Prognostic Value of the Time-to-Positivity in Blood Cultures from Septic Shock Patients with Bacteremia Receiving Protocol-Driven Resuscitation Bundle Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the prognostic value of the time-to-positivity in patients with culture-positive septic shock. METHODS: Retrospective study using a prospective data registry was performed at the emergency department of a tertiary hospital. Consecutive adult patients with septic shock (N = 2499) were enrolled between 2014 and 2018. Bacteremia was defined using blood cultures, and viral and fungal pathogens were excluded. The primary outcome was the 28-day mortality. RESULTS: In 803 (46.7%) septic shock patients with bacteremia, median TTP was 10.1 h. The most prevalent isolated bacterial pathogens were Escherichia coli (40.8%) and Klebsiella (23.4%). Although the TTP correlated with a higher sequential organ failure assessment score (Spearman's rho = -0.12, p < 0.01), it showed no significant difference between the 28-day survivors and non-survivors (10.2 vs. 9.4 days, p = 0.35). In subgroup analysis of the Escherichia coli and Klebsiella bacteremia cases, a shorter TTP showed prognostic value for predicting the 28-day mortality. The optimal TTP cut-off for Escherichia coli and Klebsiella was 10 h and 8 h, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prognostic value of the TTP in septic shock patients receiving bundle therapy may be limited and its clinical interpretation should only be made on a pathogen-specific basis.

Stroke prediction in patients presenting with isolated dizziness in the emergency department.

Diagnosing stroke in patients experiencing dizziness without neurological deficits is challenging for physicians. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of acute stroke in patients who presented with isolated dizziness without neurological deficits at the emergency department (ED), and determine the relevant stroke predictors in this population. This was an observational, retrospective record review of consecutive 2215 adult patients presenting with dizziness at the ED between August 2019 and February 2020. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for acute stroke. 1239 patients were enrolled and analyzed. Acute stroke was identified in 55 of 1239 patients (4.5%); most cases (96.3%) presented as ischemic stroke with frequent involvement (29.1%) of the cerebellum. In the multivariate analysis, the history of cerebrovascular injury (odds ratio [OR] 3.08 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.24 to 7.67]) and an age of > 65 years (OR 3.01 [95% CI 1.33 to 6.83]) were the independent risk factors for predicting acute stroke. The combination of these two risks showed a higher specificity (94.26%) than that of each factor alone. High-risk patients, such as those aged over 65 years or with a history of cerebrovascular injury, may require further neuroimaging workup in the ED to rule out stroke.

The Impact of Severity of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Following Cardiac Arrest on Neurologic Outcomes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence and determinants of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after cardiac arrest (CA). We conducted an observational, retrospective cohort study with consecutive adult out-of-hospital and in-hospital (occurred only in the emergency department, ED) CA survivors from our ED. Development of ARDS was identified by results of arterial blood gases, chest images, and transthoracic echocardiography according to the Berlin definition. The primary outcome was the poor neurologic outcome, defined as cerebral performance category ≥3 at 28 days, and secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality, recovery rate from ARDS, duration of mechanical ventilator use, and length of stay. Among 295 enrolled patients, 30 patients who received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and 19 patents who had cardiogenic pulmonary edema were excluded. ARDS had developed in 119 (48.4%) patients on admission (mild 20 [16.8%], moderate 48 [40.3%], and severe 51 [42.9%]) and 54 (45.4%) patients recovered before hospital discharge. Development of ARDS was associated with poor neurologic outcomes at 28 days (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-1.98]). Moreover, more severe ARDS was associated with a higher risk of poor neurological outcomes (mild: reference; moderate: adjusted HR 1.66 [95% CI: 1.10-2.49]; and severe: adjusted HR 1.76 [95% CI: 1.16-2.65]). Therefore, development of ARDS after CA was associated with unfavorable neurologic outcomes and had a linear association with ARDS severity. Early recognition and proper management of ARDS may be useful during post-CA care.

Association between right ventricle dysfunction and poor outcome in patients with septic shock.

