Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Swab Is Insufficient to Withhold Empiric Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia Coverage in a Trauma Population.

INTRODUCTION: Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal colonization is a predictor of MRSA pneumonia in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Negative nasal swabs have shown up to a 97% negative predictive value for MRSA pneumonia in nontrauma populations, though little investigation has been pursued in trauma patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All trauma patients admitted to the ICU from April 2018 to February 2019 were screened for MRSA colonization by nasal swab. Patients with suspicion for pneumonia underwent bronchoalveolar lavage or quantitative sputum culture and were started on empiric antibiotic therapy based on the swab result. Swab-positive patients were started on empiric MRSA coverage and swab-negative patients were not. RESULTS: MRSA nasal swab screening was performed in 601 trauma ICU patients. Ninety-six patients subsequently underwent pneumonia workup and were started on an empiric antibiotic regimen based on nasal swab results. Seventeen (17.7%) patients were MRSA nasal swab positive on screening, and 22 (22.9%) patients subsequently had significant growth of MRSA on quantitative respiratory culture. The sensitivity of nasal swab was 50.0% and the specificity was 91.9%. Eleven patients had a negative MRSA nasal swab but a positive MRSA pneumonia (11.5%). Patients with inadequate antibiotic coverage had statistically longer hospital length of stay, ICU length of stay, ventilator days, and rates of unplanned intubation compared to patients with adequate antibiotic coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Nasal swab screening was not sensitive enough in a trauma population with a high endemic incidence of MRSA colonization to warrant withholding empiric antibiotic MRSA coverage in patients with suspected pneumonia.

Intercostal Entrapment of Clavicle Fracture Causing a Pulseless, Flaccid Upper Extremity.

Limb-threatening vascular compromise from an isolated closed clavicle fracture is exceedingly rare. We report a case of a posteriorly angulated, closed clavicle fracture segment causing right upper-extremity ischemia, numbness, and paresis caused by entrapment of the clavicle between the first and second ribs.

Inappropriate medication prescriptions in elderly adults surviving an intensive care unit hospitalization.

OBJECTIVES: To determine types of potentially (PIMs) and actually inappropriate medications (AIMs), which PIMs are most likely to be considered AIMs, and risk factors for PIMs and AIMs at hospital discharge in elderly intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary care, academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twenty individuals aged 60 and older who survived an ICU hospitalization. MEASUREMENTS: Potentially inappropriate medications were defined according to published criteria; a multidisciplinary panel adjudicated AIMs. Medications from before admission, ward admission, ICU admission, ICU discharge, and hospital discharge were abstracted. Poisson regression was used to examine independent risk factors for hospital discharge PIMs and AIMs. RESULTS: Of 250 PIMs prescribed at discharge, the most common were opioids (28%), anticholinergics (24%), antidepressants (12%), and drugs causing orthostasis (8%). The three most common AIMs were anticholinergics (37%), nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics (14%), and opioids (12%). Overall, 36% of discharge PIMs were classified as AIMs, but the percentage varied according to drug type. Whereas only 16% of opioids, 23% of antidepressants, and 10% of drugs causing orthostasis were classified as AIMs, 55% of anticholinergics, 71% of atypical antipyschotics, 67% of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics and benzodiazepines, and 100% of muscle relaxants were deemed AIMs. The majority of PIMs and AIMs were first prescribed in the ICU. Preadmission PIMs, discharge to somewhere other than home, and discharge from a surgical service predicted number of discharge PIMs, but none of the factors predicted AIMs at discharge. CONCLUSION: Certain types of PIMs, which are commonly initiated in the ICU, are more frequently considered inappropriate upon clinical review. Efforts to reduce AIMs in elderly ICU survivors should target these specific classes of medications.

Diurnal sedative changes during intensive care: impact on liberation from mechanical ventilation and delirium.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether benzodiazepine and propofol doses are increased at night and whether daytime and nighttime sedative doses are associated with delirium, coma, and delayed liberation from mechanical ventilation. DESIGN: Single-center, prospective cohort study nested within the Awakening and Breathing Controlled randomized trial. SETTING: Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN, from 2004 to 2006. PATIENTS: Adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation for >12 hrs with continuous recording of hourly sedation dosing. INTERVENTIONS: We measured hourly doses of benzodiazepine and propofol exposure during the daytime (7 AM to 11 PM) and nighttime (11 PM to 7 AM) for 5 days. We quantified nighttime dose increases by subtracting the average hourly daytime dose on the preceding day from subsequent average hourly nighttime dose. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine whether daytime and nighttime dose increases were independently associated with delirium, coma, and delayed liberation from mechanical ventilation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 140 patients, the median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 27 (interquartile range 22-33). Among those receiving the sedatives, benzodiazepine and propofol doses were increased at night on 40% and 41% of patient-days, respectively. Of 485 patient-days, delirium was present on 160 (33%) and coma on 206 (42%). In adjusted models, greater daytime benzodiazepine dose was independently associated with failed spontaneous breathing trial and extubation, and subsequent delirium (p<.02 for all). Nighttime increase in benzodiazepine dose was associated with failed spontaneous breathing trial (p<.01) and delirium (p=.05). Daytime propofol dose was marginally associated with subsequent delirium (p=.06). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients received greater doses of sedation at night, a practice associated with failed spontaneous breathing trials, coma, and delirium. Over the first 5 days in our study, patients spent 75% of their time in coma or delirium, outcomes that may be reduced by efforts to decrease sedative exposure during both daytime and nighttime hours in the intensive care unit.

The fatty acid oxidation product 15-A3t-isoprostane is a potent inhibitor of NFκB transcription and macrophage transformation.

Fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) have been shown to be beneficial for neurological function and human health. It is widely thought that oxidation products of EPA are responsible for biological activity, although the specific EPA peroxidation product(s) which exert these responses have not yet been identified. In this work we provide the first evidence that the synthesized representative cyclopentenone IsoP, 15-A(3t)-IsoP, serves as a potent inhibitor of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophage activation. The anti-inflammatory activities of 15-A(3t)-IsoP were observed in response not only to lipopolysaccharide, but also to tumor necrosis factor alpha and IL-1b stimulation. Subsequently, this response blocked the ability of these compounds to stimulate nuclear factor kappa b (NFκB) activation and production of proinflammatory cytokines. The bioactivity of 15-A(3t)-IsoP was shown to be dependent upon an unsaturated carbonyl residue which transiently adducts to free thiols. Site directed mutagenesis of the redox sensitive C179 site of the Ikappa kinase beta subunit, blocked the biological activity of 15-A(3t)-IsoP and NFκB activation. The vasoprotective potential of 15-A(3t)-IsoP was underscored by the ability of this compound to block oxidized lipid accumulation, a critical step in foam cell transformation and atherosclerotic plaque formation. Taken together, these are the first data identifying the biological activity of a specific product of EPA peroxidation, which is formed in abundance in vivo. The clear mechanism linking 15-A(3t)-IsoP to redox control of NFκB transcription, and the compound's ability to block foam cell transformation suggest that 15-A(3t)-IsoP provides a unique and potent tool to provide vaso- and cytoprotection under conditions of oxidative stress.