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Vitamin D is an important immune modulator and is associated with susceptibility to infection. However, past studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the association between vitamin D deficiency and mortality in patients with sepsis, and early-stage data regarding septic shock are limited. This study aimed to determine the relationship between vitamin D deficiency on admission to the emergency department (ED) and mortality in patients with septic shock.We analyzed prospectively collected data on adult patients with septic shock who were treated with protocol-driven resuscitation bundle therapy in the ED between September 2019 and February 2021. Septic shock was defined by the sepsis-3 definition and vitamin D deficiency was defined as a 25-hydroxyvitamin D20 ng/ml. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality.A total of 302 patients were included, 236 (78.1%) patients had vitamin D deficiency; it was significantly higher in non-survivors than in survivors (89.3% vs. 73.9%, P=0.004). Mortality was higher in vitamin D deficient patients than in non-deficient patients (31.8% vs. 13.6%, P=0.004). In multivariate analysis, vitamin D deficiency (odds ratio [OR], 2.43; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.03-5.74), hyperlactatemia (OR, 3.65; 95 % CI, 1.95-6.83), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.09-1.36), and albumin levels (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21-0.73) were significantly associated with 30-day mortality.Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in patients with septic shock visiting the ED and was associated with mortality.

This study determined the incidence of the cognitive impairments and mood disorders by telephone-based evaluation using previously mentioned scoring systems in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival with good neurologic outcome. Retrospective, cross-sectional, single-center study was performed, and a total of 97 patients were analyzed. Telephone version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Alzheimer’s disease-8 were used for evaluating cognitive dysfunctions, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used for assessing mood disorders. Quality of life was measured with the European Quality of Life 5-Dimension 5-Levels questionnaire. About one fourth patients experienced cognitive impairments (n = 23, 23.7%) or mood disorders (n = 28, 28.9%). Combined mood disorders (adjusted OR 21.36, 95% CI 5.14–88.84) and hospital length of stay (adjusted OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.08) were independent risk factors. In case of mood disorders, combined cognitive impairments (adjusted OR 9.94, 95% CI 2.83–35.97) and non-cardiac cause of cardiac arrest (adjusted OR 11.51, 95% CI 3.15–42.15) were risk factors. Furthermore, the quality of life was significantly low in the group with both cognitive impairments and mood disorders. Cognitive impairments and mood disorders were common among patients with good neurologic recovery.

Background: Sepsis-related acute kidney injury is associated not only with short-term adverse effects but also important long-term consequences. However, differences and results across cancer patients remain unknown. Considering recent advances in both cancer and sepsis management, we were to evaluate the associated factors for occurrence of septic AKI and to determine the impact of septic acute kidney injury on the long-term mortality in cancer patients using a nationwide population-based cohort data with prohibited withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy.Methods: Using data from the National Health Insurance Service of Korea, adult cancer patients who presented to emergency department with septic shock from 2009 to 2017 were analyzed. Cox-proportional hazard model was conducted to evaluate the clinical effect of sepsis-related acute kidney injury requiring dialysis on the 2-year mortality.Results: Among 42,477 adult cancer patients with septic shock (90% solid and 10% hematologic cancer cases), dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury occurred in 5449 (12.8%) admission. Recovery from dialysis within 30-day was 77.9% and overall, 30-day and 2-year mortality rates were 52.1% and 85.1%, respectively. Oncologic patients with dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury were frequently occurred in male, history of hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and patients with hematologic cancer. In multivariate Cox-proportional hazard model showed that dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury had a highest adjusted hazard ratio of 1.5 (95% confidence interval 31.31–1.40) for 2-year mortality.Conclusion: Dialysis-requiring septic acute kidney injury is not occurred commonly (about 13%). However, it had a significant association with the increased long-term mortality which emphasis on the prevention of acute kidney injury particularly in male hematologic cancer patients with comorbidities among the oncologic population.

Central line-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) is a common complication during hospital admissions; however, there is insufficient data regarding CRBSI in the emergency department. Therefore, we evaluated the incidence and clinical impact of CRBSI using a single-center retrospective study to analyze medical data of 2189 adult patients (median age: 65 years, 58.8% males) who underwent central line insertion in ED from 2013 to 2015. CRBSI was defined if the same pathogens were identified at peripheral and catheter tips or the differential time to positivity was > 2 hours. CRBSI-related in-hospital mortality and risk factors were evaluated. CRBSI occurred in 80 patients (3.7%), of which 51 survived and 29 died; those with CRBSI had higher incidence of subclavian vein insertion, and retry rates. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common pathogen, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, and Escherichia coli. Using multivariate analysis, we found that CRBSI development was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio: 1.93, 95% confidence intervals: 1.19–3.14, p

