scholarly journals Impact of the Sequence of Norepinephrine and Vasopressin Discontinuation in Patients Recovering From Septic Shock

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Benjamin E. Bredhold ◽  
Shauna D. Winters ◽  
John C. Callison ◽  
Robert E. Heidel ◽  
Lauren M. Allen ◽  
...  

Background: Septic shock is a serious medical condition affecting millions of people each year and guidelines direct vasopressor use in these patients. However, there is little information as to which vasopressor should be discontinued first. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the sequence of norepinephrine and vasopressin discontinuation on intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study conducted at The University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Patients included in this study were adults 18 years of age and older with a diagnosis of septic shock who received norepinephrine in combination with vasopressin. Patients were excluded if norepinephrine or vasopressin were not the last 2 vasoactive agents used or if the patient expired or care was withdrawn. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 86 patients were included in this study, with 34 patients in the norepinephrine discontinued first group (NDF) and 52 in the vasopressin discontinued first group (VDF). For the primary outcome of ICU length of stay, no statistically significant difference was found between the NDF and the VDF groups (9.38 days vs 11.07 days, P = .313). The secondary outcome of the dose of norepinephrine at which vasopressin was initiated was also found to not be significant between the NDF and VDF groups (22 µg/min vs 31.1 µg/min, P = .11). The rates of hypotension within 24 hours of discontinuation of the first agent were also not significant between the NDF and VDF groups (17% vs 31%, P = .38). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, there was significant no difference in ICU length of stay based on the sequence of discontinuation between norepinephrine and vasopressin in patients recovering from septic shock.

2021 ◽  
pp. 089719002110150
Author(s):  
Ashley Taylor ◽  
Timothy Jones ◽  
Christy Cecil Forehand ◽  
Susan E. Smith ◽  
Hannah Dykes ◽  
...  

Background: The optimal vasopressor management for septic patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction has not been well established, and current evidence is conflicting regarding the optimal vasopressor discontinuation order. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the impact of LV dysfunction on the hemodynamic management of septic shock by assessing the incidence of clinically significant hypotension after vasopressor discontinuation. Methods: In this single-center, retrospective cohort study, adult patients were included if they met the Sepsis-3 definition of septic shock, had LV dysfunction (defined as an ejection fraction ≤40%), and received norepinephrine and vasopressin as the last vasopressors discontinued. The primary outcome was the incidence of clinically significant hypotension following discontinuation of vasopressin or norepinephrine. Clinically significant hypotension was defined as a MAP less than 60 mmHg and the need for either: 1) the reinstitution of the previously discontinued agent at any dosage, 2) the receipt of at least 500 mL of a crystalloid at a rate of at least 500 mL/hour, 3) or the receipt of at least 25 grams of albumin 5% at a rate of at least 25 gram/hour. Secondary outcomes included intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital lengths of stay, and ICU and hospital mortality. Results: A total of 78 patients met inclusion criteria, with 37 patients having vasopressin discontinued first and 41 having norepinephrine discontinued first. Clinically significant hypotension occurred in 28 patients (76%) following the discontinuation of vasopressin, compared to 28 patients (81%) following the discontinuation of norepinephrine (p = 0.61). ICU length of stay was 9 days in the vasopressin discontinued first cohort, compared to 15 days in the norepinephrine discontinued first cohort (p = 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in mortality observed. Conclusion: The discontinuation order of norepinephrine and vasopressin did not impact the incidence of clinically significant hypotension in patients with septic shock and LV dysfunction, but may influence ICU length of stay, although other factors may have impacted this finding.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088506662098780
Author(s):  
Yazan Zayed ◽  
Bashar N. Alzghoul ◽  
Momen Banifadel ◽  
Hima Venigandla ◽  
Ryan Hyde ◽  
...  

