Prognosis Factors of Patients Undergoing Renal Replacement Therapy

BACKGROUND

Survival in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on renal replacement therapy (RRT) is less than that of the general population of the same age, and depends on patient factors, the medical care received, and the type of RRT used. The objective of this study is to analyze the factors associated with survival in patients undergoing RRT.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective observational study of adult patients with an incident of ESKD on RRT in Andalusia from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2018. Patient characteristics, nephrological care received, and survival from the beginning of RRT were evaluated. A survival model for the patient was developed according to the variables studied.

RESULTS

A total of 11,551 patients were included. Median survival was 6.8 years (95% CI (6.6; 7.0)). After starting RRT, survival at one year and five years was 88.7% (95% CI (88.1; 89.3)) and 59.4% (95% CI (58.4; 60.4)), respectively. Age, initial comorbidity, diabetic nephropathy, and a venous catheter were independent risk factors. However, non-urgent initiation of RRT and follow-up in consultations for more than six months had a protective effect. It was identified that renal transplantation (RT) was the most influential independent factor in patient survival, with a risk ratio of 0.13 (95% CI (0.11; 0.14)).

CONCLUSIONS

The receiving of a kidney transplant was the most beneficial modifiable factor in the survival of incident patients on RRT. We consider that the mortality of the renal replacement treatment should be adjusted, taking into account both modifiable and nonmodifiable factors to achieve a more precise and comparable interpretation.

Ultrasound diagnosis of Terson syndrome as an indicator of extreme severity in neurocritical care patients

INTRODUCTION

Terson syndrome (TS) is defined as any intraocular haemorrhage identified in patients with acute intracranial pathology. TS appears to be associated with clinical severity in patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), but the association is yet to be defined in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ocular ultrasound (OU) and its usefulness in clinical practice.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We performed an observational, prospective, single-centre study of neurocritical care patients. We analysed cases and controls, defined according to indirect ophthalmoscopy (IO) and OU findings. We determined the diagnostic characteristics of OU. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify clinically relevant associations.

RESULTS

The sample included 91 patients diagnosed with ICH (41.76%), SAH (29.67%), and TBI (28.57%). TS was identified by OU in 8 patients (8.79%) and by IO in 24 (24.37%). The adjusted mortality rate in patients with TS showed an odds ratio (OR) of 4.15 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-11.33). All patients with TS detected by OU presented Glasgow Coma Scale scores < 9, with an elevated risk of needing decompressive craniectomy (OR: 9.84; 95% CI, 1.64-59). OU presented an overall sensitivity of 30.43%, specificity of 98.53%, and diagnostic accuracy of 81.32%. For the detection of vitreous haemorrhage, sensitivity and specificity were 87.5% and 98.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

OU diagnosis of TS identifies extremely critical patients, who may require the highest level of care; TS is an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality.

Tranexamic acid to improve functional status in adults with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage: the TICH-2 RCT

BACKGROUND

Tranexamic acid reduces death due to bleeding after trauma and postpartum haemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to assess if tranexamic acid is safe, reduces haematoma expansion and improves outcomes in adults with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH).

DESIGN

The TICH-2 (Tranexamic acid for hyperacute primary IntraCerebral Haemorrhage) study was a pragmatic, Phase III, prospective, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial.

SETTING

Acute stroke services at 124 hospitals in 12 countries (Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK).

PARTICIPANTS

Adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) with ICH within 8 hours of onset.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Exclusion criteria were ICH secondary to anticoagulation, thrombolysis, trauma or a known underlying structural abnormality; patients for whom tranexamic acid was thought to be contraindicated; prestroke dependence (i.e. patients with a modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score > 4); life expectancy < 3 months; and a Glasgow Coma Scale score of < 5.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants, allocated by randomisation, received 1 g of an intravenous tranexamic acid bolus followed by an 8-hour 1-g infusion or matching placebo (i.e. 0.9% saline).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

The primary outcome was functional status (death or dependency) at day 90, which was measured by the shift in the mRS score, using ordinal logistic regression, with adjustment for stratification and minimisation criteria.

