The prognostic value of the phosphate-to-albumin ratio in patients with OHCA: A multicenter observational study.

PURPOSE: In patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), early and accurate outcome prediction is crucial for making treatment decisions and informing their relatives. A previous study reported an association between high phosphate levels and unfavorable neurological outcomes after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC); however, its prognostic value was insufficient when used independently. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the usefulness of the phosphate-to-albumin ratio (PAR) in predicting neurological outcomes and in-hospital mortality by incorporating albumin, another known prognostic indicator. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This multicenter observational study included adult OHCA survivors from October 2015 to June 2021. The primary endpoint was an unfavorable neurological outcome at hospital discharge, defined as a cerebral performance category score of 3-5. The in-hospital mortality rates were also evaluated. RESULTS: Of the 2397 adult OHCA survivors, PAR differed significantly between the unfavorable and favorable neurological outcome groups, as well as between the non-survival and survival to hospital discharge groups (2.4 vs 1.4, 2.5 vs 1.6, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) value of the PAR for predicting unfavorable neurological outcome was 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79-0.83), and the AUROC value for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.74-0.78). In multivariable analysis, the PAR was independently associated with unfavorable neurological outcome (odds ratio [OR] 1.30, 95% CI 1.15-1.37; p < 0.001) and in-hospital mortality (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.12-1.38; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The PAR is a readily obtainable and independent prognostic indicator for patients with ROSC after OHCA, helping healthcare providers in predicting outcomes.

Diagnostic performance of rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk based on cycle threshold values in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of the rapid antigen test (RAT) for screening patients with cycle threshold (Ct) values of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the emergency department. Previous studies have shown that Ct values could be used as indicators of infectiousness. Therefore, we considered the Ct value an indicator of potential infectiousness. METHODS: This single-center retrospective observational study was conducted between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022. Patients who underwent both RT-PCR and RAT for the diagnosis of COVID-19 were included. Patients with negative RT-PCR results were excluded. Patients with Ct values lower than 26 and 30 were considered potentially infectious for COVID-19. RESULT: A total of 386 patients were analyzed. At Ct value cutoffs of 26 and 30, the result of the RAT showed a sensitivity of 82% and 74%, specificity of 84% and 89%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.829 and 0.813, respectively, in the receiver operating characteristic curve. However, the NPV was relatively low at 55% and 25%. CONCLUSION: The RAT might be a rapid screening tool for detecting patients with the infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2. However, considering the low NPV, it is challenging to depend only on a negative test result from an antigen test to terminate quarantine. Clinicians should consider additional factors, such as the duration of symptoms and the immunocompromised state, for SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Modified Cardiovascular Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score in Sepsis: External Validation in Intensive Care Unit Patients.

BACKGROUND: There is a need to update the cardiovascular (CV) Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score to reflect the current practice in sepsis. We previously proposed the modified CV SOFA score from data on blood pressure, norepinephrine equivalent dose, and lactate as gathered from emergency departments. In this study, we externally validated the modified CV SOFA score in multicenter intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective observational study was conducted on ICU patients at six hospitals in Korea. We included adult patients with sepsis who were admitted to ICUs. We compared the prognostic performance of the modified CV/total SOFA score and the original CV/total SOFA score in predicting 28-day mortality. Discrimination and calibration were evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the calibration curve, respectively. RESULTS: We analyzed 1,015 ICU patients with sepsis. In overall patients, the 28-day mortality rate was 31.2%. The predictive validity of the modified CV SOFA (AUROC, 0.712; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.677-0.746; P < 0.001) was significantly higher than that of the original CV SOFA (AUROC, 0.644; 95% CI, 0.611-0.677). The predictive validity of modified total SOFA score for 28-day mortality was significantly higher than that of the original total SOFA (AUROC, 0.747 vs. 0.730; 95% CI, 0.715-0.779; P = 0.002). The calibration curve of the original CV SOFA for 28-day mortality showed poor calibration. In contrast, the calibration curve of the modified CV SOFA for 28-day mortality showed good calibration. CONCLUSION: In patients with sepsis in the ICU, the modified SOFA score performed better than the original SOFA score in predicting 28-day mortality.

