Troponin is unrelated to outcomes in heart failure patients discharged from the emergency department

Background

Prior data has demonstrated increased mortality in hospitalized patients with acute heart failure (AHF) and troponin elevation. No data has specifically examined the prognostic significance of troponin elevation in patients with AHF discharged after emergency department (ED) management.

Objective

Evaluate the relationship between troponin elevation and outcomes in patients with AHF who are treated and released from the ED.

Methods

This was a secondary analysis of the Get with the Guidelines to Reduce Disparities in AHF Patients Discharged from the ED (GUIDED‐HF) trial, a randomized, controlled trial of ED patients with AHF who were discharged. Patients with elevated conventional troponin not due to acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were included. Our primary outcome was a composite endpoint: time to 30‐day cardiovascular death and/or heart failure‐related events.

Results

Of the 491 subjects included in the GUIDED‐HF trial, 418 had troponin measured during the ED evaluation and 66 (16%) had troponin values above the 99th percentile. Median age was 63 years (interquartile range, 54‐70), 62% (n = 261) were male, 63% (n = 265) were Black, and 16% (n = 67) experienced our primary outcome. There were no differences in our primary outcome between those with and without troponin elevation (12/66, 18.1% vs 55/352, 15.6%; P = 0.60). This effect was maintained regardless of assignment to usual care or the intervention arm. In multivariable regression analysis, there was no association between our primary outcome and elevated troponin (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval,  0.49–2.01, P = 0.994)

Conclusion

If confirmed in a larger cohort, these findings may facilitate safe ED discharge for a group of patients with AHF without ACS when an elevated troponin is the primary reason for admission.

Improvement in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Scores After a Self-Care Intervention in Patients With Acute Heart Failure Discharged From the Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

We conducted a secondary analysis of changes in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ)-12 over 30 days in a randomized trial of self-care coaching versus structured usual care in patients with acute heart failure who were discharged from the emergency department.

METHODS

Patients in 15 emergency departments completed the KCCQ-12 at emergency department discharge and at 30 days. We compared change in KCCQ-12 scores between the intervention and usual care arms, adjusted for enrollment KCCQ-12 and demographic characteristics. We used linear regression to describe changes in KCCQ-12 summary scores and logistic regression to characterize clinically meaningful KCCQ-12 subdomain changes at 30 days.

RESULTS

There were 350 patients with both enrollment and 30-day KCCQ summary scores available; 166 allocated to usual care and 184 to the intervention arm. Median age was 64 years (interquartile range, 55-70), 37% were female participants, 63% were Black, median KCCQ-12 summary score at enrollment was 47 (interquartile range, 33-64). Self-care coaching resulted in significantly greater improvement in health status compared with structured usual care (5.4-point greater improvement, 95% CI, 1.12-9.68; P=0.01). Improvements in health status in the intervention arm were driven by improvements within the symptom frequency (adjusted odds ratio, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.01-2.59]) and quality of life (adjusted odds ratio, 2.39 [95% CI, 1.46-3.90]) subdomains.

CONCLUSIONS

In this secondary analysis, patients with acute heart failure who received a tailored, self-care intervention after emergency department discharge had clinically significant improvements in health status at 30 days compared with structured usual care largely due to improvements within the symptom frequency and quality of life subdomains of the KCCQ-12. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02519283.

Effect of a Self-care Intervention on 90-Day Outcomes in Patients With Acute Heart Failure Discharged From the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance

Up to 20% of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute heart failure (AHF) are discharged without hospitalization. Compared with rates in hospitalized patients, readmission and mortality are worse for ED patients.

Objective

To assess the impact of a self-care intervention on 90-day outcomes in patients with AHF who are discharged from the ED.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Get With the Guidelines in Emergency Department Patients With Heart Failure was an unblinded, parallel-group, multicenter randomized trial. Patients were randomized 1:1 to usual care vs a tailored self-care intervention. Patients with AHF discharged after ED-based management at 15 geographically diverse EDs were included. The trial was conducted from October 28, 2015, to September 5, 2019.

Interventions

Home visit within 7 days of discharge and twice-monthly telephone-based self-care coaching for 3 months.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was a global rank of cardiovascular death, HF-related events (unscheduled clinic visit due to HF, ED revisit, or hospitalization), and changes in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12 (KCCQ-12) summary score (SS) at 90 days. Key secondary outcomes included the global rank outcome at 30 days and changes in the KCCQ-12 SS score at 30 and 90 days. Intention-to-treat analysis was performed for the primary, secondary, and safety outcomes. Per-protocol analysis was conducted including patients who completed a home visit and had scheduled outpatient follow-up in the intervention arm.