RESULTS

A total of 2325 participants (tranexamic acid, n = 1161; placebo, n = 1164) were recruited from 124 hospitals in 12 countries between 2013 and 2017. Treatment groups were well balanced at baseline. The primary outcome was determined for 2307 participants (tranexamic acid, n = 1152; placebo, n = 1155). There was no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups for the primary outcome of functional status at day 90 [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76 to 1.03; p = 0.11]. Although there were fewer deaths by day 7 in the tranexamic acid group (aOR 0.73, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.99; p = 0.041), there was no difference in case fatality at 90 days (adjusted hazard ratio 0.92, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.10; p = 0.37). Fewer patients experienced serious adverse events (SAEs) after treatment with tranexamic acid than with placebo by days 2 (p = 0.027), 7 (p = 0.020) and 90 (p = 0.039). There was no increase in thromboembolic events or seizures.

LIMITATIONS

Despite attempts to enrol patients rapidly, the majority of participants were enrolled and treated > 4.5 hours after stroke onset. Pragmatic inclusion criteria led to a heterogeneous population of participants, some of whom had very large strokes. Although 12 countries enrolled participants, the majority (82.1%) were from the UK.

CONCLUSIONS

Tranexamic acid did not affect a patient's functional status at 90 days after ICH, despite there being significant modest reductions in early death (by 7 days), haematoma expansion and SAEs, which is consistent with an antifibrinolytic effect. Tranexamic acid was safe, with no increase in thromboembolic events.

FUTURE WORK

Future work should focus on enrolling and treating patients early after stroke and identify which participants are most likely to benefit from haemostatic therapy. Large randomised trials are needed.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN93732214.

FUNDING

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 23, No. 35. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. The project was also funded by the Pragmatic Trials, UK, funding call and the Swiss Heart Foundation in Switzerland.

Ultrasound diagnosis of Terson syndrome as an indicator of extreme severity in neurocritical care patients

INTRODUCTION

Terson syndrome (TS) is defined as any intraocular haemorrhage identified in patients with acute intracranial pathology. TS appears to be associated with clinical severity in patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), but the association is yet to be defined in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ocular ultrasound (OU) and its usefulness in clinical practice.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We performed an observational, prospective, single-centre study of neurocritical care patients. We analysed cases and controls, defined according to indirect ophthalmoscopy (IO) and OU findings. We determined the diagnostic characteristics of OU. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify clinically relevant associations.

RESULTS

The sample included 91 patients diagnosed with ICH (41.76%), SAH (29.67%), and TBI (28.57%). TS was identified by OU in 8 patients (8.79%) and by IO in 24 (24.37%). The adjusted mortality rate in patients with TS showed an odds ratio (OR) of 4.15 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-11.33). All patients with TS detected by OU presented Glasgow Coma Scale scores < 9, with an elevated risk of needing decompressive craniectomy (OR: 9.84; 95% CI, 1.64-59). OU presented an overall sensitivity of 30.43%, specificity of 98.53%, and diagnostic accuracy of 81.32%. For the detection of vitreous haemorrhage, sensitivity and specificity were 87.5% and 98.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

OU diagnosis of TS identifies extremely critical patients, who may require the highest level of care; TS is an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality.

Normothermic Regional Perfusion and Donation After Circulatory Death (Controlled and Uncontrolled): Metabolic Differences and Kidney Transplantation Evolution

OBJECTIVE

To analyze metabolic differences during normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) between the dissimilar types of donation after circulatory death, uncontrolled (uDCD) and controlled (cDCD), and the evolution of the transplanted kidneys.

METHODS

Observational, prospective, cohort study. We included patients from uDCD and cDCD maintained with NRP in 2017. Six consecutive blood gases were collected with determination of pH and lactic acid. Creatinine levels were monitored at 24 hours, 3 months, and 6 months after transplant and the need for renal replacement therapy was evaluated. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed, presenting the qualitative variables as frequencies and percentages, and quantitative as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range [IQR]). We used χ² testing for bivariate analysis of qualitative variables.

