Delta Shock Index and higher incidence of emergency surgery in older adults with blunt trauma.

PURPOSE: Vital signs are important for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with trauma. However, their accuracy can be affected in older adults because hemodynamic changes are less obvious. This study aimed to examine the usefulness of changes in vital signs during transportation in predicting the need for hemostatic treatments in older patients with trauma. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the Japan Trauma Data Bank (2004-2019). Patients aged ≥ 65 years who were hemodynamically stable at the scene were included in this study. The incidence of emergency surgery within 12 h after hospital arrival was compared between patients with delta Shock Index (dSI) > 0.1 and those with dSI ≤ 0.1. Predicting ability was examined after adjusting for patient demographics, comorbidities, vital signs at the scene and on hospital arrival, Injury Severity Score, and abbreviated injury scale in each region. RESULTS: Among the 139,242 patients eligible for the study, 3,701 underwent urgent hemostatic surgery within 12 h. Patients with dSI > 0.1 showed a significantly higher incidence of emergency surgery than those with dSI ≤ 0.1 (871/16,549 [5.3%] vs. 2,830/84,250 [3.4%]; odds ratio (OR), 1.60 [1.48-1.73]; adjusted OR, 1.22 [1.08-1.38]; p = 0.001). The relationship between high dSI and a higher incidence of intervention was observed in patients with hypertension and those with decreased consciousness on arrival. CONCLUSION: High dSI > 0.1 was significantly associated with a higher incidence of urgent hemostatic surgery in older patients.

Hyperoxia for accidental hypothermia and increased mortality: a post-hoc analysis of a multicenter prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Supraphysiologic oxygen administration causes unfavorable clinical outcomes in various diseases, including traumatic brain injury, post-cardiac arrest syndrome, and acute lung injury. Accidental hypothermia is a critical illness that reduces oxygen demands, and excessive oxygen is likely to emerge. This study aimed to determine whether hyperoxia would be associated with increased mortality in patients with accidental hypothermia. METHODS: A post-hoc analysis of a nationwide multicenter prospective observational study (ICE-CRASH study) on patients with accidental hypothermia admitted in 2019-2022 was conducted. Adult patients without cardiac arrest whose core body temperature was < 32 °C and whose arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) was measured at the emergency department were included. Hyperoxia was defined as a PaO2 level of 300 mmHg or higher, and 28-day mortality was compared between patients with and without hyperoxia before rewarming. Inverse probability weighting (IPW) analyses with propensity scores were performed to adjust patient demographics, comorbidities, etiology and severity of hypothermia, hemodynamic status and laboratories on arrival, and institution characteristics. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to age, chronic cardiopulmonary diseases, hemodynamic instability, and severity of hypothermia. RESULTS: Of the 338 patients who were eligible for the study, 65 had hyperoxia before rewarming. Patients with hyperoxia had a higher 28-day mortality rate than those without (25 (39.1%) vs. 51 (19.5%); odds ratio (OR) 2.65 (95% confidence interval 1.47-4.78); p < 0.001). IPW analyses with propensity scores revealed similar results (adjusted OR 1.65 (1.14-2.38); p = 0.008). Subgroup analyses showed that hyperoxia was harmful in the elderly and those with cardiopulmonary diseases and severe hypothermia below 28 °C, whereas hyperoxia exposure had no effect on mortality in patients with hemodynamic instability on hospital arrival. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperoxia with PaO2 levels of 300 mmHg or higher before initiating rewarming was associated with increased 28-day mortality in patients with accidental hypothermia. The amount of oxygen to administer to patients with accidental hypothermia should be carefully determined. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The ICE-CRASH study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trial Registry on April 1, 2019 (UMIN-CTR ID, UMIN000036132).

