Experience of Sustained Low-Efficiency Dialysis (SLED) in an Intensive Care Unit of a Quaternary Care Hospital.

BACKGROUND: In critically ill patients, sustained low-efficiency dialysis (SLED) has become a viable option for treating acute kidney injury (AKI) instead of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). This study aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes in critically ill patients receiving SLED. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In our ICU, we performed a retrospective cohort study on hemodynamically unstable patients requiring dialysis in the form of SLED. Demographics, clinical, and biochemical variables were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 58 patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age was 48.58 ± 15 with a male-to-female ratio of 3:1. Higher APACHE II score, high international normalized ratio, thrombocytopenia, and septic shock were found to be poor prognostic markers, with an overall observed mortality of 56.9%. CONCLUSION: SLED can be considered as an alternative to CCRT for selected hemodynamically unstable patients requiring renal replacement therapy.

Patient and Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit of a Quaternary Care Center.

Patient and family satisfaction is an indicator of quality assessment of care provided in the intensive care unit (ICU) ensuring that the quality of services provided meets not only the patients' but also their families' needs. Investigating how different variables affect their satisfaction ratings is important. We assessed patient and family satisfaction in a quaternary care center in Pakistan. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional survey of adult patients and families treated between December 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023 in the ICU at Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Center (PKLI-RC), Lahore, Pakistan. We used family satisfaction in ICU 24 (FS-ICU 24) to measure satisfaction in a number of domains on a scale of 1-5 (1 = Very Dissatisfied, 5 = Fully Satisfied). RESULTS: Of the 330 patients admitted to ICU during the study period, all patients and/or one of their family members (100%) participated in the study. Out of these, 209 (63%) were male. The mean age was 42 ± 15 years, and the overall mean patient and family satisfaction scores were 4.69 ± 0.69 and 4.55 ± 0.52, respectively. The mean score in all domains was > 4, with the exception of pain management in which it was 3.98 ± 0.53. CONCLUSION: Patients and their families' satisfaction is an important measure of ICU quality. Not only the patients and their families were satisfied with our ICU quality of care but they also appreciated involvement in the decision-making process and quality assessment. There is a need for further research for improvement in the pain domain.

Use of Oral N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) in Non-Acetaminophen-Induced Acute Hepatic Failure.

BACKGROUND: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a syndrome rather than a specific disease with several possible causes, and viral hepatitis is a major cause. The objective of the study was to assess the benefit of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in non-acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure (NAI-ALF). METHODS: A total of six patients with a diagnosis of acute liver failure (ALF) were included in the study. All six patients received oral NAC for 72 hrs. The parameters evaluated were demographic, clinical, biochemical, outcome, and length of ICU and hospital stay. The primary outcome was a reduction in mortality with the use of NAC in NAI-ALF. The secondary outcomes were to evaluate the safety of NAC and assess factors predicting mortality. RESULTS: All patients improved and returned to normal or near-normal liver function with the use of NAC. No side effects were noted, and the use of NAC was associated with a shorter hospital stay. CONCLUSION: In patients with non-acetaminophen-related acute liver failure, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) significantly improves overall survival and also decreases the length of hospital stay.

Chest Tube Insertion Among Surgical and Nonsurgical Trainees: How Skilled Are Our Residents?

BACKGROUND: Competency-based medical education has renewed focus on the attainment and evaluation of resident skill. Proper evaluation is crucial to inform educational interventions and identify residents in need of increased training and supervision. Currently, there is a paucity of studies rigorously evaluating resident chest tube insertion skill. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Residents of all training levels before their intensive care unit rotation or currently rotating through the intensive care unit were invited to participate. Trainees inserted a thoracostomy tube on a high-fidelity simulator. Their performances were recorded and scored by blinded raters using the validated TUBE-iCOMPT rubric. Surgical and nonsurgical residents were compared. RESULTS: Forty-nine residents participated; 30 from nonsurgical and 19 from surgical training programs. Overall, trainees were most deficient in the "preprocedural checks" and "patient positioning and local anesthetic" domains. Surgical trainees demonstrated higher chest tube insertion skill than their nonsurgical peers (median total score 88 [interquartile range, 74-90] versus 75 [interquartile range, 66-85], respectively, P = 0.01), particularly in the "patient positioning" and "blunt dissection" domains (P = 0.01 and P = 0.03, respectively). These differences were no longer significant when controlled for experience and Advanced Trauma Life Support certification. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, surgical residents were more skilled than nonsurgical residents in tube thoracostomy placement. Relative skill deficits within the domains of chest tube insertion have also been identified among residents of different specialties. These areas can be targeted with educational interventions to improve resident performance, and ultimately, patient safety.

Comparison of Inoue balloon, metallic commissurotome and multi-track double-balloon valvuloplasty in the treatment of rheumatic mitral stenosis.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) is a well known non-surgical technique for treating patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS). There are very few studies that have compared the 3 techniques together for their safety and efficacy. METHODS: To compare the three different techniques for percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) using Inoue balloon (IB), metallic commissurotome (PMMC), or multi-track double balloon (MTDB) in patients with MS. RESULTS: A total of 486 patients were subjected to PMV using any of the 3 techniques, IB, PMMC or MTDB. The overall success rate was 97.3% (n = 473); 95.7% for IB, 97.6% for PMMC, and 98.3% for MTDB. Overall, the transmitral gradient decreased from 20.7 +/- 7.2 mmHg to 6.5 +/- 3.7 mmHg (p < 0.001) and mitral valve area (MVA) increased from 0.87 +/- 0.2 cm(2) to 1.9 +/- 0.4 cm(2) (p < 0.001). Left atrial pressure decreased from 29.3 +/- 8.4 mmHg to 16.1 +/- 11.5 mmHg (p < 0.001) and pulmonary arterial pressure decreased from 76.9 +/- 41.8 mmHg to 45.2 +/- 17.6 mmHg (p < 0.001). Thirteen patients (2.7%) required mitral valve replacement (MVR) for severe mitral regurgitation (MR) while one patient (0.2%) developed cardiac tamponade requiring urgent pericardiocentesis followed by surgical repair of the tear and open mitral valvotomy. There was no statistical difference among the 3 techniques used. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty is an effective procedure for MS with any of the three above techniques.

Short- and intermediate-term follow-up results of percutaneous transluminal balloon valvuloplasty in adolescents and young adults with congenital pulmonary valve stenosis.

Percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty (PBV) is a well-established treatment alternative to surgery in many cardiology centers. We described our experience with PBV in 25 adolescent and young adult patients with isolated pulmonary valve stenosis (PVS). Among 20 successful PBVs, there was a significant immediate decrease in right ventricular systolic pressure from 116.9 32.4 mmHg to 60.5 18.7 mmHg (p < 0.0001) and a decrease in transpulmonary valve pressure gradient from 93.5 32.8 mmHg to 33.5 9.7 mmHg (p < 0.0001) was noted. The follow-up period was 1-5 years (mean = 3.2 1.2 years), during which patients were periodically assessed by Doppler echocardiogram. During follow-up, the transpulmonary valve pressure gradient further decreased from 33.5 9.7 mmHg to 18.6 3.4 mmHg (p < 0.0001) mainly due to regression of infundibular hypertrophy. Thus, the study showed excellent short-term and intermediate-term results of PBV.