Association between the number of prehospital defibrillation attempts and a sustained return of spontaneous circulation: a retrospective, multicentre, registry-based study.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is no consensus on the number of defibrillation attempts that should be made before transfer to a hospital in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study aimed to evaluate the association between the number of defibrillations and a sustained prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of a multicentre, prospectively collected, registry-based study in Republic of Korea was conducted for OHCA patients with prehospital defibrillation. The primary outcome was sustained prehospital ROSC, and the secondary outcome was a good neurological outcome at hospital discharge, defined as Cerebral Performance Category score 1 or 2. Cumulative incidence of sustained prehospital ROSC and good neurological outcome according to number of defibrillations were examined. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether the number of defibrillations was independently associated with the outcomes. RESULTS: Excluding 172 patients with missing data, a total of 1983 OHCA patients who received prehospital defibrillation were included. The median time from arrest to first defibrillation was 10 (IQR 7-15) min. The numbers of patients with sustained prehospital ROSC and good neurological outcome were 738 (37%) and 549 (28%), respectively. Sustained ROSC rates decreased as the number of defibrillation attempts increased from the first to the sixth (16%, 9%, 5%, 3%, 2% and 1%, respectively). The cumulative sustained ROSC rate, and good neurological outcome rate from initial defibrillation to sixth defibrillation were 16%, 25%, 30%, 34%, 36%, 36% and 11%, 18%, 22%, 25%, 26%, 27%, respectively. With adjustment for clinical characteristics and time to defibrillation, a higher number of defibrillations was independently associated with a lower chance of a sustained ROSC (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.86) and a lower chance of good neurological outcome (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.92). CONCLUSIONS: We observed no significant increase in ROSC after five defibrillations, and no absolute increase in ROSC after seven defibrillations. These data provide a starting point for determination of the optimal defibrillation strategy prior to consideration for prehospital extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) or conveyance to a hospital with an ECPR capability. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03222999.

ROMI: A Real-Time Optical Digit Recognition Embedded System for Monitoring Patients in Intensive Care Units.

With advances in the Internet of Things, patients in intensive care units are constantly monitored to expedite emergencies. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, non-face-to-face monitoring has been required for the safety of patients and medical staff. A control center monitors the vital signs of patients in ICUs. However, some medical devices, such as ventilators and infusion pumps, operate in a standalone fashion without communication capabilities, requiring medical staff to check them manually. One promising solution is to use a robotic system with a camera. We propose a real-time optical digit recognition embedded system called ROMI. ROMI is a mobile robot that monitors patients by recognizing digits displayed on LCD screens of medical devices in real time. ROMI consists of three main functions for recognizing digits: digit localization, digit classification, and digit annotation. We developed ROMI by using Matlab Simulink, and the maximum digit recognition performance was 0.989 mAP on alexnet. The developed system was deployed on NVIDIA GPU embedded platforms: Jetson Nano, Jetson Xavier NX, and Jetson AGX Xavier. We also created a benchmark by evaluating the runtime performance by considering ten pre-trained CNN models and three NVIDIA GPU platforms. We expect that ROMI will support medical staff with non-face-to-face monitoring in ICUs, enabling more effective and prompt patient care.

Modified cardiovascular SOFA score in sepsis: development and internal and external validation.

