Variation in Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Critically Ill Patients Across the United States.

OBJECTIVES: To describe practice patterns surrounding the use of medications to treat opioid use disorder (MOUD) in critically ill patients. DESIGN: Retrospective, multicenter, observational study using the Premier AI Healthcare Database. SETTING: The study was conducted in U.S. ICUs. PATIENTS: Adult (≥ 18 yr old) patients with a history of opioid use disorder (OUD) admitted to an ICU between 2016 and 2020. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 108,189 ICU patients (658 hospitals) with a history of OUD, 20,508 patients (19.0%) received MOUD. Of patients receiving MOUD, 13,745 (67.0%) received methadone, 2,950 (14.4%) received buprenorphine, and 4,227 (20.6%) received buprenorphine/naloxone. MOUD use occurred in 37.9% of patients who received invasive mechanical ventilation. The median day of MOUD initiation was hospital day 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 1-3) and the median duration of MOUD use was 4 days (IQR 2-8). MOUD use per hospital was highly variable (median 16.0%; IQR 10-24; range, 0-70.0%); admitting hospital explained 8.9% of variation in MOUD use. A primary admitting diagnosis of unintentional poisoning (aOR 0.41; 95% CI, 0.38-0.45), presence of an additional substance use disorder (aOR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.64-0.68), and factors indicating greater severity of illness were associated with reduced odds of receiving MOUD in the ICU. CONCLUSIONS: In a large multicenter, retrospective study, there was large variation in the use of MOUD among ICU patients with a history of OUD. These results inform future studies seeking to optimize the approach to MOUD use during critical illness.

Successful management of suspected propofol dependence with phenobarbital in an adult patient with COVID-19.

PURPOSE: In critically ill patients, high sedation requirements for prolonged durations are often needed to achieve ventilator synchrony, a practice that was particularly common during the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We report the successful use of phenobarbital to facilitate propofol weaning after prolonged medication exposure. SUMMARY: A 64-year-old male with hypertension was admitted for the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19 pneumonia. The patient received high doses of fentanyl and propofol with periods of concomitant midazolam and dexmedetomidine throughout his prolonged time on mechanical ventilation. Total days of exposure were 19 for fentanyl, 17 for propofol, 12 for midazolam, and 15 for dexmedetomidine. Upon improvement in lung function, attempts to wean the patient from propofol all failed due to symptoms such as tachypnea, tachycardia, and hypertension, with symptom resolution only upon return to the previous dose. Phenobarbital was trialed for possible propofol withdrawal syndrome, allowing for a dose reduction of 10 µg/kg/min within 2 hours of the first dose without any corresponding symptoms. The patient continued to receive intermittent doses of phenobarbital for another 36 hours until propofol was discontinued. He underwent tracheostomy shortly after weaning off all sedation and was discharged to rehab 34 days after his initial admission. CONCLUSION: Information concerning propofol withdrawal syndrome in the literature is limited. Our experience demonstrates the successful use of phenobarbital to facilitate propofol weaning after prolonged exposure.

Pharmacist-Initiated De-Prescribing Efforts Reduce Inappropriate Continuation of Acid-Suppression Therapy Initiated in the ICU.

OBJECTIVES: Stress ulcer prophylaxis initiated for intensive care unit (ICU)-specific indications is often continued upon transfer or discharge despite lack of indication. This quality improvement initiative aimed to achieve a 25% reduction from baseline in ICU-initiated acid suppression therapy prescriptions by May 2021. METHODS: This initiative was conducted in adult ICU patients at Boston Medical Center from July 2020 through May 2021. A multidisciplinary approach to de-prescribing was utilized, including the implementation of formalized stress ulcer prophylaxis criteria and an electronic handoff tool used to identify patients appropriate for assessment of acid suppression therapy continuation post-ICU stay. The primary outcome measure was the number of discharge prescriptions for ICU-initiated acid suppression therapy. Secondary endpoints included incidence of de-prescribing workflow failures, percentage of acid suppression therapy discharge prescriptions with inappropriate indications, and incidence of stress ulcer-related gastrointestinal bleeding. RESULTS: A 55% decrease in ICU-initiated acid suppression therapy discharge prescriptions occurred after implementing the multidisciplinary workflow. The decrease was sustained for 28 weeks through the completion of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a pharmacist-initiated electronic handoff tool along with provider education and creation of formalized stress ulcer prophylaxis criteria may reduce the number of ICU-initiated acid suppression therapy prescriptions inadvertently or inappropriately continued at discharge.

Evaluation of Rectal Vancomycin Irrigation for Treatment of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Patients Post-Colectomy for Toxic Colitis.

