Development of a strategy for assessing blood-brain barrier disruption using serum S100 calcium-binding protein B and neuron-specific enolase in early stage of neuroemergencies: A preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Rapid disease progression in neuroemergencies is associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. We investigated a less invasive strategy for assessing BBB status by evaluating S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) at early stages of the hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) cascade. METHODS: This retrospective study used prospectively collected data from patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (August 2019-July 2021). Albumin specimens obtained from serum and cerebrospinal fluid via arterial catheter and lumbar puncture were used to measure the albumin quotient (Qa), which is widely accepted as the gold standard method for detecting BBB disruption. Serum S100B and NSE levels were measured simultaneously following the return of spontaneous circulation. We conducted linear regression to evaluate the relationship between S100B and Qa and the predictive performance of S100B for abnormal Qa. The primary study outcome was abnormal Qa (>0.007). RESULTS: Forty-one patients were enrolled; 30 showed an abnormal Qa suggestive of BBB disruption. S100B levels were significantly higher than in those with a normal Qa (0.244 µg/L [interquartile range [IQR], 0.146-0.823 vs 0.754 µg/L [IQR, 0.317-2.228], P = .03). We report a positive correlation between serum S100B and Qa (R2 = 0.110; P = .04). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) evaluating the predictive performance of S100B with respect to abnormal Qa was 0.718 (95% confidence interval, 0.556-0.847). The cutoff value for S100B (with respect to BBB disruption) in the total cohort was 0.283 µg/L (sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 72.7%). Subgroup analyses in patients with serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels of <40.8 ng/mL (excluding those with established neuronal cell injury) showed an improved correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.382; P < .01) and predictive performance (AUROC, 0.836 [95% confidence interval, 0.629-0.954]) compared with the total cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Serum S100B obtained at an early stage of the HIBI cascade is associated with abnormal Qa, suggesting BBB disruption. The predictive performance of S100B and the correlation between serum S100B and Qa can be improved using a complementary strategy (i.e., evaluations of S100B and NSE levels) that combines considerations of cell damage in astrocytes and neurons.

Blood-brain barrier disruption as a cause of various serum neuron-specific enolase cut-off values for neurological prognosis in cardiac arrest patients.

We compared the cut-off and prognostic value of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) between groups with and without severe blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption to reveal that a cause of various serum NSE cut-off value for neurological prognosis is severe BBB disruption in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients underwent target temperature management (TTM). This was a prospective, single-centre study conducted from January 2019 to June 2021. Severe BBB disruption was indicated using cerebrospinal fluid-serum albumin quotient values > 0.02. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of serum NSE obtained on day 3 of hospitalisation to predict poor outcomes was used. In patients with poor neurologic outcomes, serum NSE in those with severe BBB disruption was higher than in those without (P = 0.006). A serum NSE cut-off value of 40.4 µg/L for poor outcomes in patients without severe BBB disruption had a sensitivity of 41.7% and a specificity of 96.0%, whereas a cut-off value of 34.6 µg/L in those with severe BBB disruption had a sensitivity of 86.4% and a specificity of 100.0%. We demonstrated that the cut-off and prognostic value of serum NSE were heterogeneous, depending on severe BBB disruption in OHCA patients treated with TTM.

Relationships between serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase and neurological outcomes of patients who underwent targeted temperature management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate times for measuring serum lactate dehydrogenase levels (SLLs) to predict neurological prognosis among out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors.This retrospective study examined patients who experienced OHCA treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). The SLLs were evaluated at the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and at 24, 48, and 72 hours later. Neurological outcomes after 3 months were evaluated for relationships with the SLL measurement times.A total of 95 comatose patients with OHCA were treated using TTM. Seventy three patients were considered eligible, including 31 patients (42%) who experienced good neurological outcomes. There were significant differences between the good and poor outcome groups at most time points (P < .001), except for ROSC (P = .06). The ROSC measurement had a lower area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC: 0.631, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.502-0.761) than at 48 hours (AUC: 0.830, 95% CI: 0.736-0.924), at 24 hours (AUC: 0.786, 95% CI: 0.681-0.892), and at 72 hours (AUC: 0.821, 95% CI: 0.724-0.919).A higher SLL seemingly predicted poor neurological outcomes, with good prognostic values at 48 hours and 72 hours. Prospective studies should be conducted to confirm these results.

