Factors associated with regional disparities for registration on the French national liver transplantation waiting list.

AIM: This study compared the gap between supply and need for liver transplantation among the geographic regions of France. METHODS: Supply was estimated by registration rates on the national waiting list and need by cirrhosis-related death rates. Hierarchical ascendant classification and principal component analysis were applied to identify regional patterns in the gap between supply and need. Associations between socio-ecodemographics and regional healthcare factors were investigated. RESULTS: We have found regional disparities between supply and need, mainly in regions with high rates of cirrhosis-related death. Among the 22 regions studied, six regional patterns were identified. The biggest gap between supply and need was found in regions characterized by the lack of a regional transplantation center or a low density of general and specialized practitioners. These regions were mainly rural or without a city with more than 200,000 inhabitants, and had high proportions of young people and lower social classes. The smallest gap between supply and need was found in regions presenting the opposite patterns. CONCLUSION: These results might be considered by health authorities when planning resource allocation for liver transplantation. Transplantation teams and their networks should strive for better geographical access before registration on the waiting list.

[Interest of the brain natriuretic peptide as a marker of acute cor pulmonale in acute respiratory distress syndrome]. / Analyse du peptide natriurétique de type B comme marqueur du coeur pulmonaire aigu dans le syndrome de détresse respiratoire aiguë.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the BNP as a marker of acute cor pulmonale in patients with ARDS. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective clinical trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: At day 2 or 3 after the onset of the ARDS, an echocardiography was performed. Patients with left ventricular dysfunction were excluded. Right ventricular area (RVA) and RVA/LVA ratio were measured. ACP was defined as RVA/LVA > 0.6 associated with septal dyskinesia. Simultaneously, 5 ml of blood was collected for BNP measurement. RESULTS: 26 patients were studied. BNP levels were higher in 10 patients with ACP: 585.5 [189-4830] vs 145.5 [36.5-346] pg/ml (P=0.01) but in those with creatinine clearance < 90 ml/min: 602 [331-3530] vs 125 [39-189] pg/ml (P=0.007). BNP was correlated with RVA (r=0.5; p=0.01), RVA/LVA ratio (r=0.61; p=0.001), sPAP (r=0.58; p=0.002) and with age, cardiac index and creatinine clearance (r=0.61; p=0.001). In multivariate analysis, BNP was only correlated with creatinine clearance (p=0.03), and RVA (p=0.06). CONCLUSION: In ARDS patients without left ventricular dysfunction, BNP level is more elevated in patients with acute cor pulmonale than patients without cor pulmonale.

[Clinical practices of analgesia for invasive procedures in critically ill sedated patients in Ile-de-France: a phone survey]. / Enquête téléphonique sur les pratiques cliniques d'analgésie pour les actes invasifs chez les patients sédatés en réanimation en Ile-de-France.

To assess the practice of analgesia for invasive procedures in critically ill sedated patient in Ile-de-France (French area including Paris). Observational study: phone survey using a standard questionnaire. Only one senior physician in each of 30 intensive care unit (ICU) was questioned. Baseline sedation included systematic analgesia with narcotics in all ICUs. Only 4 physicians declared using a specific pain scale for sedated patients. Only 3 ICUs used written protocols. Procedures, which were thought to be most invasive (catheterization, pleural drainage, fibroscopy) were in most cases preceded by analgesia, but this was seldom the case for less painful events (venous or arterial puncture, tracheal suctioning). Specific pain scales are still underused. In contrast with current guidelines, analgesia for invasive procedures is not systematic but depends on subjective opinions.

Exhaled carbon monoxide in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients: influence of inspired oxygen fraction.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) measurements in mechanically ventilated critically ill adult patients and to determine the influence of inspired oxygen fraction on this measurement. DESIGN: Prospective physiologic study. SETTING: Medical ICU in a community hospital. PATIENTS: The study was performed on nine mechanically ventilated patients with varying diagnoses. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Carbon monoxide concentration was determined with an infrared CO analyzer on exhaled breath collected at the outlet of the ventilator. We assessed the stability of exhaled carbon monoxide concentration over a 4-hour period and determined its course during a 7-hour period after inspired oxygen fraction had been abruptly increased from baseline to 1. Carbon monoxide was detected in exhaled breath in each patient at a higher concentration than in inspired gas (0.64 +/- 0.1 ppm vs 0.25 ppm, approximately). Exhaled carbon monoxide did not vary during a 4-hour period in five hemodynamically stable patients. When inspired oxygen fraction was increased from baseline (0.52 +/- 0.04) to 1, exhaled carbon monoxide concentration increased abruptly from baseline (0.63 +/- 0.13 ppm) to a peak value of 1.54 +/- 0.16 ppm within 15 min and returned slowly to baseline values within 7 h. CONCLUSION: CO was easily detected in the exhaled breath of mechanically ventilated patients and CO lung excretion was markedly but transiently dependent on inspired oxygen fraction. Other studies are warranted in order to determine the different factors that might influence CO lung excretion in critically ill patients.

