End-tidal carbon dioxide and occult injury in trauma patients: ETCO2 does not rule out severe injury.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if early measurement of end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) in nonintubated patients triaged to a level 1 trauma center has utility in ruling out severe injury. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study of adult patients triaged to our urban, academic, level 1 trauma center. Included patients had ETCO2 measured within 30 minutes of arrival. Chart review was performed on enrolled patients to identify severe injury defined by: admission to an intensive care unit, need for an invasive procedure, blood product transfusion, acute blood loss anemia, and acute clinically significant finding on computed tomographic scan. RESULTS: Of 170 patients enrolled, 115 met the outcome of no severe injury. Mean ETCO2 for patients without and with severe injury was 33.1 mm Hg (SD, 5.8) and 30.3 mm Hg (SD, 6.7), respectively. This difference reached statistical significance (P=.05), but did not demonstrate added clinical utility when combined with Glasgow Coma Scale, systolic blood pressure, and age in predicting the primary outcome (area under curve, 0.70 with ETCO2 vs area under curve, 0.68 without ETCO2, P=.5). Patients with ETCO2 ≤30 mm Hg were found to be older, more likely to require intensive care unit admission or emergency operative intervention, develop acute blood loss anemia, and have an acute finding on computed tomography than patients with a higher ETCO2. CONCLUSION: End-tidal carbon dioxide cannot be used to rule out severe injury in patients meeting criteria for trauma center care. The ETCO2 ≤30 mm Hg may be associated with increased risk of traumatic severe injury.

The bubble study: ultrasound confirmation of central venous catheter placement.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine if ultrasound (US) can more rapidly confirm central venous catheter (CVC) position in comparison to chest radiography (CXR) in the emergency department. METHODS: The study included a convenience sample of emergency department patients with supradiaphragmatic CVCs and a CXR for confirmation. Ultrasound was used for CVC confirmation by visualizing microbubble artifact in the right atrium after injection of saline through the distal port. To evaluate for pneumothorax (PTX), "sliding sign" of the pleura was noted on US of the anterior chest. Blinded chart review was performed to assess CXR timing, catheter position and CVC complications. Student's t test was used to compare US time to CXR performance time and radiologist reading time. RESULTS: Fifty patients were enrolled; 4 were excluded because of inadequate views. Forty-six patients were included in the final analysis. Mean total US time was 5.0 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.2-5.9) compared to 28.2 minutes (95% CI, 16.8-39.4) for CXR performance with a mean difference of 23.1 minutes (95% CI, -34.5 to -11.8; P < .0002). When comparing only US CVC confirmation time to CXR time, US was an average of 24.0 minutes (95% CI, -35.4 to -12.7; P < .0001) faster. Comparing total US time to radiologist CXR reading time, US was an average of 294 minutes faster (95% CI, -384.5 to -203.5; P < .0000). There were a total of 3 misplaced lines and 2 patients with PTX, all of which were identified correctly on US. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound can confirm CVC placement and rule out PTX significantly faster than CXR, expediting the use of CVCs in the critically ill.

The relationship of intravenous fluid chloride content to kidney function in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggest a relationship between chloride-rich intravenous fluids and acute kidney injury in critically ill patients. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of intravenous fluid chloride content to kidney function in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed to determine (1) quantity and type of bolus intravenous fluids, (2) serum creatinine (Cr) at presentation and upon discharge, and (3) need for emergent hemodialysis (HD) or renal replacement therapy (RRT). Linear regression was used for continuous outcomes, and logistic regression was used for binary outcomes and results were controlled for initial Cr. The primary outcome was change in Cr from admission to discharge. Secondary outcomes were need for HD/RRT, length of stay (LOS), mortality, and organ dysfunction. RESULTS: There were 95 patients included in the final analysis; 48% (46) of patients presented with acute kidney injury, 8% (8) required first-time HD or RRT, 61% (58) were culture positive, 55% (52) were in shock, and overall mortality was 20% (19). There was no significant relationship between quantity of chloride administered in the first 24 hours with change in Cr (ß = -0.0001, t = -0.86, R(2) = 0.92, P = .39), need for HD or RRT (odds ratio [OR] = 0.999; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.999-1.000; P = .77), LOS >14 days (OR = 1.000; 95% CI, 0.999-1.000; P = .68), mortality (OR = 0.999; 95% CI, 0.999-1.000; P = .88), or any type of organ dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Chloride administered in the first 24 hours did not influence kidney function in this cohort with severe sepsis or septic shock.

