The impact of COVID-19 on incidence and outcomes from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Texas.

INTRODUCTION: Emerging research demonstrates lower rates of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR), public AED (PAD), worse outcomes, and higher incidence of OHCA during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to characterize the incidence of OHCA during the early pandemic period and the subsequent long-term period while describing changes in OHCA outcomes and survival. METHODS: We analyzed adult OHCAs in Texas from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) during March 11-December 31 of 2019 and 2020. We stratified cases into pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods. Our prehospital outcomes were bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR), public AED use (PAD), sustained ROSC, and prehospital termination of resuscitation (TOR). Our hospital survival outcomes were survival to hospital admission, survival to hospital discharge, good neurological outcomes (CPC Score of 1 or 2) and Utstein bystander survival. We created a mixed effects logistic regression model analyzing the association between the pandemic on outcomes, using EMS agency as the random intercept. RESULTS: There were 3619 OHCAs (45.0% of overall study population) in 2019 compared to 4418 (55.0% of overall study population) in 2020. Rates of BCPR (46.2% in 2019 to 42.2% in 2020, P < 0.01) and PAD (13.0% to 7.3%, p < 0.01) decreased. Patient survival to hospital admission decreased from 27.2% in 2019 to 21.0% in 2020 (p < 0.01) and survival to hospital discharge decreased from 10.0% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020 (p < 0.01). OHCA patients were less likely to receive PAD (aOR = 0.5, 95% CI [0.4, 0.8]) and the odds of field termination increased (aOR = 1.5, 95% CI [1.4, 1.7]). CONCLUSIONS: Our study adds state-wide evidence to the national phenomenon of long-term increased OHCA incidence during COVID-19, worsening rates of BCPR, PAD use and survival outcomes.

STEMI Mimic: Focal Myocarditis in an Adolescent Patient After mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine.

BACKGROUND: In May 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccine (BNT162b2) to include adolescents 12-15 years of age. As vaccine administration continues to increase, potential adverse outcomes, to include myocarditis, are being reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. CASE REPORT: This case report describes a 17-year-old male patient who developed focal myocarditis mimicking an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) 3 days after administration of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Myocarditis is a rare complication in adolescents receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Focal myocarditis may demonstrate localizing electrocardiographic changes consistent with a STEMI. Overall, complications of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are extremely rare. The vaccine continues to be recommended by public health experts, as the benefits of vaccinations greatly outweigh the rare side effects.

Can I Send This Syncope Patient Home From the Emergency Department?

BACKGROUND: Syncope is a common presentation to the emergency department (ED). A significant minority of these patients have potentially life-threatening pathology. Reliably identifying that patients require hospital admission for further workup and intervention is imperative. CLINICAL QUESTION: In patients who present with syncope, is there a reliable decision tool that clinicians can use to predict the risk of adverse outcome and determine who may be appropriate for discharge? EVIDENCE REVIEW: Four articles were reviewed. The first retrospective study found no difference in mortality or adverse events in patients admitted for further evaluation rather than discharged home with primary care follow-up. The next two articles examined the derivation and validation of the Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS). After validation with an admission threshold score of -1, the sensitivity and specificity of the CSRS was 97.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 93.8-99.6%) and 44.3% (95% CI 42.7-45.9%), respectively. The last article looked at the derivation of the FAINT score, a recently developed score to risk stratify syncope patients. A FAINT score of ≥ 1 (any score 1 or higher should be admitted) had a sensitivity of 96.7% (95% CI 92.9-98.8%) and specificity 22.2% (95% CI 20.7-23.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Syncope remains a difficult chief symptom to disposition from the ED. The CSRS is modestly effective at establishing a low probability of actionable disease or need for intervention. However, CSRS might not reduce unnecessary hospitalizations. The FAINT score has yet to undergo validation; however, the initial derivation study offers less diagnostic accuracy compared with the CSRS.

Hide and Seek: Intermittent Preexcitation Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome Case Report and Management Overview.

Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome is an uncommon form of cardiac preexcitation due to an underlying structural accessory pathway, which may lead to potentially lethal arrhythmias. Classic electrocardiogram (ECG) findings of WPW include short PR interval, slurred upstroke of the QRS complex, and prolonged QRS duration. However, in intermittent preexcitation, a rare variant in contrast to continuous preexcitation, these findings are not always present, thus masking a diagnosis of WPW syndrome. Consequently, this may adversely affect or delay the appropriate treatment of short-term tachyarrhythmias and long-term definitive therapies for this syndrome. The emergency physician should promptly obtain an ECG after the termination of any tachyarrhythmia, and maintain a high index of suspicion for intermittent preexcitation with typical WPW ECG findings which were not present on prior studies. The authors present a case of a 17-year-old female diagnosed with an intermittent preexcitation variant of WPW syndrome after a case of successfully treated symptomatic supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).

