Predictors of Treatment Failure and Mortality among Patients with Septic Shock Treated with Meropenem in the Intensive Care Unit.

Background: The aim of the study was to determine the predictors of meropenem treatment failure and mortality in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methods: This was a retrospective study, involving sepsis and septic shock patients who were admitted to the ICU and received intravenous meropenem. Treatment failure is defined as evidence of non-resolved fever, non-reduced total white cell (TWC), non-reduced C-reactive protein (CRP), subsequent culture negative and death in ICU. Results: An Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and duration of antibiotic treatment less than 5 days were associated with treatment failure with adjusted OR = 1.24 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.33; P < 0.001), OR = 65.43 (95% CI: 21.70, 197.23; P < 0.001). A higher risk of mortality was observed with higher APACHE and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores, initiating antibiotics > 72 h of sepsis, duration of antibiotic treatment less than 5 days and meropenem with renal adjustment dose with an adjusted OR = 1.21 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.30; P < 0.001), adjusted OR = 1.23 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.41; P < 0.001), adjusted OR = 6.38 (95% CI: 1.67, 24.50; P = 0.007), adjusted OR = 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.14; P < 0.001), adjusted OR = 0.30 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.64; P = 0.002). Conclusion: A total of 50 (14.12%) patients had a treatment failure with meropenem with 120 (48.02%) ICU mortality. The predictors of meropenem failure are higher APACHE score and shorter duration of meropenem treatment. The high APACHE, high SOFA score, initiating antibiotics more than 72 h of sepsis, shorter duration of treatment and meropenem with renal adjustment dose were predictors of mortality.

Prevalence and Outcome of Sepsis: Mortality and Prolonged Intensive Care Unit Stay among Sepsis Patients Admitted to a Tertiary Centre in Malaysia.

Background: Sepsis and septic shock are the leading causes of critical care-related mortality worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sepsis, its intensive care unit (ICU) mortality rate and the factors associated with both ICU mortality and prolonged stay. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from January 2019 to December 2019 with adult patients presenting evidence of sepsis who were admitted to the ICU. Parameters were assessed in the ICU to determine the association with all-cause ICU mortality and prolonged stay. Results: Out of 607 adults, 292 with sepsis were admitted to the ICU in 2019, with a mean age of 50.98 (standard deviation [SD] = 17.75) years old. There was, thus, a 48% incidence of sepsis. Mortality was observed in 78 patients (mortality rate = 26.7%) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.7, 32.2). Patients with higher Glasgow coma scale (GCS) scores had lower odds of ICU mortality (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.82, 0.98; P = 0.019), while patients with higher sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores had higher odds (adjusted OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.35; P < 0.001). Eighty patients (37.4%) who survived had prolonged ICU stays (95% CI: 30.9, 44.2). Patients with higher albumin levels had lower odds of a prolonged ICU stay (adjusted OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90, 0.98; P = 0.006) and patients on renal replacement therapy had higher odds of a prolonged ICU stay (adjusted OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.74, 7.12; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study identified a sepsis prevalence of 48% and an ICU mortality rate of 26.7% among adult patients admitted to the ICU. GCS and SOFA scores were the most important factors associated with ICU mortality.

Sepsis and Its Impact on Outcomes in Elderly Patients Admitted to a Malaysian Intensive Care Unit.

Sepsis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly patients, but there is a scarcity of data on sepsis in this specific cohort. We performed this study to review the impact of sepsis on outcomes in elderly patients admitted to our local intensive care unit (ICU). This was a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data of 159 consecutive adult patients with sepsis admitted to an ICU of a tertiary hospital in Malaysia over a three-year period. Of the 159 patients analysed, elderly patients constituted 18.9% of the cohort. Fifty percent of the older patients died within 30 days, compared to 24% of younger patients (P = 0.005). On multivariate analysis, old age was found to be independently predictive of 30-day mortality with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.5 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05, 6.01) compared to younger patients (P = 0.021). In a Kaplan-Meier analysis, survival probability was significantly lower in patients of an older age compared to younger patients (P = 0.015). In conclusion, mortality from sepsis is considerably higher in elderly patients, with age as an independent risk factor for mortality.

