Performance of Automated Telemetry in Diagnosing QT Prolongation in Critically Ill Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 466-470
Author(s):  
Enrique Calvo-Ayala ◽  
Vince Procopio ◽  
Hayk Papukhyan ◽  
Girish B. Nair

Background QT prolongation increases the risk of ventricular arrhythmia and is common among critically ill patients. The gold standard for QT measurement is electrocardiography. Automated measurement of corrected QT (QTc) by cardiac telemetry has been developed, but this method has not been compared with electrocardiography in critically ill patients. Objective To compare the diagnostic performance of QTc values obtained with cardiac telemetry versus electrocardiography. Methods This prospective observational study included patients admitted to intensive care who had an electrocardiogram ordered simultaneously with cardiac telemetry. Demographic data and QTc determined by electrocardiography and telemetry were recorded. Bland-Altman analysis was done, and correlation coefficient and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) coefficient were calculated. Results Fifty-one data points were obtained from 43 patients (65% men). Bland-Altman analysis revealed poor agreement between telemetry and electrocardiography and evidence of fixed and proportional bias. Area under the ROC curve for QTc determined by telemetry was 0.9 (P < .001) for a definition of prolonged QT as QTc ≥ 450 milliseconds in electrocardiography (sensitivity, 88.89%; specificity, 83.33%; cutoff of 464 milliseconds used). Correlation between the 2 methods was only moderate (r = 0.6, P < .001). Conclusions QTc determination by telemetry has poor agreement and moderate correlation with electrocardiography. However, telemetry has an acceptable area under the curve in ROC analysis with tolerable sensitivity and specificity depending on the cutoff used to define prolonged QT. Cardiac telemetry should be used with caution in critically ill patients.

2019 ◽  
pp. 135-143
Author(s):  
Yoon Seop Kim ◽  
Yoonsuk Lee ◽  
Sun Ju Kim ◽  
Sung Oh Hwang ◽  
Yong Sung Cha ◽  
...  

Purpose: Hyperbaric medicine is nascent in Korea when compared to other developed countries, such as the United States and Japan. Our facility has been managed by physicians with certifications from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in diving and clinical diseases since October 2016. This study was conducted to share similar issues that are encountered during the establishment of a program in a new area through our experiences in the operation of a hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy center. Methods: In this retrospective observational study we collected data on HBO2 patients treated at our center between October 2016 and June 2018 after HBO2 was conducted by HBO2-certified physicians. We then compared demographic data of patients with data from January 2011 to September 2015 – before HBO2 operations were conducted by HBO2-certified physicians. Result: A total of 692 patients received 5,130 treatments. Twelve indicated diseases were treated using HBO2 therapy. Fifty-six critically ill patients with intubation received HBO2. Although two patients experienced seizure due to oxygen toxicity during the study period, certified physicians and inside attendant took immediate corrective action. Conclusion: After the establishment of the HBO2 center operated by physicians with certification, more patients, including critically ill patients, received HBO2 safely for various diseases. In order to improve the practice of hyperbaric medicine in Korea, the Korean Academy of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (KAUHM), an advanced and well-organized academic society, should communicate often with HBO2 centers, with the aim to set Korean education programs at UHMS course levels and increase reimbursement for HBO2 therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geert Koster ◽  
Thomas Kaufmann ◽  
Bart Hiemstra ◽  
Renske Wiersema ◽  
Madelon E. Vos ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Critical care ultrasonography (CCUS) is increasingly applied also in the intensive care unit (ICU) and performed by non-experts, including even medical students. There is limited data on the training efforts necessary for novices to attain images of sufficient quality. There is no data on medical students performing CCUS for the measurement of cardiac output (CO), a hemodynamic variable of importance for daily critical care. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the agreement of cardiac output measurements as well as the quality of images obtained by medical students in critically ill patients compared to the measurements obtained by experts in these images. Methods In a prospective observational cohort study, all acutely admitted adults with an expected ICU stay over 24 h were included. CCUS was performed by students within 24 h of admission. CCUS included the images required to measure the CO, i.e., the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) diameter and the velocity time integral (VTI) in the LVOT. Echocardiography experts were involved in the evaluation of the quality of images obtained and the quality of the CO measurements. Results There was an opportunity for a CCUS attempt in 1155 of the 1212 eligible patients (95%) and in 1075 of the 1212 patients (89%) CCUS examination was performed by medical students. In 871 out of 1075 patients (81%) medical students measured CO. Experts measured CO in 783 patients (73%). In 760 patients (71%) CO was measured by both which allowed for comparison; bias of CO was 0.0 L min−1 with limits of agreement of − 2.6 L min−1 to 2.7 L min−1. The percentage error was 50%, reflecting poor agreement of the CO measurement by students compared with the experts CO measurement. Conclusions Medical students seem capable of obtaining sufficient quality CCUS images for CO measurement in the majority of critically ill patients. Measurements of CO by medical students, however, had poor agreement with expert measurements. Experts remain indispensable for reliable CO measurements. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; registration number NCT02912624


