Good outcome prediction after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A prospective multicenter observational study in Korea (the KORHN-PRO registry).

AIM: To assess the ability of clinical examination, biomarkers, electrophysiology and brain imaging, individually or in combination to predict good neurological outcomes at 6 months after CA. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of the Korean Hypothermia Network Prospective Registry 1.0, which included adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients (≥18 years). Good outcome predictors were defined as both pupillary light reflex (PLR) and corneal reflex (CR) at admission, Glasgow Coma Scale Motor score (GCS-M) >3 at admission, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) <17 µg/L at 24-72 h, a median nerve somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) N20/P25 amplitude >4 µV, continuous background without discharges on electroencephalogram (EEG), and absence of anoxic injury on brain CT and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). RESULTS: A total of 1327 subjects were included in the final analysis, and their median age was 59 years; among them, 412 subjects had a good neurological outcome at 6 months. GCS-M >3 at admission had the highest specificity of 96.7% (95% CI 95.3-97.8), and normal brain DWI had the highest sensitivity of 96.3% (95% CI 92.9-98.4). When the two predictors were combined, the sensitivities tended to decrease (ranging from 2.7-81.1%), and the specificities tended to increase, ranging from81.3-100%. Through the explorative variation of the 2021 European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) prognostication strategy algorithms, good outcomes were predicted, with a specificity of 83.2% and a sensitivity of 83.5% in patients by the algorithm. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical examination, biomarker, electrophysiology, and brain imaging predicted good outcomes at 6 months after CA. When the two predictors were combined, the specificity further improved. With the 2021 ERC/ESICM guidelines, the number of indeterminate patients and the uncertainty of prognostication can be reduced by using a good outcome prediction algorithm.

Glucose control and outcomes in diabetic and nondiabetic patients treated with targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest.

Hyperglycemia is commonly observed in critically ill patients and postcardiac arrest patients, with higher glucose levels and variability associated with poorer outcomes. In this study, we aim to compare glucose control in diabetic and nondiabetic patients using glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, providing insights for better glucose management strategies. This retrospective observational study was conducted at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from February 2009 to May 2022. Blood glucose levels were measured hourly for 48 h after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and a glucose management protocol was followed to maintain arterial blood glucose levels between 140 and 180 mg/dL using short-acting insulin infusion. Patients were categorized into four groups based on diabetes status and glycemic control. The primary outcomes assessed were neurological outcome and mortality at 6 months after cardiac arrest. Among the 332 included patients, 83 (25.0%) had a previous diabetes diagnosis, and 114 (34.3%) had an HbA1c of 6.0% or higher. At least one hyperglycemic episode was observed in 314 patients (94.6%) and hypoglycemia was found in 63 patients (19.0%) during 48 h. After the categorization, unrecognized diabetes was noticed in 51 patients with median HbA1c of 6.3% (interquartile range [IQR] 6.1-6.6). Patients with inadequate diabetes control had the highest initial HbA1c level (7.0%, IQR 6.5-7.8) and admission glucose (314 mg/dL, IQR 257-424). Median time to target glucose in controlled diabetes was significantly shorter with the slowest glucose reducing rate. The total insulin dose required to reach the target glucose level and cumulative insulin requirement during 48 h were different among the categories (p <0.001). Poor neurological outcomes and mortality were more frequently observed in patients with diagnosed diabetes. Occurrence of a hypoglycemic episode during the 48 h after ROSC was independently associated with poor neurologic outcomes (odds ratio [OR] 3.505; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.382-9.663). Surviving patients following cardiac arrest exhibited variations in glucose hemodynamics and outcomes according to the categories based on their preexisting diabetes status and glycemic condition. Specifically, even experiencing a single episode of hypoglycemia during the acute phase could have an influence on unfavorable neurological outcomes. While the classification did not directly affect neurological outcomes, the present results indicate the need for a customized approach to glucose control based on these categories.

Association between early lactate-related variables and 6-month neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.