Results

Owing to slow enrollment, 479 of a planned 700 patients were randomized: 235 to the intervention arm and 244 to the usual care arm. The median age was 63.0 years (interquartile range, 54.7-70.2), 302 patients (63%) were African American, 305 patients (64%) were men, and 178 patients (37%) had a previous ejection fraction greater than 50%. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome between patients in the intervention vs usual care arm (hazard ratio [HR], 0.89; 95% CI, 0.73-1.10; P = .28). At day 30, patients in the intervention arm had significantly better global rank (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.64-0.99; P = .04) and a 5.5-point higher KCCQ-12 SS (95% CI, 1.3-9.7; P = .01), while at day 90, the KCCQ-12 SS was 2.7 points higher (95% CI, -1.9 to 7.2; P = .25).

Conclusions and Relevance

The self-care intervention did not improve the primary global rank outcome at 90 days in this trial. However, benefit was observed in the global rank and KCCQ-12 SS at 30 days, suggesting that an early benefit of a tailored self-care program initiated at an ED visit for AHF was not sustained through 90 days.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02519283.

Do Hospitals Providing Telehealth in Emergency Departments Have Lower Emergency Department Costs?

Background: Since 2003, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has operated a robust telehealth emergency department (ED) network, TelEmergency, which enhances access to emergency medicine-trained physicians at participating rural hospitals. TelEmergency was developed as a cost-control measure for financially constrained rural hospitals to improve access to quality, emergency care. However, the literature remains unclear as to whether ED telehealth services can be provided at lower costs compared with traditional in-person ED services. Introduction: Our objective was to empirically determine whether TelEmergency was associated with lower ED costs at rural hospitals when compared with similar hospitals without TelEmergency between 2010 and 2017. Materials and Methods: A panel of data for 2010-2017 was constructed at the hospital level. Hospitals with TelEmergency (n = 14 hospitals; 112 hospital-years) were compared with similar hospitals that did not use TelEmergency from Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina (n = 102; 766 hospital-years), matched using Coarsened Exact Matching. The relationship between total ED costs and treatment (e.g., participation in TelEmergency) was predicted using generalized estimating equations with a Poisson distribution, a log link, an exchangeable error term, and robust standard errors. Results: After controlling for ownership type, critical access hospital status, year, and size, TelEmergency was associated with an estimated 31.4% lower total annual ED costs compared with similar matched hospitals that did not provide TelEmergency. Conclusions: TelEmergency utilization was associated with significantly lower total annual ED costs compared with similarly matched hospitals that did not utilize TelEmergency. These findings suggest that access to quality ED care in rural communities can occur at lower costs.

Effect of Levocarnitine vs Placebo as an Adjunctive Treatment for Septic Shock: The Rapid Administration of Carnitine in Sepsis (RACE) Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE

Sepsis induces profound metabolic derangements, while exogenous levocarnitine mitigates metabolic dysfunction by enhancing glucose and lactate oxidation and increasing fatty acid shuttling. Previous trials in sepsis suggest beneficial effects of levocarnitine on patient-centered outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

To test the hypothesis that levocarnitine reduces cumulative organ failure in patients with septic shock at 48 hours and, if present, to estimate the probability that the most efficacious dose will decrease 28-day mortality in a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Multicenter adaptive, randomized, blinded, dose-finding, phase 2 clinical trial (Rapid Administration of Carnitine in Sepsis [RACE]). The setting was 16 urban US medical centers. Participants were patients aged 18 years or older admitted from March 5, 2013, to February 5, 2018, with septic shock and moderate organ dysfunction.

INTERVENTIONS

Within 24 hours of identification, patients were assigned to 1 of the following 4 treatments: low (6 g), medium (12 g), or high (18 g) doses of levocarnitine or an equivalent volume of saline placebo administered as a 12-hour infusion.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome required, first, a greater than 90% posterior probability that the most promising levocarnitine dose decreases the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at 48 hours and, second (given having met the first condition), at least a 30% predictive probability of success in reducing 28-day mortality in a subsequent traditional superiority trial to test efficacy.

