[Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation in Acute Respiratory Failure]

The non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is widespread in the clinical medicine and has attained meanwhile a high value in the clinical daily routine. The application of NIV reduces the length of ICU stay and hospitalization as well as mortality of patients with hypercapnic acute respiratory failure. Patients with acute respiratory failure in context of a cardiopulmonary edema should be treated in addition to necessary cardiological interventions with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or NIV. In case of other forms of acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure it is recommended the application of NIV to be limited to mild forms of ARDS as the application of NIV in severe forms of ARDS is associated with higher rates of treatment failure and mortality. In weaning process from invasive ventilation the NIV reduces the risk of reintubation essentially in hypercapnic patients. A delayed intubation of patients with NIV failure leads to an increase of mortality and should therefore be avoided. With appropriate monitoring in intensive care NIV can also be successfully applied in pediatric patients with acute respiratory insufficiency. Furthermore NIV can be useful within palliative care for reduction of dyspnea and improving quality of life. The aim of the guideline update is, taking into account the growing scientific evidence, to outline the advantages as well as the limitations of NIV in the treatment of acute respiratory failure in daily clinical practice and in different indications.

[Prevention of catheter-related infections: minimizing secondary complications in geriatric patients]

The use of intravascular or intraluminal catheters is common in geriatric medicine. Blood stream infections due to intravascular catheterization, peritoneal catheters for dialysis, suprapubic or transurethral catheters, or percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy are a major source of nosocomial infections. Therefore, the prevention of catheter-associated infections is an important issue for physicians and nursing staff working in hospitals or in outpatient settings. The risk can be minimized by diligent checking of the indications, hygienic measures, using the correct materials, thorough follow-up, and education of the medical and nursing staff. Thus, it is possible to avoid individual suffering of patients and to reduce costs in the healthcare system.

Polypharmacy in the elderly from the clinical toxicologist perspective

INTRODUCTION

Polypharmacy is closely associated with multimorbidity in the elderly and can lead to problems and drug interactions.

AIM

This study assessed polypharmacy in the elderly, tracking inquiries to the Poison Information Centre Nuremberg (PICN) and patients needing toxicological intensive care therapy.

METHODS

From 2006-2009, all PICN inquiries involving individuals > 70 years were tracked, as were cases at the Toxicological Intensive Care Unit (T-ICU) regarding adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and drug poisoning.

RESULTS

Of 11,683 PICN calls about pharmaceuticals, 175 (1.5%) were from people > 70 years; 156 (4.8%) of 3,272 T-ICU patients were > 70 years. Calls about psychopharmaceuticals (46.9%) and analgesics (25.7%) were most frequent. Among the T-ICU patients, psychopharmaceuticals like sedatives and hypnotics were frequently involved (20.5%), as were tricyclic antidepressants (17.9%) and analgesics (29.5%). Ethanol was co-ingested by 18.3%.

CONCLUSION

Population-specific poison prevention strategies are needed to reduce toxic exposures. Such strategies could include pharmacist intervention, improved prescriber communication and education regarding the geriatric population, and computerized drug databases.

[Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), CURB-65, and mortality in hospitalized elderly patients with aspiration pneumonia]

BACKGROUND

Aspiration pneumonia is associated with a high morbidity and mortality in elderly patients. In order to provide risk-adapted medical care, it is necessary to establish valid prognostic tools for these patients.

OBJECTIVE

The value of two well-established scores to assess prognosis in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), i.e., CURB-65 and the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), was evaluated in elderly patients hospitalized for aspiration pneumonia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 209 patients hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia between 2001 and 2005 in a single center were evaluated using PSI and CURB-65. For comparison of morbidity and mortality, an equally large group of inpatients with CAP was analyzed.

RESULTS

The mean age of patients with aspiration pneumonia was 76.7 ± 13.4 years, and 104 (49.8 %) were female. Patients with aspiration pneumonia more frequently showed a history of cancer, hypotension, and hyponatriemia on admission. Mortality was clearly higher in comparison to patients with CAP (39.2% vs. 16.3%). The Odds Ratio (OR) for mortality was 1.03 (95% CI 0.59; 1.79) for a CURB-65 score of 3-5 points compared to 0-2 points. In cases of CAP, OR showed a statistically significant increase of risk (OR 2.50; 95% CI 1.04; 6.06), for CURB-65 scores of 3-5 points vs. 0-2 points). In aspiration pneumonia, the PSI showed a trend towards increasing mortality within higher risk class.

CONCLUSIONS

In geriatric patients hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia, CURB-65 and PSI have no prognostic value.

Early detection of non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction in geriatric patients by a new high-sensitive cardiac troponin T assay

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The new high sensitivity cardiac Troponin T (cTnThs) assay has recently been introduced in our clinic and ensures higher sensitivity than the fourth-generation cardiac troponin T (cTnT) assay from the same manufacturer (Roche Diagnostics). We determined the diagnostic performance of the cTnThs compared with the cTnT assay in geriatric patients, especially those with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTE- MI).

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed 253 patients (age 82 ± 8 years; 82 men, 172 women) with diagnoses of suspected NSTEMI admitted to our Department of Geriatric Medicine. Patients were divided into one group of 113 patients using cTnThs, and another of 140 patients using cTnT for diagnosis. Each group included patients at the same months but different years, in either cTnThs or cTnT assays. NSTEMI was diagnosed according to current guidelines.

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. The proportions of patients with elevated cardiac troponin (cTn) levels significantly increased from 35% in the cTnT group to 76% in the cTnThs group (p<0.001), although no coronary cause for the elevated cTn levels was shown in about two-thirds of these patients. In patients with NSTE- MI, 58% in the cTnThs group vs 42% in the cTnT group were diagnosed within 4 hours of the onset of symptoms, whereas 42% in the cTnThs group vs 58% in the cTnT group were diagnosed more than 4 hours later (p=0.018).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of elevated cTn has more than doubled with the use of cTnThs. However, no coronary cause was found in two-thirds of our geriatric patients, al- though more NSTEMI patients were diagnosed earlier by cTnThs.