INTRODUCTION: The role of lactate measurement in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors remains controversial. We assessed the association between early lactate-related variables, OHCA characteristics, and long-term neurological outcome. METHODS: In OHCA patients who received targeted temperature management, lactate levels were measured at 0, 12, and 24 h after the return of spontaneous circulation. We calculated lactate clearance and time-weighted cumulative lactate (TWCL), which represent the area under the time-lactate curve. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of lactate-related variables for predicting 6-month poor outcome (Cerebral Performance Category 3-5) were evaluated. Interactions between lactate variables and characteristics of OHCA were evaluated by a multivariable logistic model with interaction terms and subgroup analysis. RESULTS: A total of 347 OHCA patients were included. After adjustment, higher lactate levels at the three time points were associated with a poor outcome (AOR 1.10 [95% CI, 1.03-1.18], AOR 1.15 [95% CI, 1.02-1.29], and AOR 1.36 [95% CI, 1.15-1.60], respectively), while TWCL was the only lactate kinetics variable associated with a poor outcome (AOR 1.29 [95% CI, 1.12-1.49]). We identified several interactions between lactate-related variables and OHCA characteristics. In particular, the AUC of TWCL was excellent in cases of noncardiac etiology (AUC 0.92 [95% CI, 0.86-0.96] but only moderate in cardiac etiology (AUC 0.69 [95% CI, 0.62-0.75]). CONCLUSIONS: Early lactate levels, especially at 24 h, and TWCL were independent predictors of neurologic outcome in these patients, whereas lactate clearance was not. The prognostic ability of lactate-related variables varied depending on the OHCA characteristics.

Prognostic Performance of Initial Clinical Examination in Predicting Good Neurological Outcome in Cardiac Arrest Patients Treated with Targeted Temperature Management.

Prognostication studies of cardiac arrest patients have mainly focused on poor neurological outcomes. However, an optimistic prognosis for good outcome could provide both justification to maintain and escalate treatment and evidence-based support to persuade family members or legal surrogates after cardiac arrest. The aim of the study was to evaluate the utility of clinical examinations performed after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in predicting good neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). This retrospective study included OHCA patients treated with TTM from 2009 to 2021. Initial clinical examination findings related to the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) motor score, pupillary light reflex, corneal reflex (CR) and breathing above the set ventilator rate were assessed immediately after ROSC and before the initiation of TTM. The primary outcome was good neurological outcome at 6 months after cardiac arrest. Of 350 patients included in the analysis, 119 (34%) experienced a good neurological outcome at 6 months after cardiac arrest. Among the parameters of the initial clinical examinations, specificity was the highest for the GCS motor score, and sensitivity was the highest for breathing above the set ventilator rate. A GCS motor score of >2 had a sensitivity of 42.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 33.0-51.4) and a specificity of 96.5% (95% CI = 93.3-98.5). Breathing above the set ventilator rate had a sensitivity of 84.0% (95% CI = 76.2-90.1) and a specificity of 69.7% (95% CI = 63.3-75.6). As the number of positive responses increased, the proportion of patients with good outcomes increased. Consequently, 87.0% of patients for whom all four examinations were positive experienced good outcomes. As a result, the initial clinical examinations predicted good neurological outcomes with a sensitivity of 42.0-84.0% and a specificity of 69.7-96.5%. When more examinations with positive results are achieved, a good neurological outcome can be expected.

Serum spectrin breakdown product and neurofilament heavy in predicting outcome after cardiac arrest: A diagnostic accuracy study.

Objectives: Spectrin breakdown products 145 kDa (SBDP145) and neurofilament heavy chain (Nf-H) have been identified as potential biomarkers of neuronal injury. However, their ability to predict hypoxic-ischemic brain injury following cardiac arrest in humans is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate whether SBDP145 and Nf-H could be used as biomarkers to predict neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest. Methods: This prospective study was conducted at two academic hospitals and included adults who survived after cardiac arrest. Blood samples were collected at 0, 24, and 48 h after the return of spontaneous circulation, and biomarker analyses were performed to measure SBDP145 and Nf-H. Poor neurological outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Score of 4-6, and diagnostic performance was determined by receiver-operating characteristics analysis. Results: A total of 56 patients were included in this study. There were no significant differences in levels of SBDP145 or Nf-H between the poor and good outcome groups at any time point. Areas under the receiver-operating characteristics curve of SBDP145 and Nf-H were small, ranging from 0.51 to 0.7. At 0, 24, and 48 h, SBDP145 showed very low sensitivity (18.61 %, 13.89 %, and 13.79 %, respectively) and accuracy (33.93 %, 36.74 %, and 39.02 %, respectively) at a cut-off value for 100 % specificity. Nf-H also showed very low sensitivity (9.30 %, 16.67 %, and 0 %, respectively) and accuracy (29.09 %, 36.74 %, and 30.95 %, respectively). Conclusions: SBDP145 and Nf-H were found to be poor predictors of poor neurological outcomes six months after cardiac arrest.