Background: There is a conflicting body of evidence regarding the benefit of vitamin C, thiamine, and hydrocortisone in combination as an adjunctive therapy for sepsis with or without septic shock. We aimed to assess the efficacy of this treatment among predefined populations. Methods: A literature review of major electronic databases was performed to include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating vitamin C, thiamine, and hydrocortisone in the treatment of patients with sepsis with or without septic shock in comparison to the control group. Results: Seven studies met our inclusion criteria, and 6 studies were included in the final analysis totaling 839 patients (mean age 64.2 ± 18; SOFA score 8.7 ± 3.3; 46.6% female). There was no significant difference between both groups in long term mortality (Risk Ratio (RR) 1.05; 95% CI 0.85-1.30; P = 0.64), ICU mortality (RR 1.03; 95% CI 0.73-1.44; P = 0.87), or incidence of acute kidney injury (RR 1.05; 95% CI 0.80-1.37; P = 0.75). Furthermore, there was no significant difference in hospital length of stay, ICU length of stay, and ICU free days on day 28 between the intervention and control groups. There was, however, a significant difference in the reduction of SOFA score on day 3 from baseline (MD −0.92; 95% CI −1.43 to −.41; P < 0.05). In a trial sequential analysis for mortality outcomes, our results are inconclusive for excluding lack of benefit of this therapy. Conclusion: Among patients with sepsis with or without septic shock, treatment with vitamin C, thiamine, and hydrocortisone was not associated with a significant reduction in mortality, incidence of AKI, hospital and ICU length of stay, or ICU free days on day 28. There was a significant reduction of SOFA score on day 3 post-randomization. Further studies with a larger number of patients are needed to provide further evidence on the efficacy or lack of efficacy of this treatment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s406-s407
Author(s):  
Katherine Peterson ◽  
Lindsay Smith ◽  
John Ahern ◽  
Bradley Tompkins

Background: Antibiotic “time outs” have been identified as a way to decrease inappropriate use of antibiotics in hospitals.1 The University of Vermont Medical Center created a best-practice advisory (BPA) to alert clinicians to review piperacillin-tazobactam prescriptions after 72 hours (Fig. 1). Data examining the use of a BPA as a method to prompt clinicians to perform an antibiotic “time out” are limited. Objective: The purpose of our retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the BPA on the rate of piperacillin-tazobactam prescribing as measured by defined daily dose per 1,000 patient days (DDD). Methods: The BPA was integrated into the electronic health record and designed to activate once piperacillin-tazobactam has been prescribed for ≥72 hours. Under approval of the University of Vermont’s Institutional Review Board, administered data for piperacillin-tazobactam and 3 control antibiotics (cefazolin, ceftriaxone, and meropenem) were collected for 1 year prior to and 1 year following the launch of the BPA. Administered data were converted to DDD, and an interrupted time-series analysis was performed to evaluate for changes in antibiotic use. Results: The data included 7,094 patients in the preintervention group and 6,661 patients in the postintervention group. The BPA fired 1,478 times. The prescribing rate of piperacillin-tazobactam 1 year prior to the BPA was 32.34 DDD and decreased every month both before (−1.22 DDD) and after (−0.27 DDD) the BPA initiation, with no significant difference in prescribing trends (P = .10). Meropenem prescribing in the BPA era increased each month compared to the pre-BPA period (1.16 DDD; P = 0.02), whereas cefazolin use (P = .93) and ceftriaxone (P = .09) use did not significantly change. Conclusions: The data show that piperacillin-tazobactam utilization at our institution is decreasing. Considering that this trend started prior to the launch of the BPA and that rate of decline remained unchanged post-BPA, we conclude that the BPA did not further impact our piperacillin-tazobactam consumption. It is possible that other factors influencing prescribing account for the observed decline, including an institution-wide educational campaign regarding the appropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics that was initiated in the months prior to the BPA. The reason for the significant rise in meropenem post-BPA is unclear. This may be unrelated to the BPA; however, it requires further investigation.1. Core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. https://www.cdc.gov/antibioticuse/healthcare/implementation/core-elements.html. Updated July 19, 2019. Accessed October 6, 2019.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Hughes ◽  
W Cunningham ◽  
S Yalamarthi