Background: Despite thrombocytopenia, patients with sepsis often experience hypercoagulability. However, limited information is available on the prevalence and effect of hypercoagulability in patients with sepsis-induced thrombocytopenia. Hence, we evaluated the prevalence of hypercoagulability and the association between hypercoagulability and clinical outcomes in septic shock patients with thrombocytopenia. Methods: Thromboelastography (TEG) was performed prospectively in 1294 patients with septic shock at the emergency department (ED) between January 2016 and December 2019. After excluding 405 patients who did not require resuscitation, refused enrollment, or developed septic shock after ED presentation, 889 patients were included. We defined thrombocytopenia as an admission platelet count lower than 150,000/µl according to SOFA score. We defined hypocoagulability and hypercoagulability as coagulation index (CI)< −3 and >3 on TEG, respectively. Results: Of the 889 septic shock patients (mean age 65.6 ± 12.7 years, 58.6% male), 473 (53.2%) had thrombocytopenia. Eighty-five (18.0%) patients showed hypercoagulable TEG and73 (15.4%) patients showed hypocoagulable TEG. The hypercoagulable TEG group had a significantly higher fibrinogen level and a lower 28-day mortality rate than the normal and hypocoagulable TEG groups (518 vs. 347 and 315 mg/dL; 7.1% vs. 21.1% and 36.8%, P < 0.01, respectively). In multivariate analysis, hypercoagulable TEG was associated with a decreased mortality rate (odds ratio: 0.395; 95% confidence interval, 0.162-0.965). Conclusions: In septic shock patients with thrombocytopenia, hypercoagulability was not uncommon. TEG can quickly distinguish the hypercoagulability and hypocoagulability states and serve as a valuable tool for evaluating the degree and risk in septic shock patients with thrombocytopenia.

Background We evaluated the characteristics and outcomes of culture-negative versus culture-positive septic shock. Methods We performed a retrospective observational study of data from a prospective registry from 2014 to 2018. A total of 2,499 adult patients with septic shock were enrolled. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality, and the secondary outcomes were the length of hospital stay, a requirement for mechanical ventilation or renal replacement therapy, and in-hospital mortality. Results Of 1,718 patients with septic shock, 1,012 (58.9%) patients were culture-positive (blood 803, urine 302, sputum 102, others 204) and the median pathogen detection time was 9.5 h (aerobic 10.2 h and anaerobic 9.0 h). The most common site of culture-positive infection was the hepatobiliary tract (39.5%), while for the culture-negative it was the lower respiratory tract (38.2%). The culture-negative group had a lower mean body temperature (37.3 vs 37.7 ℃), lactate (2.5 vs. 3.2 mmol/L), C-reactive protein (11.1 vs 11.9 mg/dL), and sequential organ failure assessment score (7.0 vs. 8.0) than that of the culture-positive group. However, 90-day mortality between the groups was not significantly different (32.7 vs 32.2%, p = 0.83), and the other clinical outcomes also did not differ significantly. Moreover, a shorter culture detection time was correlated with a higher sequential organ failure assessment score but not with mortality. Conclusion Patients with septic shock are frequently culture-negative, especially in cases where the infection focus is in the lower respiratory tract. Although culture-negative was associated with a degree of organ dysfunction, it was not an independent predictor of death.

The utilization of the emergency department (ED) has been continuously increasing and has become a burden for ED resources. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics, outcomes, common diagnoses, and disease classifications of patients who were referred to the ED. This nationwide epidemiologic study examined the data from adult patients (>18 years) who visited EDs from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018. Most EDs in Korea provide data from ED patients to the National Emergency Medical Center (NEMC). The disposition of ED patients was classified as discharge, admission, death, and re-transfer. From 2016 to 2018, the proportion of referred patients out of the total ED visits increased from 7.3% to 7.8%. The referred patients were older (61.1 vs. 50.5 years), had worse vital signs, longer ED lengths of stay (409.1 vs. 153.3 min), and higher admission (62.3 vs. 16.9%) and re-transfer rates (4.4 vs. 1.9%) than the direct-visit patients. Among the referred patients in the 3 years, 62.3% were hospitalized, and the most common disease classification was “disease of the digestive system” (19.8%). The most common diagnosis was pneumonia (6.0%), followed by urinary tract infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, and hepatobiliary infection. The number of patients referred to EDs is increasing, and more than 60% of referred patients are hospitalized. Detailed characteristics of these patients will be helpful for improving ED management and the distribution of medical resources.