Comprehensive prediction of urolithiasis based on clinical factors, blood chemistry and urinalysis: UROLITHIASIS score.

Comprehensive prediction of urolithiasis using available factors obtained in the emergency department may aid in patient-centered diagnostic imaging decisions. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical factors, blood chemistry and urine parameters of patients who underwent nonenhanced urinary computed tomography for suspected urolithiasis. A scoring system was developed from a logistic regression model and was tested using the area under the curve (AUC). The prevalence of urolithiasis and important possible causes in the three risk subgroups were determined. Finally, the scoring model was validated. In the derivation cohort (n = 673), 566 patients were diagnosed with urolithiasis. Age > 35 years, history of urolithiasis, pain duration < 8 h, nausea/vomiting, costovertebral angle tenderness, serum creatinine ≥ 0.92 mg/dL, erythrocytes ≥ 10/high power field, no leukocytes ≤ + , and any crystalluria were retained in the final multivariable model and became part of the score. This scoring model demonstrated good discrimination (AUC 0.808 [95% CI, 0.776-0.837]). In the validation cohort (n = 336), the performance was similar (AUC 0.803 [95% CI, 0.756-0.844]), surpassing that of the STONE score (AUC 0.654 [95% CI, 0.601-0.705], P < 0.001). This scoring model successfully stratified patients according to the probability of urolithiasis. Further validation in various settings is needed.

Sex Difference on Neurological Outcomes and Post-Cardiac Arrest Care in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients Treated with Targeted Temperature Management: Post-Hoc Study of a Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Cohort Study.

Conflicting results regarding sex-based differences in the outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients have been reported. We aimed to evaluate the association between sex and neurological outcome as well as various in-hospital process in OHCA patients treated with targeted temperature management. We retrospectively analyzed a prospective registry data collected between October 2015 and December 2018. To evaluate the effect of sex on patient outcomes, we created various multivariable logistic regression models. When the results were adjusted using resuscitation variables and in-hospital variables, there was no significant difference (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.85-1.74; OR = 1.13, 95 CI: 0.76-1.68, respectively). Regarding the in-hospital course, the daily total SOFA score was similar in both sexes, whereas cardiovascular scores were higher in women on days 2 and 3. The adjusted effect of sex was not associated with the clinician's decision to perform early cardiac interventions, except for those men that had more extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (OR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.11-5.66). The findings seems that men had more favorable 6-month neurological outcomes. However, after adjusting for confounders, there was no difference between the sexes. The results regarding in-hospital course were similar in men and women.

Doxifluridine versus Tegafur/Gimeracil/Oteracil (S-1) as adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy: A propensity score-matched analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Doxifluridine (DF), an oral 5-FU prodrug, has been used for various solid cancers due to its efficacy and low toxicity. We aim to evaluate the effect of DF as adjuvant monotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 263 patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2010 and December 2013 at our institute. Since previous randomized control trials have confirmed the efficacy of S-1 as adjuvant chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer, we analyzed the oncologic effect and patient compliance of the DF group compared to the S-1 group. After propensity score matching, 48 patients were included in each group. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in 5-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) between DF and S-1 groups (5-year OS; 77.1% vs 75.0%; p = 0.729, 5-year DFS; 76.6% vs 73.9%; p = 0.748). The completion rates of the DF and S-1 groups were 60.4% and 72.9%, respectively (p = 0.194). The mean relative dose intensity of the DF and S-1 groups were 76.2% and 84.2%, respectively (p = 0.195). After multivariate analysis, the chemotherapy regimen was not a risk factor for OS and DFS, whereas relative dose intensity and pathologic stage were independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the oncologic effect and patient compliance between DF and S-1 groups. DF could be an alternative option for adjuvant chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. In addition, we confirmed that relative dose intensity is an important independent prognostic factor for survival.