Introduction Stoma formation following colorectal resection is often anticipated prior to surgery. Becoming independent with stoma handling can sometimes delay discharge beyond achievement of discharge criteria. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of preoperative stoma training on length of stay. Methods Patients undergoing colorectal resection within an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme were prospectively entered into a database. Retrospective analysis was performed of those who received a stoma as part of their operation. Patients who underwent preoperative stoma training were compared with those who had conventional postoperative training. The primary outcome measure was length of hospital stay. Secondary outcome measures included overall morbidity, stoma related morbidity, ERAS milestone achievement and readmission rates. Results The median length of stay was improved in the patients receiving preoperative stoma training (8 days [interquartile range: 6–10] vs 9 days [interquartile range: 7–19.5], p=0.025). No statistically significant difference was observed in overall morbidity rates, stoma specific morbidity, ERAS milestones or readmission rates. Conclusions Preoperative stoma training can reduce length of stay and could be employed routinely for patients who are planned to have colorectal surgery. Such training can be incorporated within ERAS pathways.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S179-S179
Author(s):  
Lourdes Castanon ◽  
Kamil Hanna ◽  
Samer Asmar ◽  
Michael F Ditillo ◽  
Lynn Gries ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Nutrition is a critical component of acute burn care and wound healing. There is no consensus over the appropriate timing of initiating enteral nutrition (EN) in geriatric burn patients. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of early EN on outcomes in geriatric burn patients. We hypothesized that early EN is associated with improved outcomes. Methods We performed a 2-year (2015–2016) analysis of the ACS-TQIP and included all older adult (age ≥65years) burn patients who received EN. Patients were stratified into two groups based on timing of initiation of EN: Early-EN (&lt; 24 hrs) vs. Late-EN (≥ 24 hrs). We performed propensity score matching (1:2 ratio) to control for possible confounding variables including demographics, comorbidities, injury parameters, height and body weight. Outcome measures were in-hospital; complications, hospital and ICU length of stay, and mortality. Results A total of 593,818 trauma patients were analyzed, of which 447 patients were matched (Early-EN: 159 vs Late-EN: 318). Mean age was 44±22, 75% were males, and median ISS was 29 [26–36] and mean total body burn surface area (TBSA) was 15±5%. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age (p=0.99), gender (p=0.60), race (p=0.91), ISS (p=0.43), GCS (p=0.85), TBSA (p=0.51), height (p=0.71), and weight (p=0.61). Overall, the complications rate was 40%, median hospital LOS was 25 [15–36] days, median ICU LOS was 15 [8–26] days and mortality rate was 16%. Patients in the early ED group had significantly lower rate of complications and mortality Table 1. At the same time, patients in the early group had lower hospital length of stay (23[12–36] vs. 26[16–38], p=0.013) and ICU length of stay (12[8–24] vs. 16[8–26], p=0.025). Conclusions In our propensity matched cohort of geriatric burn patients, early EN was associated with improvement in outcomes. The cumulative benefits observed may warrant incorporating early EN as part of intensive care protocols. Applicability of Research to Practice Geriatric patients are a special subset of the population that require additional considerations. Our research highlights the impact of early enteral nutrition on different in hospital outcomes. This is an area of constant debate, our study shows that early enteral nutrition in geriatric burn patients is associated with improved outcome. We found this applicable in most of our patients and thus it might warrant further incorporation in ICU burn protocols.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Banasik ◽  
Dariusz Jemielniak ◽  
Wojciech P?dzich

