Intraoperative reduction of vasopressors using processed electroencephalographic monitoring in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Intraoperative vasopressor and fluid application are common strategies against hypotension. Use of processed electroencephalographic monitoring (pEEG) may reduce vasopressor application, a known risk factor for organ dysfunction, in elective cardiac surgery patients. Randomized single-centre clinical trial at Jena University Hospital. Adult patients operated on cardiopulmonary bypass or off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting were randomised to receive anesthesia with visible or blinded pEEG using Narcotrend™. In blinded-Narcotrend (NT) depth of anesthesia was extrapolated from clinical signs, hemodynamic response and anesthetic concentration, supplemented by target indices between 37 and 64 in the visible-NT group. Intraoperative norepinephrine requirement (primary endpoint), fluid balance, extubation time, delirium occurrence and adverse events were evaluated. Patients of the intent-to-treat population (visible-NT: n = 123, blinded-NT: n = 122) had similar patient and procedural characteristics. Adjusted for type of surgery intraoperative Norepinephrine application was significantly reduced in visible-NT (n = 120, robust mean of cumulative dose 4.71 µg/kg bodyweight) compared to blinded-NT patients (n = 119, 6.14 µg/kg bodyweight) (adjusted robust mean difference 1.71 (95% CI 0.33-3.10) µg/kg bodyweight). Although reduction in patients operated on cardiopulmonary bypass was higher the interaction was not significant in post-hoc subgroup analysis. Intraoperative fluid balance was similar among both groups and strata. Extubation time was non-significantly lower in visible than in blinded-NT group. Overall postoperative delirium risk was 16.4% without differences among the groups. Adverse events-sudden movement/coughing, perspiration or hypertension-occurred more often with visible-NT, while one blinded-NT patient experienced intraoperative awareness. Titration of depth of anesthesia in elective cardiac surgery patients using pEEG allows to reduce application of norepinephrine.

Impact of perioperative liver dysfunction on in-hospital mortality and long-term survival in infective endocarditis patients.

PURPOSE: Infective endocarditis (IE) is often associated with multiorgan dysfunction and mortality. The impact of perioperative liver dysfunction (LD) on outcome remains unclear and little is known about factors leading to postoperative LD. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, single-center analysis on 285 patients with left-sided IE without pre-existing chronic liver disease referred to our center between 2007 and 2013 for valve surgery. Sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score was used to evaluate organ dysfunction. Chi-square, Cox regression, and multivariate analyses were used for evaluation. RESULTS: Preoperative LD (Bilirubin >20 µmol/L) was present in 68 of 285 patients. New, postoperative LD occurred in 54 patients. Hypoxic hepatitis presented the most common origin of LD, accompanied with high short-term mortality. In-hospital mortality was higher in patients with preoperative and postoperative LD compared to patients without LD (51.5, 24.1, and 10.4%, respectively, p < 0.001). 5-year survival was worse in patients with pre- or postoperative LD compared to patients without LD (20.1, 37.1, and 57.0% respectively). A landmark analysis revealed similar 5-year survival between groups after patient discharge. Quality of life was similar between groups when patients survived the perioperative period. Logistic regression analysis identified duration of cardiopulmonary bypass and S. aureus infection as independent predictors of postoperative LD. CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative liver dysfunction in patients with infective endocarditis is an independent predictor of short- and long-term mortalities. After surviving the hospital stay, 5-year prognosis is not different and quality of life is not affected by LD. S. aureus and duration of cardiopulmonary bypass represent risk factors for postoperative LD.

[Epistemology in the intensive care unit-what is the purpose of a definition? : Paradigm shift in sepsis research]. / Erkenntnistheorie auf der Intensivstation ­ Welchen Zweck erfüllt eine Definition? : Paradigmenwechsel in der Sepsisforschung.

The adoption of the new sepsis definition in early 2016 introduced a new paradigm for the clinical picture of sepsis. Up until now, sepsis was defined as a systemic inflammatory reaction (systemic inflammatory response syndrome, SIRS) to an infection. Based on a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms, the focus of the new definition is no longer the inflammatory response, but rather the tissue damage and impairment of organ function which this induces. The paradigm thus moves away from the infection and the systemic inflammatory response, and toward that which makes sepsis so dangerous in terms of both disease dynamics and outcome: organ failure due to a dysregulated host response to an infection. This change of perspective or paradigm enables patients with an increased risk of developing sepsis to be recognized and treated earlier in clinical routine, even outside of the intensive care unit. The new definition also promotes development of new treatment strategies with improved ability to treat sepsis causally.

[Monitoring of liver function in the critically ill]. / Monitoring der Leberfunktion bei Intensivpatienten.

Liver failure and hepatic dysfunction represent diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for the intensivist. Besides acute liver failure, hypoxic hepatitis, sepsis and (secondary) sclerosing cholangitis may lead to massive liver dysfunction with subsequent multiorgan dysfunction syndrome that limits survival. Among classical laboratory parameters (so-called static liver parameters) liver function tests may help with the diagnosis to allow early treatment or prevention of liver dysfunction. The aim of this article is to present the current aspects of liver function monitoring and to provide guidelines to the intensivist for diagnosing liver dysfunction in the intensive care setting.