Critical incidents related to invasive mechanical ventilation in the ICU: preliminary descriptive study.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a preliminary list of critical incidents (CIs) associated with mechanical ventilation and to describe a CI reporting method. DESIGN: A list of CIs was established based on a consensus among ICU caregivers. The list was compared to CIs collected prospectively during a predefined study period. SETTING: The clinical observations were conducted in two intensive care units. PATIENTS: All patients receiving mechanical ventilation were included. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The list of CIs included death and 62 other CI types categorized as immediately life-threatening, secondarily life-threatening, or non-life-threatening. The observational study identified 527 CIs in 137 patients. Virtually all non-life-threatening CIs were ascribed to failure to comply with safety rules or to equipment failure and 40% of life-threatening CIs to the course of the disease or to patient-related factors. The match between CI types on the list and CI types observed in the ICUs was excellent. CONCLUSIONS: Use of our reporting method to create a CI database in a multicenter study including ICUs with varying recruitment patterns may help to identify markers suitable for routine continuous use as part of a quality-assurance program.

IL-1ra administration does not improve cardiac function in patients with severe sepsis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) on myocardial function in septic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A subgroup of patients from a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial was studied from 63 academic medical centers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. A subgroup of 71 patients with severe sepsis in whom vasoactive support was little altered during the study was included. The patients were randomized to receive either placebo (n = 29) or IL-1ra at a dose of 1 mg/kg/h (n = 20) or 2 mg/kg/h (n = 22). RESULTS: Hemodynamic measurements were taken at baseline, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 12 hours after placebo or IL-1ra administration. No significant differences in hemodynamic parameters were observed between the groups or over time during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: IL-1ra administration has no effect on cardiac function in septic patients.

[Changes in the electrocardiogram in status asthmaticus]. / Les modifications de l'électrocardiogramme dans l'état de mal asthmatique.

The aim of this study, based on the electrocardiographic analysis of 42 patients in status asthmaticus, is to define the basic criteria which may be used as a basis for electrocardiographic differential diagnosis. The following ECG changes were observed: the pulmonary "p" wave is common, sometimes with exaggerated amplitude in peripheral leads, however, in the precordial leads, the voltage of the "p" wave is reduced; most cases have a vertical heart with clockwise rotation and mild right axis deviation, S1 Q2 Q3 and the transitional zone displaced to the left. Ten cases also had a S1 S2 S3 appearance and three cases showed Q1 Q2 Q3, simulating myocardial infarction; there is poor progression of the R wave in the precordial leads and marked persistence of the S wave in the left precordial leads. In some cases, a QS complex dominates the right precordial leads. A variation in the amplitude of the QRS with the respiratory rhythm is often seen in V1 and V2; ventricular repolarization shows a lowered J point with an upward oblique ST segment in the peripheral leads. However, in the precordial leads, the repolarization is normal except for three cases which presented a frank hypokalaemia. The mechanism of these electrocardiographic changes appears to depend on the vertical position of the heart caused by over expansion of the lungs and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The elements of the electrocardiographic differential diagnosis with myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism are discussed.

[Spontaneous splenic rupture in the second quarter of pregnancy]. / Rupture spontanée de la rate au second trimestre de grossesse

We report the case of a 33 year-old woman at the second quarter of pregnancy, with known brain aneurysm admitted in intensive care unit for sudden coma. The coma was not related to a rupture of the brain aneurysm but to a serious haemorrhagic shock caused by a spontaneous splenic rupture. This case report illustrates the difficulty of this unrecognized diagnosis and reminds us to suspect a spontaneous splenic rupture in front of any pregnant woman with atypic abdominal pain and haemorrhagic shock.