The Association Between Neurological Prognosis and the Degree of Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption in Cardiac Arrest Survivors Who Underwent Target Temperature Management.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare day-specific associations of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption with neurological outcome in survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) treated with target temperature management (TTM) and lumbar drainage. METHODS: This retrospective single-center study included 68 survivors of OHCA who underwent TTM between April 2018 and December 2019. The albumin quotient (QA) was calculated as QA = albumincerebrospinal fluid/albuminserum immediately (day 1) and 24 (day 2), 48 (day 3), and 72 h (day 4) after the return of spontaneous circulation. The degree of BBB disruption was weighted using the following scoring system: QA value of 0.007 or less (normal), QA value greater than 0.007-0.01 (mild), QA value greater than 0.01-0.02 (moderate), and QA value greater than 0.02 (severe). Points were assigned as follows: 0 (normal), 1 (mild), 4 (moderate), and 9 (severe). Neurological outcome was determined at 6 months after the return of spontaneous circulation, as well as cerebral performance category (CPC), dichotomized as good (CPC score 1-2) and poor (CPC score 3-5) outcome. RESULTS: We enrolled 68 patients (48 men, 71%); 37 (54%) patients had a poor neurological outcome. The distributions of poor versus good outcomes at 6 months in patients with moderate and severe BBB disruption were 19 of 22 (80%) vs. 18 of 46 (50%) on day 1, 31 of 37 (79%) vs. 6 of 31 (32%) on day 2, 32 of 37 (81%) vs. 5 of 31 (30%) on day 3, and 32 of 39 (85%) vs. 5 of 29 (30%) on day 4 (P < 0.001), respectively. Using receiver operating characteristic analyses, optimal cutoff values (sensitivity, specificity) of QA levels for the prediction of neurological outcome were as follows: day 1, greater than 0.009 (56.8%, 87.1%); day 2, greater than 0.012 (81.1%, 87.1%); day 3, greater than 0.013 (83.8%, 87.1%); day 4, greater than 0.013 (86.5%, 87.1%); the sum of all time points, greater than 0.039 (89.5%, 79.4%); and scoring system, greater than 9 (91.9%, 87.1%). CONCLUSIONS: In this proof of concept study, QA was associated with poor neurological outcome in survivors of OHCA treated with TTM with no contraindication to lumbar drainage. A large multicenter prospective study is needed to validate the utility of BBB disruption as a prognosticator of neurological outcome.

Using Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) and Cardiac Arrest Hospital Prognosis (CAHP) Scores with Modified Objective Data to Improve Neurological Prognostic Performance for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survivors.

This study aimed to determine whether accuracy and sensitivity concerning neurological prognostic performance increased for survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) treated with targeted temperature management (TTM), using OHCA and cardiac arrest hospital prognosis (CAHP) scores and modified objective variables. We retrospectively analyzed non-traumatic OHCA survivors treated with TTM. The primary outcome was poor neurological outcome at 3 months after return of spontaneous circulation (cerebral performance category, 3-5). We compared neurological prognostic performance using existing models after adding objective data obtained before TTM from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and biomarkers to replace the no-flow time component of the OHCA and CAHP models. Among 106 patients, 61 (57.5%) had poor neurologic outcomes. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for the OHCA and CAHP models was 0.89 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81-0.94) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.82-0.95), respectively. The prediction of poor neurological outcome improved after replacing no-flow time with a grey/white matter ratio measured using CT, high-signal intensity (HSI) on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), percentage of voxel using apparent diffusion coefficient value, and serum neuron-specific enolase levels. When replaced with HSI on DWI, the AUROC and sensitivity of the OHCA and CAHP models were 0.96 and 74.5% and 0.97 and 83.8%, respectively (100% specificity). Prognoses concerning neurologic outcomes improved compared with existing OHCA and CAHP models by adding new objective variables to replace no-flow time. External validation is required to generalize these results in various contexts.