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Yao ◽  
Wen-juan Liu ◽  
Di Liu ◽  
Jin-yan Xing ◽  
Li-juan Zhang

Abstract Background Early diagnosis of sepsis is very important. It is necessary to find effective and adequate biomarkers in order to diagnose sepsis. In this study, we compared the value of sialic acid and procalcitonin for diagnosing sepsis. Methods Newly admitted intensive care unit patients were enrolled from January 2019 to June 2019. We retrospectively collected patient data, including presence of sepsis or not, procalcitonin level and sialic acid level. Receiver operating characteristic curves for the ability of sialic acid, procalcitonin and combination of sialic acid and procalcitonin to diagnose sepsis were carried out. Results A total of 644 patients were admitted to our department from January 2019 to June 2019. The incomplete data were found in 147 patients. Finally, 497 patients data were analyzed. The sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve for the diagnosis of sepsis with sialic acid, procalcitonin and combination of sialic acid and procalcitonin were 64.2, 78.3%, 0.763; 67.9, 84.0%, 0.816 and 75.2, 84.6%, 0.854. Moreover, sialic acid had good values for diagnosing septic patients with viral infection, with 87.5% sensitivity, 82.2% specificity, and 0.882 the area under the curve. Conclusions Compared to procalcitonin, sialic acid had a lower diagnostic efficacy for diagnosing sepsis in critically ill patients. However, the combination of sialic acid and procalcitonin had a higher diagnostic efficacy for sepsis. Moreover, sialic acid had good value for diagnosing virus-induced sepsis.


Author(s):  
Jasna Jevdjic ◽  
Maja Surbatovic ◽  
Snezana Milosavljevic ◽  
Goran Rondovic ◽  
Ivan Stanojevic ◽  
...  

Abstract Severe sepsis and/or trauma complicated with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome are leading causes of death in critically ill patients. The aim of this prospective, observational, single centre study was to assess the prognostic value of galectin-3 regarding outcome in critically ill patients with severe trauma and/or severe sepsis. The outcome measure was hospital mortality. In total, 75 critically ill patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit of the tertiary university hospital were enrolled in a prospective observational study. Blood samples were collected upon fulfilling Sepsis-3 criteria and for a traumatized Injury Severity Score > 25 points. Levels of galectin-3 were significantly higher in nonsurvivors on the day of enrolment - Day 1 (p<0.05). On Day 1, the area under the curve (AUC) for the galectin-3 for lethal outcome was 0.602. At a cut-off level of 262.82 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 53%, and the specificity was 69.7%, which was objectively determined by a Youden index of 0.20. The discriminative power of galectin-3 in predicting outcome was statistically significant. Galectin-3 on Day 1 is a fairly good predictor of lethal outcome.