Novel serum biomarkers for predicting neurological outcomes in postcardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical feasibility of novel serum biomarkers in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients treated with target temperature management (TTM). METHODS: This study was a prospective observational study conducted on OHCA patients who underwent TTM. We measured conventional biomarkers, neuron­specific enolase and S100 calcium-binding protein (S-100B), as well as novel biomarkers, including tau protein, neurofilament light chain (NFL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1), at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h after the return of spontaneous circulation identified by SIMOA immunoassay. The primary outcome was poor neurological outcome at 6 months after OHCA. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients were included in this study from August 2018 to May 2020. Among the included patients, 46 patients had good neurologic outcomes at 6 months after OHCA. All conventional and novel serum biomarkers had the ability to discriminate between the good and poor neurological outcome groups (p < 0.001). The area under the curves of the novel serum biomarkers were highest at 72 h after cardiac arrest (CA) (0.906 for Tau, 0.946 for NFL, 0.875 for GFAP, and 0.935 for UCH-L1). The NFL at 72 h after CA had the highest sensitivity (77.1%, 95% CI 59.9-89.6) in predicting poor neurological outcomes while maintaining 100% specificity. CONCLUSION: Novel serum biomarkers reliably predicted poor neurological outcomes for patients with OHCA treated with TTM when life-sustaining therapy was not withdrawn. Cutoffs from two large existing studies (TTM and COMACARE substudy) were externally validated in our study. The predictive power of the novel biomarkers was the highest at 72 h after CA.

A novel cardiac arrest severity score for the early prediction of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and in-hospital death.

INTRODUCTION: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) outcomes are unsatisfactory despite postcardiac arrest care. Early prediction of prognoses might help stratify patients and provide tailored therapy. In this study, we derived and validated a novel scoring system to predict hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) and in-hospital death (IHD). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed Korean Hypothermia Network prospective registry data collected from in Korea between 2015 and 2018. Patients without neuroprognostication data were excluded, and the remaining patients were randomly divided into derivation and validation cohorts. HIBI was defined when at least one prognostication predicted a poor outcome. IHD meant all deaths regardless of cause. In the derivation cohort, stepwise multivariate logistic regression was conducted for the HIBI and IHD scores, and model performance was assessed. We then classified the patients into four categories and analyzed the associations between the categories and cerebral performance categories (CPCs) at hospital discharge. Finally, we validated our models in an internal validation cohort. RESULTS: Among 1373 patients, 240 were excluded, and 1133 were randomized into the derivation (n = 754) and validation cohorts (n = 379). In the derivation cohort, 7 and 8 predictors were selected for HIBI (0-8) and IHD scores (0-11), respectively, and the area under the curves (AUC) were 0.85 (95% CI 0.82-0.87) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.77-0.82), respectively. Applying optimum cutoff values of ≥6 points for HIBI and ≥7 points for IHD, the patients were classified as follows: HIBI (-)/IHD (-), Category 1 (n = 424); HIBI (-)/IHD (+), Category 2 (n = 100); HIBI (+)/IHD (-), Category 3 (n = 21); and HIBI (+)/IHD (+), Category 4 (n = 209). The CPCs at discharge were significantly different in each category (p < 0.001). In the validation cohort, the model showed moderate discrimination (AUC 0.83, 95% CI 0.79-0.87 for HIBI and AUC 0.77, 95% CI 0.72-0.81 for IHD) with good calibration. Each category of the validation cohort showed a significant difference in discharge outcomes (p < 0.001) and a similar trend to the derivation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: We presented a novel approach for assessing illness severity after OHCA. Although external prospective studies are warranted, risk stratification for HIBI and IHD could help provide OHCA patients with appropriate treatment.

Emotion recognition while applying cosmetic cream using deep learning from EEG data; cross-subject analysis.

We report a deep learning-based emotion recognition method using EEG data collected while applying cosmetic creams. Four creams with different textures were randomly applied, and they were divided into two classes, "like (positive)" and "dislike (negative)", according to the preference score given by the subject. We extracted frequency features using well-known frequency bands, i.e., alpha, beta and low and high gamma bands, and then we created a matrix including frequency and spatial information of the EEG data. We developed seven CNN-based models: (1) inception-like CNN with four-band merged input, (2) stacked CNN with four-band merged input, (3) stacked CNN with four-band parallel input, and stacked CNN with single-band input of (4) alpha, (5) beta, (6) low gamma, and (7) high gamma. The models were evaluated by the Leave-One-Subject-Out Cross-Validation method. In like/dislike two-class classification, the average accuracies of all subjects were 73.2%, 75.4%, 73.9%, 68.8%, 68.0%, 70.7%, and 69.7%, respectively. We found that the classification performance is higher when using multi-band features than when using single-band feature. This is the first study to apply a CNN-based deep learning method based on EEG data to evaluate preference for cosmetic creams.