RESULTS

Of the 250 enrolled participants (mean [SD] age, 61.7 [14.8] years; 56.8% male), 35, 34, and 106 patients were adaptively randomized to the low, medium, and high levocarnitine doses, respectively, while 75 patients were randomized to placebo. In the intent-to-treat analysis, the fitted mean (SD) changes in the SOFA score for the low, medium, and high levocarnitine groups were -1.27 (0.49), -1.66 (0.38), and -1.97 (0.32), respectively, vs -1.63 (0.35) in the placebo group. The posterior probability that the 18-g dose is superior to placebo was 0.78, which did not meet the a priori threshold of 0.90. Mortality at 28 days was 45.9% (34 of 74) in the placebo group compared with 43.3% (45 of 104) for the most promising levocarnitine dose (18 g). Similar findings were noted in the per-protocol analysis.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this dose-finding, phase 2 adaptive randomized trial, the most efficacious dose of levocarnitine (18 g) did not meaningfully reduce cumulative organ failure at 48 hours.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01665092.

Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Component Score Prediction of In-hospital Mortality From Sepsis

OBJECTIVES

Early organ dysfunction in sepsis confers a high risk of in-hospital mortality, but the relative contribution of specific types of organ failure to overall mortality is unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the predictive ability of individual types of organ failure to in-hospital mortality or prolonged intensive care.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of adult emergency department patients with sepsis from October 1, 2013, to November 10, 2015. Multivariable regression was used to assess the odds ratios of individual organ failure types for the outcomes of in-hospital death (primary) and in-hospital death or ICU stay ≥ 3 days (secondary).

RESULTS

Of 2796 patients, 283 (10%) experienced in-hospital mortality, and 748 (27%) experienced in-hospital mortality or an ICU stay ≥ 3 days. The following components of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score were most predictive of in-hospital mortality (descending order): coagulation (odds ratio [OR]: 1.60, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.32-1.93), hepatic (1.58, 95% CI: 1.32-1.90), respiratory (OR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.21-1.47), neurologic (OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.07-1.35), renal (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02-1.27), and cardiovascular (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.01-1.25). For mortality or ICU stay ≥3 days, the most predictive SOFA components were respiratory (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.79-2.16), neurologic (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.54-1.92), cardiovascular (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.23-1.54), coagulation (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.10-1.55), and renal (OR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.08-1.30) while hepatic SOFA (OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.98-1.37) did not reach statistical significance (P = .092).

CONCLUSION

In this retrospective study, SOFA score components demonstrated varying predictive abilities for mortality in sepsis. Elevated coagulation or hepatic SOFA scores were most predictive of in-hospital death, while an elevated respiratory SOFA was most predictive of death or ICU stay >3 days.

Development of a Simple Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score for Risk Assessment of Emergency Department Patients With Sepsis

OBJECTIVES

Sepsis-3 recommends using the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score followed by SOFA score for sepsis evaluation. The SOFA is complex and unfamiliar to most emergency physicians, while qSOFA is insensitive for sepsis screening and may result in missed cases of sepsis. The objective of this study was to devise an easy-to-use simple SOFA score for use in the emergency department (ED).

METHODS

Retrospective study of ED patients with sepsis with in-hospital mortality as the primary outcome. A simple SOFA score was derived and validated and compared with SOFA and qSOFA.

RESULTS

A total of 3297 patients with sepsis were included, and in-hospital mortality was 10.1%. Simple SOFA had a sensitivity and specificity of 88% and 44% in the derivation set and 93% and 44% in the validation set for in-hospital mortality, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of qSOFA was 38% and 86% and for SOFA was 90% and 50%, respectively. There were 2760 (84%) of 3297 qSOFA-negative (<2) patients. In this group, simple SOFA had a sensitivity and specificity of 86% and 48% in the derivation set and 91% and 48% in the validation set, respectively. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment was 86% sensitive and 57% specific in qSOFA-negative patients. For all encounters, the areas under the receiver-operator characteristic curves (AUROC) were 0.82 for SOFA, 0.78 (derivation) and 0.82 (validation) for simple SOFA, and 0.68 for qSOFA. In qSOFA-negative patients, the AUROCs were 0.80 for SOFA and 0.76 (derivation) and 0.82 (validation) for simple SOFA.

CONCLUSIONS

Simple SOFA demonstrates similar predictive ability for in-hospital mortality from sepsis compared to SOFA. External validation of these findings is indicated.

The Impact of the Sepsis-3 Septic Shock Definition on Previously Defined Septic Shock Patients

OBJECTIVE

The Third International Consensus Definitions Task Force (Sepsis-3) recently recommended changes to the definitions of sepsis. The impact of these changes remains unclear. Our objective was to determine the outcomes of patients meeting Sepsis-3 septic shock criteria versus patients meeting the "old" (1991) criteria of septic shock only.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of two clinical trials of early septic shock resuscitation.