RESULTS

We collected 18 donors. Fifteen out of 18 (83.3%) were men with a median of 51 years (IQR, 46-60). Eleven out of 18 (61.1%) were cDCD and 7 out of 18 (38.9%) were uDCD. The blood gas results are illustrated in Table 1. A total of 28 renal transplants were obtained with a median age of 47 years (IQR, 45-57); 83% were male. Ten out of 28 (35.7%) came from uDCD and 18 out of 28 (64.7%) from cDCD. Table 2 shows the monitoring of the creatinine values of the recipients after the transplantation.

CONCLUSIONS

There are more metabolic disorders in our series in uDCD organ donation compared with cDCD. The recovery of the renal function of organs from uDCD is slower than that of cDCD, however; the tendency is toward normality.

Brain Injury Biomarker Behavior in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND

S100B and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) have been widely studied in diverse neurocritical pathologies, being recognized as the most promising biomarkers for brain injury assessment. However, their role in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has not been widely analyzed.

METHODS

This was an observational prospective cohort study of patients with ICH admitted to a neurocritical care unit. Blood samples were collected on admission and at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours. Patient outcomes were assessed at 6 months after the event.

RESULTS

Thirty-six patients with ICH were included in the study. The mortality rate was 36%. Nonsurvivors had higher S100B values than survivors at admission, 24 hours, and 48 hours (P < 0.05). Likewise, S100B levels were higher in patients with poor outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score >4) compared with those with good outcome (mRS score ≤3) in the 24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour samples. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that S100B at admission, 24 hours, and 48 hours can discriminate between patients who survive and those who die as a consequence of ICH. The 48-hour sample (area under the ROC curve, 0.817; P = 0.003) reached the best values for sensitivity (75%) and specificity (80%); cutoff, 0.250 μg/L. For 6-month functional outcome, S100B protein could differentiate between groups at 24, 48, and 72 hours. The S100B 24-hour sample had the best values for sensitivity (82.6%) and specificity (72.7%), with a cutoff of 0.202 μg/L. We found no clear relationship between NSE values and clinical characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

S100B protein acts as early predictor of mortality and functional outcome in patients with ICH. This biomarker measurement can provide additional information beyond clinical and radiologic findings to guide physicians in the management of these patients.

Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: Preliminary Analysis of Complications With Grafts From Elderly Donors

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to determine if donor grafts of patients older than 65 years develop more post-transplantation complications than those of younger patients.

DESIGN

This is a retrospective, observational study of liver transplant recipients during 12 months in Virgen del Rocio University Hospital. We compare incidence rates of reperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury, and need for intra- and postoperative red blood cell transfusions in two donor age groups in which group A is <65 years old and group B is ≥65 years old.

RESULTS

Sixty cases were included. Reperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury, and both intra- and postoperative red blood cell transfusion were more frequent in group A than group B (11.4% vs. 4%, P = .390; 44% vs. 32%, P = .423; 68.8% vs. 48%, P = .120; and 70.6% vs. 64%, P = .779, respectively). Six recipients (17.1%) died at 12 months from group A whereas there were no deaths register in group B during that time (P = .036).

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that including elderly donors does not aggravate incidence of complications, emphasizing that advanced age should not be an exclusion criteria for liver transplantation.

[APACHE II and SAPS II as predictors of brain death development in neurocritical care patients]

AIM

To assess the prognostic value of APACHE II and SAPS II scales to predict brain death evolution of neurocritical care patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective observational study performed in a tertiary hospital. Include 508 patients over 16 years old, hospitalized in ICU for at least 24 hours. The variables of interest were: demographic data, risk factors, APACHE II, SAPS II and outcome.

