Direct-To-Definitive Urine and Oral Fluid Test Results for Unscreened and Rarely Screened Drugs in Individuals Applying for Methadone Treatment in 7 U.S. States.

The standard protocol in addiction treatment/pain management is to conduct immunoassay screens for major drugs subject to misuse, followed by confirmatory testing of positive results. However, this may miss unscreened or rarely screened drugs that could pose risks, especially to polydrug users. We sought to determine the prevalences of unscreened/rarely screened drugs in a sample of individuals misusing drugs in 7 U.S. states, and to compare the results of urine vs. oral testing for these drugs by direct-to-definitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). The five drugs with the highest prevalences were: gabapentin (16.8%), quetiapine (6.2%), chlorpheniramine (5.3%), hydroxyzine (4.9%), and ephedrine (3.5%). All have clinical significance as indicated by severity of possible side effects, interactions with other drugs, and/or misuse potential. Drugs were generally detected more frequently in oral fluid than urine, but gabapentin was more frequently detected in urine. The prevalences of the included drugs seem high enough, and their clinical significance important enough, to warrant consideration of expanding clinical drug test panels, either by direct-to-definitive testing or the addition of selected immunoassay screens when available. Oral fluid was usually more suitable than urine as the test matrix, given the higher rates of detection in oral fluid for most substances included in this study.

Vitamin D status of morbidly obese bariatric surgery patients.

BACKGROUND: Abnormal vitamin D levels are common in bariatric surgery patients. The incidence of deficiencies and the response to therapy is not accurately delineated. The purpose of this study was to define the vitamin D status of patients who undergo either a malabsorptive (gastric bypass) or restrictive (adjustable gastric band) bariatric surgery both prior to and after surgery. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on patients to undergo bariatric surgery from July 2002 to February 2007. Serum levels of vitamin D (Vit D), parathyroid hormone (PTH), and calcium were analyzed. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 45 y; 82% of patients were women. Of 127 total patients, 84% were Vit D deficient preoperatively. These patients had a higher preoperative body mass index (BMI) than those with normal Vit D levels on initial assessment (BMI 44 versus 50 kg/m(2), P < 0.01). A correlation was found between preoperative BMI and Vit D (r(2) = 0.12, P < 0.01) and PTH levels (r(2) = 0.07, P < 0.01). One year following gastric bypass surgery, 20% of patients with elevated PTH levels had normal Vit D levels. The incidence of observed deficiencies for adjustable gastric band versus gastric bypass did not differ statistically at any interval. CONCLUSIONS: Morbidly obese patients seeking bariatric surgery are often deficient in Vit D, a fact that should be accounted for when evaluating the impact of bariatric surgery on Vit D levels. Elevated BMI and increasing degrees of obesity may be risk factors for both Vit D deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Despite normal Vit D levels, some gastric bypass patients continue to show elevated levels of PTH.

Surgical wound assessment by sonography in the prediction of surgical wound infections.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are important sources of morbidity, prolonged hospital stays, and readmissions, so they have become a major economic burden. We hypothesized that surgical wound assessment by sonography (SWATS) used at the bedside would detect wound fluid collections and that the presence of such collections would predict SSI better than standard clinical examination. If so, SWATS might be used to indicate early intervention that could prevent SSI morbidity. METHODS: A prospective, single-institution observational study was conducted on adult inpatients following open abdominal surgery for trauma, gastrointestinal pathology, or biliary pathology at high risk (>5%) for SSI using traditional wound classifications. After informed consent was obtained, SWATS was performed using a smartphone-based ultrasound system on postoperative Day 2 to 4 and again before discharge or at postoperative Day 30, whichever came first. Primary treating physicians delivered standard wound care and were blinded to SWATS. SSI was diagnosed if treatment was implemented for suspected or documented wound infection by the treating physician. Results were analyzed by χ test and two-sample pooled variance t test where appropriate, with significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were studied. Nineteen patients had peri-incisional fluid collections found by SWATS. Eight of these patients went on to develop an SSI. SSI was significantly associated with the presence of fluid collections on SWATS (p = 0.009). SWATS had a sensitivity of 72.7% (0.43-0.92), a specificity of 71.1% (0.62-0.77), a positive predictive value of 42.1% (0.25-0.53), and a negative predictive value of 90.0% (0.79-0.97). CONCLUSION: SWATS has a high negative predictive value that may allow it be an effective screening tool for developing SSI in high-risk surgical wounds. SWATS has the potential to be a useful and cost-effective adjunct to the clinician by objectively suggesting need for early therapy. Further study with larger sample sizes and randomized, SWATS-based interventions are required to validate this small study and determine its place in clinical care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic study, level IV.