Negative pressure wound therapy for skin necrosis prevention after snakebite in the emergency department: A retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT: This retrospective cohort study aimed to compare the effectiveness of conventional treatment and ultra-early application of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in patients with snakebites.Patients who visited the emergency department within 24 hours after a snakebite were assigned to the non- NPWT or NPWT group. Swelling resolution time and rates of necrosis, infection, and operations were compared between the 2 groups. The Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale was used to measure short- and long-term wound healing results.Among the included 61 patients, the swelling resolution time was significantly shorter in the NPWT group than in non- NPWT group (P = .010). The NPWT group showed lower necrosis (4.3% versus 36.8%; P = .003) and infection (13.2% and 4.3%; P = .258) rates than the non- NPWT group. The median Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale scores were higher in the NPWT group than in the non- NPWT group (P< .001).These findings suggest that ultra-early application of NPWT reduces edema, promotes wound healing, and prevents necrosis in patients with snakebites.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Lactate Levels, Brain Lactate Metabolism and Neurologic Outcome in Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum lactate levels were assessed to predict poor neurologic outcome 3 months after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). We compared arterio-CSF differences in the lactate (ACDL) levels between two neurologic outcome groups. METHODS: This retrospective observational study involved out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors who had undergone target temperature management. CSF and serum samples were obtained immediately (lactate0), and at 24 (lactate24), 48 (lactate48), and 72 (lactate72) h after ROSC, and ACDL was calculated at each time point. The primary outcome was poor 3-month neurologic outcome (cerebral performance categories 3-5). RESULTS: Of 45 patients, 27 (60.0%) showed poor neurologic outcome. At each time point, CSF lactate levels were significantly higher in the poor neurologic outcome group than in the good neurologic outcome group (6.97 vs. 3.37, 4.20 vs. 2.10, 3.50 vs. 2.00, and 2.79 vs. 2.06, respectively; all P < 0.05). CSF lactate's prognostic performance was higher than serum lactate at each time point, and lactate24 showed the highest AUC values (0.89, 95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.97). Over time, ACDL decreased from - 1.30 (- 2.70-0.77) to - 1.70 (- 3.2 to - 0.57) in the poor neurologic outcome group and increased from - 1.22 (- 2.42-0.32) to - 0.64 (- 2.31-0.15) in the good neurologic outcome group. CONCLUSIONS: At each time point, CSF lactate showed better prognostic performance than serum lactate. CSF lactate24 showed the highest prognostic performance for 3-month poor neurologic outcome. Over time, ACDL decreased in the poor neurologic outcome group and increased in the good neurologic outcome group.

The cut-off value of a qualitative brain diffusion-weighted image (DWI) scoring system to predict poor neurologic outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients after target temperature management.

AIM: We presented the cut-off value of a diffusion-weighted image (DWI) scoring system to predict poor neurologic outcome using DWI taken 72-96 h after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients underwent target temperature management (TTM). METHODS: This was a prospective single-centre observational study, conducted from March 2018 to April 2020 in OHCA patients after TTM. Neurological status was assessed 6 months after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) using the Glasgow-Pittsburgh cerebral performance categories (CPC) scale. CPC of 1-2 demonstrated good neurologic outcomes whilst a CPC of 3-5 was related to poor neurologic outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic curves and DeLong method were used to evaluate the cut-off value of the DWI scoring system to predict poor neurologic outcome. RESULTS: The good and poor neurologic outcome groups consisted of 38 (54.3%) and 32 (45.7%) patients, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the overall, cortex, deep grey nuclei, and cortex plus deep grey nuclei scores, white matter, brainstem, and cerebellum measured 72-96 h after ROSC were 0.96, 0.96, 0.97, 0.96, 0.95, 0.95, and 0.93 respectively. For 100.0% specificity to predict poor neurologic outcome, the overall scores of the DWI scoring system measured 72-96 h after ROSC with a cut-off value of 52 had a sensitivity of 81.3% (95% CI: 63.6-92.8). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the DWI scoring systems measured between 72 and 96 h after ROSC were valuable tools to predict poor neurologic outcome in post-OHCA patients treated with TTM.