Prognostic value of ambulation ability with albumin and C-reactive protein to predict 28-day mortality in elderly sepsis patients: a retrospective multicentre registry-based study.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a series of organ failures caused by dysregulated responses to infection. Risk factors for sepsis are multiple comorbidities, a poor nutrition status, and limited mobility. The primary purpose of the study was to determine whether ambulation ability with albumin and C-reactive protein are predictive of 28-day mortality of elderly patients with sepsis. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study using a multicentre-based registry of elderly patients between November 2016 and February 2017. The inclusion criteria were a patient ≥65 years and a diagnosis of sepsis and exclusion criteria were a patient with covariates of ambulation ability such as central nervous system diseases, or malignancy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of prediction models were calculated and compared. The survival rates according to the ambulation ability were estimated and compared by the log-rank test. RESULTS: 2291 patients ≥65 years visited with infectious diseases. 496 subjects with central nervous system diseases, 710 subjects with malignancy and 817 subjects with a Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score ≤ 1 were excluded. Ultimately, 278 subjects were included in the primary analysis. 133 (47.8%) subjects were male and the median age was 78 years. 228 (82%) subjects could ambulate independently before morbidity and 28 (10.1%) subjects expired in 28 days. In the inability to ambulate and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio model, the area under the curve predicting 28-day mortality was 0.761 with no significant difference from the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (0.859, p = 0.097) and the estimated survival rate on 28th day according to the ability to ambulate showed a significant difference (hazard ratio = 1.212, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The premorbid ambulation ability with albumin and C-reactive protein can be combined to predict 28-day mortality in elderly patients with sepsis.

Can Optic Nerve Sheath Images on a Thin-Slice Brain Computed Tomography Reconstruction Predict the Neurological Outcomes in Cardiac Arrest Survivors?

We analyzed the prognostic performance of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) on thin-slice (0.6 mm) brain computed tomography (CT) reconstruction images as compared to routine-slice (4 mm) images. We conducted a retrospective analysis of brain CT images taken within 2 h after cardiac arrest. The maximal ONSD (mONSD) and optic nerve sheath area (ONSA) were measured on thin-slice images, and the routine ONSD (rONSD) and gray-to-white matter ratio (GWR) were measured on routine-slice images. We analyzed their area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) and the cutoff values for predicting a poor 6-month neurological outcome (a cerebral performance category score of 3-5). Of the 159 patients analyzed, 113 patients had a poor outcome. There was no significant difference in rONSD between the outcome groups (p = 0.116). Compared to rONSD, mONSD (AUC 0.62, 95% CI: 0.54-0.70) and the ONSA (AUC 0.63, 95% CI: 0.55-0.70) showed better prognostic performance and had higher sensitivities to determine a poor outcome (mONSD, 20.4% [95% CI, 13.4-29.0]; ONSA, 16.8% [95% CI, 10.4-25.0]; rONSD, 7.1% [95% CI, 3.1-13.5]), with specificity of 95.7% (95% CI, 85.2-99.5). A combined cutoff value obtained by both the mONSD and GWR improved the sensitivity (31.0% [95% CI, 22.6-40.4]) of determining a poor outcome, while maintaining a high specificity. In conclusion, rONSD was clinically irrelevant, but the mONSD had an increased sensitivity in cutoff having acceptable specificity. Combination of the mONSD and GWR had an improved prognostic performance in these patients.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cardio/cerebrovascular disease who visit the emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic situation is a state that has had a great impact on the medical system and society. To respond to the pandemic situation, various methods, such as a pre-triage system, are being implemented in the emergency medical field. However, there are insufficient studies on the effects of this pandemic situation on patients visiting the emergency department (ED), especially those with cardio/cerebrovascular diseases (CVD)1 classified as time-dependent emergencies. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients from April 2020 to December 2020 (April 2020 was when the pre-triage system was established) compared to a parallel comparison patient cohort from 2019. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. CVD was defined by the patient's final diagnosis. RESULTS: During the same period, the number of patients who had visited the ED after COVID-19 had decreased to 79.1% of the number of patients who had visited the ED before COVID-19. The overall patient mortality and the mortality in the patients cardiovascular disease had both increased, while the mortality from cerebrovascular disease did not increase. Meanwhile, the ED length of stay had increased in all patients but did not increase in the patients with cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSION: As with prior studies conducted in other regions, in our study, the total number of ED visits were decreased compared to before COVID-19. The overall mortality had increased, particularly in the patients with cardiovascular disease.