SETTING

Large academic emergency departments in the United States.

PATIENTS

Patients with suspected infection, more than or equal to two systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria, and systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg after fluid resuscitation.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were further categorized as Sepsis-3 septic shock if they demonstrated hypotension, received vasopressors, and exhibited a lactate greater than 2 mmol/L. We compared in-hospital mortality in patients who met the old definition only with those who met the Sepsis-3 criteria.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Four hundred seventy patients were included in the present analysis. Two hundred (42.5%) met Sepsis-3 criteria, whereas 270 (57.4%) met only the old definition. Patients meeting Sepsis-3 criteria demonstrated higher severity of illness by Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (9 vs 5; p < 0.001) and mortality (29% vs 14%; p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis of 127 patients meeting only the old definition demonstrated significant mortality benefit following implementation of a quantitative resuscitation protocol (35% vs 10%; p = 0.006).

CONCLUSION

In this analysis, 57% of patients meeting old definition for septic shock did not meet Sepsis-3 criteria. Although Sepsis-3 criteria identified a group of patients with increased organ failure and higher mortality, those patients who met the old criteria and not Sepsis-3 criteria still demonstrated significant organ failure and 14% mortality rate.

Design and Rationale of a Randomized Trial of a Care Transition Strategy in Patients With Acute Heart Failure Discharged From the Emergency Department: GUIDED-HF (Get With the Guidelines in Emergency Department Patients With Heart Failure)

GUIDED-HF (Get With the Guidelines in Emergency Department Patients With Heart Failure) is a multicenter randomized trial of a patient-centered transitional care intervention in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) who are discharged either directly from the emergency department (ED) or after a brief period of ED-based observation. To optimize care and reduce ED and hospital revisits, there has been significant emphasis on improving transitions at the time of hospital discharge for patients with HF. Such efforts have been almost exclusively directed at hospitalized patients; individuals with AHF who are discharged from the ED or ED-based observation are not included in these transitional care initiatives. Patients with AHF discharged directly from the ED or after a brief period of ED-based observation are randomly assigned to our transition GUIDED-HF strategy or standard ED discharge. Patients in the GUIDED arm receive a tailored discharge plan via the study team, based on their identified barriers to outpatient management and associated guideline-based interventions. This plan includes conducting a home visit soon after ED discharge combined with close outpatient follow-up and subsequent coaching calls to improve postdischarge care and avoid subsequent ED revisits and inpatient admissions. Up to 700 patients at 11 sites will be enrolled over 3 years of the study. GUIDED-HF will test a novel approach to AHF management strategy that includes tailored transitional care for patients discharged from the ED or ED-based observation. If successful, this program may significantly alter the current paradigm of AHF patient care.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02519283.

The impact of the TelEmergency program on rural emergency care: An implementation study

Introduction

Timely, appropriate intervention is key to improving outcomes in many emergent conditions. In rural areas, it is particularly challenging to assure quality, timely emergency care. The TelEmergency (TE) program, which utilizes a dual nurse practitioner and emergency medicine-trained, board-certified physician model, has the potential to improve access to quality emergency care in rural areas. The objective of this study was to examine how the implementation of the TE program impacts rural hospital Emergency Department (ED) operations.

Methods

Methods included a before and after study of the effect of the TE program on participating rural hospitals between January 2007 and December 2008. Data on ED and hospital operations were collected one year prior to and one year following the implementation of TE. Data from participating hospitals were combined and compared for the two time periods.

Results

Nine hospitals met criteria for inclusion and participated in the study. Total ED volumes did not significantly change with TE implementation, but ED admissions to the same rural hospital significantly increased following TE implementation (6.7% to 8.1%, p-value = 0.02). Likewise, discharge rates from the ED declined post-initiation (87.1% to 80.0%, p-value = 0.003). ED deaths and transfer rates showed no significant change, while the rate of patient discharge against medical advice significantly increased with TE use.

Discussion

In this analysis, we found a significant increase in the rate of ED admissions to rural hospitals with TE use. These findings may have important implications for the quality of emergency care in rural areas and the sustainability of rural hospitals’ EDs.