Impact of low and high partial pressure of carbon dioxide on neuron-specific enolase derived from serum and cerebrospinal fluid in patients who underwent targeted temperature management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A retrospective study.

AIM: In a previous study, low and high-normal arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) were not associated with serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in cardiac arrest survivors. We assessed the effect of PaCO2 on NSE in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum. METHODS: This was a retrospective study. PaCO2 for the first 24 h was analysed in four means, qualitative exposure state (qES), time-weighted average (TWA), median, and minimum-maximum (Min-Max). These subgroups were divided into low (LCO2) and high PaCO2 (HCO2) groups defined as PaCO2 ≤ 35.3 and PaCO2 > 43.5 mmHg, respectively. NSE was measured at 24, 48, and 72 h (sNSE24,48,72 and cNSE24,48,72) from return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The primary outcome was the association between PaCO2 and the NSE measured at 24 h after ROSC. RESULTS: Forty-two subjects (male, 33; 78.6%) were included in total cohort. PaCO2 in TWA subgroup was associated with cNSE24,48,72, while PaCO2 in the other subgroup were only associated with cNSE24. PaCO2 and cNSE in qES subgroup showed good correlation (r = -0.61; p < 0.01), and in TWA, median, and Min-Max subgroup showed moderate correlations (r = -0.57, r = -0.48, and r = -0.60; p < 0.01). Contrastively, sNSE was not associated and correlated with PaCO2 in all analysis. Poor neurological outcome in LCO2 was significantly higher than HCO2 in qES, TWA, and median subgroups (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Association was found between NSE and PaCO2 using CSF, despite including normocapnic ranges; TWA of PaCO2 may be most strongly associated with CSF NSE levels. A prospective, multi-centre study is required to confirm our results.

The value of cerebrospinal fluid ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 protein as a prognostic predictor of neurologic outcome in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management.

AIM: We evaluated the prognostic value of serum- and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal esterase L1 protein (UCHL1) measurements in post- post-out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients treated with target temperature management (TTM), to predict neurologic outcome. METHODS: This was a prospective single-centre observational cohort study, conducted from April 2018 to September 2019. Serum- and CSF-UCHL1 were obtained immediately (UCHL1initial), 24 h (UCHL124), 48 h (UCHL148), and 72 h (UCHL172) after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) and Delong method were used to identify cut-off values of serum- and CSF-UCHL1initial, UCHL124, UCHL148, UCHL172 for predicting neurologic outcomes. RESULTS: Of 38 patients enrolled, 16 comprised the poor outcome group. The AUROCs for serum- and CSF-UCHL1initial were 0.71 and 0.93 in predicting poor neurological outcomes, respectively (p = 0.01). The AUROCs for serum- and CSF-UCHL124 were 0.85 and 0.91 (p = 0.24). The AUROCs for serum- and CSF-UCHL148 were 0.90 and 0.97 (p = 0.07). The AUROCs for serum- and CSF-UCHL172 were 0.94 and 0.98 (p = 0.25). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study demonstrate that CSF-UCHL1 measured immediately, 24, 48, and 72 h after ROSC is a valuable predictor for evaluating neurologic outcomes, whereas serum-UCHL1 measured at 24, 48, and 72 h after ROSC showed a significant performance in the prognostication of poor outcomes in post-OHCA patients treated with TTM.

Cerebrospinal fluid lactate dehydrogenase as a potential predictor of neurologic outcomes in cardiac arrest survivors who underwent target temperature management.

