.6%]; ICU 250 [6.5%]; IMCU/ICU 163 [5.8%]). All investigated scores failed to predict suspected infection independently of the analyzed subgroup. Regarding mortality prediction, the qSOFA score performed sufficiently within the IMCU cohort (AUCROC SIRS 0.72 [0.71-0.72]; SOFA 0.52 [0.51-0.53]; qSOFA 0.82 [0.79-0.84]), while the SOFA score was predictive in patients of the IMCU/ICU cohort (AUCROC SIRS 0.54 [0.53-0.54]; SOFA 0.73 [0.70-0.77]; qSOFA 0.59 [0.58-0.59])., Conclusions: None of the assessed scores was sufficiently able to predict suspected infection in surgical ICU or IMCU patients. While the qSOFA score is appropriate for mortality prediction in IMCU patients, SOFA score prediction quality is increased in critically ill patients.

Introductio: Although management of severely injured patients in the Trauma Resuscitation Unit (TRU) follows evidence-based guidelines, algorithms for treatment of the slightly injured are limited., Methods: All trauma patients in a period of eight months in a Level I trauma center were followed. Retrospective analysis was performed only in patients ≥18 years with primary TRU admission, Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) ≤ 1, Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) ≤ 1 and Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≤3 after treatment completion and ≥24 h monitoring in the units. Cochran's Q-test was used for the statistical evaluation of AIS and ISS changes in units., Results: One hundred and twelve patients were enrolled in the study. Twenty-one patients (18.75%) reported new complaints after treatment completion in the TRU. AIS rose from the Intermediate Care Unit (IMC) to Normal Care Unit (NCU) 6.2% and ISS 6.9%. MAIS did not increase >2, and no intervention was necessary for any patient. No correlation was found between computed tomography (CT) diagnostics in TRU and AIS change., Conclusions: The data suggest that AIS, MAIS and ISS did not increase significantly in patients without a severe injury during inpatient treatment, regardless of the type of CT diagnostics performed in the TRU, suggesting that monitoring of these patients may be unnecessary.

The University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg (UKGM), Giessen, Germany participates in a country wide nosocomial infections surveillance project on intensive care units (ICU) called KISS. KISS data must be gathered daily and is comprised of detailed clinical data like patient movements, ward utilization, presence of central venous and urinary catheters and types of artificial respiration. This happens for all of the 10 ICU's at UKGM Giessen and proved to be very tedious and time consuming for the institute for hospital hygiene. The goal of this project was the automated generation of the KISS reports from routinely collected data in the patient data management system (PDMS). The results show that this is largely feasible without changing the documentation habits of physicians and nurses.

We developed a tool to detect patients possibly elegible for clinical studies by analysing the HL7-message-stream of the patient management system and notifying study investigators by email or a common messenger service via secured communication channels.

Background: Long-term ventilation in intensive care units (ICUs) is associated with several problems such as increased mortality, increased rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and prolonged time of hospitalization, and thus leads to enormous healthcare expenditure. While the influence of tracheostomy on VAP incidence, duration of ventilation, and time of hospitalization has already been analyzed in several studies, the timing of the tracheostomy procedure on patient's mortality is still controversial. The aim of our study was to investigate whether early tracheostomy improved outcome in critically ill patients., Materials and Methods: Within 2 years, 100 critically ill, predominantly surgical patients entered this prospective randomized study. A percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy was performed either early (≤4 days, 2.8 days median) or late (≥6 days, 8.1 days median) after intubation., Results: We could demonstrate that mortality was not significantly reduced in the early tracheostomy (ET) group in contrast to the late tracheostomy (LT) group. ET was associated with decreased VAP incidence (ET 38% vs. LT 64%), decreased duration of ventilation (ET 367.5 h vs LT 507.5 h), and shorter time of hospitalization both in hospital (ET 31.5 days vs LT 68 days) and in ICU (ET 21.5 days vs LT 27 days)., Conclusion: Despite many advantages like reduced time of ventilation and hospitalization, early tracheostomy is not associated with decreased mortality in critically ill patients.