An Atypical Presentation of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare form of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) resulting from tears in the coronary vessel lumen leading to myocardial ischemia. Historically, younger to middle-aged Caucasian females without traditional risk factors for ACS are most commonly affected. The authors present the case of an African American female with numerous traditional ACS risk factors who presented to the emergency department with chest pain. Her workup revealed a stable electrocardiogram despite multiple sets of serially elevating cardiac enzymes and the patient was ultimately diagnosed with a spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

ST-Segment Elevation in the Setting of Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Is It Acute Coronary Syndrome?

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with resulting hyperkalemia can lead to ST-segment elevations on electrocardiogram (ECG). Previous publications theorize that significant improvements in patient potassium levels lead to the resolution of this rare phenomenon, also known as "pseudo-infarct" pattern. The authors provide a unique case along with a literature review of DKA-associated ST-segment elevations. This specific case distinctively demonstrates the resolution of the pseudo-infarct pattern in the setting of minor improvements in serum potassium and continued acidosis.

An emergency medicine approach to troponin elevation due to causes other than occlusion myocardial infarction.

INTRODUCTION: Troponin is an integral component of the evaluation for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and occlusion myocardial infarction (OMI). However, troponin may be elevated in conditions other than OMI. OBJECTIVE: This narrative review provides emergency clinicians with a focused evaluation of troponin elevation in patients with myocardial injury due to conditions other than OMI. DISCUSSION: ACS includes the diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI), which incorporates assessment for elevated troponin. Troponin I and T are the most common biomarkers used in assessment of myocardial injury and may be released with myocyte injury and necrosis, myocyte apoptosis and cell turnover, and oxygen supply demand mismatch. Troponin elevation is a reflection of myocardial injury, and many conditions associated with critical illness may result in troponin elevation. These include cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. Cardiac conditions include heart failure, dysrhythmia, and dissection, while non-cardiac causes include pulmonary embolism, sepsis, stroke, and many others. Clinicians should consider the clinical context, patient symptoms, electrocardiogram, and ultrasound in their assessment of the patient with troponin elevation. In most cases, elevated troponin is a marker for poor outcomes including increased rates of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Troponin can be elevated in many critical settings. The causes of troponin elevation include cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. Clinicians must consider the clinical context and other factors, as an inappropriate diagnosis of OMI may result in patient harm and misdiagnosis of another condition.

Comminuted Femur Fracture in a Free Fall Jump: A Case Report.

Military free fall or high-altitude low-opening parachute jumps play a key role in special operations tactics, though injury patterns in these operators are not well characterized. In contrast to lower-altitude static line paratroopers, free fall operators require precise parachute deployment after a prolonged descent, with the potential for high-velocity trauma. This report describes a 33-year-old Marine Corps Reconnaissance operator who sustained left comminuted basicervical femoral neck fracture requiring cephalomedullary nail internal fixation with a full recovery. This femoral neck fracture highlights the high-energy injuries experienced by these invaluable operators, especially when conducting combat or night jumps.

A Comparison of Prehospital Versus Emergency Department Intubations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BACKGROUND: Airway obstruction is the second most common cause of potentially preventable death on the battlefield. We compared survival in the combat setting among patients undergoing prehospital versus emergency department (ED) intubation. METHODS: Patients were identified from the Department of Defense Trauma Registry (DODTR) from January 2007 to August 2016. We defined the prehospital cohort as subjects undergoing intubation prior to arrival to a forward surgical team (FST) or combat support hospital (CSH), and the ED cohort as subjects undergoing intubation at an FST or CSH. We compared study variables between these cohorts; survival was our primary outcome. RESULTS: There were 4341 intubations documented in the DODTR during the study period: 1117 (25.7%) patients were intubated prehospital and 3224 (74.3%) were intubated in the ED. Patients intubated prehospital had a lower median age (24 versus 25 years, p < .001), composed a higher proportion of host nation forces (36.1% versus 29.1%, p < .001), had a lower proportion of injuries from explosives (57.6% versus 61.0%, p = .030), and had higher median injury severity scores (20 versus 18, p = .045). A lower proportion of the prehospital cohort survived to hospital discharge (76.4% versus 84.3%, p < .001). The prehospital cohort had lower odds of survival to hospital discharge in both univariable (odds ratio [OR] 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51-0.71) and multivariable analyses controlling for confounders (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.85). In a subgroup analysis of patients with a head injury, the lower odds of survival persisted in the multivariable analysis (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.49-0.82). CONCLUSIONS: Patients intubated in the prehospital setting had a lower survival than those intubated in the ED. This finding persisted after controlling for measurable confounders.