RESULTS

Median age: 41 years old (IR: 25-57). Males: 76.2%. Most frequent reason for admission: trauma (55.3%). Medians: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), 10 points; APACHE II, 13 points; SAPS II, 31 points; and ICU stay, 5 days. Mortality in the ICU was 28.5% (n = 145) of whom 44 (8.7%) evolved to brain death. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that GCS, APACHE II and SAPS II scores, as well as ICU stay days behaved as predictors of brain death evolution. However, the multivariate analysis performed including APACHE II and SAPS II scores showed that only APACHE II maintained statistical significance, despite the good discrimination of both scores.

CONCLUSION

Transplant coordinators might use the APACHE II score as a tool to detect patients at risk of progression to brain death, minimizing the loss of potential donors.

Survival and Evolution of Renal Function in Kidney Transplant Recipients From Type II Asystolic Donations: A Single-center Experience

BACKGROUND

In recent years, stagnation in the number of kidneys from after brain-dead donors (DBD) has stimulated the use of non-heart beating donors (NHBDs). Herein we present our 5-year experience with type II Maastricht NHBDs in renal transplantation.

METHODS

All patients (n = 50) in this study received type II Maastricht NHBD kidneys (March 2012 to February 2017), with a median follow-up of 33 months.

RESULTS

Mean donor age was 39 ± 12 years, mean creatinine 1.24 ± 0.2 mg/dL, and the most frequently observed blood group (donors and recipients) was type A (64%). Recipients were slightly younger (51 ± 11 years old), with mean time on dialysis of 30 ± 24 months. Almost all were primary transplants. Pre-transplant panel-reactive antibodies (PRA) were <25%; initial immunosuppression was thymoglobulin, corticosteroids, mycophenolate mofetil, and delayed introduction of tacrolimus. Six percent were nonfunctioning kidneys; 79.6% presented with delayed renal function (mean duration 14 ± 9 days). Acute rejection was seen in 6% of patients. Mean creatinine at month 3 was 1.7 ± 0.8 mg/dL, and 1.5 ± 0.8 mg/dL in the first year. The last available mean creatinine was 1.54 ± 0.7 mg/dL. Proteinuria in the third month, first year, and third year was 0.70, 0.41, and 0.26 g/d, respectively. Recipient survival at the first, third, and fifth year was 100%, 100%, and 86%, and when graft-censored for death was 94%, 91%, and 91%, respectively. The incidence of acute rejection during first year was 6%, and 2% in the second year. Exitus incidence was 4% and cytomegalovirus infection was 21.3%. BK viremia between 1000 and 10,000 copies/mL was seen in 4.3%, and reached >10,000 copies/mL in 2.1%.

CONCLUSIONS

Type II NHBD has shown limited frequency of nonfunctioning kidney and high functional delay. The results in survival and renal function are very acceptable, comparable with levels seen in donation after brain death.

Short-term Results From a Training Program to Improve Organ Donation in Uncontrolled Donation After Circulatory Death

BACKGROUND

In all organ transplantation programs, election of the proper protocol relies primarily on the professionals involved in the detection of potential donors. The objective of our study was to assess the impact of a series of prehospital training sessions, as well as to develop several positive feedback strategies within the uncontrolled organ donation after circulatory death (uDCD) program in our city.

METHODS

A before-after intervention study was carried out in 3 steps. First, professionals enrolled in the Emergency Health Services Agency-061 (EPES-061) program underwent specific training to identify potential donors. Second, a specific logotype was designed to alert emergency health care professionals that in cases where cardiopulmonary resuscitation was ineffective and after treatment of all potentially reversible causes, the "chain of survival" should be considered a "chain of opportunities." Third, a positive feedback strategy was put in place, whereby each time a donation was procured, the EPES-061 personnel that had identified the potential donor were notified by phone and in a personal letter.

RESULTS

The mean age for donors was 50.5 years of age (interquartile range 37-52.5), and 89.5% of all donations came from male subjects. Positive feedback letters and phone calls, including information on final outcome, were provided to the appropriate personnel in 100% of the cases. Postintervention information showed an increase in both eligible and utilized donors.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions outside the hospital setting that facilitate optimal implementation of the uDCD program are an essential part of this strategy to increase the donor pool and make the wait shorter for transplant patients.

