The management of the poisoned patient using a novel emergency department-based resuscitation and critical care unit (ResCCU).

OBJECTIVES: The Resuscitation & Critical Care Unit (ResCCU) is a novel ED-based ICU designed to provide early critical care services. This study sought to identify characteristics of poisoned patients treated in the ResCCU. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, single-center case study of poisoned patients over the age of 18 years old over a 16-month period. Patient demographics, drug concentrations, and severity of illness scores were extracted from electronic medical records. Patients were divided into two groups, those who required short term ICU level care (< 24 h) and prolonged ICU care (> 24 h). RESULTS: A total of 58 ED visits with a tox-related illness were analyzed. There were 24 women (41%) and 34 men (59%). There were 42 patients (72%) who required short term ICU level care and 16 patients (28%) who required prolonged ICU care. In the short-term ICU group, 13 patients (31%) were discharged home directly from the ResCCU, 29 patients (69%) were sent to the inpatient floor, and 1 of the admitted floor patients expired. There were no patients admitted to the floor that required a step-up to the inpatient ICU. 56 patients (97%) were alive at post-admit day 7 and 28, and only 8 (14%) were re-admitted within 30 days. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who were treated in the ED-based ICU for toxicology-related illnesses were frequently able to be either discharged home or admitted to a regular floor after their initial stabilization and treatment, and none that were sent to the floor required an ICU step-up.

Severe Methemoglobinemia and Death From Intentional Sodium Nitrite Ingestions.

BACKGROUND: Sodium nitrite is known to induce methemoglobinemia and hypotension when ingested, but reports of intentional ingestion remain rare. CASE SERIES: We report five cases of severe methemoglobinemia secondary to large sodium nitrite ingestion that were reported to and managed by the California Poison Control System in 2019, resulting in three fatalities. The estimated doses ingested ranged from 15 grams to 113 grams, with one patient surviving after an ingestion of 60 grams. The highest documented methemoglobin level was 73%. The 2 patients who survived received methylene blue early in their clinical course. One patient required higher doses of methylene blue compared with other cases of nitrite-associated methemoglobinemia. In the patients who survived, all symptoms resolved within 24 h. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: These cases highlight the severe toxicity associated with intentional large sodium nitrite ingestion. In management, consideration should be given to administering higher initial or more frequent doses of methylene blue compared with standard practice. Given that sodium nitrite is readily accessible through online vendors, and is being circulated through various suicide forums, it has the potential to be more commonly encountered in the emergency department.

Serum iron concentrations in non-iron induced acute liver injury.

Acute liver injury (ALI) is seen in conjunction with elevated iron concentrations in the setting of acute iron toxicity. However, occult or delayed presentations of iron toxicity can be difficult to identify clinically and there is limited data describing iron concentrations in ALI without a confirmed history of iron overdose. This was a single center observational before-and-after study of adult patients who developed acute liver injury during hospitalization. Patients with a serum ALT > 500 U/L were identified by a daily hospital laboratory report and met inclusion if the ALT< 80 U/L at the time of admission, no history of overdose (iron, acetaminophen, or other ingestion), and no underlying liver disease. Serum AST, iron, and ferritin concentrations were obtained from blood samples at the time of admission and at peak serum ALT. Ten patients met inclusion criteria. The median age was 69 years old and 60% were male. There was a significant difference in serum AST (p = 0.005), serum ALT (p = 0.005), and ferritin (p = 0.005) before and after development of ALI. Serum iron concentrations were not clinically or significantly different (median: 23 mcg/dL vs 27 mcg/dL, p = 0.8). In this cohort of patients with non-iron induced acute liver injury, serum iron concentrations did not significantly change with the observed rise in aminotransferases. These data help to further characterize patterns of serum iron concentrations in patients with ALI.

Return Encounters in Emergency Department Patients Treated with Phenobarbital Versus Benzodiazepines for Alcohol Withdrawal.