Background: The impact of myosteatosis on septic patients has not been fully revealed. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of myosteatosis area and percentage on the 28-day mortality in patients with septic shock.Methods: We conducted a single-center, retrospective study with prospectively collected data from a registry of adult patients with septic shock who presented to the emergency department and performed abdominal computed tomography (CT) from May 2016 to May 2020. Myosteatosis area defined as the sum of the low-attenuation muscle area and intramuscular adipose tissue at the level of the third lumbar vertebra was measured by CT. Myosteatosis percentages were calculated by dividing the myosteatosis area by the total abdominal muscle area. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 28-day mortality were estimated using a multivariate logistic regression model.Results: Of the 896 patients, the 28-day mortality was 16.3% and the abnormal myosteatosis areas were commonly detected (81.7%). Among variables of body compositions, non-survivors had relatively lower normal-attenuation muscle area, higher low-attenuation muscle area, higher myosteatosis area, and higher myosteatosis percentage than survivors. Trends in myosteatosis according to age groups were different between the male and female groups. In subgroup analysis with male patients, the multivariate model showed that the myosteatosis percentage (adjusted OR 1.02 [95% CI 1.01–1.03]) was an independent risk factor for 28-day mortality. However, this association was not evident in the female group.Conclusions: Myosteatosis was common and a high myosteatosis percentage was associated with short-term mortality in patients with septic shock. Our results implied that abnormal fatty disposition in the muscle could lead to increased mortality, especially in male patients.

Background The current Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines recommend the remeasurement of lactate levels if the initial lactate level is elevated; however, the prognostic value of lactate kinetics is limited and inconsistent. We attempted to determine the efficacy of the lactate area score (calculated from repeated lactate measurements during initial resuscitation) as a prognostic marker of septic shock in the emergency department (ED). Methods We performed a retrospective study of adult patients with septic shock in the ED of a single tertiary medical center. Serial lactate levels were measured five times within 12 hours. We also compared the initial lactate level, maximum lactate level, and lactate area score. The lactate area score was defined as the sum of the area under the curve measured at 2, 4, 6, and 12 hours following the initial measurement. Results A total of 362 patients were enrolled in this study, and the overall 28-day mortality was 31.8%. The lactate area score of serial lactate levels as well as the initial (median [interquartile range], 4.9 [3.4 to 10.5]; P=0.003) and maximum (7.3 [4.2 to 13.2]; P

The ion shift index (ISI) is a suggested marker to reflect the magnitude of ischemic damage. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the ISI for predicting poor neurological outcomes at 6 months in comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors by comparing it with the OHCA and Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis (CAHP) scores. This observational registry-based cohort study included adult comatose OHCA survivors admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Korea between 2015 and 2021. The ISI was calculated using the serum electrolyte levels obtained within one hour of resuscitation. The primary outcome was poor neurological function (Cerebral Performance Category score of 3–5) at 6 months. Of the 250 OHCA survivors, 164 (65.6%) had poor neurological outcomes. These patients had a higher median ISI than those with good neurological outcomes (4.95 vs. 3.26, p < 0.001). ISI (adjusted odds ratio, 2.107; 95% confidence interval, 1.350–3.288, p = 0.001) was associated with poor neurological outcomes. The prognostic performance of ISI (area under the curve [AUC], 0.859) was similar to that of the OHCA score (AUC, 0.858; p = 0.968) and the CAHP score (AUC, 0.894; p = 0.183). ISI would be a prognostic biomarker for comatose OHCA survivors that is available during the immediate post-cardiac arrest period.

We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of dynamic changes in arterial blood gas analysis (ABGA) measured after the start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This prospective observational study was conducted at the emergency department of a university hospital from February 2018 to February 2020. All blood samples for gas analysis were collected from a radial or femoral arterial line, which was inserted during CPR. Changes in ABGA parameters were expressed as delta (Δ), defined as the values of the second ABGA minus the values of the initial ABGA. The primary outcome was sustained ROSC. Out of the 80 patients included in the analysis, 13 achieved sustained ROSC after in-hospital resuscitation. Multivariable logistic analysis revealed that ΔpaO2 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.023; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.004–1.043, p = 0.020) along with prehospital shockable rhythm (OR = 84.680; 95% CI = 2.561–2799.939, p = 0.013) and total resuscitation duration (OR = 0.881; 95% CI = 0.805–0.964, p = 0.006) were significant predictors for sustained ROSC. Our study suggests a possible association between ΔpaO2 in ABGA during CPR and an increased rate of sustained ROSC in the late phase of OHCA.

