Factors associated with time to successful weaning in mechanically ventilated organophosphate poisoned patients.

We designed this study to identify the factors associated with time to successful weaning in mechanically ventilated organophosphate (OP)-poisoned patients as the primary outcomes while duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) support, intensive care unit (ICU), and hospital length of stay (LOS) and in-hospital mortality as the secondary outcomes. We conducted a retrospective study of mechanically ventilated OP-poisoned patients admitted to the ICU of Poison Control Center of Ain Shams, Cairo, Egypt, starting from January 2019 to December 2019. Weaning was considered successful if the patient succeeded in the first spontaneous breathing trial of weaning and did not need reinstitution of MV. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to identify factors associated with time to successful weaning in the studied patients. A total of 55 patients were enrolled in the study. Thirty-eight patients were weaned successfully. Lower initial red cell distribution width (RDW) levels [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 0.299, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.184-0.486)] and lower initial doses of atropine [adjusted HR, 0.97, 95% CI (0.935-0.999)] were independently associated with shorter time to achieve successful weaning. Successfully weaned patients had significantly longer hospital LOS (p = 0.019) and no reported in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001) compared with patients who failed to wean. We concluded that initial RDW and initial doses of atropine were found to be the strongest factors associated with time to successful weaning in mechanically ventilated OP-poisoned patients. RDW and atropine can be used as simple risk assessment tools in OP poisoning.

Computed Tomography Imaging Assessment of the Effect of Vancomycin Paste on Poststernotomy Healing.

PURPOSE: To assess vancomycin paste effect on poststernotomy healing in high-risk coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients compared to bone wax using the 6-point computed tomography (CT) score. Additionally assessed the reliability of this score and its relationship to the occurrence of infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective comparative analysis included 126 high-risk CABG patients. The patients were randomly assigned into bone wax or vancomycin paste for sternal haemostasis. All patients were submitted to CT examinations 6-months postoperative. Two radiologists independently reviewed all CT scans to assess sternal healing using the 6-point CT score. The CT healing score of the two groups was compared. The kappa statistics were used to calculate the inter-reader agreement (IRA) of the 6-point CT score. RESULTS: The final analysis included 61 patients in each group. The main CT score for sternal healing was 3.9±0.4 in the vancomycin group and 3.3±0.8 in the bone wax group. Patients in the vancomycin group had a higher statistically significant improvement in CT healing score than those in the bone wax group (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant relationship (p = 0.79) between the occurrence of infection and the 6-point CT score in the vancomycin group. The overall IRA of the 6-point CT score was good in two groups (κ = 0.79 in the vancomycin group and = 0.78 in the bone wax group). CONCLUSION: Vancomycin paste had a better CT healing score and can be used as a sternal haemostatic material instead of bone wax. The 6-point CT healing score is a reliable diagnostic tool for evaluating sternal healing.

Analysis of Ear, Nose and Throat Manifestations in COVID-19 Patients.

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has dramatically spread all over the world, crossing the borders of all countries. It is presented mainly by lower respiratory tract symptoms such as fever, cough, dyspnea, and chest tightness. However, COVID-19 causes different upper respiratory tract-related symptoms including nasal congestion, sore throat, and olfactory dysfunction. Objective To discuss different ear, nose and throat (ENT) manifestations in COVID-19-positive patients and their relation to other manifestations and to the severity of COVID-19. Methods We detected ENT manifestations in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed positive COVID-19 patients at Zagazig Isolation Hospitals (Zagazig University hospitals, Zagazig Chest hospital, Al-Ahrar hospital, and Zagazig Fever hospital) with proportional allocation in the period from April 15 to June 15, 2020. All patients were subjected to full history taking and COVID-19 was categorized into 4 classes of severity after all patients underwent computed tomography (CT) of the chest. Afterwards, the collected data was analyzed and compared. Results Among the included 120 COVID-19 patients, the most frequent reported ENT manifestations were; sore throat (30%), nasal congestion (28.3%), nasal obstruction (26.7%), sneezing (26.6%), headache (25%), smell and taste dysfunction (25%), rhinorrhea (20%), upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) (15%), and tonsil enlargement (10%). The most common non-ENT manifestations were fever (88.3%), cough (63.3%), and dyspnea (45%). Conclusion Fever and cough are the dominant symptoms of COVID-19, but ENT manifestations for COVID-19 are common and should be a part of the suspected clinical criteria for COVID-19, particularly if the nasal examination was nonsignificant. The most common symptoms are sore throat, followed by nasal congestion and obstruction, headache, and lastly, olfactory dysfunction.

Ultra-rapid opiate detoxification using dexmedetomidine under general anesthesia.

BACKGROUND: In this study, ultra-rapid detoxification using dexmedetomidine under general anesthesia (GA) has been evaluated in preventing the withdrawal symptoms in patients addicted to opioids. METHODS: Sixty male patients who were addicted to opioids were assigned to one of the two groups, in which anesthesia was induced and maintained using propofol infusion: group D = treated with dexmedetomidine during anesthesia and for 6 days after recovery from anesthesia; group C = control group treated after recovery from anesthesia with oral dose of lefoxidine 0.2 mg three times daily. Hemodynamic changes and withdrawal symptoms were assessed using Objective Opiate Withdrawal Scale (OOWS) during anesthesia and both the Objective Opiate Withdrawal Scale (OOWS) and Subjective Opiate Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) after recovery from anesthesia. Patient satisfaction was assessed using 101-point verbal rating scale. RESULTS: Hemodynamic data showed that there were statistically significant increases in heart rate and systolic blood pressure during anesthesia in control group. Control group had significantly higher OOWS score on the following 3 days than the dexmedetomidine group, with no significant changes between the two groups from the fourth day till the sixth day except for muscle twitches in the control group on the sixth day (Cd6). Control group had significantly higher SOWS score on the following 4 days than the dexmedetomidine group, with no significant changes between the two groups on the fifth and sixth days except for yawning, nausea, and muscle twitches in control group on the fifth and sixth days (Cd5, Cd6). Patient satisfaction was significantly greater in dexmedetomidine group than in control group. CONCLUSIONS: Dexmedetomidine had shown to decrease markedly the withdrawal symptoms when used during ultra-rapid opiate detoxification under GA, and the patients in this group were more satisfied.