Living Donor in Renal Transplantation: Minimizing Risks

In recent years, the broadening of indications for renal transplantation, together with the progressive reduction of donations following brain stem death, has led to living donation being considered in increasing numbers of cases for renal transplantation. To investigate this further, it is necessary to assess the impact it has on the postoperative outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). Our group conducted a retrospective, observational, single-center study from 2013 to 2016 to evaluate differences in outcomes between living and cadaveric kidney donation both during ICU admission and total hospitalization. We compared differences in characteristics between living and deceased graft recipients including demographics, comorbidities, analytical data, radioisotope imaging test results, complications, ICU and hospital ward length of stay, and mortality. In all, 387 patients were eligible for analysis, and 13% received living donor grafts. Our results demonstrate that this group had significantly fewer complications, shorter length of hospital stay, and reduced mortality in comparison with recipients of cadaveric donor grafts. The better postoperative outcomes from living donor grafts could result from careful selection of the donor and less inflammatory injury, minimizing risk in the postoperative period.

Results of Controlled Donation After Circulatory Death in a Third-Level Hospital

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the characteristics and evolution of controlled donation after circulatory death (DCD) type III.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Observational and retrospective study of controlled DCD type III of donors conducted from 2014 to 2016. Clinical data, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, cause of death, warm ischemia time, and total time were collected. Delayed graft function (DGF) and survival of renal transplant were also registered. Qualitative variables are described as frequencies and absolute values and quantitative variables as medians and interquartile ranges.

RESULTS

A total of 21 donors were collected; 71% (15) were males, median age was 55 years (interquartile range [IR] 48-72), and median ICU stay was 7 days (IR 4-12). The main cause of death was anoxic encephalopathy (57%, 12), followed by intracerebral hemorrhage (28%, 6). In 48%, withdrawal of life support occurred in the operating room, and 98% of donors were preserved by abdominal super-rapid cannulation technique. Average warm ischemia time was 20 minutes (IR 16-24), and total ischemia time was 26 minutes (IR 23-34). Of the donations, 57% were livers and 90% were kidneys. Out of 42 kidneys donated, 54% (23) of them were valid. Median renal transplant hospital stay was 18 days (IR 6-24), and 46% develop DGF. Survival at discharge was 100%.

CONCLUSION

DCD type III ensures a source of organs. The main cause of death was anoxic encephalopathy. Most donors were able to donate some solid organ.

Early measurement of interleukin-10 predicts the absence of CT scan lesions in mild traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury is a common event where 70%-90% will be classified as mild TBI (mTBI). Among these, only 10% will have a brain lesion visible via CT scan. A triage biomarker would help clinicians to identify patients with mTBI who are at risk of developing a brain lesion and require a CT scan. The brain cells damaged by the shearing, tearing and stretching of a TBI event set off inflammation cascades. These cause altered concentrations of a high number of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory proteins. This study aimed to discover a novel diagnostic biomarker of mTBI by investigating a broad panel of inflammation biomarkers and their capacity to correctly identify CT-positive and CT-negative patients. Patients enrolled in this study had been diagnosed with mTBI, had a GCS score of 15 and suffered from at least one clinical symptom. There were nine patients in the discovery group, 45 for verification, and 133 mTBI patients from two different European sites in the validation cohort. All patients gave blood samples, underwent a CT scan and were dichotomised into CT-positive and CT-negative groups for statistical analyses. The ability of each protein to classify patients was evaluated with sensitivity set at 100%. Three of the 92 inflammation proteins screened-MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and IL-10 -were further investigated in the verification group, and at 100% sensitivity their specificities reached 7%, 0% and 31%, respectively. IL-10 was validated on a larger cohort in comparison to the most studied mTBI diagnostic triage protein to date, S100B. Levels of both proteins were significantly higher in CT-positive than in CT-negative patients (p < 0.001). S100B's specificity at 100% sensitivity was 18% (95% CI 10.8-25.2), whereas IL-10 reached a specificity of 27% (95% CI 18.9-35.1). These results showed that IL-10 might be an interesting and clinically useful diagnostic tool, capable of differentiating between CT-positive and CT-negative mTBI patients.

