Impact of Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak on the use of emergency medical resources in febrile patients

OBJECTIVE: Outbreaks of transmissible respiratory infection are suspected to have significant effects on the health of pediatric and geriatric patients. The objective was to assess the impact of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak on the use of emergency resources. METHODS: An ecologic analysis of emergency department (ED) records between September and December 2015, was performed. Data was obtained from the National Emergency Department Information System database for Korea. All demographic and diagnostic data from patients presenting with febrile symptoms as a main complaint were collected. The data were compared to the equivalent period in the three years preceding the MERS outbreak in Korea. RESULTS: Following the MERS outbreak, there was an increase in overall ED visits by febrile patients and the proportion of visits by febrile patients, relative to total ED attendances. This effect was more prominent in the children under five years. The duration of the chief complaint before ED arrival and the length of ED stay were significantly increased among younger pediatric patients. Decreased body temperature on arrival was observed in younger pediatric patients. CONCLUSION: MERS outbreak appears to have had a significant effects on ED use by febrile patients. The use of emergency care services by pediatric patients makes them more vulnerable to an outbreak of a transmissable disease. An effective strategy to control emergency center visits by non-urgent febrile patients and provide proper medical services is urgently needed.

The Relation between Neurologic Prognosis and Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Measured in Initial Brain Computed Tomography of Cardiac Arrest and Hanging Patients / 대한구급학회지

BACKGROUND: Early prediction of neurologic outcome is important to patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia after hypoxic brain injury. Hypoxic brain injury patients may have poor neurologic prognosis due to increased intracranial pressure. Increased intracranial pressure can be detected by optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurement in computed tomography (CT) or ultrasound. In this study, we evaluate the relation between neurologic prognosis and optic nerve sheath diameter measured in brain CT of hypoxic brain injury patients. METHODS: We analyzed the patient clinical data by retrospective chart review. We measured the ONSD in initial brain CT. We also measured and calculated the gray white matter ratio (GWR) in CT scan. We split the patients into two groups based on neurologic outcome, and clinical data, ONSD, and GWR were compared in the two groups. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients were included in this study (age: 52.6 +/- 18.3, 18 males). The mean ONSD of the poor neurologic outcome group was larger than that of the good neurologic outcome group (6.07 mm vs. 5.39 mm, p = 0.003). The GWR of the good neurologic outcome group was larger than that of the poor outcome group (1.09 vs. 1.28, p = 0.000). ONSD was a good predictor of neurologic outcome (area under curve: 0.848), and an ONSD cut off > or = 5.575 mm had a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 77.8%. CONCLUSIONS: ONSD measured on the initial brain CT scan can predict the neurologic prognosis in cardiac arrest and hanging patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia.

Effect of Intravenous Fat Emulsion on Glyphosate Surfactant Herbicide-Induced Shock in a Rat Model: A Preliminary Study

PURPOSE: Decontamination and supportive care are general types of treatment for glyphosate surfactant herbicide (GlySH) intoxication. However, no particular treatment for refractory shock has been established as a conventional therapy. Therefore, this study examined whether intravenous fat emulsion therapy (IFE) is effective on GlySH-induced shock. METHODS: This preliminary study was conducted on 10 rats. After anesthesia and catheterization, shock was induced by GlySH infusion. After a stabilization period, animals were randomized to receive intravenous normal saline (Group 1) or 20% lipid emulsion (Group 2). RESULTS: In the shock state, there was no significant difference between the two groups for systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In the post-management state, there was no significant difference between the two groups for SBP and MAP. However, there was a significant difference for DBP (Group 1, median 72.5 (IQR 52.8-74.6) mmHg; Group 2, median 77.6 (IQR 74.8-98.3) mmHg, p=0.016), SBP variation (Group 1, median 5.5 (IQR 1.6-11.1) mmHg; Group 2, median 25.6 (IQR 15.5-42.9) mmHg, p=0.008); DBP variation (Group 1, median -1.02 (IQR -4.69-11.0) mmHg; Group 2, median 21.1 (IQR 14.0-43.2) mmHg, p=0.008); MAP variation (Group 1, median 1.15 (IQR -2.6-11.0) mmHg; Group 2, median 23.2 (IQR 14.2-42.8) mmHg, p=0.008). CONCLUSION: The IFE increased blood pressure when shock was induced using GlySH. However, further studies are required to determine what components induced the shock and permitted a response to the IFE.