BACKGROUND: The Sepsis-3 criteria introduced the system that uses the Sequential Organ-Failure Assessment (SOFA) score to define sepsis. The cardiovascular SOFA (CV SOFA) scoring system needs modification due to the change in guideline-recommended vasopressors. In this study, we aimed to develop and to validate the modified CV SOFA score. METHODS: We developed, internally validated, and externally validated the modified CV SOFA score using the suspected infection cohort, sepsis cohort, and septic shock cohort. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. The modified CV SOFA score system was constructed with consideration of the recently recommended use of the vasopressor norepinephrine with or without lactate level. The predictive validity of the modified SOFA score was evaluated by the discrimination for the primary outcome. Discrimination was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC). Calibration was assessed using the calibration curve. We compared the prognostic performance of the original CV/total SOFA score and the modified CV/total SOFA score to detect mortality in patients with suspected infection, sepsis, or septic shock. RESULTS: We identified 7,393 patients in the suspected cohort, 4038 patients in the sepsis cohort, and 3,107 patients in the septic shock cohort in seven Korean emergency departments (EDs). The 28-day mortality rates were 7.9%, 21.4%, and 20.5%, respectively, in the suspected infection, sepsis, and septic shock cohorts. The model performance is higher when vasopressor and lactate were used in combination than the vasopressor only used model. The modified CV/total SOFA score was well-developed and internally and externally validated in terms of discrimination and calibration. Predictive validity of the modified CV SOFA was significantly higher than that of the original CV SOFA in the development set (0.682 vs 0.624, p < 0.001), test set (0.716 vs 0.638), and all other cohorts (0.648 vs 0.557, 0.674 vs 0.589). Calibration was modest. In the suspected infection cohort, the modified model classified more patients to sepsis (66.0 vs 62.5%) and identified more patients at risk of septic mortality than the SOFA score (92.6 vs 89.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Among ED patients with suspected infection, sepsis, and septic shock, the newly-developed modified CV/total SOFA score had higher predictive validity and identified more patients at risk of septic mortality.

Relationship between time of emergency department admission and adherence to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign bundle in patients with septic shock.

BACKGROUND: Nighttime hospital admission is often associated with increased mortality risk in various diseases. This study investigated compliance rates with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) 3-h bundle for daytime and nighttime emergency department (ED) admissions and the clinical impact of compliance on mortality in patients with septic shock. METHODS: We conducted an observational study using data from a prospective, multicenter registry for septic shock provided by the Korean Shock Society from 11 institutions from November 2015 to December 2017. The outcome was the compliance rate with the SSC 3-h bundle according to the time of arrival in the ED. RESULTS: A total of 2049 patients were enrolled. Compared with daytime admission, nighttime admission was associated with higher compliance with the administration of antibiotics within 3 h (adjusted odds ratio (adjOR), 1.326; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.088-1.617, p = 0.005) and with the complete SSC bundle (adjOR, 1.368; 95% CI, 1.115-1.678; p = 0.003), likely to result from the increased volume of all patients and sepsis patients admitted during daytime hours. The hazard ratios of the completion of SSC bundle for 28-day mortality and in-hospital mortality were 0.750 (95% CI 0.590-0.952, p = 0.018) and 0.714 (95% CI 0.564-0.904, p = 0.005), respectively. CONCLUSION: Septic shock patients admitted to the ED during the daytime exhibited lower sepsis bundle compliance than those admitted at night. Both the higher number of admitted patients and the higher patients to medical staff ratio during daytime may be factors that are responsible for lowering the compliance.

Initial creatine kinase level as predictor for delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae associated with acute carbon monoxide poisoning.

INTRODUCTION: The primary goal of treating patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is preventing delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae (DNS). It is difficult to predict DNS because there is no precise diagnostic method in the early phase of CO poisoning. In this study, we aimed to investigate the optimal cut-off value for creatine kinase level to predict DNS. METHODS: This retrospective observational study included patients with CO poisoning visiting a single tertiary center from January to July 2018. They were divided into two groups according to the presence of DNS. We compared baseline characteristics with variables that could affect the presence of DNS. The optimal cut-off value of initial creatine kinase concentration for DNS was calculated. Additionally, multivariate analysis was performed to confirm whether creatine kinase could be an independent predictor of DNS. RESULTS: Of the 138 patients, 12 patients developed DNS. Univariate analysis showed significant differences in the Glasgow Coma Scale, duration of exposure, laboratory tests, abnormal finding on MRI in acute phase, the number of hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions, and duration of hospitalization. Receiver operating characteristic analyses of creatine kinase were performed (AUC = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.96) with a cut-off value of 1603 U/L; DNS was predicted with a sensitivity of 91.7% and specificity of 88.1%. In multivariate analysis, the adjusted odds ratio of creatine kinase was 51.516. CONCLUSION: In patients with CO poisoning, initial creatine kinase concentrations of >1603 U/L can be used as an independent predictor of DNS.

