Impact of common comorbidities on antimicrobial consumption and mortality amongst critically ill COVID-19 patients: A retrospective two center study in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: To determine the association between common comorbidities, ICU mortality and antimicrobial consumption among critically ill COVID 19 patients in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A retrospective observational study of patients admitted to the ICU from March 1st, 2020, through August 31st, 2021. We excluded patients who stayed <24 h in the ICU and with no confirmed COVID-19 PCR testing. Results: Of the 976 screened ICU patients, 848 were included. While there was no difference in mortality between patients with and without comorbidities, those with at least one comorbidity had a higher severity of illness (p = 0.013). Compared to survivors, non-survivors were more likely to require mechanical ventilation and vasopressor support (P < 0.001). Almost all patients received at least one antimicrobial therapy. Predictors independently associated with ICU mortality were: older age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.04), vancomycin use (AOR, 2.69; 95% [CI], 1.65-4.37), linezolid use (AOR, 2.65; 95% [CI], 1.65-4.04), sepsis or septic shock (AOR, 6.39; 95% [CI], 3.68-11.08), Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) (AOR, 2.51; 95% [CI], 1.61-3.92) and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) (AOR, 2.03; 95% [CI], 1.61-3.92). Conclusion: Older age, vancomycin and linezolid use, sepsis/septic shock, AKI, and ARDS were negative prognostic factors in critically ill COVID-19 patients. More studies are needed to evaluate the outcomes of survived critically ill patients in relation to their vaccination status.

Efficacy of chlorin dioxide wipes in disinfecting airway devices contaminated with Covid-19.

Background: Reprocessing and disinfecting endoscopes is a routine practice in otolaryngology. An effective, safe, and rapid disinfection technique is essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To validate the efficacy of chlorine dioxide wipes in disinfecting three types of airway endoscopes contaminated with COVID-19-positive patient secretions. Methods: Chlorine dioxide wipes were tested on rigid nasal endoscopes, laryngoscope blades, and flexible bronchoscopes. The endoscopes were disinfected using the wipes after exposure to COVID-19-positive patients. The tested scope was included in the study if the post procedure pre disinfection swab was positive for COVID-19 virus using RT-PCR. We analyzed 38 samples for 19 subjects (scopes) pre and post disinfection with chlorine dioxide wipes from July 2021 to February 2022. Results: A total of four rigid endoscopes, four flexible bronchoscopes, and four laryngoscopes were included in the study which represent 24 pre and post disinfection swabs. The others were excluded because of negative pre disinfection swab. All the post disinfection PCR swab results were negative. Conclusion: Chlorine dioxide is a convenient, fast, and effective disinfection technique for COVID-19-contaminated airway endoscopes.

Elevated plasma level of the glycolysis byproduct methylglyoxal on admission is an independent biomarker of mortality in ICU COVID-19 patients.

Biomarkers to identify ICU COVID-19 patients at high risk for mortality are urgently needed for therapeutic care and management. Here we found plasma levels of the glycolysis byproduct methylglyoxal (MG) were 4.4-fold higher in ICU patients upon admission that later died (n = 33), and 1.7-fold higher in ICU patients that survived (n = 32),compared to uninfected controls (n = 30). The increased MG in patients that died correlated inversely with the levels of the MG-degrading enzyme glyoxalase-1 (r2 = - 0.50), and its co-factor glutathione (r2 = - 0.63), and positively with monocytes (r2 = 0.29). The inflammation markers, SSAO (r2 = 0.52), TNF-α (r2 = 0.41), IL-1ß (r2 = 0.25), CRP (r2 = 0.26) also correlated positively with MG. Logistic regression analysis provides evidence of a significant relationship between the elevated MG upon admission into ICU and death (P < 0.0001), with 42% of the death variability explained. From these data we conclude that elevated plasma MG on admission is a novel independent biomarker that predicts mortality in ICU COVID-19 patients.

Academic achievement and gender among adult critical care program directors.

PURPOSE: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) program director (PD) qualifications includes scholarly activity with demonstrated academic productivity and dissemination. Our hypothesis: academic productivity among adult critical care medicine (CCM) fellowship PDs is affected by gender with women having lower productivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PDs in 39 institutions with CCM fellowships in anesthesiology, surgery, and pulmonary medicine were analyzed using data from ACGME website, PubMed, and NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools. Primary outcomes were total publications and h-index. Secondary outcomes included NIH funding and past five year publications. Independent variables and covariates included gender, academic rank, year appointed as program director, years certified in CCM, and specialty. RESULTS: PDs who were women had fewer total publications (median: 13 vs: 20, p = 0.030), past 5 years publications (median: 6 vs median: 9; p = 0.025), and less NIH funding (12% vs 32%; p = 0.046) compared to men. In exploratory analyses stratified by rank, assistant professor ranked women had fewer total (p = 0.027) and recent publications (p = 0.031) compared to men. CONCLUSIONS: Women who were PDs had fewer publications and less NIH funding compared to men with differences in publications more prominent in early career faculty.