[Bilateral pneumothorax during awake fiberoptic intubation : A rare complication of bronchoscopy]. / Beidseitiger Pneumothorax bei fiberoptischer Wachintubation : Eine seltene Komplikation der Bronchoskopie.

An 86-year-old woman was scheduled for surgical treatment of a periprosthetic femoral fracture after a fall. Because of a known difficult airway due to multiple surgeries and radiation for cancer in the orofacial area, awake fiberoptic intubation was planned. During the fiberoptic maneuver the patient experienced a massive bout of coughing which resulted in large soft tissue emphysema and double-sided pneumothorax. This case reports a rare complication of fiberoptic intubation and airway management.

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase mediates protective effects of hypoxic preconditioning in lungs.

To elucidate the protective mechanism of whole-body hypoxic preconditioning (WHPC) on pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion injury focussing on nitric oxide synthases (NOS), mice were placed in a hypoxic chamber (FIO(2)=0.1) for 4h followed by 12h of normoxia. Then, pulmonary ischemia for 1h followed by 5h of reperfusion was performed by clamping the left hilum in vivo (I/R). WHPC protected WT mice from pulmonary leukocyte infiltration as assessed by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, associated with a mild further increase in endothelial permeability (Evans Blue extravasation). When all NOS isoforms were inhibited during WHPC by L-NAME, mortality and MPO activity after I/R markedly increased. To determine the responsible NOS isoform, quantitative RT-PCR was performed for eNOS and iNOS mRNA, showing that only eNOS was upregulated in response to WHPC. While eNOS total protein expression remained unchanged, the amount of phosphorylated eNOS also increased. The WHPC/IR experiments were then repeated with eNOS knockout mice. Here, we found that the protective effect of WHPC on pulmonary leukocyte sequestration was abrogated, and endothelial leakage was further exacerbated. We conclude that WHPC limits neutrophil sequestration via an eNOS-dependent mechanism, and that eNOS helps preserve endothelial permeability during hypoxia and I/R.

Fetuin A is a Predictor of Liver Fat in Preoperative Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and steatohepatitis (NASH) are frequent comorbidities in perioperative patients. However, the predictive role of the hepatokine fetuin A was not evaluated in this collective. OBJECTIVE: To study fetuin A as predictor of NAFLD/NASH in preoperative patients. METHODS: 58 subjects were included. Fetuin A was studied in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery and in a subset with acute liver failure. Blood and liver specimens were sampled. NAFLD was histologically evaluated. Liver fat was additionally analyzed by an enzymatic approach, circulating fetuin A by enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay, fetuin A mRNA by reverse-transcription PCR. RESULTS: Univariate correlation studies linked fetuin A to liver steatosis (r = 0.40, p = .029) and hepatocellular ballooning degeneration (r = 0.34, p = .026). Compared to non-NAFLD subjects fetuin A was increased in NAFLD (p = .009) and in NASH (p = .029). However, when corrected for main confounders by linear modeling, fetuin A remained related to hepatic steatosis, but not to ballooning degeneration or other NAFLD features. In support of this, biochemically analyzed liver lipids correlated with fetuin A in plasma (r = 0.34, p = .033) and with hepatic fetuin A mRNA (r = 0.54, p < .001). In addition, plasma fetuin A was related to hepatic mRNA (r = 0.32, p = .036), while circulating levels were reduced by 64% with acute liver failure (p < .001), confirming the liver as main fetuin A source. CONCLUSION: Fetuin A is suggested as noninvasive biomarker of hepatic steatosis in preoperative settings.

The role of procalcitonin in febrile neutropenic patients: review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Procalcitonin (PCT) has been increasingly used as an inflammatory marker to identify patients with systemic infection. Moreover, PCT guidance allowed significant reduction of antibiotic therapy in patients with respiratory disease. The aim of this qualitative review was, therefore, to evaluate the role of PCT measurements in febrile neutropenic patients in differentiating between various causes of fever and to investigate the value of PCT levels in terms of diagnosing infection or predicting outcome in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A MEDLINE search was performed using the keyword 'procalcitonin' crossed with 'febrile neutropenia', 'neutropenia', 'fever', 'bone marrow transplantation', and 'stem cell transplantation', and limited to human studies published between January 1990 and October 2006. Bibliographies of identified articles were also searched. Predefined variables were collected from the articles, including year of publication, study design, number of patients included, age group, disease group, markers other than PCT, and study results. RESULTS: From the 30 articles included, PCT seems to be able to discriminate fever due to systemic forms of infection from non-infectious etiologies. Patients with fungal infection may have a delayed increase in PCT levels. PCT has a minimal role, if any, in discriminating Gram-negative from Gram-positive infections. PCT may be useful in outcome prediction in patients with febrile neutropenia but is not superior to interleukin-6 or C-reactive protein concentrations for this purpose. CONCLUSIONS: Despite lack of standard definitions, heterogeneity of study populations, and small numbers of patients included in some studies, our review provides important insight into the value of PCT as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in patients with febrile neutropenia.