Risk of Venous Thromboembolism After Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Few studies have investigated the association between carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and risk of venous thromboembolism. We aim to identify the risk of pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis after CO poisoning. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide cohort-crossover study using administrative claims data in Korea. We compared the risk of venous thromboembolism (pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis) in the cohort period after CO poisoning to that of the same period 1 year later (crossover period), using conditional logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: We included 22,699 patients with a diagnosis of CO poisoning during the study period between 2004 and 2015. The risk of venous thromboembolism was significantly elevated during days 0 to 90 after CO poisoning (odds ratio 3.96; 95% confidence interval 2.50 to 6.25). However, this risk was not significantly elevated during subsequent postexposure periods through 360 days. During days 0 to 30 after CO poisoning, the risks of pulmonary embolism (odds ratio 22.00; 95% confidence interval 5.33 to 90.75) and deep venous thrombosis (odds ratio 10.33; 95% confidence interval 3.16 to 33.80) were significantly elevated. CONCLUSION: We found that the risk of venous thromboembolism persisted for up to 90 days after CO poisoning. The risk was increased 22-fold for pulmonary embolism and 10-fold for deep venous thrombosis, especially in the first month after CO poisoning. Patients should be monitored for venous thromboembolism risk after CO poisoning.

Prognosis of patients excluded by the definition of septic shock based on their lactate levels after initial fluid resuscitation: a prospective multi-center observational study.

BACKGROUND: Septic shock can be defined both by the presence of hyperlactatemia and need of vasopressors. Lactate levels should be measured after volume resuscitation (as per the Sepsis-3 definition). However, currently, no studies have evaluated patients who have been excluded by the new criteria for septic shock. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics and prognosis of these patients, based on their lactate levels after initial fluid resuscitation. METHODS: This observational study was performed using a prospective, multi-center registry of septic shock, with the participation of 10 hospitals in the Korean Shock Society, between October 2015 and February 2017. We compared the 28-day mortality between patients who were excluded from the new definition (defined as lactate level <2 mmol/L after volume resuscitation) and those who were not (≥2 mmol/L after volume resuscitation), from among a cohort of patients with refractory hypotension, and requiring the use of vasopressors. Other outcome variables such as in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) stay (days), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores were also analyzed. RESULTS: Of 567 patients with refractory hypotension, requiring the use of vasopressors, 435 had elevated lactate levels, while 83 did not have elevated lactate levels (either initially or after volume resuscitation), and 49 (8.2%) had elevated lactate levels initially, which normalized after fluid resuscitation. Thus, these 49 patients were excluded by the new definition of septic shock. These patients, in whom perfusion was restored, demonstrated significantly lower age, platelet count, and initial and subsequent lactate levels (all p < 0.01). Similarly, significantly lower 28-day mortality was observed in these patients than in those who had not been excluded (8.2% vs 25.5%, p = 0.02). In-hospital mortality and the maximum SOFA score were also significantly lower in the excluded patients group (p = 0.03, both). CONCLUSIONS: It seems reasonable for septic shock to be defined by the lactate levels after volume resuscitation. However, owing to the small number of patients in whom lactate levels were improved, further study is warranted.

Muscle Mass Depletion Associated with Poor Outcome of Sepsis in the Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Muscle mass depletion has been suggested to predict morbidity and mortality in various diseases. However, it is not well known whether muscle mass depletion is associated with poor outcome in sepsis. We hypothesized that muscle mass depletion is associated with poor outcome in sepsis. METHODS: Retrospective observational study was conducted in an emergency department during a 9-year period. Medical records of 627 patients with sepsis were reviewed. We divided the patients into 2 groups according to 28-day mortality and compared the presence of muscle mass depletion assessed by the cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle at the level of the third lumbar vertebra on abdomen CT scans. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of scarcopenia on the outcome of sepsis. RESULTS: A total of 274 patients with sepsis were finally included in the study: 45 (16.4%) did not survive on 28 days and 77 patients (28.1%) were identified as having muscle mass depletion. The presence of muscle mass depletion was independently associated with 28-day mortality on multivariate logistic analysis (OR 2.79; 95% CI 1.35-5.74, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Muscle mass depletion evaluated by CT scan was associated with poor outcome of sepsis patients. Further studies on the appropriateness of specific treatment for muscle mass depletion with sepsis are needed.