Brain Death and Its Prediction in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients Treated with Targeted Temperature Management.

Evolution toward brain death (BD) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with targeted temperature management (TTM) provides opportunities for organ donation. However, knowledge regarding BD in these patients is limited. We retrospectively analyzed the TTM registry of one hospital where life-sustaining therapy was not withdrawn. In-hospital death patients were categorized into BD and non-BD groups. We explored the process of evolution toward BD and its predictors by comparing the serial measurements of clinical variables and the results of various prognostic tests between the two groups. Of the 121 patients who died before hospital discharge, 19 patients (15.7%) developed BD at a median of 6 (interquartile range, 5.0-7.0) days after cardiac arrest. Four patients with pupillary light reflexes at 48 h eventually developed BD. The area under the curves of the gray-to-white matter ratio (GWR) on early brain computed tomography images and the level of S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) at 72 h were 0.67 (95% CI, 0.55-0.77) and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.55-0.83), respectively. In conclusion, approximately one-sixth of all in-hospital deaths were diagnosed with BD at a median of 6 days after cardiac arrest. The use of GWR and serial S100B measurements may help to screen potential BD.

External validation of the 2020 ERC/ESICM prognostication strategy algorithm after cardiac arrest.

PURPOSE: To assess the performance of the post-cardiac arrest (CA) prognostication strategy algorithm recommended by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) in 2020. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of the Korean Hypothermia Network Prospective Registry 1.0. Unconscious patients without confounders at day 4 (72-96 h) after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) were included. The association between the prognostic factors included in the prognostication strategy algorithm, except status myoclonus and the neurological outcome, was investigated, and finally, the prognostic performance of the prognostication strategy algorithm was evaluated. Poor outcome was defined as cerebral performance categories 3-5 at 6 months after ROSC. RESULTS: A total of 660 patients were included in the final analysis. Of those, 108 (16.4%) patients had a good neurological outcome at 6 months after CA. The 2020 ERC/ESICM prognostication strategy algorithm identified patients with poor neurological outcome with 60.2% sensitivity (95% CI 55.9-64.4) and 100% specificity (95% CI 93.9-100) among patients who were unconscious or had a GCS_M score ≤ 3 and with 58.2% sensitivity (95% CI 53.9-62.3) and 100% specificity (95% CI 96.6-100) among unconscious patients. When two prognostic factors were combined, any combination of prognostic factors had a false positive rate (FPR) of 0 (95% CI 0-5.6 for combination of no PR/CR and poor CT, 0-30.8 for combination of No SSEP N20 and NSE 60). CONCLUSION: The 2020 ERC/ESICM prognostication strategy algorithm predicted poor outcome without an FPR and with sensitivities of 58.2-60.2%. Any combinations of two predictors recommended by ERC/ESICM showed 0% of FPR.

The relationship between body mass index and neurologic outcomes in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest treated with targeted temperature management.

BACKGROUND: The association of body mass index with outcome in patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on neurological outcomes and mortality in resuscitated patients treated with TTM after OHCA. METHODS: This multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed with data from 22 hospitals included in the Korean Hypothermia Network KORHN-PRO registry. Comatose adult patients treated with TTM after OHCA between October 2015 and December 2018 were enrolled. The BMI of each patient was calculated and classified according to the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO). Each group was analyzed in terms of demographic characteristics and associations with six-month neurologic outcomes and mortality after cardiac arrest (CA). RESULTS: Of 1,373 patients treated with TTM identified in the registry, 1,315 were included in this study. One hundred two patients were underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2), 798 were normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2), 332 were overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2), and 73 were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). The higher BMI group had younger patients and a greater incidence of diabetes and hypertension. Six-month neurologic outcomes and mortality were not different among the BMI groups (p = 0.111, p = 0.234). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that BMI classification was not associated with six-month neurologic outcomes or mortality. In the subgroup analysis, the underweight group treated with TTM at 33°C was associated with poor neurologic outcomes six months after CA (OR 2.090, 95% CI 1.010-4.325, p = 0.047), whereas the TTM at 36°C group was not (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.249-3.112, p = 0.843). CONCLUSIONS: BMI was not associated with six-month neurologic outcomes or mortality in patients surviving OHCA. However, in the subgroup analysis, underweight patients were associated with poor neurologic outcomes when treated with TTM at 33°C.