Delayed Emergence in Pediatric Patients with Neurologic Disease Presenting for Ambulatory Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: Management of pediatric patients with neurological diagnoses can be challenging for anesthesiologists. We sought to determine whether preexisting neurologic disease could serve as an intrinsic risk factor for prolonged emergence. METHODS: Following institutional review board approval, we conducted a database search from 2012 to 2015. Included were patients aged 0 to 18 years undergoing ambulatory procedures, and carrying neurological diagnoses that profoundly affected their development. Patients were excluded if they received a total intravenous anesthetic, were not managed with an endotracheal tube, or were extubated deep. A healthy case-control group also was obtained for comparison. The primary outcome was emergence from anesthesia: time from anesthetic cessation to extubation. Our secondary outcome was time from extubation to discharge. Descriptive statistics were calculated for demographic data, outcomes were analyzed for differences using the Student t test, and regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Data from 69 patients and 169 controls met criteria. There were no differences between study and control groups for age, sex, procedural length, or intraoperative temperatures. The study group had higher American Society of Anesthesiologists scores (2.4 vs 1.4). The primary outcome of time to emergence was longer in the study group (15.2 vs 11.0 min), and time to discharge also was prolonged (101.0 vs 86.1 min). Regression analysis on most differing variables did not yield a correlation to primary/secondary outcomes, but neurologic disease did correlate to both. CONCLUSIONS: In this case-controlled retrospective study, there was a prolongation of anesthetic emergence and hospital discharge times for pediatric patients with severe neurologic disease, mostly independent of external factors.

Pulsed Dose Radiofrequency Before Ablation of Medial Branch of the Lumbar Dorsal Ramus for Zygapophyseal Joint Pain Reduces Post-procedural Pain.

BACKGROUND: One of the potential side effects with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) includes painful cutaneous dysesthesias and increased pain due to neuritis or neurogenic inflammation. This pain may require the prescription of opioids or non-opioid analgesics to control post-procedural pain and discomfort. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to compare post-procedural pain scores and post-procedural oral analgesic use in patients receiving continuous thermal radiofrequency ablation versus patients receiving pulsed dose radiofrequency immediately followed by continuous thermal radiofrequency ablation for zygopophaseal joint disease. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial. Patients who met all the inclusion criteria and were not subject to any of the exclusion criteria were required to have two positive diagnostic medial branch blocks prior to undergoing randomization, intervention, and analysis. SETTING: University hospital. METHODS: Eligible patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either receive thermal radiofrequency ablation alone (standard group) or pulsed dose radiofrequency (PDRF) immediately followed by thermal radiofrequency ablation (investigational group), all of which were performed by a single Board Certified Pain Medicine physician. Post-procedural pain levels between the two groups were assessed using the numerical pain Scale (NPS), and patients were contacted by phone on post-procedural days 1 and 2 in the morning and afternoon regarding the amount of oral analgesic medications used in the first 48 hours following the procedure. RESULTS: Patients who received pulsed dose radiofrequency followed by continuous radiofrequency neurotomy reported statistically significantly lower post-procedural pain scores in the first 24 hours compared to patients who received thermal radiofrequency neurotomy alone. These patients also used less oral analgesic medication in the post-procedural period. LIMITATIONS: These interventions were carried out by one board accredited pain physician at one center. The procedures were exclusively performed using one model of radiofrequency generator, at one setting for the PDRF and RFA. The difference in the number of levels of ablation was not considered in the analysis of the results. CONCLUSION: Treating patients with pulsed dose radiofrequency prior to continuous thermal radiofrequency ablation can provide patients with less post-procedural pain during the first 24 hours and also reduce analgesic requirements. Furthermore, the addition of PDRF to standard thermal RFA did not prolong the time of standard thermal radiofrequency ablation procedures, as it was performed during the typically allotted time for local anesthetic action. KEY WORDS: Low back pain, facet joint disease, medial branch block, Radiofrequency ablation, thermal radiofrequency, pulsed dose radiofrequency, PDRF, zygapophyseal joint.