Resilient health care: turning patient safety on its head.

The current approach to patient safety, labelled Safety I, is predicated on a 'find and fix' model. It identifies things going wrong, after the event, and aims to stamp them out, in order to ensure that the number of errors is as low as possible. Healthcare is much more complex than such a linear model suggests. We need to switch the focus to what we have come to call Safety II: a concerted effort to enable things to go right more often. The key is to appreciate that healthcare is resilient to a large extent, and everyday performance succeeds much more often than it fails. Clinicians constantly adjust what they do to match the conditions. Facilitating work flexibility, and actively trying to increase the capacity of clinicians to deliver more care more effectively, is key to this new paradigm. At its heart, proactive safety management focuses on how everyday performance usually succeeds rather than on why it occasionally fails, and actively strives to improve the former rather than simply preventing the latter.

End-tidal carbon dioxide as a goal of early sepsis therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the use of end-tidal carbon dioxide (etco2) as an end point of sepsis resuscitation. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational, single-center cohort study of emergency department patients receiving treatment for severe sepsis with a quantitative resuscitation protocol. Three etco2 readings were taken during a 1-minute time frame at 0, 3, and 6 hours of treatment. Linear regression was used to characterize the association between etco2 and central venous oxygen saturation (SCVo2) and lactate and also to determine the relationship between their change. Analysis of variance was used to determine the relationship between etco2 and disposition. RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients were included in our final analysis. For baseline values, linear regression failed to show a relationship between etco2 and SCVo2 (ß = -0.04, t(70) = -0.53, P = .60) but showed a nearly significant relationship (ß = -0.51, t(70) = -1.90, P = .06) with lactate. There was no significant relationship between etco2 and SCVo2 at 3 hours (ß = 0.12, t(70) = 1.43, P = .16) or 6 hours (ß = 0.05, t(64) = 0.82, P = .67). There was also no significant relationship between 6-hour change in etco2 and change in SCVo2 (ß = 0.04, t(64) = 0.43, P = .67) or lactate (ß = 0.04, t(59) = 0.52, P = .60) or disposition (F(4) = 0.78, P = .54). CONCLUSION: End-tidal carbon dioxide is unlikely to be a useful clinical end point for sepsis resuscitation, although it may be useful as a triage tool in suspected sepsis because baseline values may reflect initial lactate.

Pupillary response to light is preserved in the majority of patients undergoing rapid sequence intubation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine whether pharmacologic neuromuscular blockade with succinylcholine or rocuronium during emergency rapid sequence intubation affects pupillary response to light. METHODS: This was a prospective case series of patients undergoing rapid sequence intubation between February 2008 and February 2009. Two blinded, independent emergency physicians assessed pupillary response after administration of neuromuscular blockade and intubation. Cases without pupillary response before rapid sequence intubation were excluded. The primary outcome measure was clinically observable pupillary response. RESULTS: We studied 94 patients undergoing rapid sequence intubation, including 67 (71%) receiving succinylcholine and 27 (31%) receiving rocuronium. Of patients receiving succinylcholine, 61 of 67 (91%; 95% confidence interval 82% to 97%) demonstrated pupillary response after rapid sequence intubation. All patients receiving rocuronium demonstrated preserved pupillary reflexes. κ For interobserver agreement was 0.66. CONCLUSION: Succinylcholine and rocuronium do not appear to inhibit pupillary response in patients undergoing emergency department rapid sequence intubation.

Delphi consensus on the feasibility of translating the ACEP clinical policies into computerized clinical decision support.

Clinical practice guidelines are developed to reduce variations in clinical practice, with the goal of improving health care quality and cost. However, evidence-based practice guidelines face barriers to dissemination, implementation, usability, integration into practice, and use. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) clinical policies have been shown to be safe and effective and are even cited by other specialties. In spite of the benefits of the ACEP clinical policies, implementation of these clinical practice guidelines into physician practice continues to be a challenge. Translation of the ACEP clinical policies into real-time computerized clinical decision support systems could help address these barriers and improve clinician decision making at the point of care. The investigators convened an emergency medicine informatics expert panel and used a Delphi consensus process to assess the feasibility of translating the current ACEP clinical policies into clinical decision support content. This resulting consensus document will serve to identify limitations to implementation of the existing ACEP Clinical Policies so that future clinical practice guideline development will consider implementation into clinical decision support at all stages of guideline development.