Background: Stroke diagnosis can be challenging in patients with dizziness without neurologic deficits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of C-reactive protein (CRP) for identifying acute stroke in such patients.Methods: Data from adult patients (>18 years) admitted to the emergency department from August 2019 to February 2020 were evaluated. The study subjects were 1,188 patients presenting with dizziness without neurological deficits whose serum CRP level was measured within 2 h of arriving at the emergency department and who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging. The relationship between CRP and acute stroke was analyzed using univariable and multivariable models.Results: Acute stroke was detected in 53 (4.4%) patients (40 with brain infarction, 10 with vertebrobasilar insufficiency, 2 with intracerebral hemorrhage, and 1 with subarachnoid hemorrhage). The CRP levels did not differ significantly between the acute stroke and non-stroke groups [0.10 (0.10–0.31) vs. 0.10 (0.10–0.16), P = 0.074]. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of CRP for acute stroke was not statistically significant (0.567, P = 0.101). On multivariable analysis, the following variables were associated with acute stroke: age (odds ratio [OR], 1.041; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.011–1.071), history of cerebrovascular accidents (OR, 1.823; 95% CI, 1.068–3.110), white blood cell count (OR, 1.126; 95% CI, 1.017–1.248), and hemoglobin (OR, 1.316; 95% CI, 1.056–1.640). However, CRP (P = 0.183) was not associated with acute stroke.Conclusion: Serum CRP levels do not have significant discriminative value for identifying acute stroke in patients with dizziness without definite neurologic deficits.

Introduction: To evaluate the prognostic value of the time-to-positivity in patients with culture-positive septic shock. Methods: Retrospective study using a prospective data registry was performed at the emergency department of a tertiary hospital. Consecutive adult patients with septic shock (N = 2499) were enrolled between 2014 and 2018. Bacteremia was defined using blood cultures, and viral and fungal pathogens were excluded. The primary outcome was the 28-day mortality. Results: In 803 (46.7%) septic shock patients with bacteremia, median TTP was 10.1 h. The most prevalent isolated bacterial pathogens were Escherichia coli (40.8%) and Klebsiella (23.4%). Although the TTP correlated with a higher sequential organ failure assessment score (Spearman’s rho = −0.12, p &lt, 0.01), it showed no significant difference between the 28-day survivors and non-survivors (10.2 vs. 9.4 days, p = 0.35). In subgroup analysis of the Escherichia coli and Klebsiella bacteremia cases, a shorter TTP showed prognostic value for predicting the 28-day mortality. The optimal TTP cut-off for Escherichia coli and Klebsiella was 10 h and 8 h, respectively. Conclusions: The prognostic value of the TTP in septic shock patients receiving bundle therapy may be limited and its clinical interpretation should only be made on a pathogen-specific basis.

(1) Background: The emergency department provides lifesaving treatment and has become an entry point to hospital admission. The purpose of our study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients who were admitted through the emergency department to the intensive care unit or general ward. (2) Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive analysis using the National Emergency Department Information System, analyzing patient data including disease category, diagnosis, and mortality from 1 January 2016, to 31 December 2018. (3) Results: During the study period, about 13.6% were admitted through the emergency department. Of these, the overall in-hospital mortality was 4.6%. The frequent disease class for the intensive care unit admissions was the cardiovascular system, and the classes for the general ward admissions were as follows: injury and toxicology, digestive system, and respiratory system. Cardiovascular system-related emergencies were the predominant cause of death among patients admitted to the intensive care unit, however, oncologic complications were the leading cause of death in the general ward. (4) Conclusions: Emergency departments are incrementally utilized as the entry point for hospital admission. Health care providers need to understand emergency department admission epidemiology and prepare for managing patients with certain common diagnoses.

Background Inter-hospital transfer (IHT) for emergency department (ED) admission is a burden to high-level EDs. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and ED utilization patterns of patients who underwent single and double IHTs at high-level EDs in South Korea. Methods This nationwide cross-sectional study analyzed data from the National Emergency Department Information System for the period of 2016–2018. All the patients who underwent IHT at Level I and II emergency centers during this time period were included. The patients were categorized into the single-transfer and double-transfer groups. The clinical characteristics and ED utilization patterns were compared between the two groups. Results We found that 2.1% of the patients in the ED (n = 265,046) underwent IHTs; 18.1% of the pediatric patients (n = 3,556), and 24.2% of the adult patients (n = 59,498) underwent double transfers. Both pediatric (median, 141.0 vs. 208.0 minutes, P < 0.001) and adult (median, 189.0 vs. 308.0 minutes, P < 0.001) patients in the double-transfer group had longer duration of stay in the EDs. Patient's request was the reason for transfer in 41.9% of all IHTs (111,076 of 265,046). Unavailability of medical resources was the reason for transfer in 30.0% of the double transfers (18,920 of 64,054). Conclusion The incidence of double-transfer of patients is increasing. The main reasons for double transfers were patient's request and unavailability of medical resources at the first-transfer hospitals. Emergency physicians and policymakers should focus on lowering the number of preventable double transfers., Graphical Abstract

Additional file 4. Table 3: Univariate and multivariate analysis for predicting mechanical ventilator requirements.