The reliability and validity of passive leg raise and fluid bolus to assess fluid responsiveness in spontaneously breathing emergency department patients.

PURPOSE: We investigated the reproducibility of passive leg raise (PLR) and fluid bolus (BOLUS) using the Non-Invasive Cardiac Output Monitor (NICOM; Cheetah Medical, Tel Aviv, Israel) for assessment of fluid responsiveness (FR) in spontaneously breathing emergency department (ED) patients. METHODS: Prospective, observational study of a convenience sample of adult ED patients receiving intravenous fluid bolus. We assessed stroke volume (SV) using NICOM and obtained results from PLR, where the head of the bed was changed from semirecumbent to supine while the patients' legs raised to 45° for 3 minutes. Fluid bolus was defined as 5 mL/kg normal saline infusion. Maximal increase in SV was recorded. Fluid responsiveness was defined as an increase of SV greater than 10% from baseline. We obtained 4 consecutive responses for each patient; PLR1, PLR2, BOLUS1 separated each by 10 minutes, and BOLUS2 initiated immediately after the end of BOLUS1. We calculated κ statistics, correlation coefficients, and odds ratios with 95% confidence interval and Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: We enrolled 109 patients enrolled in this study. The 2 PLRs were significantly correlated (r = 0.78, P < .001) with κ = 0.46 for FR (P < .001). The 2 BOLUSES less strongly correlated (r = 0.14, P = .001) and κ = 0.06 for FR (P < .001). Patients who were responsive to PLR1 had 9.5 (3.6-25) odds of being FR for PLR2, whereas those responsive to BOLUS1 had a 1.8 (0.76-4.3) increased odds of FR for BOLUS2. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we have found PLR as measured by the NICOM to be a promising tool for the evaluation of SV responsiveness. It was feasible for use in the ED, and the data suggest that the PLR technique may be more reproducible than the fluid bolus technique for assessing volume responsiveness.

The Esophageal Pressure-Guided Ventilation 2 (EPVent2) trial protocol: a multicentre, randomised clinical trial of mechanical ventilation guided by transpulmonary pressure.

INTRODUCTION: Optimal ventilator management for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains uncertain. Lower tidal volume ventilation appears to be beneficial, but optimal management of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) remains unclear. The Esophageal Pressure-Guided Ventilation 2 Trial (EPVent2) aims to examine the impact of mechanical ventilation directed at maintaining a positive transpulmonary pressure (PTP) in patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: EPVent2 is a multicentre, prospective, randomised, phase II clinical trial testing the hypothesis that the use of a PTP-guided ventilation strategy will lead to improvement in composite outcomes of mortality and time off the ventilator at 28 days as compared with a high-PEEP control. This study will enrol 200 study participants from 11 hospitals across North America. The trial will utilise a primary composite end point that incorporates death and days off the ventilator at 28 days to test the primary hypothesis that adjusting ventilator pressure to achieve positive PTP values will result in improved mortality and ventilator-free days. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Safety oversight will be under the direction of an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). Approval of the protocol was obtained from the DSMB prior to enrolling the first study participant. Approvals of the protocol as well as informed consent documents were also obtained from the Institutional Review Board of each participating institution prior to enrolling study participants at each respective site. The findings of this investigation, as well as associated ancillary studies, will be disseminated in the form of oral and abstract presentations at major national and international medical specialty meetings. The primary objective and other significant findings will also be presented in manuscript form. All final, published manuscripts resulting from this protocol will be submitted to PubMed Central in accordance with the National Institute of Health Public Access Policy. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov under number NCT01681225.