Emergency department septic shock patient mortality with refractory hypotension vs hyperlactatemia: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to compare in-hospital mortality among emergency department (ED) patients meeting trial-based criteria for septic shock based upon whether presenting with refractory hypotension (systolic blood pressure<90mmHg after 1L intravenous fluid bolus) versus hyperlactatemia (initial lactate≥4mmol/L). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis by chart review of ED patients admitted to an intensive care unit with suspected infection during 1 August 2012-28 February 2015. We included all patients with body fluid cultures sampled either during their ED stay without antibiotic administration or within 24h of antibiotic administration in the ED. We excluded patients not meeting criteria for either refractory hypotension or hyperlactatemia. Trained chart abstractors blinded to the study hypothesis double entered data from each patient's record including demographics, clinical data, treatments, and in-hospital mortality. We compared in-hospital mortality among patients with isolated refractory hypotension, isolated hyperlactatemia, or both. We also calculated odds ratios (ORs) via logistic regression for in-hospital mortality based on presence of refractory hypotension or hyperlactatemia. RESULTS: Of 202 patients included in the analysis, 38 (18.8%) died during hospitalization. Mortality was 10.9% among 101 patients with isolated refractory hypotension, 24.4% among 41 patients with isolated hyperlactatemia, and 28.3% among 60 patients with both (p=0.01). Logistic regression analyses yielded in-hospital mortality OR for refractory hypotension of 1.3 (95% CI 0.5-3.8) versus OR for hyperlactatemia of 2.9 (95% CI 1.2-7.4). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperlactatemia appears associated with higher in-hospital mortality compared to refractory hypotension among ED patients with septic shock.

Sepsis Clinical Criteria in Emergency Department Patients Admitted to an Intensive Care Unit: An External Validation Study of Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) is a prognostic score for patients with sepsis. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to compare the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC), sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios of qSOFA vs. systemic inflammation response syndrome (SIRS) in predicting in-hospital mortality among emergency department (ED) patients with suspected infection admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort chart review study of ED patients admitted to an ICU with suspected infection from August 1, 2012 to February 28, 2015. We included all patients with body fluid cultures sampled either during their ED stay without antibiotic administration or within 24 h of antibiotics administered in the ED. Trained chart abstractors blinded to the study hypothesis double-entered data from each patient's electronic medical record including demographic characteristics, vital signs, laboratory study results, physical examination findings, and in-hospital mortality. We then calculated the AUROC, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios for qSOFA and SIRS for predicting in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: Of 214 patients admitted to an ICU with presumed sepsis, 39 (18.2%) died during hospitalization. The AUROC value was 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56-0.74) for SIRS vs. 0.66 (95% CI 0.57-0.76) for qSOFA; 2+ qSOFA criteria predicted in-hospital mortality with 89.7% sensitivity, 27.4% specificity, 1.2 positive likelihood ratio, and 0.4 negative likelihood ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Among ED patients admitted to an ICU, the SIRS and qSOFA criteria had comparable prognostic value for predicting in-hospital mortality. These prognostic values are similar to those reported by the Sepsis-3 guidelines for ICU encounters.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci colonization-infection model: parameter impacts and outbreak risks.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections have been linked to increased mortality and costs. A new model of a VRE-infested intensive care unit (ICU) is introduced. It incorporates critical features including the difference between colonization and infection, the role of special preventive care treatment cycles, fitness cost, and antibiotic use. Five patient stages are considered: susceptible, colonized with and without special preventive care, and infected with and without treatment. Parameter ranges are determined representing different ICUs and incorporated to numerically simulate the model. Basic reproductive number of the infection is derived and the impacts of the parameters are analysed. Strategies to minimize VRE infections and outbreak risk are explored with a focus on efficient and simultaneous control of critical parameters. In particular, threshold values of the level of special preventive care and ICU compliance rate are given to achieve desired goals under various constraints.