Age-Dependent Association of Occult Hypoperfusion and Outcomes in Trauma.

BACKGROUND: Occult hypoperfusion (OH), or global hypoperfusion with normal vital signs, is a risk factor for poor outcomes in elderly trauma patients. We hypothesized that OH is associated with worse outcomes than shock in both young and elderly trauma patients. METHODS: We conducted a single-center cohort study of adult (16 years or older) trauma patients from 2016 to 2018 with base excess measured on arrival. Perfusion states were defined as shock if heart rate was >120 beats/min or systolic blood pressure was <90 mmHg; OH if base excess was < -2 mmol/L, heart rate was <120 beats/min, and systolic blood pressure was >90 mmHg; and normal for all others. Patients were stratified as young (younger than 55 years) or elderly (55 years or older). Bayesian regression was used to assess the relationship between arrival perfusion state and mortality or serious complication. RESULTS: Of 3,126 included patients, 808 were elderly. Rates of shock (33% and 31%) and OH (25% and 23%) were similar in young and elderly patients, respectively. OH on arrival was associated with higher odds of mortality or serious complication than normal perfusion, regardless of age group. Compared with shock, OH was associated with an odds ratio of 1.21 (95% CI, 0.97 to 1.52, posterior probability 96%) for poor outcomes in elderly patients and an odds ratio of 0.52 (95% CI, 0.42 to 0.65, posterior probability <1%) for poor outcomes in younger patients. Findings were similar on sensitivity analysis, excluding shock patients with base excess ≥ -2 mmol/L. CONCLUSIONS: In elderly but not younger patients, OH is associated with worse outcomes than shock. Although shock parameters might need to be redefined in elderly patients, more attention is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of all hypoperfused states in this age group.

Outcomes beyond hospital discharge in infants and children with viral meningitis: A systematic review.

Viruses are the commonest cause of childhood meningitis, but outcomes beyond hospital discharge are poorly described. We undertook a systematic literature review of long-term outcomes following paediatric viral meningitis. A search was carried out using MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Review for studies from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2018. Studies were included where specific outcome measures were available beyond hospital discharge for children <16 years old with viral meningitis. In total, 3588 papers were identified of which 14 were eligible for inclusion. Four studies reported outcomes in children with nonenterovirus 71 meningitis. A US study of 16 cases demonstrated subtle language difficulties at 3-year follow-up in infants in contrast to an Australian study, which revealed no impairment in language. A Fijian study showed that two out of eight cases had sensorineural hearing loss compared with none in a UK cohort of 668 infants. Three studies evaluated outcomes of enterovirus 71 meningitis in China and Taiwan, two showed cases recovered without sequelae, while one demonstrated an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Two studies including 141 cases of human parechovirus revealed no evidence of neurodevelopmental sequelae. Conversely, an Australian study demonstrated neurodevelopmental sequelae in 11 out of 77 infants with parechovirus meningitis. Most studies identified in this review demonstrated a high proportion of good clinical outcomes following viral meningitis. However, the data are limited, so robustly conducted neurodevelopmental studies are warranted to inform the evidence-based management of viral meningitis beyond hospital discharge.

The impact of tranexamic acid on mortality in injured patients with hyperfibrinolysis.

BACKGROUND: In 2011, supported by data from two separate trauma centers, we implemented a protocol to administer tranexamic acid (TXA) in trauma patients with evidence of hyperfibrinolysis (HF) on admission. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of TXA in patients with HF determined by admission rapid thrombelastography was associated with improved survival. METHODS: Following institutional review board approval, we evaluated all trauma patients 16 years or older admitted between September 2009 and September 2013. HF was defined as LY-30 of 3% or greater. Patients with LY-30 less than 3.0% were excluded. Patients were divided into those who received TXA (TXA group) and those who did not (no-TXA group). After univariate analyses, a purposeful, logistic regression model was developed a priori to evaluate the impact of TXA on mortality (controlling for age, sex, Injury Severity Score (ISS), arrival physiology, and base deficit). RESULTS: A total of 1,032 patients met study criteria. Ninety-eight (10%) received TXA, and 934 (90%) did not. TXA patients were older (median age, 37 years vs. 32 years), were more severely injured (median ISS, 29 vs. 14), had a lower blood pressure (median systolic blood pressure 103 mm Hg vs. 125 mm Hg), and were more likely to be in shock (median, base excess, -5 mmol/dL vs. -2 mmol/dL), all p < 0.05. Twenty-three percent of the patients had a repeat thrombelastography within 6 hours; 8.8% of the TXA patients had LY-30 of 3% or greater on repeat rapid thrombelastography (vs. 10.1% in the no-TXA group, p = 0.679). Unadjusted in-hospital mortality was higher in the TXA group (40% vs. 17%, p < 0.001). There were no differences in venous thromboembolism (3.3% vs. 3.8%). Logistic regression failed to find a difference in in-hospital mortality among those receiving TXA (odds ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.38-1.40; p 0.80). CONCLUSION: In the current study, the use of TXA was not associated with a reduction in mortality. Further studies are needed to better define who will benefit from an administration of TXA. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level IV.