Background: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) accounts for as many as 25% of episodes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is the most common cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea. Rectal vancomycin irrigation is a therapy option; however, evidence is limited for its value post-colectomy. The objective of this study was to describe outcomes of patients who underwent total colectomy for fulminant C. difficile colitis and received rectal vancomycin post-operatively. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective chart review of adult patients who underwent total colectomy for fulminant CDI. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause in-hospital death, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay, ventilator-free days at day 28 post-procedure, development of proctitis or pseudomembranes, need for re-initiation of CDI therapy, and normalization of infectious signs and symptoms at completion of CDI therapy. The primary safety outcome was the incidence of rectal stump blowout. Results: Of the 50 patients included, 38 (76%) received treatment with rectal vancomycin at the discretion of the surgeon. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score on the day of the procedure was higher in the rectal vancomycin group; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance. No difference was observed between the groups in the primary outcome of all-cause death. There was no significant difference between the groups for hospital length of stay, but there was a trend toward longer ICU length of stay for patients who received rectal vancomycin (9.5 days vs. 2.5 days; p = 0.05). No differences in the remaining secondary efficacy outcomes were observed. No episodes of rectal stump blowout were observed in either group. Conclusions: This study aimed to add to the limited data on the use of rectal vancomycin irrigation post-colectomy for toxic C. difficile colitis. Although our results do not support routine use of rectal vancomycin irrigation, they suggest that this therapy is not harmful if providers are considering its use for severe infections refractory to alternative treatment.

Ecological response of nitrification to oil spills and its impact on the nitrogen cycle.

Marine oil spills are catastrophic events that cause massive damage to ecosystems at all trophic levels. While most of the research has focused on carbon-degrading microorganisms, the potential impacts of hydrocarbons on microbes responsible for nitrification have received far less attention. Nitrifiers are sensitive to hydrocarbon toxicity: ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea being 100 and 1000 times more sensitive than typical heterotrophs respectively. Field studies have demonstrated the response of nitrifiers to hydrocarbons is highly variable and the loss of nitrification activity in coastal ecosystems can be restored within 1-2 years, which is much shorter than the typical recovery time of whole ecosystems (e.g., up to 20 years). Since the denitrification process is mainly driven by heterotrophs, which are more resistant to hydrocarbon toxicity than nitrifiers, the inhibition of nitrification may slow down the nitrogen turnover and increase ammonia availability, which supports the growth of oil-degrading heterotrophs and possibly various phototrophs. A better understanding of the ecological response of nitrification is paramount in predicting impacts of oil spills on the nitrogen cycle under oil spill conditions, and in improving current bioremediation practices.

Achieving ventricular rate control in patients taking chronic beta-blocker therapy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the difference in response to ventricular rate control with intravenous (IV) metoprolol compared to IV diltiazem in patients taking chronic beta-blocker therapy who present to the emergency department (ED) in atrial fibrillation (AF) with rapid ventricular rate (RVR). METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective study of adult patients taking chronic oral metoprolol. Chronic metoprolol therapy was defined as patients prescribed and taking oral metoprolol within 5days of study inclusion. Rate control was defined as either a decrease in ventricular rate<100bpm or <120bpm if the decrease was at least 20% from the presenting heart rate. RESULTS: A total of 332 patients were included, with 16 patients in the IV diltiazem group and 316 patients in the IV metoprolol group. In the diltiazem arm, 68.8% of patients achieved successful rate control compared to 42.4% of patients in the metoprolol group (p=0.067). Treatment with IV metoprolol resulted in more hospital admissions (58% vs. 6.25% with diltiazem, p<0.001). Treatment with diltiazem was associated with a greater incidence of bradycardia compared to IV metoprolol (13% vs. 0%, p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The use of IV diltiazem was associated with a higher rate of successful response to rate control compared to IV metoprolol in patients in AF with RVR on chronic beta-blocker therapy, however the difference between groups was not statistically significant.

Assessing an enoxaparin dosing protocol in morbidly obese patients.

The effect of obesity on the pharmacokinetics of enoxaparin is not clearly understood and traditional treatment doses in morbidly obese patients (body mass index [BMI] > 40 kg/m(2)) can lead to over anticoagulation. Our institution developed an inpatient protocol with reduced enoxaparin doses (0.75 mg/kg/dose based on actual body weight) for patients with a weight >200 kg or BMI > 40 kg/m(2). The primary objective was to determine if modified enoxaparin treatment doses would achieve therapeutic anti-Xa levels (goal range 0.6-1.0 IU/mL) in morbidly obese patients. Thirty-one patients were included in our study and had a median body weight of 138 kg (range 105-197) and a median BMI of 46.2 kg/m(2) (range 40.1-62). The initial peak anti-Xa levels were in therapeutic range in 15 of 31 patients (48 %) with an initial mean anti-Xa level of 0.92 IU/mL. Twenty-four patients (77 %) achieved therapeutic anti-Xa levels in goal range during their hospitalization, with a mean enoxaparin dose of 0.71 mg/kg. Bleeding and thrombotic events were minimal and all patients that achieved an anti-Xa level in goal range did so with a dose less than 1 mg/kg of enoxaparin.