PURPOSE: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels increase in patients with brain injury. We investigated neurologic outcomes associated with CSF LDH levels in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors who underwent target temperature management (TTM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective single-centre observational study from April 2018 to May 2019 on a cohort of 41 patients. CSF and serum LDH samples were obtained immediately (LDH0) and at 24 (LDH24), 48 (LDH48), and 72 h (LDH72) after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Neurologic outcomes were assessed at 3 months after ROSC using the Cerebral Performance Category scale. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients had a poor neurologic outcome. CSF LDH levels were significantly higher in the poor neurologic outcome group at each time point. The area under the curve (AUC) of CSF LDH48 was 0.941 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.806-0.992). With a cut off value of 250 U/L, CSF LDH48 had a high sensitivity (94.1%; 95% CI, 71.3-99.9) at 100% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: CSF LDH level at 48 h was a highly specific and sensitive marker for 3-month poor neurologic outcome. This may constitute a useful predictive marker for neurologic outcome in OHCA survivors treated with TTM.

Changes in peak inspiratory flow rate and peak airway pressure with endotracheal tube size during chest compression.

BACKGROUND: Adequate airway management plays an important role in high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Airway management is usually performed using an endotracheal tube (ETT) during CPR. However, no study has assessed the effect of ETT size on the flow rate and airway pressure during CPR. METHODS: We measured changes in peak inspiratory flow rate (PIFR), peak airway pressure (Ppeak), and mean airway pressure (Pmean) according to changes in ETT size (internal diameter 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0 mm) and with or without CPR. A tidal volume of 500 mL was supplied at a rate of 10 times per minute using a mechanical ventilator. Chest compressions were maintained at a constant compression depth and speed using a mechanical chest compression device (LUCAS2, mode: active continuous, chest compression rate: 102±2/minute, chest compression depth 2-2.5 inches). RESULTS: The median of several respiratory physiological parameters during CPR was significantly different according to the diameter of each ETT (6.0 vs. 8.0 mm): PIFR (32.1 L/min [30.5-35.3] vs. 28.9 L/min [27.5-30.8], P<0.001), Ppeak (48.84 cmH2O [27.46-52.11] vs. 27.45 cmH2O [22.53-52.57], P<0.001), and Pmean (18.34 cmH2O [14.61-21.66] vs.13.66 cmH2O [8.41-19.24], P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The changes in PIFR, Ppeak, and Pmean were related to the internal diameter of ETT, and these values tended to decrease with an increase in ETT size. Higher airway pressures were measured in the CPR group than in the no CPR group.

Liver Donation After Brain Death Following Intentional Ingestion of 99% E-Cigarette Liquid Nicotine 10 mL.

Incidences of brain death due to nicotine overdose by e-cigarettes have been increasing. In such cases, liver donation has been not reported because of the secondary damage to the liver due to metabolism of large amounts of nicotine. However, kidneys have been considered acceptable for transplant. Here, we present a successful case of liver transplant from a brain-dead donor due to intentional nicotine ingestion who did not have extensive steatosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of such a case.

The usefulness of neuron-specific enolase in cerebrospinal fluid to predict neurological prognosis in cardiac arrest survivors who underwent target temperature management: A prospective observational study.

AIM: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neuron-specific enolase (NSE) levels increase ahead of serum NSE levels in patients with severe brain injury. We examined the prognostic performance between CSF NSE and serum NSE levels in out-of-cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors who had undergone target temperature management (TTM). METHODS: This single-centre prospective observational study included OHCA patients who had undergone TTM. NSE levels were assessed in blood and CSF samples obtained immediately (Day 0), and at 24 h (Day 1), 48 h (Day 2), and 72 h (Day 3) after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The primary outcome was the 6-month neurological outcome. RESULTS: We enrolled 34 patients (males, 24; 70.6%), and 16 (47.1%) had a poor neurologic outcome. CSF NSE and serum NSE values were significantly higher in the poor outcome group compared to the good outcome group at each time point, except for serum Day 0. CSF NSE and serum NSE had an area under curve (AUC) of 0.819-0.972 and 0.648-0.920, respectively. CSF NSE prognostic performances were significantly higher than serum NSE levels at Day 1 and showed excellent AUC values (0.969; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.844-0.999) and high sensitivity (93.8%; 95% CI 69.8-99.8) at 100% specificity. CONCLUSION: We found CSF NSE values were highly predictive and sensitive markers of 6-month poor neurological outcome in OHCA survivors treated with TTM at Day 1 after ROSC. Therefore, CSF NSE levels at day 1 after ROSC can be a useful early prognosticator in OHCA survivors.