Frailty and Neurologic Outcomes of Patients Resuscitated From Nontraumatic Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Prospective Observational Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the clinical utility of the Clinical Frailty Scale score for predicting poor neurologic functions in patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter, observational study conducted between 2019 and 2021. The study included adults with nontraumatic OHCA admitted to the intensive care unit after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Pre-arrest high Clinical Frailty Scale score was defined as 5 or more. Favorable neurologic outcomes defined as a Cerebral Performance Category score of 2 or less at 30 days after admission were compared between patients with and without high Clinical Frailty Scale scores. Multivariable logistic regression analyses fitted with generalized estimating equations were performed to adjust for patient characteristics, out-of-hospital information, and resuscitation content and account for within-institution clustering. RESULTS: Of 9,909 patients with OHCA during the study period, 1,216 were included, and 317 had a pre-arrest high Clinical Frailty Scale score. Favorable neurologic outcomes were fewer among patients with high Clinical Frailty Scale scores. The high Clinical Frailty Scale score group showed a lower percentage of favorable neurologic outcomes after OHCA than the low Clinical Frailty Scale score group (6.1% vs 24.4%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.45 [95% confidence interval 0.22 to 0.93]). This relationship remained in subgroups with cardiogenic OHCA, with ROSC after hospital arrival, and without a high risk of dying (Clinical Frailty Scale score of 7 or less), whereas the neurologic outcomes were comparable regardless of pre-arrest frailty in those with noncardiogenic OHCA and with ROSC before hospital arrival. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-arrest high Clinical Frailty Scale score was associated with unfavorable neurologic functions among patients resuscitated from OHCA. The Clinical Frailty Scale score would help predict clinical consequences following intensive care after ROSC.

Outcome of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use in severe accidental hypothermia with cardiac arrest and circulatory instability: A multicentre, prospective, observational study in Japan (ICE-CRASH study).

AIM: To elucidate the effectiveness of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in accidental hypothermia (AH) patients with and without cardiac arrest (CA), including details of complications. METHODS: This study was a multicentre, prospective, observational study of AH in Japan. All adult (aged ≥18 years) AH patients with body temperature ≤32 °C who presented to the emergency department between December 2019 and March 2022 were included. Among the patients, those with CA or circulatory instability, defined as severe AH, were selected and divided into the ECMO and non-ECMO groups. We compared 28-day survival and favourable neurological outcomes at discharge between the ECMO and non-ECMO groups by adjusting for the patients' background characteristics using multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Among the 499 patients in this study, 242 patients with severe AH were included in the analysis: 41 in the ECMO group and 201 in the non-ECMO group. Multivariable analysis showed that the ECMO group was significantly associated with better 28-day survival and favourable neurological outcomes at discharge in patients with CA compared to the non-ECMO group (odds ratio [OR] 0.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05-0.58, and OR 0.22, 95%CI: 0.06-0.81). However, in patients without CA, ECMO not only did not improve 28-day survival and neurological outcomes, but also decreased the number of event-free days (ICU-, ventilator-, and catecholamine administration-free days) and increased the frequency of bleeding complications. CONCLUSIONS: ECMO improved survival and neurological outcomes in AH patients with CA, but not in AH patients without CA.

Hypotension at Hospital Presentation and Post-Contrast Acute Kidney Injury following Computed Tomography with Contrast Media.

INTRODUCTION: Post-contrast acute kidney injury (PC-AKI) is a major complication of contrast media usage; risks for PC-AKI are generally evaluated before computed tomography (CT) with contrast at the emergency department (ED). Although persistent hypotension (systolic blood pressure [sBP] <80 mm Hg for 1 h) is associated with increased PC-AKI incidence, it remains unclear whether transient hypotension that is haemodynamically stabilized before CT is a risk of PC-AKI. We hypothesized that hypotension on ED arrival would be associated with higher PC-AKI incidence even if CT with contrast was performed after patients are appropriately resuscitated. METHODS: This multicentre retrospective observational study was conducted at three tertiary care centres during 2013-2014. We identified 280 patients who underwent CT with contrast at the ED. Patients were classified into two groups based on sBP on arrival (<80 vs. ≥80 mm Hg); hypotension was considered as transient because CT with contrast has always been performed after patients were stabilized at participating hospitals. PC-AKI incidence was compared between the groups; inverse probability weighting (IPW) was conducted to adjust background characteristics. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were excluded due to chronic haemodialysis, cardiac arrest on arrival, or death within 72 h; 262 were eligible for this study. PC-AKI incidence was higher in the transient hypotension group than the normotension group {7/27 (28.6%) vs. 24/235 (10.2%), odds ratio (OR) 3.08 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-8.03), p = 0.026}, which was confirmed by IPW (OR 3.25 [95% CI 1.99-5.29], p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Transient hypotension at the ED was associated with PC-AKI development.

