Incidence and risk factors for perioperative hyperglycemia in children with traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with poor outcome. In this study, we examined the incidence and risk factors for perioperative hyperglycemia in children with TBI. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of children or=200 mg/dL) and hypoglycemia (glucose <60 mg/dL) was determined. Persistent hyperglycemia was defined as hyperglycemia during any 2/3 (preoperative, intraoperative, and immediate postoperative) study periods, whereas transient hyperglycemia was defined as hyperglycemia during any one study period. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent predictors of perioperative hyperglycemia. Data are presented as adjusted odds ratio (AOR) (95% CI) and P < 0.05 reflects significance. RESULTS: At least one serum glucose value was recorded during each study period: preoperative (86 [82%]), intraoperative (94 [89%]), and postoperative (101 [97%]). Sixty-four percent of children had less than one glucose recorded per anesthetic hour. Forty-seven (45%) children had hyperglycemia during at least one study period. Transient hyperglycemia occurred in 29 (28%) and persistent hyperglycemia occurred in 18 (17%) children. Independent predictors of perioperative hyperglycemia were age <4 yr (AOR [95% CI]; 3.5 [1.2-10.6]), Glasgow Coma Scale

Very-low-dose ketamine for the management of pain and sedation in the ICU.

Management of pain in critically ill patients can be very difficult. In the attempt to provide comfort with adequate levels of opioids and sedatives, respiratory depression and cardiovascular instability may become difficult to control in patients with labile hemodynamics and poor cardiopulmonary reserve. The use of medications like ketamine, an anesthetic agent that in subanesthetic doses has been reported to be effective in preventing opioid-induced tolerance and to have analgesic properties, may be of help, especially in patients who develop tolerance, leading to rapidly escalating doses of opioids and sedatives. The case report presented here shows how a very low dose of ketamine can be helpful for the management of pain and sedation in critically ill patients, especially when they are ready to be weaned from mechanical ventilation, and very high doses of opiods and sedatives do not permit it.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in Montana: bacterial genotypes and clinical profiles.

The diseases and virulence genes associated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are characterized incompletely. We analyzed, by polymerase chain reaction, 82 STEC isolates collected prospectively in Montana and profiled associated illnesses by patient chart review. All E. coli O157:H7 contained stx2-group genes, as well as eae, iha, espA, and ehxA; 84% contained stx1. Non-O157:H7 STEC less frequently contained stx1 (P=.046), stx2 (P<.001), iha (P<.001), eae, and espA (P=.039 for both), were isolated less often from patients treated in emergency departments (P=.022), and tended to be associated less frequently with bloody diarrhea (P=.061). There were no significant associations between stx genotype and bloody diarrhea, but isolates containing stx2c or stx(2d-activatable) were recovered more often from patients who underwent diagnostic or therapeutic procedures (P=.033). Non-O157:H7 STEC are more heterogeneous and cause bloody diarrhea less frequently than do E. coli O157:H7. Bloody diarrhea cannot be attributed simply to the stx genotype of the infecting organism.