Validation of S100B use in a cohort of Spanish patients with mild traumatic brain injury: a multicentre study

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to validate the S100B protein as a diagnostic tool for ruling out the presence of intracranial lesion (IL) after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Subjects with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 15 and at least one neurological symptom post-trauma were selected from a large Spanish cohort.

METHODS

A number of 260 patients with mTBI were enrolled. Blood samples were extracted within 6 h and CT scan performed within 24 h post-injury. Blood samples were also drawn from 18 healthy subjects.

RESULTS

CT scan revealed the presence of IL in 22 patients (8.5%). Patients with mTBI had higher S100B serum levels (p = 0.008) than the healthy subjects (p < 0.001). The ROC analysis of S100B discriminated between patients with and without IL (AUC: 0.671; 95%CI: 0.574-0.769; p = 0.008). The multivariate analysis identified male gender (OR: 5.39; 95%CI: 1.45-20.10; p = 0.012), age > 65 (OR: 2.97; 95%CI: 1.04-8.44; p = 0.041) and S100B level >0.10 µg/L (OR: 7.93; 95%CI: 1.03-60.76; p = 0.046) as independent risk factors for IL in patients with mTBI.

CONCLUSION

Measurement of S100B within 6 h of mTBI accurately predicts risk of IL in patients with a GCS score of 15 and at least one neurological symptom.

Update in mild traumatic brain injury

There has been concern for many years regarding the identification of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) at high risk of developing an intracranial lesion (IL) that would require neurosurgical intervention. The small percentage of patients with these characteristics and the exceptional mortality associated with mild TBI with IL have led to the high use of resources such as computerised tomography (CT) being reconsidered. The various protocols developed for the management of mild TBI are based on the identification of risk factors for IL, which ultimately allows more selective indication or discarding both the CT application and the hospital stay for neurological monitoring. Finally, progress in the study of brain injury biomarkers with prognostic utility in different clinical categories of TBI has recently been incorporated by several clinical practice guidelines, which has allowed, together with clinical assessment, a more accurate prognostic approach for these patients to be established.

Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in primary brain lymphoma

OBJECTIVE

To study the usefulness of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in the initial evaluation and in the response assessment in primary brain lymphoma.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A retrospective analysis was carried out on 18 patients diagnosed with primary brain lymphoma, a histological subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, on whom an initial ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT and MRI was performed, with 7 of the cases being analysed after the completion of treatment in order to assess response and clinical follow up.

RESULTS

Initial ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT showed 26 hypermetabolic foci, whereas 46 lesions were detected by MRI. The average SUV maximum of the lesions was 17.56 with T/N 3.55. The concordance of both tests for identifying the same number of lesions was moderate, obtaining a kappa index of 0.395 (P<.001). In the evaluation of treatment, MRI identified 16 lesions compared to 7 pathological accumulations observed by ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT. The concordance of both tests to assess type of response to treatment was moderate (kappa index 0.41) (P=.04). In both the initial evaluation and the assessment of the response to treatment, PET/CT led to a change strategy in 22% of patients who had lesions outside the cerebral parenchyma.

CONCLUSIONS

MRI appears to be the method of choice for detecting brain disease in patients with primary brain lymphoma, whereas ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT seems to play a relevant role in the assessment of extra-cerebral disease.