Emergent Bleeding in Patients Receiving Direct Oral Anticoagulants

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) offer clinical advantages over warfarin, such as minimal medication and food interactions and fixed dosing without the need for routine monitoring of coagulation status. As with all anticoagulants, bleeding, either spontaneous or provoked, is the most common complication. The long-term use of these drugs is increasing, and there is a crucial need for emergency medicine service professionals to understand the optimal management of associated bleeding. This review aims to describe the indications and pharmacokinetics of available DOACs; to discuss the risk of bleeding; to provide a treatment algorithm to manage DOAC-associated emergency bleeding; and to discuss future directions in bleeding management, including the role of specific reversal agents, such as the recently approved idarucizumab for reversal of the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran. Because air medical personnel are increasingly likely to encounter patients receiving DOACs, it is important that they have an understanding of how to manage patients with emergent bleeding.

Longitudinal Trends in the Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in an Urban Emergency Department

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal trends in diabetes mellitus (DM) in emergency department (ED) patients and evaluate the factors associated with those trends.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients who presented to the ED from 2006 to 2011. The presence of DM, height, and weight were recorded prospectively. The study was conducted in the ED of an urban, academic hospital with an average yearly volume of approximately 62,000 patients. Inclusion criteria were age 16 years and older; presentation to the ED for any reason; and documentation of height, weight, and history of DM. Data were analyzed in 1-year blocks, then examined for trends using linear regression analysis. Data also were examined by obesity class: normal (body mass index [BMI] 20-24.9 kg/m(2)), overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m(2)), obese (BMI 30-39.9 kg/m(2)), and extreme obesity (BMI >40 kg/m(2)).

RESULTS

There was a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of type 2 DM during the study period. The percentage of type 2 DM for all patient visits increased progressively from 10.7% to 16.1% (r(2) 0.97). Progressive increases in yearly type 2 DM prevalence were observed for all BMI classes. The rate of change in the increase of DM was related directly to the degree of obesity. For the normal weight category, the percentage of patients with DM increased 0.5%/year (r(2) 0.92), overweight 0.7%/year (r(2) 0.88), obesity 1.0%/year (r(2) 0.90), and extreme obesity 1.4%/year (r(2) 0.94). Patient age increased slightly for all obesity groups, accounting for a 0.2% to 0.4%/year increase in the prevalence of DM in the population.

CONCLUSIONS

In this longitudinal analysis, we found an increase in the prevalence of patients with DM and an increase in ED visits by patients with DM. Our results indicate that these increases are influenced most significantly by the obesity level of the patient.

The effect of liver disease on lactate normalization in severe sepsis and septic shock: a cohort study

Objective

To describe the effect of liver disease (LD) on lactate clearance during early sepsis resuscitation.

Methods

This is a multicenter randomized clinical trial. An initial lactate >2 mmol/L and subsequent serum lactate measurement within 6 hours were required for inclusion. LD was categorized by two methods: 1) past medical history (PMH) categorized as no LD, mild LD (no Child’s score criteria, but PMH of hepatitis B/C), cirrhosis; and 2) measurable liver dysfunction determined by the liver component of the sequential organ failure assessment (L-SOFA) score as no dysfunction (L-SOFA score 0), mild dysfunction (score 1), moderate-severe dysfunction (score 2 to 4). Primary outcome was the rate of lactate normalization.

Results

One hundred eighty-seven patients were included. When categorized by PMH, 169 patients had no LD, 6 mild LD, and 12 cirrhosis. 63/169 (37%) of patients with no LD achieved lactate normalization, compared to 4/6 (67%) with mild LD, and 1/12 (8%) with cirrhosis (P<0.03). Categorized by L-SOFA score, 59/124 (47%) patients with L-SOFA 0 achieved lactate normalization, compared to 6/31 (19%) with L-SOFA 1, and 3/32 (9%) with L-SOFA 2–4 (P<0.01). Relative lactate clearance [(initial lactate–subsequent lactate)/initial lactate] was lower in patients with more advanced LD by PMH (37.7 vs. 40.4 vs. 21.8, P=0.07), and lower with increasing L-SOFA score (42.0 vs. 30.1 vs. 23.4, P=0.01).

Conclusion

Liver dysfunction was significantly associated with impaired lactate clearance and normalization during the early resuscitation of sepsis.

Theoretical Analysis of the Relative Impact of Obesity on Hemodynamic Stability During Acute Hemorrhagic Shock

Background:

Evidence suggests that morbid obesity may be an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes in patients with traumatic injuries.