Emergency angiography for trauma patients and potential association with acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND: Angiography has been conducted as a hemostatic procedure for trauma patients. While several complications, such as tissue necrosis after embolization, have been reported, little is known regarding subsequent acute kidney injury (AKI) due to contrast media. To elucidate whether emergency angiography would introduce kidney dysfunction in trauma victims, we compared the incidence of AKI between patients who underwent emergency angiography and those who did not. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using a nationwide trauma database (2004-2019), and adult trauma patients were included. The indication of emergency angiography was determined by both trauma surgeons and radiologists, and AKI was diagnosed by treating physicians based on a rise in serum creatinine and/or fall in urine output according to any published standard criteria. Incidence of AKI was compared between patients who underwent emergency angiography and those who did not. Propensity score matching was conducted to adjust baseline characteristics including age, comorbidities, mechanism of injury, vital signs on admission, Injury Severity Scale (ISS), degree of traumatic kidney injury, surgical procedures, and surgery on the kidney, such as nephrectomy and nephrorrhaphy. RESULTS: Among 230,776 patients eligible for the study, 14,180 underwent emergency angiography. The abdomen/pelvis was major site for angiography (10,624 [83.5%]). Embolization was performed in 5,541 (43.5%). Propensity score matching selected 12,724 pairs of severely injured patients (median age, 59; median ISS, 25). While the incidence of AKI was rare, it was higher among patients who underwent emergency angiography than in those who did not (140 [1.1%] vs. 67 [0.5%]; odds ratio = 2.10 [1.57-2.82]; p < 0.01). The association between emergency angiography and subsequent AKI was observed regardless of vasopressor usage or injury severity in subgroup analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency angiography in trauma patients was probably associated with increased incidence of AKI. The results should be validated in future studies.

Physician-staffed ambulance and increased in-hospital mortality of hypotensive trauma patients following prolonged prehospital stay: A nationwide study.

BACKGROUND: The benefits of physician-staffed emergency medical services (EMS) for trauma patients remain unclear because of the conflicting results on survival. Some studies suggested potential delays in definitive hemostasis due to prolonged prehospital stay when physicians are dispatched to the scene. We examined hypotensive trauma patients who were transported by ambulance, with the hypothesis that physician-staffed ambulances would be associated with increased in-hospital mortality, compared with EMS personnel-staffed ambulances. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study that included hypotensive trauma patients (systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mm Hg at the scene) transported by ambulance was conducted using the Japan Trauma Data Bank (2004-2019). Physician-staffed ambulances are capable of resuscitative procedures, such as thoracotomy and surgical airway management, while EMS personnel-staffed ambulances could only provide advanced life support. In-hospital mortality and prehospital time until the hospital arrival were compared between patients who were classified based on the type of ambulance. Inverse probability weighting was conducted to adjust baseline characteristics including age, sex, comorbidities, mechanism of injury, vital signs at the scene, injury severity, and ambulance dispatch time. RESULTS: Among 14,652 patients eligible for the study, 738 were transported by a physician-staffed ambulance. In-hospital mortality was higher in the physician-staffed ambulance than in the EMS personnel-staffed ambulance (201/699 [28.8%] vs. 2287/13,090 [17.5%]; odds ratio, 1.90 [1.61-2.26]; adjusted odds ratio, 1.22 [1.14-1.30]; p < 0.01), and the physician-staffed ambulance showed longer prehospital time (50 [36-66] vs. 37 [29-48] min, difference = 12 [11-12] min, p < 0.01). Such potential harm of the physician-staffed ambulance was only observed among patients who arrived at the hospital with persistent hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90 mm Hg on hospital arrival) in subgroup analyses. CONCLUSION: Physician-staffed ambulances were associated with prolonged prehospital stay and increased in-hospital mortality among hypotensive trauma patients compared with EMS personnel-staffed ambulance. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, level IV.