Additional file 1. Figure 1: Septic shock registry of the study population. Emergency medicine (EM) physicians on duty recognized the patients with presumed septic shock consecutively. They resuscitated patients and enrolled them in the registry with informed consent. All of the data were reviewed by the well-trained EM staff who majored in critical care and decided on the final inclusion. After excluding septic shock-mimic cases, EM physicians collected numerous variables, including demographic data, laboratory data, radiologic results, treatment-related parameters, and clinical outcomes. For the secondary analysis, investigators who were involved this study extracted additional data, such as culture results, and time-to-positivity.

Additional file 5. Table 4: In-hospital mortality according to sites of infection among patients with culture-negative septic shock.

Additional file 3. Table 2: Baseline characteristics of septic shock according to the culture results.

Additional file 2. Table 1: Frequency of the subspecies of the isolated bacteria.

Diagnosing stroke in patients experiencing dizziness without neurological deficits is challenging for physicians. This study tried to evaluate the prevalence of acute stroke in patients who presented with isolated dizziness without neurological deficits at the emergency department (ED), and determine the relevant stroke predictors in this population. This was an observational, retrospective record review of consecutive 2,215 adult patients presenting with dizziness at the ED between August 2019 and February 2020. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for acute stroke. 1,239 patients were enrolled and analyzed. Acute stroke was identified in 55 of 1,239 patients (4.5%); most cases (96.3%) presented as ischemic stroke with frequent involvement (29.1%) of the cerebellum. In the multivariate analysis, the history of cerebrovascular injury (odds ratio [OR] 3.08 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.24 to 7.67]) and an age of > 65 years (OR 3.01 [95% CI 1.33 to 6.83]) were the independent risk factors for predicting acute stroke. The combination of these two risks showed a higher specificity (94.26%) than that of each factor alone. High-risk patients, such as those aged over 65 years or with a history of cerebrovascular injury, may require further neuroimaging workup in the ED to rule out stroke.

BACKGROUND Personal health records (PHRs) can be useful in the emergency department, as they provide patient information in an accurate and timely manner and enable it to be used actively. This has an effect on patients’ health outcomes and patient experience. Despite the importance of PHRs in emergencies, there are only a few studies related to PHRs in emergencies that evaluate patient experience. OBJECTIVE This study aims to introduce the novel mobile PHR (mPHR) platform to emergency environments and assess user experience. METHODS The study was conducted from October 2019 to November 2019. In total, 1000 patients or carers in the emergency departments of 3 hospitals were provided an application-based service called FirstER, which was developed to collect and utilize medical information for patients in the emergency department. This study was performed as a mixed methods study. After using FirstER, we investigated its usability and conducted a survey on the experience of obtaining medical information with a legacy system and with FirstER. Additionally, we interviewed 24 patients to gain insight into their experiences regarding medical information using FirstER. For the quantitative analysis, the survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation). For the qualitative analysis, we determined the keywords and their frequencies from each survey question and interview question. RESULTS In total, 1000 participants, consisting of both patients and carers, were recruited in this study. Their mean age was 41.4 (SD 13.3) years. We ascertained participants’ satisfaction with FirstER and their mPHR needs through a survey and an in-depth interview. With the current system, participants were not well aware of their health conditions and medical information, and they were passive in the use of their medical information and treatment. However, they wanted their medical information for several reasons, such as information sharing and managing their health conditions. FirstER provided participants with their needed information and an easy way to access it. The mean System Usability Scale (SUS) value was 67.1 (SD 13.8), which was considered very near to acceptable. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first to implement mPHRs in the emergency department of large tertiary hospitals in the Republic of Korea. FirstER was found to enhance user experience in emergencies, as it provided necessary medical information and proper user experience. Moreover, the average SUS was 67.1, which means that participants found FirstER to be very near to acceptable. This is very encouraging in that FirstER was developed within a very short time, and it was a pilot study. CLINICALTRIAL Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04180618; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04180618

Background We evaluated the characteristics and outcomes of culture-negative septic shock versus culture-positive septic shock.Methods We performed a retrospective observational study of data from a prospective registry from 2014 to 2018. A total of 2,499 adult patients with septic shock were enrolled. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality, and the secondary outcomes were the length of hospital stay, a requirement for mechanical ventilation or renal replacement therapy, and in-hospital mortality.Results Of 1,718 patients with septic shock, 1,012 (58.9%) patients were culture-positive (blood 803, urine 302, sputum 102, others 204) and the median pathogen detection time was 9.5 hours (aerobic 10.2 hours and anaerobic 9.0 hours). The most common site of infection among the culture-positive was the hepatobiliary tract (39.5%), while for the culture-negative was the lower respiratory tract (38.2%). The culture-negative group had a lower mean body temperature (37.3 vs 37.7 ℃), lactate (2.5 vs. 3.2 mmol/L), C-reactive protein (11.1 vs 11.9 mg/dL), and sequential organ failure assessment score (7.0 vs. 8.0) than that of the culture-positive group. However, 90-day mortality between the groups was not significantly different (32.7 vs 32.2%, p = 0.83), and the other clinical outcomes also did not differ significantly. Moreover, a shorter culture detection time was correlated with a higher sequential organ failure assessment score but not with mortality.Conclusion Patients with septic shock are frequently culture-negative, especially in cases where the infection focus is in the lower respiratory tract. Although culture-negative was associated with degree of organ dysfunction, it was not an independent predictor of death.