Relationship between optic nerve sheath diameter measured by magnetic resonance imaging, intracranial pressure, and neurological outcome in cardiac arrest survivors who underwent targeted temperature management.

AIM: Studies on the prognostic performance of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors (OHCA) have reported conflicting results. We aimed to investigate the usefulness of ONSD measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to estimate its association with intracranial pressure (ICP) and 6-month neurological outcomes in CA survivors treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). METHOD: This retrospective study included 37 CA survivors who underwent TTM from January 2018 to December 2018. ICP was measured by lumbar catheter during TTM on Days 0, 1, 2, and 3. ONSD was measured using MRI on Days 0 and 3. The primary outcome was the correlation between ONSD and ICP associated with neurological outcomes obtained after 6 months. RESULTS: The median (interquartile range [IQR]) ONSD was not significantly different between the good and poor neurological outcome group on Day 0 (5.2 mm [4.8-5.8] vs 5.2 mm [4.8-5.6]; p = 0.948) and Day 3 (5.0 mm [4.8-5.2] vs 5.5 mm [4.4-5.9]; p = 0.105). ONSD and ICP had excellent correlation on Day 3 (r = 0.90, p < 0.001). ONSD showed excellent correlation with increased ICP (IICP) defined as ICP above 20 mmHg (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). ONSD cut-off of 5.99 mm was used with a sensitivity of 90.0% and specificity of 98.0% to identify IICP. CONCLUSION: The ONSD on Days 0 or 3 did not show differences in neurological outcomes in OHCA patients treated with TTM. However, ONSD had an excellent correlation with ICP on Day 3 and with IICP. Further studies are required to confirm our results.

Optimal timing to measure optic nerve sheath diameter as a prognostic predictor in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management.

AIM: We evaluated the optimal timing of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurement to predict neurologic outcome in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with target temperature management (TTM). METHODS: This was a prospective single-centre observational study from April 2018 to March 2019. Good outcome was defined as the Glasgow-Pittsburgh cerebral performance categories (CPC) 1 or 2, and poor outcome as a CPC between 3 and 5. ONSD was measured initially after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (ONSDinitial), at 24 h (ONSD24), 48 h (ONSD48), and 72 h (ONSD72) using ultrasonography. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and DeLong method were used to compare the values for predicting neurologic outcomes. RESULTS: Out of the 36 patients enrolled, 18 had a good outcome. ONSD24, ONSD48, and ONSD72 were higher in the poor outcome group. The area under ROC curve of ONSD24 was 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.77-0.98) in predicting poor neurologic outcomes. With a cut off value of 4.90 mm, ONSD24 had a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 94.4% in predicting poor neurologic outcomes. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate ONSD24 as a valuable tool to predict the neurologic outcome in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM. Therefore, we recommend performing ONSD measurement using ultrasonography at 24 h after ROSC, rather than immediately after ROSC, to predict neurologic outcome in post-cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM.

Study on the timing of severe blood-brain barrier disruption using cerebrospinal fluid-serum albumin quotient in post cardiac arrest patients treated with targeted temperature management.