Objectives:

In this study, a theoretic analysis using a derivation of the Guyton model of cardiovascular physiology examines the expected impact of obesity on hemodynamic changes in Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) and Cardiac Output (CO) during Hemorrhagic Shock (HS).

Patients and Methods:

Computer simulation studies were used to predict the relative impact of increasing Body Mass Index (BMI) on global hemodynamic parameters during HS. The analytic procedure involved recreating physiologic conditions associated with changing BMI for a virtual subject in an In Silico environment. The model was validated for the known effect of a BMI of 30 on iliofemoral venous pressures. Then, the relative effect of changing BMI on the outcome of target cardiovascular parameters was examined during simulated acute loss of blood volume in class II hemorrhage. The percent changes in these parameters were compared between the virtual nonobese and obese subjects. Model parameter values are derived from known population distributions, producing simulation outputs that can be used in a deductive systems analysis assessment rather than traditional frequentist statistical methodologies.

Results:

In hemorrhage simulation, moderate increases in BMI were found to produce greater decreases in MAP and CO compared to the normal subject. During HS, the virtual obese subject had 42% and 44% greater falls in CO and MAP, respectively, compared to the nonobese subject. Systems analysis of the model revealed that an increase in resistance to venous return due to changes in intra-abdominal pressure resulting from obesity was the critical mechanism responsible for the differences.

Conclusions:

This study suggests that obese patients in HS may have a higher risk of hemodynamic instability compared to their nonobese counterparts primarily due to obesity-induced increases in intra-abdominal pressure resulting in reduced venous return.

Prehospital treatment of sepsis: what really makes the "golden hour" golden?

The early recognition of severe sepsis is important; however, early identification of severe sepsis can be challenging, especially in the prehospital setting. As previous research has shown, advanced notification of time-sensitive disease states by prehospital personnel can improve outcomes and time to initiation of treatments. Prehospital personnel can potentially impact outcomes in sepsis through early identification and treatment implementations, improving processes of care and transition of care. Further research is needed for a full evaluation of prehospital treatment effects of identification of sepsis and treatment by prehospital personnel and the impact on outcomes.

The effect of early quantitative resuscitation on organ function in survivors of septic shock

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to determine if early quantitative resuscitation (QR) attenuates organ dysfunction in survivors of septic shock.

METHODS

This is a secondary analysis of a completed implementation study. Inclusion criteria are suspected infection, greater than or equal to 2 systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria and either systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg after a fluid bolus or lactate more than 4 mmol/L and survival to hospital discharge. Data were prospectively collected on eligible patients for 1 year before and 3 years after implementation of early QR. Patients in the before phase received nonprotocolized care (NPC) at physician discretion. Survivors who received QR were compared with survivors who received NPC. The primary outcome was the worst sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score during hospitalization.

RESULTS

Two hundred sixty patients in the QR group and 41 patients in the NPC group were included. There were no significant differences in demographics between the 2 groups. The initial SOFA score in the QR group was 6 and in the NPC group was 6 (P = .17). There was no significant difference in the worst SOFA score during hospitalization between the QR and NPC groups (6 vs 6, respectively; P = .16).

CONCLUSIONS

In survivors of septic shock, we found no difference in maximal organ dysfunction during hospitalization between patients who received QR vs NPC.

Characterization of the spectrum of hemodynamic profiles in trauma patients with acute neurogenic shock

OBJECTIVE

Neurogenic shock considered a distributive type of shock secondary to loss of sympathetic outflow to the peripheral vasculature. In this study, we examine the hemodynamic profiles of a series of trauma patients with a diagnosis of neurogenic shock.

METHODS

Hemodynamic data were collected on a series of trauma patients determined to have spinal cord injuries with neurogenic shock. A well-established integrated computer model of human physiology was used to analyze and categorize the hemodynamic profiles from a system analysis perspective. A differentiation between these categories was presented as the percent of total patients.

RESULTS

Of the 9 patients with traumatic neurogenic shock, the etiology of shock was decrease in peripheral vascular resistance (PVR) in 3 (33%; 95% confidence interval, 12%-65%), loss of vascular capacitance in 2 (22%; 6%-55%) and mixed peripheral resistance and capacitance responsible in 3 (33%; 12%-65%), and purely cardiac in 1 (11%; 3%-48%). The markers of sympathetic outflow had no correlation to any of the elements in the patients' hemodynamic profiles.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from this study suggest that hypotension of neurogenic shock can have multiple mechanistic etiologies and represents a spectrum of hemodynamic profiles. This understanding is important for the treatment decisions in managing these patients.