[Color M-mode Doppler for postoperative estimation of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure]. / Estimation postopératoire de la pression artérielle pulmonaire d'occlusion par étude Doppler, en mode M couleur, du flux transmitral.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the combined index E/Vp (peak E velocity combined with color M-mode color Doppler flow propagation) for estimating pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, in post cardiac surgery patients. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective clinical trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In post cardiac surgery patients (D1), we have measured with transthoracic echocardiography peak early E transmitral pulsed Doppler velocities and color M-mode Doppler flow propagation velocity (Vp). The E/Vp ratio was compared with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PAPO) obtained simultaneously. RESULTS: Thirty eight patients were studied. The coefficient of correlation between PAPO and E/Vp was r = 0.71 (p < 0.0001). The sensitivity and the specificity of E/Vp > 1.5 for prediction of PAPO > 15 mmHg were 79% and 79% respectively. CONCLUSION: In post cardiac surgery patients, PAPO can be reasonably estimated by measuring the ratio E/Vp obtained with Doppler echocardiography.

[Acute gangrenous acalculous cholecystitis disclosed by postoperative septic shock]. / Cholécystites aiguës gangréneuses alithiasiques révélées par un choc septique postopératoire.

Three cases of acute gangrenous acalculous cholecystitis, revealed by a postoperative septic shock, are reported. Clinical examination was negative and the surgery gave the diagnosis. Infection with biliary stasis and ischaemia accounts for this pathological entity. The very serious prognosis of this condition can only be reversed by cholecystectomy.

[Acute respiratory and circulatory failure. Prognostic value of plasma fibronectin levels]. / Insuffisances respiratoires et circulatoires aiguës. Valeur pronostique du taux de fibronectine plasmatique.

Plasma fibronectin (FNp) concentrations were measured in 63 patients with acute respiratory failure and 28 patients with circulatory failure, using Laurell's electroimmunoassay method. Measurements were made in the acute phase and repeated in the course of the disease. The mean FNp concentration in 20 controls was 262 +/- 59 mg/l. FNp values were normal in the acute phase of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in cardiogenic pulmonary oedema. In contrast, they were significantly decreased in adult respiratory distress syndrome and in acute pneumonia, as well as in acute circulatory failure, notably from septic shock. FNp values were also considerably reduced in patients with severe disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome. Clinical improvement was accompanied by a return to normal of FNp concentrations. The mortality rate was greater in patients with low FNp values than in those with normal values.

[From asthmatic crisis to severe acute asthma]. / De la crise d'asthme à l'asthme aigu grave.

Life-threatening acute attacks constitute the major complication of asthma. These attacks develop progressively or abruptly, within minutes. They are responsible for a mortality rate which in France has been estimated at 3 in 100,000 inhabitants. Most of the deaths occur before any medical assistance is given. Such deaths in serious attacks are caused by bronchial obstruction and not by possible cardiovascular complications. Since inflammation of the bronchi is now thought to be the primum movens of these near-fatal to fatal attacks, nothing but an early and prolonged anti-inflammatory treatment can prevent them. Because no precise profile of subjects at risk can be drawn, it is necessary to supervise with the utmost attention all patients who suffer from attacks of acute asthma which, unless proven otherwise, should be regarded as potentially serious: signs of severity must be systematically looked for, and strict therapeutic and monitoring measures must be taken.

[Humidification and aspiration of the respiratory tract in patients with mechanical ventilation]. / Humidification et aspiration des voies aériennes du malade sous ventilation mécanique.

Mechanical ventilation through endotracheal prosthesis, suppresses the nose functions and stops elimination of secretions. It is mandatory to heat artificially, humidify insufflated gas and to suction tracheobronchial secretions. Heating humidifiers are very efficient for the first purpose but heat and moisture exchangers, a little less efficient, seem to be a good alternative as they are easiest to use and offer a good bacterial protection. Tracheobronchial suctioning has to be carried out at least each four hours and at the best as soon as adventitious sound are heard in the chest. Suction catheters have to be atraumatic; vacuum has to be between -200 to -400 cm H2O; catheter have not to be pushed further than the carina; suction hypoxemia can be reduced by shortening suction maneuver, by using suction catheter with little diameter, by conducting the suction on mechanical ventilation.