Reverse shock index multiplied by Glasgow Coma Scale (rSIG) predicts mortality in severe trauma patients with head injury.

The reverse shock index (rSI), a ratio of systolic blood pressure (SBP) to heart rate (HR), is used to identify prognosis in trauma patients. Multiplying rSI by Glasgow Coma Scale (rSIG) can possibly predict better in-hospital mortality in patients with trauma. However, rSIG has never been used to evaluate the mortality risk in adult severe trauma patients (Injury Severity Score [ISS] ≥ 16) with head injury (head Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] ≥ 2) in the emergency department (ED). This retrospective case control study recruited adult severe trauma patients (ISS ≥ 16) with head injury (head AIS ≥ 2) who presented to the ED of two major trauma centers between January 01, 2014 and May 31, 2017. Demographic data, vital signs, ISS scores, injury mechanisms, laboratory data, managements, and outcomes were included for the analysis. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used to evaluate the accuracy of rSIG score in predicting in-hospital mortality. In total, 438 patients (mean age: 56.48 years; 68.5% were males) were included in this study. In-hospital mortality occurred in 24.7% patients. The median (interquartile range) ISS score was 20 (17-26). Patients with rSIG ≤ 14 had seven-fold increased risks of mortality than those without rSIG ≤ 14 (odds ratio: 7.64; 95% confidence interval: 4.69-12.42). Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and area under the curve values for rSIG score were 0.29 and 0.76, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values of rSIG ≤ 14 were 0.71, 0.75, 0.49, and 0.89, respectively. The rSIG score is a prompt and simple tool to predict in-hospital mortality among adult severe trauma patients with head injury.

Clinical characteristics of renal infarction in an Asian population

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Renal infarction is a rare and easily missed disease. There is even less meaningful information on renal infarction in the Asian population. Thus, the aim of this study was to clarify the clinical characteristics of the disease in Asian patients.</p><p><b>CLINICAL PICTURE</b>Over a period of 10 years, 38 Chinese patients with renal infarction diagnosed by contract-enhanced CT or angiography were enrolled in this study. Their demographic data, clinical characteristics, laboratory and image results, risk factors or suspected causes, treatment and final outcomes were retrospectively reviewed. The results were also compared with the analogous Western data. The mean age of the sample population was 60.8 +/- 17.6 years, with patients aged over 50 years and males predominating. The most common symptoms/signs were abdominal (57.9%) and flank pain/tenderness (50%). Only 23.7% of patients had suffered previous thromboembolic events such as coronary or peripheral artery diseases, or cerebral infarction. Cardiogenic factors, such as atrial fibrillation, intra-cardiac thrombus, infective endocarditis and valvular heart disease, were the main causes of renal infarction (57.9%). The most common laboratory abnormalities were elevated serum LDH (92.1%) and proteinuria (76.3%). Only half of the cases involved haematuria at initial presentation.</p><p><b>TREATMENT AND OUTCOME</b>One-third of the sample suffered renal impairment after the renal infarction. Overall mortality rate during admission was 13.2% (n = 5). The cause of death was usually not the renal infarction itself but rather the underlying disease and its complications. There was no difference in outcome for anticoagulation treatment with or without thrombolytics. Compared to their Western counterparts, the proportion of males (71.1% versus 48.3%) and bilateral renal infarctions (31.6% versus 12.4%) were significantly higher, and the percentage of leukocytosis (50% versus 85%) significantly lower in our Asian patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Clinical presentation of renal infarction is usually non-specific and differs for Asian and Western populations. In our Asian patients, the most common clinical characteristics were abdominal pain/tenderness, flank pain/tenderness, elevated serum LDH and proteinuria. Early diagnosis and treatment are imperative because of the high rate of renal impairment and associated mortality. If this disease is suspected, contrast-enhanced CT is suggested to exclude or confirm renal infarction and anticoagulation alone is currently the favored treatment.</p>