This study was to determine whether prolonged emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) is associated with increased risk of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). A retrospective cohort with a nationwide database of all adult patients who visited the EDs in South Korea between January 2016 and December 2017 was performed. A total of 18,217,034 patients visited an ED during the study period. The median ED LOS was 2.5 h. IHCA occurred in 9,180 patients (0.2%). IHCA was associated with longer ED LOS (4.2 vs. 2.5 h), and higher rates of intensive care unit (ICU) admission (58.6% vs. 4.7%) and in-hospital mortality (35.7% vs. 1.5%). The ED LOS correlated positively with the development of IHCA (Spearman &rho, = 0.91, p &lt, 0.01) and was an independent risk factor for IHCA (odds ratio (OR) 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10&ndash, 1.10). The development of IHCA increased in a stepwise fashion across increasing quartiles of ED LOS, with ORs for the second, third, and fourth relative to the first being 3.35 (95% CI, 3.26&ndash, 3.44), 3.974 (95% CI, 3.89&ndash, 4.06), and 4.97 (95% CI, 4.89&ndash, 5.05), respectively. ED LOS should be reduced to prevent adverse events in patients visiting the ED.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and determinants of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after cardiac arrest (CA). We conducted an observational, retrospective cohort study with consecutive adult out-of-hospital and in-hospital (occurred only in the emergency department, ED) CA survivors from our ED. Development of ARDS was identified by results of arterial blood gases, chest images, and transthoracic echocardiography according to the Berlin definition. The primary outcome was the poor neurologic outcome, defined as cerebral performance category ≥3 at 28 days, and secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality, recovery rate from ARDS, duration of mechanical ventilator use, and length of stay. Among 295 enrolled patients, 30 patients who received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and 19 patents who had cardiogenic pulmonary edema were excluded. ARDS had developed in 119 (48.4%) patients on admission (mild 20 [16.8%], moderate 48 [40.3%], and severe 51 [42.9%]) and 54 (45.4%) patients recovered before hospital discharge. Development of ARDS was associated with poor neurologic outcomes at 28 days (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-1.98]). Moreover, more severe ARDS was associated with a higher risk of poor neurological outcomes (mild: reference; moderate: adjusted HR 1.66 [95% CI: 1.10-2.49]; and severe: adjusted HR 1.76 [95% CI: 1.16-2.65]). Therefore, development of ARDS after CA was associated with unfavorable neurologic outcomes and had a linear association with ARDS severity. Early recognition and proper management of ARDS may be useful during post-CA care.

ObjectiveSepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SIMD) can involve both the left and right ventricles. However, the characteristics and outcomes across various manifestations of SIMD remain unknown.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study using a prospective registry of septic shock from January 2011 and April 2017. Patients with clinically presumed cardiac dysfunction underwent echocardiography within 72 hours after admission and were enrolled (n=778). SIMD was classified as left ventricle (LV) systolic/diastolic and right ventricle (RV) dysfunction, which were defined based on the American Society of Echocardiography criteria. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality.ResultsOf the 778 septic shock patients who underwent echocardiography, 270 (34.7%) showed SIMD. The median age was 67.0 years old, and the male was predominant (57.3%). Among them, 67.3% had LV systolic dysfunction, 40.7% had RV dysfunction and 39.3% had LV diastolic dysfunction. Although serum lactate level and sequential organ failure assessment score were not significantly different between groups, SIMD group showed higher troponin I (0.1 vs 0.1 ng/mL; p=0.02) and poor clinical outcomes, including higher 28-day mortality (35.9 vs 26.8%; pConclusionsOne-third of patients with septic shock showed various myocardial dysfunctions. LV systolic dysfunction was common; however, only RV dysfunction was associated with short-term mortality.