BACKGROUND There have been mixed results of the studies checking whether prayers do actually extend the life duration of the people prayed for. Most studies on the topic included a small number of prayers and most of them focused on people already struggling with a medical condition. Intercessory prayer’s influence on health is of scholarly interest, yet it is unclear if its effect may be dependent on the number of prayers for a named individual received per annum. OBJECTIVE We sought to examine if there is a noticeable increased longevity effect of intercessory prayer for a named individual’s well-being, if he receives a very high number of prayers per annum for an extended period. METHODS We retrieved and conducted a statistical analysis of the data about the length of life for 857 Roman Catholic bishops, 500 Catholic priests, and 3038 male academics from the US, France, Italy, Poland, Brazil, and Mexico. We obtained information for these individuals who died between 1988 and 2018 from Wikidata, and conducted an observational cohort study. Bishops were chosen for the study, as they receive millions of individual prayers for well being, according to conservative estimates. RESULTS There was a main effect for occupation F(2, 4391) = 4.07, p = .017, ηp 2 = .002, with pairwise comparisons indicating significant differences between the mean life duration of bishops (M=30489) and of priests (M=29894), but none between the academic teachers (M=30147) and either of the other groups. A comparison analysis between bishops from the largest and the smallest dioceses showed no significant difference t(67.31)=1.61, p = .11. Our main outcome measure is covariance of the mean length of life in each of the categories: bishops, priests, academic teachers, controlled for nationality. CONCLUSIONS The first analysis proved that bishops live longer than priests, but due to a marginal effect size this result should be treated with caution. No difference was found between the mean length of life of bishops from the largest and the smallest dioceses. We found no difference between bishops and male academics. These results show that the impact of intercessory prayers on longevity is not observable.


Author(s):  
Răzvan Bologheanu ◽  
Mathias Maleczek ◽  
Daniel Laxar ◽  
Oliver Kimberger

Summary Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupts routine care and alters treatment pathways in every medical specialty, including intensive care medicine, which has been at the core of the pandemic response. The impact of the pandemic is inevitably not limited to patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and their outcomes; however, the impact of COVID-19 on intensive care has not yet been analyzed. Methods The objective of this propensity score-matched study was to compare the clinical outcomes of non-COVID-19 critically ill patients with the outcomes of prepandemic patients. Critically ill, non-COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during the first wave of the pandemic were matched with patients admitted in the previous year. Mortality, length of stay, and rate of readmission were compared between the two groups after matching. Results A total of 211 critically ill SARS-CoV‑2 negative patients admitted between 13 March 2020 and 16 May 2020 were matched to 211 controls, selected from a matching pool of 1421 eligible patients admitted to the ICU in 2019. After matching, the outcomes were not significantly different between the two groups: ICU mortality was 5.2% in 2019 and 8.5% in 2020, p = 0.248, while intrahospital mortality was 10.9% in 2019 and 14.2% in 2020, p = 0.378. The median ICU length of stay was similar in 2019: 4 days (IQR 2–6) compared to 2020: 4 days (IQR 2–7), p = 0.196. The rate of ICU readmission was 15.6% in 2019 and 10.9% in 2020, p = 0.344. Conclusion In this retrospective single center study, mortality, ICU length of stay, and rate of ICU readmission did not differ significantly between patients admitted to the ICU during the implementation of hospital-wide COVID-19 contingency planning and patients admitted to the ICU before the pandemic.


Diagnosis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Eames ◽  
Arie Eisenman ◽  
Richard J. Schuster

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that changes in diagnoses from admission to discharge are associated with poorer outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate how diagnostic discordance affects patient outcomes.: The first three digits of ICD-9-CM codes at admission and discharge were compared for concordance. The study involved 6281 patients admitted to the Western Galilee Medical Center, Naharyia, Israel from the emergency department (ED) between 01 November 2012 and 21 January 2013. Concordant and discordant diagnoses were compared in terms of, length of stay, number of transfers, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, readmission, and mortality.: Discordant diagnoses was associated with increases in patient mortality rate (5.1% vs. 1.5%; RR 3.35, 95% CI 2.43, 4.62; p<0.001), the number of ICU admissions (6.7% vs. 2.7%; RR 2.58, 95% CI 2.07, 3.32; p<0.001), hospital length of stay (3.8 vs. 2.5 days; difference 1.3 days, 95% CI 1.2, 1.4; p<0.001), ICU length of stay (5.2 vs. 3.8 days; difference 1.4 days, 95% CI 1.0, 1.9; p<0.001), and 30 days readmission (14.11% vs. 12.38%; RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00, 1.30; p=0.0418). ED length of stay was also greater for the discordant group (3.0 vs. 2.9 h; difference 8.8 min; 95% CI 0.1, 0.2; p<0.001): These findings indicate discordant admission and discharge diagnoses are associated with increases in morbidity and mortality. Further research should identify modifiable causes of discordance.