Objective: The augmentation index, a marker of arterial wave reflection, is considered to indicate cardiovascular risk burden, particularly in younger persons. We assessed whether the easily obtainable radial augmentation index (rAIx) is superior to systolic blood pressure (SBP) or pulse pressure (PP) in detecting atherosclerotic vascular disease at an early age., Methods: We determined rAIx by applanation tonometry, SBP and PP in 152 male patients with or without invasively documented coronary artery disease (CAD). Ejection fraction (EF) was visually estimated by echocardiography or left ventricular angiography., Results: In younger patients (age < or =60 years, EF > or =30%), rAIx was significantly higher in patients with CAD (79.8+/-13.5%, n=31) compared with patients without CAD (68.5+/-22.0%, n=21; P = 0.04), whereas SBP (121+/-16 vs. 131+/-18 mmHg, P=0.04) and PP (48.7+/-9.4 vs. 56.3+/-12.1 mmHg, P=0.01) were even lower in patients with CAD compared with patients without CAD. In patients aged < or =60 years, rAIx was highest when EF was less than 30% (90.0+/-9.2%) compared with patients with EF 30-54% (80.7+/-11.5%) or EF > or =55% (72.1+/-20.4%, P=0.01). In contrast, in patients above 60 years of age, rAIx, SBP or PP did not differ between patients with or without CAD and the rAIx tended to be lowest in patients with severely reduced EF (P=0.07)., Conclusion: We conclude that premature vascular disease in younger patients with CAD is reflected only by an elevated rAIx, and not by SBP or PP. The rAIx is not suited to distinguish between older patients with high or low cardiovascular risk. Age seems to influence the interplay between rAIx and systolic heart function.

Objective: To analyse for the first time the response of the corticotroph-type and the melanotroph-type pituitary proopiomelanocortin (POMC) system with regard to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment using self-developed highly specific non-cross-reacting radioimmunoassay., Setting: University hospital. patients: A total of 28 patients undergoing IVF oocyte retrieval. Cross sectional exploratory study, one factorial design with repeated measurements on one factor, non-parametric tests. Blood was collected before anaesthesia (t(A)) (n=28) and immediately after oocyte retrieval (t(B)) (n=28)., Main Outcome Measure(s): beta-endorphin immunoreactive material (IRM), acetyl-N-beta-endorphin IRM, beta-lipotropin IRM, ACTH, cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone. For determination of authentic beta-endorphin [beta-endorphin (1-31)] a highly specific two-site fluid phase immunoprecipitation radioimmunoassay was developed, which did not cross-react with any beta-endorphin derivative or any other opioid peptide tested., Results: No response of acetyl-N-beta-endorphin IRM and of authentic beta-endorphin (1-31) was observed to oocyte retrieval in contrast to a significant increase of corticotroph-type proopiomelanocortin derivatives. A significant rise in prolactin plasma concentration indicates a pronounced lactotroph response to oocyte retrieval stress. No significant correlation between POMC derivates and prolactin and between POMC derivatives and gonadotropins or sexual steroids except for ACTH and progesterone and for beta-endorphin IRM and estradiol was observed., Conclusion: IVF treatment stress led to significant corticotroph-type POMC and lactotroph responses, but not to responses of authentic beta-endorphin or melanotroph-type POMC in women undergoing oocyte retrieval.