INTRODUCTION: Phenobarbital has been successfully used in the emergency department (ED) to manage symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, but few studies have reported outcomes for ED patients who receive phenobarbital and are discharged. We compared return encounter rates in discharged ED patients with alcohol withdrawal who were treated with benzodiazepines and phenobarbital. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at a single academic medical center utilizing chart review of discharged ED patients with alcohol withdrawal from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2019. Patients were stratified according to ED management with benzodiazepines, phenobarbital, or a combination of both agents. The primary outcome was return ED encounter within three days of the index ED encounter. Multivariate logistic regression identified significant covariates of an ED return encounter. RESULTS: Of 470 patients who were discharged with the diagnosis of alcohol withdrawal, 235 were treated with benzodiazepines, 133 with phenobarbital, and 102 with a combination of both. Baseline characteristics were similar among the groups. However, patients who received phenobarbital were provided significantly more lorazepam equivalents compared to patients who received benzodiazepines alone. Treatment with phenobarbital, alone or in combination with benzodiazepines, was associated with significantly lower odds of a return ED visit within three days compared with benzodiazepines alone [AOR 0.45 (95% CI 0.23, 0.88) p = 0.02 and AOR 0.33 (95% CI 0.15, 0.74) p = 0.007]. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who received phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal were less likely to return to the ED within three days of the index encounter. Despite similar baseline characteristics, patients who received phenobarbital, with or without benzodiazepines, were provided greater lorazepam equivalents the ED.

Circulating miR-122 in patients with non-toxic acute acetaminophen ingestions.

Introduction: MicroRNA-122 (miR-122) is a novel biomarker of liver injury and has been proposed as an early predictor of acetaminophen-associated hepatotoxicity. However, there is little data on miR-122 in patients with nontoxic acute acetaminophen ingestions.Methods: This was an observational study of patients with a history of acute acetaminophen ingestion and measured acetaminophen concentrations below the treatment nomogram and who did not receive antidotal treatment. Fold increase in miR-122 expression was measured from the remnant sample corresponding with the timed serum acetaminophen concentration used to determine need for antidotal treatment.Results: Ten patients met inclusion criteria with a four-hour acetaminophen concentration below the nomogram line (mean: 73.4 µg/mL). There was no significant difference in mean fold change of miR-122 expression between the acetaminophen exposed patients and negative controls [(0.82, IQR: 0.27, 0.77) vs (1.24, IQR: 0.54, 1.98), p = 0.33].Conclusion: miR-122 was not elevated in patients with acute acetaminophen ingestions with timed acetaminophen concentrations below the nomogram line. These data help to further characterize patterns of miR-122 in patients with acute acetaminophen exposures.

Quantifying gender disparity in physician authorship among commentary articles in three high-impact medical journals: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Scholarship plays a direct role in career advancement, promotion and authoritative recognition, and women physicians remain under-represented as authors of original research articles. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine if women physician authors are similarly under-represented in commentary articles within high-impact journals. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: In this observational study, we abstracted and analysed author information (gender and degree) and authorship position from commentary articles published in three high-impact journals between 1 January 2014 and 16 October 2018. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Authorship rate of commentary articles over a 5-year period by gender, degree, authorship position and journal. SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: To compare the proportion of men and women physician authorship of commentaries relative to the proportion of men and women physician faculty within academic medicine; and to examine the gender concordance among the last and first authors in articles with more than one author. RESULTS: Of the 2087 articles during the study period, 48% were men physician first authors compared with 17% women physician first authors (p<0.0001). Of the 1477 articles with more than one author, similar distributions were found with regard to last authors: 55% were men physicians compared with only 12% women physicians (p<0.0001). The proportion of women physician first authors increased over time; however, the proportion of women physician last authors remained stagnant. Women coauthored with women in the first and last authorship positions in 9% of articles. In contrast, women coauthored with men in the first and last author positions, respectively, in 55% of articles. CONCLUSIONS: Women physician authors remain under-represented in commentary articles compared with men physician authors in the first and last author positions. Women also coauthored commentaries with other women in far fewer numbers.

Translational Application of Measuring Mitochondrial Functions in Blood Cells Obtained from Patients with Acute Poisoning.

It is conservatively estimated that 5,000 deaths per year and 20,000 injuries in the USA are due to poisonings caused by chemical exposures (e.g., carbon monoxide, cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, phosphides) that are cellular inhibitors. These chemical agents result in mitochondrial inhibition resulting in cardiac arrest and/or shock. These cellular inhibitors have multi-organ effects, but cardiovascular collapse is the primary cause of death marked by hypotension, lactic acidosis, and cardiac arrest. The mitochondria play a central role in cellular metabolism where oxygen consumption through the electron transport system is tightly coupled to ATP production and regulated by metabolic demands. There has been increasing use of human blood cells such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells and platelets, as surrogate markers of mitochondrial function in organs due to acute care illnesses. We demonstrate the clinical applicability of measuring mitochondrial bioenergetic and dynamic function in blood cells obtained from patients with acute poisoning using carbon monoxide poisoning as an illustration of our technique. Our methods have potential application to guide therapy and gauge severity of disease in poisoning related to cellular inhibitors of public health concern.