H-FABP: A new biomarker to differentiate between CT-positive and CT-negative patients with mild traumatic brain injury

The majority of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) will have normal Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of 15. Furthermore, only 5%-8% of them will be CT-positive for an mTBI. Having a useful biomarker would help clinicians evaluate a patient's risk of developing intracranial lesions. The S100B protein is currently the most studied and promising biomarker for this purpose. Heart fatty-acid binding protein (H-FABP) has been highlighted in brain injury models and investigated as a biomarker for stroke and severe TBI, for example. Here, we evaluate the performances of S100B and H-FABP for differentiating between CT-positive and CT-negative patients. A total of 261 patients with a GCS score of 15 and at least one clinical symptom of mTBI were recruited at three different European sites. Blood samples from 172 of them were collected ≤ 6 h after trauma. Patients underwent a CT scan and were dichotomised into CT-positive and CT-negative groups for statistical analyses. H-FABP and S100B levels were measured using commercial kits, and their capacities to detect all CT-positive scans were evaluated, with sensitivity set to 100%. For patients recruited ≤ 6 h after trauma, the CT-positive group demonstrated significantly higher levels of both H-FABP (p = 0.004) and S100B (p = 0.003) than the CT-negative group. At 100% sensitivity, specificity reached 6% (95% CI 2.8-10.7) for S100B and 29% (95% CI 21.4-37.1) for H-FABP. Similar results were obtained when including all the patients recruited, i.e. hospital arrival within 24 h of trauma onset. H-FABP out-performed S100B and thus seems to be an interesting protein for detecting all CT-positive mTBI patients with a GCS score of 15 and at least one clinical symptom.

Urotensinergic system genes in experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE

Cerebral vasospasm, one of the main complications of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), is characterized by arterial constriction and mainly occurs from day 4 until the second week after the event. Urotensin-II (U-II) has been described as the most potent vasoconstrictor peptide in mammals. An analysis is made of the serum U-II concentrations and mRNA expression levels of U-II, urotensin related peptide (URP) and urotensin receptor (UT) genes in an experimental murine model of SAH.

DESIGN

An experimental study was carried out.

SETTING

Experimental operating room of the Biomedicine Institute of Seville (IBiS), Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (Seville, Spain).

PARTICIPANTS

96 Wistar rats: 74 SAH and 22 sham intervention animals.

INTERVENTIONS

Day 1: blood sampling, followed by the percutaneous injection of 100μl saline (sham) or blood (SAH) into the subarachnoid space. Day 5: blood sampling, followed by sacrifice of the animals.

MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST

Weight, early mortality, serum U-II levels, mRNA values for U-II, URP and UT.

RESULTS

Serum U-II levels increased in the SAH group from day 1 (0.62pg/mL [IQR 0.36-1.08]) to day 5 (0.74pg/mL [IQR 0.39-1.43]) (p<0.05), though not in the sham group (0.56pg/mL [IQR 0.06-0.83] day 1; 0.37pg/mL [IQR 0.23-0.62] day 5; p=0.959). Between-group differences were found on day 5 (p<0.05). The ROC analysis showed that the day 5 serum U-II levels (AUC=0.691), URP mRNA (AUC=0.706) and UT mRNA (AUC=0.713) could discriminate between sham and SAH rats. The normal serum U-II concentration range in rats was 0.56pg/mL (IQR 0.06-0.83).

CONCLUSION

The urotensinergic system is upregulated on day 5 in an experimental model of SAH.

Mortality prediction using TRISS methodology in the Spanish ICU Trauma Registry (RETRAUCI)

OBJECTIVES

To validate Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) methodology as an auditing tool in the Spanish ICU Trauma Registry (RETRAUCI).

DESIGN

A prospective, multicenter registry evaluation was carried out.

SETTING

Thirteen Spanish Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

PATIENTS

Individuals with traumatic disease and available data admitted to the participating ICUs.

INTERVENTIONS

Predicted mortality using TRISS methodology was compared with that observed in the pilot phase of the RETRAUCI from November 2012 to January 2015. Discrimination was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the corresponding areas under the curves (AUCs) (95% CI), with calibration using the Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) goodness-of-fit test. A value of p<0.05 was considered significant.

MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST

Predicted and observed mortality.