Cardiac arrest can activate blood coagulation, which clinically manifests as obstruction of the microcirculation and multiple organ dysfunction. Thromboelastography (TEG) provides a rapid and comprehensive assessment of hemostatic processes, but there are limited data on the use of sequential TEG values during targeted temperature management (TTM) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of coagulopathy assessed by repeated TEG to predict neurologically intact survival.A prospective cohort of consecutive non-trauma OHCA patients who were successfully resuscitated and treated with TTM. Patients with a target temperature of 36 ℃, no TEG data, and who declined appropriate treatment were excluded. TEG was measured at three time points of TTM (initial phase, target phase, and rewarming phase). The primary outcome was 28 day favorable neurologic function, defined as a Cerebral Performance Category of 1 or 2.A total of 125 patients (mean age, 61 years; 63.2% male) were analyzed. A favorable neurologic outcome at 28 days was seen in 40 patients (32.0%). TEG values of R and LY30 in the initial phase were significantly lower in the favorable neurologic outcome group than in the unfavorable group (5.8 vs. 8.1 and 0.1 vs. 0.7, respectively; p 0.01). TEG values of R 5 or LY30 7.5 in the initial phase were more frequently seen in the favorable outcomes group than in the unfavorable group (37.5% vs. 12.9%, p = 0.002 and 95.0% vs. 72.9%, p = 0.004, respectively). However, no significant differences were seen between the two groups in other TEG values (R, K, alpha, and MA) in the target and rewarming phases (p 0.05 for all). Univariate analysis showed higher D-dimer levels, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time in the unfavorable outcome group. In the multivariable analysis, TEG values of combination of R 5 and LY30 7.5 in the initial phase were the only coagulation profiles seen to be independently associated with favorable neurologic outcome (OR, 4.508, 95% CI, 1.254-16.210).TEG results are available within minutes, and shorted R values or the absence of prolonged LY30 values in the initial phase are an early predictor of neurologically intact survival in successfully resuscitated OHCA patients.

(1) Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following cardiac arrest is common and associated with in-hospital mortality. We aim to investigate whether lung compliance during targeted temperature management is associated with neurological outcome in patients with ARDS after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). (2) Methods: This observational study is conducted in the emergency intensive care unit from January 2011 to April 2019 using data from a prospective patient registry. Adult patients (age &ge, 18 years) who survived non-traumatic OHCA and subsequently developed ARDS based on the Berlin definition are included. Mechanical ventilator parameters such as plateau pressure, tidal volume, minute ventilation, positive end expiratory pressure, and compliance are recorded for 7 days or until death, and categorized as maximum, median, and minimum. The primary outcome is a favorable neurological outcome defined as a Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 or 2 at hospital discharge. (3) Results: Regarding 246 OHCA survivors, 119 (48.4%) patients developed ARDS. A favorable neurologic outcome was observed in 23 (19.3%). Patients with a favorable outcome have a significantly higher lung compliance (38.6 mL/cm H2O versus 27.5 mL/cm H2O), lower inspiratory pressure (12.0 cm H2O versus 16.0 cm H2O), and lower plateau pressure (17.0 cm H2O versus 21.0 cm H2O) than those with a poor neurologic outcome (all p &lt, 0.01). Concerning time-dependent cox regression models, all maximum (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02&ndash, 1.09), minimum (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03&ndash, 1.13), and median (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02&ndash, 1.09) compliances are independently associated with a good neurologic outcome. Maximum compliance, &gt, 32.5 mL/cm H2O at day 1, has the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.745) with a positive predictive value of 90.4%. (4) Conclusions: Lung compliance may be an early predictor of intact neurologic survival in patients with ARDS following cardiac arrest.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Comparisons of the survival rates between ED occupancy rate at critical and urgent zone according to the time.

AIM To develop and validate a radiomics-based model for predicting response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) using baseline computed tomography (CT) images in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS A radiomics signature for predicting pathological complete response (pCR) was developed using radiomics features selected by a random forest classifier on baseline CT images, and imaging predictors were identified in the training set (87 patients). By incorporating imaging predictors and radiomics signature, an imaging-based model was constructed using multivariate logistic regression analysis and validated in an independent validation set consisting of 48 patients with CT from outside institutions. The performance and clinical usefulness of the imaging-based model for predicting pCR were evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and decision curve analysis. Using a cut-off determined in the training set, the positive likelihood ratios of the imaging-based model were calculated and compared with imaging and histological predictors. RESULTS The radiomics signature was developed based on six stable radiomics features. An imaging-based model incorporating radiomics signature, tumour shape, tumour size, and clinical stage showed good performance for predicting pCR in both the training (AUC, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78–0.93) and validation (AUC, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.60–0.86) sets, providing a larger net benefit in decision curve analysis. The imaging-based model showed a higher positive likelihood ratio (1.91) for pCR than imaging and histological predictors (1.33–1.63). CONCLUSIONS The radiomics-based model using baseline CT images may predict the response of patients with MIBC to NAC.

