Clinical Classification and Severity Scoring Systems in Chronic Pancreatitis: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is characterised by pain, functional deficits, nutritional and mechanical complications. Frequently managed in out-patient settings, the clinical course is unpredictable and requires multi-disciplinary care. There remains substantial variation in management. In contrast to acute pancreatitis, there are no globally accepted classification or severity scores to predict the disease course or compare interventions. We conducted a systematic review to determine the scope and clinical use of existing scoring systems. METHODS: A systematic search was developed with a medical librarian using the Embase, Medline and Cochrane databases. Original articles and conference abstracts describing an original or modified classification or scoring system in CP that stratified patients into clinical and/or severity categories were included. To assess clinical application/validation, studies using all or part of a score as a stratification tool to measure another parameter or outcome were selected. Studies reporting on diagnosis or aetiology only were excluded. Four authors performed the search in independent pairs and conflicts were resolved by a fifth author using CovidenceTM systematic review software. RESULTS: Following screening 6,652 titles and 235 full-text reviews, 48 papers were analysed. Eleven described original scores and 6 described modifications of published scores. Many were comprehensive but limited in capturing the full spectrum of disease. In 31 studies, a score was used to categorise patients to compare or correlate various outcome measures. Exocrine and endocrine dysfunction and pain were included in 6, 5, and 4 scoring systems, respectively. No score included other nutrition parameters, such as bone health, malnutrition, or nutrient deficiency. Only one score has been objectively validated prospectively and independently for monitoring clinical progression and prognosis, but this had been applied to an in-patient population. CONCLUSION: Available systems and scores do not reflect recent advances and guidelines in CP and are not commonly used. A practical clinical classification and scoring system, validated prospectively for prognostication would be useful for the meaningful analysis in observational and interventional studies in CP.

Use of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy by Paramedics During Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Feasibility Study.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provides continuous real-time measurement of regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) during resuscitation. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of paramedics using NIRS during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) resuscitation. Paramedics were trained to record rSO2 and mark events during resuscitation. Feasibility was defined as > 70% of cases with rSO2 data and event markers. The monitor was applied on 23 patients with OHCA. Of these, 19 (83%) had rSO2 data (median duration of 17.9 minutes; interquartile range, 9.7-28) and 17 (74%) had event markers (median 3 events per case; interquartile range, 1-4). It is feasible for paramedics to apply NIRS during OHCA resuscitation.

La spectroscopie proche infrarouge (NIRS, de l'anglais near-infrared spectroscopy) fournit une mesure continue en temps réel de la saturation cérébrale régionale en oxygène (rSO2) pendant la réanimation. Notre but était d'évaluer la faisabilité de l'utilisation de la NIRS par le personnel paramédical au cours de la réanimation d'un arrêt cardiaque extrahospitalier. Des intervenants paramédicaux ont appris à enregistrer la rSO2 et les marqueurs d'événements pendant une réanimation. La faisabilité a été définie comme l'obtention de données sur la rSO2 et de marqueurs d'événements dans plus de 70 % des cas. Ces intervenants médicaux ont utilisé le moniteur chez 23 patients en arrêt cardiaque extrahospitalier. Ils ont recueilli des données sur la rSO2 chez 19 (83 %) de ces patients (durée médiane de 17,9 minutes; écart interquartile : de 9,7 à 28) et des marqueurs d'événements chez 17 (74 %) (médiane de 3 événements par cas; écart interquartile : de 1 à 4). Il est faisable pour le personnel paramédical d'utiliser la NIRS au cours de la réanimation d'un arrêt cardiaque extrahospitalier.

Costs related to cardiac arrest management: a systematic review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Each year, about 500,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest (either out-of-hospital or in-hospital) in the USA. Although significant improvements in survival have occurred through the implementation of complex high-quality protocols of care, global costs related to such management are not clearly described. METHODS: We will undertake a systematic review of the published literature on costs related to the acute phase of cardiac arrest management (from collapse to hospital discharge). The search will cover the period 1991 to present, and we will include studies written in English or in French involving patients with cardiac arrest of all ages, settings (in- and out-of-hospital arrest), countries, and etiology (including traumatic). The primary outcome will include estimates of costs related to cardiac arrest patients' management in various categories (e.g., resuscitation process, in-hospital management as well as rehabilitation and long-term care facilities) and perspectives (e.g., hospital, societal, or third-payer perspective). Study selection will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and data quality will be assessed by questions adapted from the Drummond economic evaluation checklist. DISCUSSION: This review will provide an estimate of costs related to cardiac arrest management according to the different components of such a management as well as total costs. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews PROSPERO CRD42016046993.

Does transport time of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients matter? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing evidence for specialized cardiac arrest centers, the impact of transport time on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients' outcome remains unclear. We systematically reviewed the prognostic impact of transport time in OHCA patients. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception to May 2016 for studies that had reported the relationship between transport time and outcome in OHCA patients. The primary outcome was survival at hospital discharge. The secondary outcomes included neurological outcome at hospital discharge and long-term outcome. RESULTS: From a total of 3454 titles retrieved from the literature search, 9 studies were included for final analysis. All nine studies (N=46,417) were retrospective observational studies. OHCA patients included were mostly male (61-76%), suffered a witnessed cardiac arrest in half of the cases, and had an initial shockable rhythm in one third of cases. The overall survival to hospital discharge for all cardiac rhythms was less than 6%. There was no evidence for a differential mortality risk in OHCA patients according to transport time (mean difference -0.05min [-0.86,0.76]; I2 25%; 4 studies, 2197 patients). CONCLUSION: Paramedic transport time was not associated with survival to hospital discharge or with neurological outcome at hospital discharge in adult OHCA patients. Future studies are needed to prospectively evaluate the prognostic impact of transport time particularly in rural settings and pediatric population.