Author(s):  
Matthew E Ehrlich ◽  
Heather L Turner ◽  
Lillian J Currie ◽  
Max Wintermark ◽  
Bradford B Worrall ◽  
...  

Objective: To evaluate the safety and utility of CTA acquisition during initial acute stroke evaluation. We hypothesized CTA would not increase risk of renal injury or delay therapy. Design/Methods: We performed a pilot study of CTA acquisition in the acute stroke evaluation at the University of Virginia Medical Center in the first three quarters of 2014. We extracted data from Acute Stroke Team Leader consultations with additional chart review. We collected door-to-CT read times, door-to-needle times, baseline creatinine (Cr) values on presentation, and Cr values 24-48 hours after stroke alert evaluation. Differences in means of these variables were compared between those receiving CTA versus non-contrasted head CT (NCHCT) only. Additionally, we captured CTA results immediately relevant to treatment decisions. Results: Of 289 patients, 157 had CTA completed while 132 had only NCHCT. In the CTA group, 18 patients (11.5%) were treated with IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) compared to 11 (8.3%) in the NCHCT group, with no significant difference between groups (p=0.377). There was no difference between mean door-to-CT-read times between the NCHCT (43.07 minutes) and CTA (41.46 minutes) groups (p=0.70). Likewise, there was no significant difference in mean door-to-needle times between the NCHCT (81.36 minutes) and CTA (68.11 minutes) groups (p=0.577). There was a difference between mean Cr values on presentation (1.39mg/dL NCHCT, 1.06mg/dL CTA; p=0.004), but there was no difference between the groups at 24-48 hours (p=0.059) and no difference between the mean change in Cr values (p=0.489). No patients developed a new requirement for hemodialysis. CTA imaging revealed 14 patients with vascular anomalies, and 53 patients with severe stenosis or occlusion of a major cervical or intracranial vessel. One patient in the CTA group and none in the NCHCT group had intravascular intervention. Conclusions: Overall, CTA during acute stroke evaluations were safe and may offer clinical utility, without delaying evaluation or therapy delivery. Additional cost of acute CTA acquisition is negligible given it replaces MRA typically performed later, following admission, as standard vessel imaging. Further prospective study is required.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e015574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Haugan ◽  
Lars G Johnsen ◽  
Trude Basso ◽  
Olav A Foss

ObjectiveTo compare the efficacies of two pathways—conventional and fast-track care—in patients with hip fracture.DesignRetrospective single-centre study.SettingUniversity hospital in middle Norway.Participants1820 patients aged ≥65 years with hip fracture (intracapsular, intertrochanteric or subtrochanteric).Interventions788 patients were treated according to conventional care from April 2008 to September 2011, and 1032 patients were treated according to fast-track care from October 2011 to December 2013.Primary and secondary outcomePrimary: mortality and readmission to hospital, within 365 days follow-up. Secondary: length of stay.ResultsWe found no statistically significant differences in mortality and readmission rate between patients in the fast-track and conventional care models within 365 days after the initial hospital admission. The conventional care group had a higher, no statistical significant mortality HR of 1.10 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.31, p=0.326) without and 1.16 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.40, p=0.118) with covariate adjustment. Regarding the readmission, the conventional care group sub-HR was 1.02 (95% CI 0.88 to 1.18, p=0.822) without and 0.97 (95% CI 0.83 to 1.12, p=0.644) with adjusting for covariates. Length of stay and time to surgery was statistically significant shorter for patients who received fast-track care, a mean difference of 3.4 days and 6 hours, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in sex, type of fracture, age or Charlson Comorbidity Index score at baseline between patients in the two pathways.ConclusionsThere was insufficient evidence to show an impact of fast-track care on mortality and readmission. Length of stay and time to surgery were decreased.Trial registration numberNCT00667914; results


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