RESULTS

A total of 1405 patients were analyzed. The observed mortality rate was 18% (253 patients), while the predicted mortality rate was 16.9%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.889 (95% CI: 0.867-0.911). Patients with blunt trauma (n=1305) had an area under the ROC curve of 0.887 (95% CI: 0.864-0.910), and those with penetrating trauma (n=100) presented an area under the curve of 0.919 (95% CI: 0.859-0.979). In the global sample, the HL test yielded a value of 25.38 (p=0.001): 27.35 (p<0.0001) in blunt trauma and 5.91 (p=0.658) in penetrating trauma. TRISS methodology underestimated mortality in patients with low predicted mortality and overestimated mortality in patients with high predicted mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

TRISS methodology in the evaluation of severe trauma in Spanish ICUs showed good discrimination, with inadequate calibration - particularly in blunt trauma.

S100B and Neuron-Specific Enolase as mortality predictors in patients with severe traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVE

To determine temporal profile and prognostic ability of S100B protein and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) for prediction of short/long-term mortality in patients suffering from severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).

METHODS

Ninety-nine patients with sTBI were included in the study. Blood samples were drawn on admission and on subsequent 24, 48, 72, and 96 h.

RESULTS

15.2% of patients died in NeuroCritical Care Unit, and 19.2% died within 6 months of the accident. S100B concentrations were significantly higher in patients who died compared to survivors. NSE levels were different between groups just at 48 h. In the survival group, S100B levels decreased from 1st to 5th sample (p < 0.001); NSE just from 1st to 3rd (p < 0.001) and then stabilized. Values of S100B and NSE in non-survival patients did not significantly vary over the four days post sTBI. ROC-analysis showed that all S100B samples were useful tools for predicting mortality, the best the 72 h sample (AUC 0.848 for discharge mortality, 0.855 for six-month mortality). NSE ROC-analysis indicated that just the 48-h sample predicted mortality (AUC 0.733 for discharge mortality, 0.720 for six-month mortality).

CONCLUSION

S100B protein showed higher prognostic capacity than NSE to predict short/long-term mortality in sTBI patients.

Effect of a single dose of lidocaine and ketamine on intraoperative opioids requirements in patients undergoing elective gynecological laparotomies under general anesthesia. A randomized, placebo controlled pilot study

Background and goal of study: there is evidence that perioperative intravenous ketamine and lidocaine reduce postoperative pain, postoperative opioids consumption, shortens hospital stay and accelerates intestinal function recovery. However, it has not been studied the beneficial effects in the intraoperative period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single dose of lidocaine and ketamine on intraoperative opioids requirements in patients undergoing elective gynecological laparotomies under general anesthesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

we performed a single-centre, prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. We included 33 patients (11 in the ketamine group, 11 in the lidocaine group and 11 in the placebo group). Postoperative analgesia was accomplished by patient-controlled morphine. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either a 1.5 mg/kg of 2% lidocaine, 0.5 mg/kg of 5% ketamine or 0.9% saline bolus. The primary outcome was the opioids consumption during surgery. The secondary outcomes included: emergence time, pain scores, opioids consumption within 24 h after surgery and side effects.

RESULTS

decreased intraoperative opioids requirements were noted in the experimental groups (ketamine: 402.3 } 106.3 and lidocaine: 397.7 } 107.5, compared with saline: 561.4 } 97.1); p = 0.001. We found a positive correlation between intraoperative opioids consumption and emergence time (r = 0.864, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in VAS pain scores at rest within the first 24 postoperative hours. Total morphine consumption within 24 h after surgery did not differ significantly among the groups (placebo: 27.54 } 11.75; ketamine: 30.95 } 7.88; lidocaine 34.77 } 4510.25; p = 0.26). Postoperative nausea and vomiting were more common in placebo group (it was observed in 3 subjects in ketamine group, in 5 subjects in lidocaine group and in 9 subjects in placebo group; p = 0.027).

CONCLUSION

our results do not support the use of intraoperative single dose of lidocaine or ketamine to reduce postoperative pain and postoperative opioids consumption after open gynecological surgery. However, they seem to decrease intraoperative opioids requirements and shorten emergence time. Nevertheless, these findings should be validating in further studies with large sample size.