Critical Care ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonghe Ding ◽  
Ryounghoon Jeon ◽  
Linyu Ran ◽  
Wenzhi Pan ◽  
Feilong Wang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1210-1218
Author(s):  
Alexander H. Flannery ◽  
Natalie L. Delozier ◽  
Samuel A. Effoe ◽  
Katie L. Wallace ◽  
Aaron M. Cook ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaid Khot ◽  
Patrick B. Murphy ◽  
Nathalie Sela ◽  
Neil G. Parry ◽  
Kelly Vogt ◽  
...  

Objective: To determine the contemporary prevalence of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome in critically ill patients. Data Sources: Medline, Embase, and Central databases. Study Selection: Studies reporting on the prevalence of IAH in consecutively admitted critically ill patients using the World Society of Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (WSACS) consensus guidelines for intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurement. Data Extraction: Duplicate independent review and data abstraction. Data Synthesis: The search identified 2428 titles with 6 eligible studies (n = 1965). Reported prevalence ranged from 30% to 49%. Despite abiding by the WSACS guidelines for IAP measurement, studies varied in their definition of IAH, frequency and duration of IAP measurement, and reporting of outcomes. Three of 6 studies reported that IAH, especially at higher grades, was an independent predictor of mortality. Conclusions: Intra-abdominal hypertension is a common finding in critically ill patients and may be associated with increased mortality, especially at higher grades. Further prospective research is required to examine the effect of screening and treatment of IAH on patient outcomes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi E. Banse ◽  
Nichol Schultz ◽  
Molly McCue ◽  
Ray Geor ◽  
Dianne McFarlane

Accurate measurement of equine adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) is important for the diagnosis of equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Several radioimmunoassays (RIAs) and chemiluminescent immunoassays (CIAs) are used for measurement of ACTH concentration in horses; whether these methods yield similar results across a range of concentrations is not determined. We evaluated agreement between a commercial RIA and CIA. Archived plasma samples ( n = 633) were measured with both assays. Correlation between the 2 methods was moderate ( r = 0.49, p < 0.001). Bland–Altman analysis revealed poor agreement, with a proportional bias and widening limits of agreement with increasing values. Poor agreement between assays was also observed when evaluating plasma samples with concentrations at or below the recommended diagnostic cutoff value for PPID testing. The lack of agreement suggests that measurements obtained should not be considered interchangeable between methods.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 656-662
Author(s):  
Joy Mammen ◽  
Jui Choudhuri ◽  
Joshua Paul ◽  
Thomas Isaiah Sudarsan ◽  
T. Josephine ◽  
...  

Background: The diagnosis of sepsis is challenging in the absence of a gold standard test. Recent studies have explored the role of neutrophil and monocyte volume, conductivity, and scatter (VCS), derived from automated hematology analyzers, in diagnosing sepsis. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of VCS parameters in critically ill patients with sepsis. Methodology: In this prospective study, VCS parameters, procalcitonin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed in patients with proven sepsis (cases) and 2 control groups (intensive care unit [ICU] patients without sepsis and healthy blood donors). The diagnostic property of each test was explored by calculating sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values, and area under the curve (AUC). Results: The study included 65 patients with sepsis, 58 nonseptic ICU controls, and 98 blood donors. Procalcitonin and CRP were not significantly different ( P > .06) between patients with sepsis and nonseptic patients. Mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) neutrophil volume (MNV) was significantly higher ( P < .001) in patients with sepsis (165.5; 95%CI 161.6-169.4) than in nonseptic (157.3; 95%CI 154.6-160.1) patients and donors (148.9; 95%CI 147.9-150). A similar pattern was seen with mean monocyte volume (MMoV). Neutrophil and monocyte conductivity and scatter parameters were variably associated. The AUC was highest for MMoV (0.74) and lowest for CRP (0.62). Among all parameters, MNV and MMoV had the highest specificity of 85% and 80%, respectively. Conclusion: In critically ill patients with suspected sepsis, VCS parameters may help strengthen the diagnostic probability of sepsis. Future studies may explore the role of serial monitoring of VCS to track response to antimicrobial therapy.


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