AIM: We aimed to evaluate the onset of severe blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption using cerebrospinal fluid/serum albumin quotient (Qa) in cardiac arrest patients treated with target temperature management (TTM). METHODS: This was a prospective single-centre observational cohort study from October 2017 to September 2018 with the primary endpoint being the onset of severe BBB disruption, determined based on Qa in cardiac arrest patients treated with TTM. Enrolled patients were grouped according to neurologically good and poor outcomes using the cerebral performance category (CPC) at 3 months after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Severe BBB disruption was evaluated using Qa measured immediately (Qa0) and at 24 h (Qa24), 48 h (Qa48), 72 h (Qa72) after ROSC. RESULTS: Of 21 patients enrolled, poor outcome group had 10 patients. Qa0 was 0.019 (0.008∼0.024) in the poor outcome group and 0.006 (0.003∼0.008) in the good outcome group (p = 0.09). Qa24 was 0.045 (0.025∼0.115) in the poor outcome group and 0.006 (0.003∼0.006) in the good outcome group (p = 0.03). Qa48 was 0.055 (0.023∼0.276) in the poor outcome group and 0.006 (0.006∼0.009) in the good outcome group (p = 0.02). Qa72 was 0.047 (0.026∼0.431) in the poor outcome group and 0.007 (0.005∼0.011) in the good outcome group (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Qa was significantly higher in the poor outcome group at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. Severe BBB disruption indicated by Qa ≥ 0.02 in poor outcome group treated with TTM occurred within the first 24 h after ROSC.

Relationship between time related serum albumin concentration, optic nerve sheath diameter, cerebrospinal fluid pressure, and neurological prognosis in cardiac arrest survivors.

AIM: The optimal time to measure serum albumin concentration (SAC) to predict prognosis in cardiac arrest (CA) survivors has not been elucidated. We aimed to compare the relationships between time-related SAC, optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), intracranial pressure (ICP), and neurological prognosis in CA survivors. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective study examining CA patients treated with target temperature management (TTM). ICP was measured using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and ONSD was obtained before TTM. SAC was measured repeatedly at 4-6 h intervals from the hospital arrival time. We analysed CSF pressure, ONSD, and minimum SAC (MSAC) separately, or in combination, to predict poor neurological outcome. RESULTS: Of 83 patients enrolled, the good outcome group comprised 25 (34%) patients. MSAC at 24 h (MSAC24) had a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) (0.687; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.668-0.926) than other time points. CSF pressure showed a higher AUC (0.973; 95% CI, 0.911-0.996) than MSAC24 and ONSD (0.677; 95% CI, 0.565-0.776). In contrast to using MSAC24 and ONSD separately, the combination of both modalities resulted in a better AUC, thus improving the prediction of the neurological outcome (0.734; 95% CI, 0.626-0.825) and ICP (0.758; 95% CI, 0.651-0.845) after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) from CA. CONCLUSION: A higher ICP was strongly associated with and seemed predictive of poor outcome. Furthermore, the MSAC24/ONSD combination may be a useful predictor of high ICP and poor neurological outcome. Prospective studies should be conducted to confirm these results.

Comparison of right and left ventricular enhancement times using a microbubble contrast agent between proximal humeral intraosseous access and brachial intravenous access during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adults.

AIM: The present study aimed to compare the ventricular enhancement time between humeral intraosseous access (HIO) and brachial intravenous access (BIV) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in adult humans. To our knowledge, this is the first such study during CPR in adult humans. METHODS: This prospective single-centre observational cohort study assessed the medical records of patients who underwent CPR between January 2018 and March 2018. The primary endpoints were the left and right ventricular enhancement (LVE and RVE, respectively) times after administration of a microbubble contrast agent via HIO or BIV. Continuous variables are reported as means and standard deviations depending on normal distribution, while categorical variables are reported as frequencies and percentages. The paired t-test and analysis of variance were used to compare HIO and BIV. Differences were considered significant at a P-value <0.05. RESULTS: The study included 10 patients. The HIO time (15.60 ±â€¯6.45 s) was significantly lower than the BIV time (20.80 ±â€¯7.05 s; P = 0.009). The RVE time was significantly lower with HIO (5.60 ±â€¯1.71 s) than with BIV (15.40 ±â€¯3.24 s; P < 0.001). Additionally, the LVE time was significantly lower with HIO (120.20 ±â€¯4.18 s) than with BIV (132.00 ±â€¯3.09 s; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that the arrival times of a drug at the right and left ventricles are significantly lower with HIO than with BIV in an adult cardiac arrest model.