Successful treatment of occipital neuralgia with implantable peripheral nerve stimulation in a pacemaker-dependent patient.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral nerve stimulation has been used to treat patients with occipital nerve-related chronic headaches who have been unsuccessful with less invasive therapeutic approaches. Patients with pacemaker-dependent cardiac conduction abnormalities require unique consideration prior to the implantation of peripheral nerve stimulators because the placement of the devices may lead to failure of the systems secondary to electromagnetic interference or crosstalk between the devices. CASE REPORT: An 86-year-old female who suffered from chronic right-sided cervicogenic headaches and neck pain had received only temporary relief from previous treatments. Additional comorbidities included longstanding pacemaker-dependent atrioventricular node conduction disease. Because the extent to which nerve stimulators electrically interact with pacemakers is unclear, we tunneled the leads to the lumbar region of the back and placed the generator on the contralateral side to the pacemaker to minimize the chance that the 2 devices would interfere. The patient has remained pain free for 1 year since implantation. CONCLUSION: Although no current published trials evaluate the degree of interference between medical devices, case reports increasingly suggest that simultaneous implantation of a spinal cord stimulator and pacemaker is safe as long as precautions are taken and the devices are checked periodically, particularly when the devices are adjusted.

The cross-talk between spinal cord stimulators and the Confirm™ cardiac monitor.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal cord stimulators (SCS) function by transmission of electrical impulses to electrode contacts placed within the epidural space depending on the painful area to be treated. Because of the electrical nature of the SCS, there has been concern about the interaction between these devices and devices that monitor or augment the cardiac system. Implantable loop recorders help to identify the causes of syncope or palpitation by continuously evaluating and recording portions of an electrocardiograph in patients being evaluated for cardiac conduction arrhythmias. The purpose of the study is to simulate the possible effects of spinal cord stimulation on a Confirm cardiac monitor (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA). METHODS: Twenty patients without preexisting cardiac disease, who were successfully being treated with SCS, were enrolled. Confirm loop recorders (St. Jude Medical) were placed on their chest wall in a noninvasive manner, with all programmed at identical settings. Multiple stimulation settings were adjusted on the stimulators and the recordings from the Confirm loop recorder were analyzed for evidence of interference. RESULTS: Fifteen of the patients had no electrical noise detected at any of the tested combinations of stimulation. Five patients had some electrical "noise" detected by the loop recorder, but it did not inhibit the cardiologist evaluating the recording from analyzing the electrocardiograph for diagnostic purposes. At no point with any of the patients at any tested setting was there an appearance of a life-threatening arrhythmia. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that spinal cord stimulation is unlikely to interfere with the data collected by the Confirm loop recorder, and the presence of an SCS should not interfere with the ability to use a loop recorder for diagnostic purposes.

Evaluation of interaction between a spinal cord stimulator and implanted cardioverter-defibrillator in a swine model.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord stimulators (SCS) have been used for many years to treat a myriad of chronic pain conditions using electrical signals to diminish the perception of a painful stimulus. Because of the electrical nature of the devices, there is a concern about the potential for electromagnetic interaction between the device and lifesaving cardiac implantable cardioverters-defibrillators (ICVD). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to use a swine model to evaluate the potential for interaction between an implanted SCS and ICVD using the closest possible proximity, highest stimulation settings, and most sensitive ICVD settings. METHODS: A pig was anesthetized and subsequently an ICVD and ICVD lead (Cogni 100-D and Endotak Reliance®, Boston Scientific, Natick, MA) were placed into the right prepectoral region and the right ventricle, respectively. An SCS (50 cm linear ST Precision Plu octad electrode lead [Boston Scientific, Valencia, CA] with 3 mm wide contacts spaced one mm apart- ) was implanted using fluoroscopic guidance into the posterior epidural space. Remote interrogation and programming of the ICVD were performed while the SCS lead was placed in as close proximity as possible, using fluoroscopy to guide the final position of the SCS electrode. After confirming that both systems were working, appropriately 9 stimulating configurations of varying current, pulse width, and frequency, including maximal settings, were delivered through the SCS. The effects on the ICVD were recorded at 2 sensitivity settings. RESULTS: None of the tested SCS configurations caused interference with the proper functioning of the ICVD. LIMITATIONS: The anatomical proximity of the posterior epidural space and right ventricle of the swine is different from humans. While the entire pacer, including generator, was imbedded in a subcutaneous pocket, an implantable pulse generator for the SCS was not implanted, which did not allow us to study if any damage or a resetting of settings had occurred to the generator. Only one manufacturer was used in this study. Also, this study was performed in an anesthetized pig and the anatomical positions remained static. Realistically, changes in position of the devices would occur in patients who perform activities of daily living, and this can potentially shorten the distance between the 2 leads causing adverse interaction. CONCLUSION: This study clearly demonstrated the feasibility of the 2 devices coexisting and functioning appropriately in an animal model using an ICVD and SCS donated by Boston Scientific. Further studies are needed to elucidate restrictions, optimal settings and parameters in a human setting.