OBJECTIVE: Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SIMD) can involve both the left and right ventricles. However, the characteristics and outcomes across various manifestations of SIMD remain unknown. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using a prospective registry of septic shock from January 2011 and April 2017. Patients with clinically presumed cardiac dysfunction underwent echocardiography within 72 hours after admission and were enrolled (n=778). SIMD was classified as left ventricle (LV) systolic/diastolic and right ventricle (RV) dysfunction, which were defined based on the American Society of Echocardiography criteria. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. RESULTS: Of the 778 septic shock patients who underwent echocardiography, 270 (34.7%) showed SIMD. The median age was 67.0 years old, and the male was predominant (57.3%). Among them, 67.3% had LV systolic dysfunction, 40.7% had RV dysfunction and 39.3% had LV diastolic dysfunction. Although serum lactate level and sequential organ failure assessment score were not significantly different between groups, SIMD group showed higher troponin I (0.1 vs 0.1 ng/mL; p=0.02) and poor clinical outcomes, including higher 28-day mortality (35.9 vs 26.8%; p<0.01), longer intensive care unit length of stay (5 vs 2 days; p<0.01) and prolonged mechanical ventilation (9 vs 4 days; p<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that isolated RV dysfunction was an independent risk factor of 28-day mortality (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.04 to 4.91). CONCLUSIONS: One-third of patients with septic shock showed various myocardial dysfunctions. LV systolic dysfunction was common; however, only RV dysfunction was associated with short-term mortality.

Impact of Lung Compliance on Neurological Outcome in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

(1) Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following cardiac arrest is common and associated with in-hospital mortality. We aim to investigate whether lung compliance during targeted temperature management is associated with neurological outcome in patients with ARDS after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). (2) Methods: This observational study is conducted in the emergency intensive care unit from January 2011 to April 2019 using data from a prospective patient registry. Adult patients (age ≥18 years) who survived non-traumatic OHCA and subsequently developed ARDS based on the Berlin definition are included. Mechanical ventilator parameters such as plateau pressure, tidal volume, minute ventilation, positive end expiratory pressure, and compliance are recorded for 7 days or until death, and categorized as maximum, median, and minimum. The primary outcome is a favorable neurological outcome defined as a Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 or 2 at hospital discharge. (3) Results: Regarding 246 OHCA survivors, 119 (48.4%) patients developed ARDS. A favorable neurologic outcome was observed in 23 (19.3%). Patients with a favorable outcome have a significantly higher lung compliance (38.6 mL/cm H2O versus 27.5 mL/cm H2O), lower inspiratory pressure (12.0 cm H2O versus 16.0 cm H2O), and lower plateau pressure (17.0 cm H2O versus 21.0 cm H2O) than those with a poor neurologic outcome (all p < 0.01). Concerning time-dependent cox regression models, all maximum (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.09), minimum (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13), and median (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.09) compliances are independently associated with a good neurologic outcome. Maximum compliance, >32.5 mL/cm H2O at day 1, has the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.745) with a positive predictive value of 90.4%. (4) Conclusions: Lung compliance may be an early predictor of intact neurologic survival in patients with ARDS following cardiac arrest.

Troponin Testing for Assessing Sepsis-Induced Myocardial Dysfunction in Patients with Septic Shock.

(1) Background: Myocardial dysfunction in patients with sepsis is not an uncommon phenomenon, yet reported results are conflicting and there is no objective definition. Measurement of troponin may reflect the state of the heart and may correlate with echocardiographically derived data. This study aimed to evaluate the role of admission and peak troponin-I testing for the identification of sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SIMD) by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). (2) Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using a prospective registry of septic shock at an Emergency Department from January 2011 and April 2017. All 1,776 consecutive adult septic shock patients treated with protocol-driven resuscitation bundle therapy and tested troponin-I were enrolled. SIMD was defined as left ventricular (LV) systolic/diastolic dysfunction, right ventricular (RV) diastolic dysfunction, or global/regional wall motion abnormalities (WMA). (3) Results: Of 660 (38.4%) septic shock patients with an elevated hs-TnI (≥0.04 ng/mL) at admission, 397 patients underwent TTE and 258 cases (65%) showed SIMD (LV systolic dysfunction (n = 163, 63.2%), LV diastolic dysfunction (n = 104, 40.3%), RV dysfunction (n = 97, 37.6%), and WMA (n = 186, 72.1%)). In multivariate analysis, peak hs-TnI (odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.01⁻1.06, p = 0.008) and ST-T wave changes in the electrocardiogram (odds ratio 1.82, 95% confidence interval 1.04⁻2.39, p = 0.013) were associated with SIMD, in contrast to hs-TnI level at admission. The area under the curve of peak hs-TnI was 0.668. When the peak hs-TnI cutoff value was 0.634 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity for SIMD were 58.6% and 59.1%, respectively. 4) Conclusions: About two-thirds of patients with an elevated hs-TnI level have various cardiac dysfunctions in terms of TTE. Rather than the initial level, the peak hs-TnI and ST-T change may be considered as a risk factor of SIMD.