Objective: In anesthesia and intensive care logistic regression analysis are often used to generate predictive models for risk assessment. Strictly seen only independent variables should be represented in such prognostic models. Using anesthesia-information-management-systems a lot of (depending) information is stored in a database during the preoperative ward round. The objective of this study was to evaluate a statistical algorithm to process the different dependent variables without losing the information of each variable on patient's conditions., Method: Based on data about prognostic models in anesthesia an iterative statistical algorithm was initiated to summarize dependent variables to subscores. Seven subscores out of several preoperative variables were calculated corresponding to the proper incidence and the correlation to the occurrence of intraoperative cardiovascular events was evaluated. After that first step logistic regression was used to build a predictive model out of the seven subscores, 10 patient-related, and two surgery-related variables. Performance of the prognostic model was assessed using analysis of discrimination and calibration., Result: Four out of seven subscores together with age, type and urgency of surgery are represented in the prognostic model to predict the occurrence of intraoperative cardiovascular events. The prognostic model demonstrated good discriminative power with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.734., Conclusion: Due to reduced calibration, the clinical use of the prediction model is limited.

Objective: The most recent approach to estimate nursing resources consumption has led to the generation of the Nine Equivalents of Nursing Manpower use Score (NEMS). The objective of this prospective study was to establish a completely automatically generated calculation of the NEMS using a patient data management system (PDMS) database and to validate this approach by comparing the results with those of the conventional manual method., Design: Prospective study., Setting: Operative intensive care unit of a university hospital., Patients: Patients admitted to the ICU between 24 July 2002 and 22 August 2002. Patients under the age of 16 years, and patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery or with burn injuries were excluded., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: The NEMS of all patients was calculated automatically with a PDMS and manually by a physician in parallel. The results of the two methods were compared using the Bland and Altman approach, the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and the kappa-statistic. On 20 consecutive working days, the NEMS was calculated in 204 cases. The Bland Altman analysis did not show significant differences in NEMS scoring between the two methods. The ICC (95% confidence intervals) 0.87 (0.84-0.90) revealed a high inter-rater agreement between the PDMS and the physician. The kappa-statistic showed good results (kappa>0.55) for all NEMS items apart from the item "supplementary ventilatory care"., Conclusion: This study demonstrates that automatical calculation of the NEMS is possible with high accuracy by means of a PDMS. This may lead to a decrease in consumption of nursing resources.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether an Anesthesia Information Management System (AIMS) can provide reliable data on the consumption of single-use anesthetic material without necessitating an expensive and time-consuming inventory. To this end, the number of selected anesthesia-related materials and the total costs in orthopedic theatres for which the department of anesthesia had been charged in the year 2000 were compared to the data calculated by the AIMS., Methods: Anesthesia-related material is provided by a computer-based system of storage facilities (KLIMA II) in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital Giessen. All costs arising in orthopedic theatres are exclusively charged to one single account. At the same time, the online-documentation software, NarkoData (IMESO GmbH, Hüttenberg, Germany), collects all data on consumption of anesthetic single-use material. The total amount of peripheral (PVC) and central-venous catheters (CVC), urinary catheters (UC) and endotracheal tubes (ET) used in the year 2000 was ascertained by the AIMS and compared to the respective data accounted by the administration., Results: In the year 2000, the number of patients treated in orthopedic theatres totaled 1,865. By means of the AIMS, a consumption of 783 CVCs, 644 UCs and 949 ETs could be documented. In contrast, hospital administration had billed 880 CVCs, 700 UCs, and 1,050 ETs: discrepancies of 11.0 % for CVCs, 8.0 % for UCs and 9.6 % for ETs. Concerning the two most frequently used CVCs, the AIMS failed to document costs of 3,238 DM. For PVCs (16 gauge and 14 gauge), the official cost was 10.8 % and 46.7 % higher compared to the number documented by the AIMS. Since the number of PVCs totaled 3,400, the AIMS failed to document costs of 1,900 DM., Conclusion: Comparison of both methods revealed substantial deficits in documenting cost-relevant materials. There were no detailed data available on the whereabouts of the materials used, i.e. whether tubes and catheters were undocumented, used or discarded. However, the AIMS may provide additional valuable information about possible sources of material wastefulness. This is especially true for infrequently used anesthesia-related materials.