Pulmonary thromboembolism after carbon monoxide poisoning.

OBJECTIVE: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is known to increase thrombotic tendency, and the risk of deep vein thrombosis in individuals who have experienced CO poisoning is higher than in the general population. However, there are a few reports describing cases of pulmonary thromboembolisms (PTE) secondary to CO poisoning. DATA SOURCES: Retrospective data analysis. STUDY SELECTION: Seven hundred fifty bed tertiary university affiliated hospital. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Five patients with PTE after CO poisoning were observed. Two patients experienced cardiac arrest; they were treated successfully with tissue plasminogen activators and targeted temperature management. Their cerebral performance scores at discharge were both 1. Three patients had PTE and were treated with anticoagulation. CONCLUSIONS: To date, the causal relationship between PTE and CO poisoning is unclear. However, PTE should be considered in patients with CO poisoning as a differential diagnosis when unexplained hypoxemia or shock are observed. Further studies on the association between CO poisoning and PTE are warranted.

Simple Age Specific Cutoff Value for Sarcopenia Evaluated by Computed Tomography.

OBJECTIVE: Until now, cutoff values of low skeletal muscle mass using computed tomography (CT) were driven by optimal stratification to predict mortality in cancer patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the simple, age-specific, cutoff value of low skeletal muscle mass by CT in healthy adults. DESIGN: This is a retrospective, observational, single-center study. SETTING: This study was performed in the health screening department of a university-affiliated hospital during a 10-year period. PATIENTS: Medical records of 1,422 patients presenting to the health screening department were reviewed. Cross-sectional area of psoas muscle at the level of the third lumbar vertebra on abdominal CT was measured and adjusted by height (mm2/m2). This value (psoas muscle index [PMI]) was assumed to represent whole skeletal muscle mass. We divided the patients according to age, sex, and defined cutoff value of low skeletal muscle mass as 2 SDs below the mean. INTERVENTION: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 1,422 patients, 550 patients (38.6%) were male. The mean PMI was 896.60 (mm2/m2) for men and 570.54 (mm2/m2) for women. Cutoff values of PMI for men were 592.3 mm2/m2 for 20-39 years, 474.0 mm2/m2 for 40-49 years, 422.2 mm2/m2 for 50-59 years, 374.4 mm2/m2 for 60-69 years, and 331.5 mm2/m2 for 70-89 years. The values for women were 399.9 mm2/m2 for 20-39 years, 287.7 mm2/m2 for 40-49 years, 242.5 mm2/m2 for 50-59 years, 220.4 mm2/m2 for 60-69 years, and 147.6 mm2/m2 for 70-89 years. CONCLUSIONS: Cutoff values of low skeletal muscle mass using CT differed in healthy adults as age increased. Further studies on the effect of sarcopenia intervention using this cutoff value are needed.

Predicting the Occurrence of Hypotension in Stable Patients With Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Point-of-Care Lactate Testing.

OBJECTIVES: It is difficult to assess risk in normotensive patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the initial lactate value can predict the in-hospital occurrence of hypotension in stable patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational, single-center study. SETTING: Emergency department of a tertiary-care, university-affiliated hospital during a 5-year period. PATIENTS: Medical records of 3,489 patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were normotensive at presentation to the emergency department. We analyzed the ability of point-of-care testing of lactate at emergency department admission to predict hypotension development (defined as systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg) within 24 hours after emergency department admission. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 1,003 patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding, 157 patients experienced hypotension within 24 hours. Lactate was independently associated with hypotension development (odds ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4-1.7), and the risk of hypotension significantly increased as the lactate increased from 2.5-4.9 mmol/L (odds ratio, 2.2) to 5.0-7.4 mmol/L (odds ratio, 4.0) and to greater than or equal to 7.5 mmol/L (odds ratio, 39.2) (p<0.001). Lactate elevation (≥2.5 mmol/L) was associated with 90% specificity and an 84% negative predictive value for hypotension development. When the lactate levels were greater than 5.0 mmol/L, the specificity and negative predictive value increased to 98% and 87%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Point-of-care testing of lactate can predict in-hospital occurrence of hypotension in stable patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, subsequently, prospective validate research will be required to clarify this.