(1) Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is an emerging tool for investigating nonischemic cardiomyopathies and cardiac systemic disease. However, data on the cardiac arrest population are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of CMR imaging in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). (2) Methods: We conducted the retrospective observational study using a multicenter registry of adult non-traumatic comatose OHCA survivors who underwent TTM between January 2010 and December 2019. Of the 949 patients, 389 with OHCA of non-cardiac cause, 145 with significant lesions in the coronary artery, 151 who died during TTM, 81 without further evaluation due to anticipated poor neurological outcome, and 51 whose etiology is underlying disease were excluded. In 36 of the 132 remaining patients, the etiologies included variant angina, long QT syndrome, and complete atrioventricular block in ancillary studies. Fifty-six patients were diagnosed idiopathic ventricular fibrillation without CMR. (3) Results: CMR imaging was performed in the remaining 40 patients with cardiac arrest of unknown cause. The median time from cardiac arrest to CMR imaging was 10.1 days. The CMR finding was normal in 23 patients, non-diagnostic in 12, and abnormal in 5, which suggested non-ischemic cardiomyopathy but did not support the final diagnosis. (4) Conclusions: CMR imaging may not be useful for identifying unknown causes of cardiac arrest in OHCA survivors treated with targeted temperature management without definitive diagnosis even after coronary angiography, echocardiography, and electrophysiology studies. However, further large-scale studies will be needed to confirm these findings.

Background Personal health records (PHRs) can be useful in the emergency department, as they provide patient information in an accurate and timely manner and enable it to be used actively. This has an effect on patients’ health outcomes and patient experience. Despite the importance of PHRs in emergencies, there are only a few studies related to PHRs in emergencies that evaluate patient experience. Objective This study aims to introduce the novel mobile PHR (mPHR) platform to emergency environments and assess user experience. Methods The study was conducted from October 2019 to November 2019. In total, 1000 patients or carers in the emergency departments of 3 hospitals were provided an application-based service called FirstER, which was developed to collect and utilize medical information for patients in the emergency department. This study was performed as a mixed methods study. After using FirstER, we investigated its usability and conducted a survey on the experience of obtaining medical information with a legacy system and with FirstER. Additionally, we interviewed 24 patients to gain insight into their experiences regarding medical information using FirstER. For the quantitative analysis, the survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation). For the qualitative analysis, we determined the keywords and their frequencies from each survey question and interview question. Results In total, 1000 participants, consisting of both patients and carers, were recruited in this study. Their mean age was 41.4 (SD 13.3) years. We ascertained participants’ satisfaction with FirstER and their mPHR needs through a survey and an in-depth interview. With the current system, participants were not well aware of their health conditions and medical information, and they were passive in the use of their medical information and treatment. However, they wanted their medical information for several reasons, such as information sharing and managing their health conditions. FirstER provided participants with their needed information and an easy way to access it. The mean System Usability Scale (SUS) value was 67.1 (SD 13.8), which was considered very near to acceptable. Conclusions This study is the first to implement mPHRs in the emergency department of large tertiary hospitals in the Republic of Korea. FirstER was found to enhance user experience in emergencies, as it provided necessary medical information and proper user experience. Moreover, the average SUS was 67.1, which means that participants found FirstER to be very near to acceptable. This is very encouraging in that FirstER was developed within a very short time, and it was a pilot study. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04180618; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04180618

(1) Background: The currently proposed criteria for diagnosing overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) are not suitable for early detection of DIC. Thromboelastography (TEG) rapidly provides a comprehensive assessment of the entire coagulation process and is helpful as a guide for correcting consumptive coagulopathy in sepsis-induced DIC. This study aimed to investigate the role of TEG in the prediction of DIC in patients with septic shock. (2) Methods: TEG was conducted prospectively in 1294 patients with septic shock at the emergency department (ED) between January 2016 and December 2019. After exclusion of 405 patients with &ldquo, do not attempt resuscitation&rdquo, orders, those refusing enrollment, and those developing septic shock after ED presentation, 889 patients were included. DIC was defined as an International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis score &ge, 5 points within 24 h. (3) Results: Of the 889 patients with septic shock (mean age 65.6 &plusmn, 12.7 years, 58.6% male), 158 (17.8%) developed DIC. TEG values, except lysis after 30 min, were significantly different between the DIC and non-DIC groups. Among the TEG values, the maximal amplitude (MA) had the highest discriminating power for DIC, with an area under the curve of 0.814. An MA &lt, 60 indicated DIC with 79% sensitivity, 73% specificity, and 94% negative predictive value. Based on multivariable analysis, MA &lt, 60 was an independent predictor of DIC (odds ratio 5.616 (95% confidence interval: 3.213&ndash, 9.818)). (4) Conclusions: In patients with septic shock, the MA value in TEG could be a valuable tool for early prediction of DIC.