The Impact of Educational Intervention on Attitude Toward Organ Donation Among Health Care Workers in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: The attitudes of the health care workers (HCWs) are essential in influencing organ donation rate. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an educational intervention on attitudes toward organ donation among HCWs. METHODS: A questionnaire-based interventional study was conducted with 458 HCW from 5 hospitals in Malaysia. A 26-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed online as a preintervention test. Respondents then went through website-based educational materials followed by a post-intervention questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 345 (75.3%) respondents completed the tests. Their attitude toward organ donation was positive preintervention. After the intervention, respondents expressed an increase willingness to donate their own organs (P = .008) and their relatives' organs (P < .001) after death; were more willing to adopt organ donation as part of end-of-life care (P =.002); were more comfortable talking to relatives about organ donation (P =.001); and expressed an increase consideration to execute the action at any time (P =.001). There was increased willingness to admit to the intensive care unit for facilitating organ donation (P =.007); to employ the same resources to maintain a potential brain-dead donor (P < .001); and to support organ donation in case they or their relatives were diagnosed with end-stage organ failure (P =.008). However, there was an increase in negative attitudes regarding the association between organ donation with health care failure (P =.004) and with pain (P =.003). Positive attitude scores were higher after the intervention (P < .001). CONCLUSION: An educational website-based intervention was able to improve the attitudes of HCWs toward organ donation.

Undiagnosed chicken meat aspiration as a cause of difficult-to-ventilate in a boy with traumatic brain injury.

INTRODUCTION: Bronchoscopy is a commonly used procedure in the context of aspiration in the Intensive Care Unit setting. Despite its ability to remove mucus plug and undigested gastric contents, aspiration of gastric content into the trachea is one of the most feared complications among anesthesiologist. DISCUSSION: The scenario is made worst if the aspiration causes acute hypoxemic respiratory failure immediately post intubation. However, in the event of desaturation, the quick decision to proceed with bronchoscopy is a challenging task to the anesthesiologist without knowing the causes. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 12-year-old boy who had a difficult-to-ventilate scenario post transferring and immediately connected to ventilator in operation theatre (OT) from portable ventilator from the emergency department. She was successfully managed by bronchoscopy. CONCLUSION: Special attention should be given to the difficult-to-ventilate scenario post intubation of traumatic brain injury patient prior to operation. Prompt diagnosis and bronchoscope-assisted removal of foreign body was found to be a successful to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Passive Warming using a Heat-Band versus a Resistive Heating Blanket for the Prevention of Inadvertent Perioperative Hypothermia during Laparotomy for Gynaecological Surgery

Background: Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia (IPH) is a common problem, despite advancements in a variety of warming systems. The use of a resistive heating blanket (RHB) is a common but costly approach to patient warming. We have introduced the use of a heat-band in our centre as a cost-effective alternative to the RHB for patient warming. The efficacy of the heat-band in preventing IPH during laparotomy for gynaecological surgeries was compared with that of the RHB. Methods: Thirty-two patients undergoing surgeries under combined general-epidural anaesthesia, with an expected duration of surgery of 2–4 h, were randomised to receive either the heat-band or RHB. The core body temperatures of the two groups were compared at several perioperative times, in addition to the incidence of post-anaesthesia shivering, time to extubation and intraoperative blood loss. Results: The core body temperatures were comparable between the two groups in the pre-operative period, immediately after the induction of anaesthesia and skin incision, 1 h after the incision, at the time of complete skin closing, at extubation, upon arrival to the recovery room and 1 h post-operatively. There were no significant between-group differences in the incidence of post-anaesthesia shivering, time to extubation and intra-operative blood loss. Conclusion: The heat-band is as effective as the RHB in preventing IPH and its complications in gynaecological laparotomies.