Immediate complete revascularization showed better outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors with left main or triple-vessel coronary diseases.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of left main or triple vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) in comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors and assessed their outcome based on the revascularization strategy. This multicenter, retrospective, observational registry-based study was conducted at 9 Korean tertiary care hospitals. Adult comatose OHCA survivors with left main or triple vessel CAD documented by immediate (≤ 2 h) coronary angiography after return of spontaneous circulation between 2011 and 2019 were included. The primary outcome was neurologically intact survival at 1-month. Among 727 OHCA patients, 150 (25%) had left main or triple vessel CAD and underwent complete (N = 32), incomplete (N = 78), and no immediate (N = 40) revascularization, respectively. The rate of neurologically intact survival at 1 month was significantly different among the groups (53%, 32%, and 23% for complete, incomplete, and no immediate revascularization groups, respectively; P = 0.02). After adjustment using the inverse probability of treatment weighting, complete revascularization was associated with neurologically intact survival at 1 month (odds ratio, 2.635; P = 0.01). Left main or triple vessel CAD is not uncommon in OHCA patients. The complete revascularization was associated with better outcome. Further clinical trials to confirm the best revascularization strategy are needed.

Relationship between cooling time and neurological outcomes in targeted temperature management.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between cooling time (CT) variables and neurological outcomes is controversial. We evaluated the relationship between CT and neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). METHODS: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, and registry-based study of OHCA survivors treated with TTM. CT was defined as the time from restoration of spontaneous circulation to achievement of the target temperature. The primary outcome was a favorable neurological outcome at 6 months. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed to test the relationship between CT and the primary outcome. RESULTS: Overall, the favorable neurological outcome rates at 6 months were 29.8% in 937 patients. When CT was stratified into categories of 0-3, 3.1-6, 6.1-9, 9.1-12, and >12 h, according to 3-h intervals, the primary outcome rates were 8.2%, 22.7%, 35.5%, 44.7%, and 44.5%, respectively (p < 0.001). Significant differences were not found in multilevel logistic regression analysis; the adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of each category for the primary outcome compared to the 0-3-h group were 0.81 (0.32 to 2.04), 0.77 (0.30 to 2.01), 1.26 (0.43 to 3.68), and 1.06 (0.37 to 3.06). CONCLUSIONS: We did not find a relationship between CT and neurological outcomes at 6 months.

Comparative analysis of intra-articular injection of steroid and/or sodium hyaluronate in adhesive capsulitis: prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have reported the effects of simultaneous injections of corticosteroid (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) on adhesive capsulitis (AC) of the shoulder. This study investigated the synergistic effects of simultaneous intra-articular injections of CS and compared them to those of CS or HA alone. METHOD: Sixty patients with AC were enrolled in this randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The participants were divided into 4 groups: saline, CS, HA, and CS with HA groups. The primary outcome measure was changes in the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) scores at one month. The secondary outcome measures included changes in pain, range of motion, muscle strength, and additional shoulder functional scores at 1 day, 1 week, and 1, 3, and 6 months after injection. RESULTS: After 1 month, changes of the SPADI scores were significantly higher in the CS with HA group (-58.4%) than those in the saline (-7.7%) and HA (-14.4%) groups. The score changed more in the CS with HA group than that in the CS group (-43.7%), but there was no significant difference. In the changes in pain, the CS with HA group showed significantly better and faster effects than the saline and HA groups. In the changes of range of motion, functional scores, the CS with HA group showed better results than the saline and HA groups. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of AC, the simultaneous injection of CS and HA was more effective in improving SPADI scores at one month after injection than a single injection of CS or HA.