Oxygen administration in patients recovering from cardiac arrest: a narrative review.

High oxygen tension in blood and/or tissue affects clinical outcomes in several diseases. Thus, the optimal target PaO2 for patients recovering from cardiac arrest (CA) has been extensively examined. Many patients develop hypoxic brain injury after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC); this supports the need for oxygen administration in patients after CA. Insufficient oxygen delivery due to decreased blood flow to cerebral tissue during CA results in hypoxic brain injury. By contrast, hyperoxia may increase dissolved oxygen in the blood and, subsequently, generate reactive oxygen species that are harmful to neuronal cells. This secondary brain injury is particularly concerning. Although several clinical studies demonstrated that hyperoxia during post-CA care was associated with poor neurological outcomes, considerable debate is ongoing because of inconsistent results. Potential reasons for the conflicting results include differences in the definition of hyperoxia, the timing of exposure to hyperoxia, and PaO2 values used in analyses. Despite the conflicts, exposure to PaO2 > 300 mmHg through administration of unnecessary oxygen should be avoided because no obvious benefit has been demonstrated. The feasibility of titrating oxygen administration by targeting SpO2 at approximately 94% in patients recovering from CA has been demonstrated in pilot randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Such protocols should be further examined.

Epinephrine during resuscitation of traumatic cardiac arrest and increased mortality: a post hoc analysis of prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: The beneficial effect of epinephrine during resuscitation from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been inconclusive, and potential harm has been suggested, particularly in trauma victims. Although no significant improvement in neurological outcomes has been found among resuscitated patients using epinephrine, including trauma patients, the use of epinephrine is recommended in the Advanced Trauma Life Support protocol. Given that the use of vasopressors was reported to be associated with increased mortality in patients with massive bleeding, the undesirable effects of epinephrine during the resuscitation of traumatic OHCA should be elucidated. We hypothesised that resuscitation with epinephrine would increase mortality in patients with OHCA following trauma. METHODS: This study is a post-hoc analysis of a prospective, multicentre, observational study on patients with OHCA between January 2012 and March 2013. We included adult patients with traumatic OHCA who were aged ≥15 years and excluded those with missing survival data. Patient data were divided into epinephrine or no-epinephrine groups based on the use of epinephrine during resuscitation at the hospital. Propensity scores were developed to estimate the probability of being assigned to the epinephrine group using multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for known survival predictors. The primary outcome was survival 7 days after injury, which was compared among the two groups after propensity score matching. RESULTS: Of the 1125 adults with traumatic OHCA during the study period, 1030 patients were included in this study. Among them, 822 (79.8%) were resuscitated using epinephrine, and 1.1% (9/822) in the epinephrine group and 5.3% (11/208) in the no-epinephrine group survived 7 days after injury. The use of epinephrine was significantly associated with decreased 7-day survival (odds ratio = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.08-0.48; P < 0.01), and this result was confirmed by propensity score-matching analysis, in which 178 matched pairs were examined (adjusted odds ratio = 0.11; 95% CI = 0.01-0.85; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between the use of epinephrine during resuscitation and decreased 7-day survival was found in patients with OHCA following trauma, and the propensity score-matched analyses validated the results. Resuscitation without epinephrine in traumatic OHCA should be further studied in a randomised controlled trial.