Biphasic reactions in patients with anaphylaxis treated with corticosteroids.

BACKGROUND: Although the incidence of anaphylaxis is rapidly increasing, the clinical characteristics and associated factors of a biphasic reaction are unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence and clinical characteristics of biphasic reactions in patients with anaphylaxis treated with corticosteroids. METHODS: A total of 655 patients with anaphylaxis visiting the emergency department of a tertiary teaching hospital from January 2007 through December 2014 were analyzed. Patient characteristics, triggers, symptoms and signs, in-hospital management, and disposition were recorded. A biphasic reaction was defined as the development of anaphylaxis after complete resolution of the initial reaction without further exposure to the offending agent within 7 days. Univariate and multivariate analyses on the predictors of the biphasic reaction were performed. RESULTS: Of the 415 patients with anaphylaxis treated with corticosteroids, 9 patients (2.2%) developed a biphasic reaction. The mean age was 48.4 years, and 221 patients (54.4%) were women. The median time from complete resolution of initial clinical symptoms to occurrence of the biphasic reaction was 15 hours (range 1-45). History of drug anaphylaxis (odds ratio 14.3, 95% confidence interval 2.4-85.8) was a contributing factor to the development of the biphasic reaction. CONCLUSION: The incidence of biphasic reactions was 2.2% in patients treated with corticosteroids and those with a history of drug anaphylaxis were at greater risk.

Impact of time to antibiotics on outcomes of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the time to antibiotic administration and patients' outcomes of febrile neutropenia (FN). We also investigated the relationship between the time to antibiotics and mortality rates in a subgroup of patients with bacteremia or severe sepsis or septic shock. METHODS: From the Neutropenic Fever Registry, we analyzed 1001 consecutive FN episodes diagnosed from November 1, 2011, to August 31, 2014. Timing cutoffs for antibiotics included the following: ≤1 vs. >1 h, ≤2 vs. >2 h, ≤3 vs. >3 h, and ≤4 vs. >4 h. Multivariate logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders in the association between timing intervals and outcomes of FN episodes. RESULTS: The median length of time from triage to antibiotics was 140 min (interquartile range, 110-180 min). At each time cutoff, the time from triage to antibiotic administration was not significantly associated with FN outcomes after adjusting for potential confounders. Antibiotic timing was not significantly associated with complication rates in overall FN episodes. We failed to find a significant relationship between antibiotic timing and mortality in FN episodes with severe sepsis or septic shock or with bacteremia. Procalcitonin concentration and the Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) risk index score were found to be more crucial determinants of outcomes in patients with FN. CONCLUSIONS: The time to antibiotic administration is not a major factor in FN outcomes.

Prevalence and outcomes of endotracheal intubation-related cardiac arrest in the ED.

BACKGROUND: Emergency endotracheal intubation-related cardiac arrest (CA) is not well documented. This study compares the clinical features and outcomes of intubation-related CA and other causes of inhospital CA. METHODS: All study patients were consecutive adults (≥18 years) who developed CA in the emergency department between January 2007 and December 2011. Emergent endotracheal intubation-related CA was defined as occurring within 20 minutes after successful intubation. Clinical variables were compared between patients with intubation-related CA and intubation-unrelated CA. The primary outcome was a good neurologic outcome defined as a Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 to 2. The secondary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. RESULTS: Of the 251 patients who developed CA, 41 were excluded due to trauma-related CA or "do-not-resuscitate" protocols, thereby leaving 210 patients. The prevalence of intubation-related CA was 23.3%, and the median duration between successful intubation and CA was 5.0 minutes (interquartile range, 2.0-9.5). Pulseless electrical activity was more commonly noted as the first arrest rhythm in the intubation-related CA group (75.5% vs 59.0%; P = .03) compared with patients with other causes of CA. However, the rates of good neurologic outcomes (14.3% vs 21.1%) and survival to discharge (34.7% vs 35.4%) were not significantly higher in intubation-related CA group (both P > .05). CONCLUSION: Endotracheal intubation-related CA occurred higher than commonly recognized, and patient outcomes were not better than other causes of CA. These data highlight the importance of efforts to prevent intubation-related CA. However, further prospective larger study will be required to generalize this result.