Tachycardia and Acute Kidney Injury among Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis: A Prospective Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION: Tachycardia caused by sympathetic overactivity impairs myocardial function and raises septic patients' mortality. This study examined whether tachycardia is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) period-prevalence among critically ill patients with and without sepsis. METHODS: In 328 patients (119 sepsis and 209 non-sepsis) admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU), we assessed heart rate at ICU admission, plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, and urinary L-type fatty acid-binding protein and N-acetyl-ß-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) at 0 and 48 h after admission. Tachycardia was defined as a heart rate above 100 beats/min. RESULTS: Tachycardia was independently correlated with AKI prevalence during the first week after ICU admission in the septic patients, but not in the non-septic patients. A dose-dependent increase in AKI period-prevalence was observed across ascending heart rate ranges. Furthermore, we discovered a dose-dependent increase in renal biomarker-positive patients regarding plasma NGAL and urinary NAG over increasing heart rate ranges 48 h after admission. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed an independent relationship between tachycardia and AKI prevalence during the first week of ICU in septic patients. Heart rate was found to have a dose-dependent effect on AKI prevalence and renal insult monitored by biomarkers.

Trajectory pattern of serially measured acute kidney injury biomarkers in critically ill patients: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: The clinical value of the trajectory of temporal changes in acute kidney injury (AKI) biomarkers has not been well established among intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: This is a single-center, prospective observational study, performed at a mixed ICU in a teaching medical institute in Tokyo, Japan. Adult ICU patients with an arterial line and urethral catheter were enrolled from September 2014 to March 2015. Patients who stayed in the ICU for less than 48 h and patients with known end-stage renal disease were excluded from the study. Blood and urine samples were collected for measurement of AKI biomarkers at 0, 12, 24, and 48 h after ICU admission. The primary outcome was major adverse kidney events (MAKE) at discharge, defined as a composite of death, dialysis dependency, and persistent loss of kidney function (≥ 25% decline in eGFR). RESULTS: The study included 156 patients. Serum creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (uL-FABP) were serially measured and each variable was classified into three groups based on group-based trajectory modeling analysis. While the trajectory curves moved parallel to each other (i.e., "low," "middle," and "high") for eGFR and plasma NGAL, the uL-FABP curves showed distinct trajectory patterns and moved in different directions ("low and constant," "high and exponential decrease," and "high and exponential increase"). These trajectory patterns were significantly associated with MAKE. MAKE occurred in 16 (18%), 16 (40%), and 9 (100%) patients in the "low and constant," "high and exponential decrease," and "high and exponential increase" groups, respectively, based on uL-FABP levels (p-value < 0.001). The initial value and the 12-h change in uL-FABP were both significantly associated with MAKE, even after adjusting for eGFR [Odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 1.45 (1.17-1.83) and 1.43 (1.12-1.88) for increase of initial value and 12-h change of log-transformed uL-FABP by 1 point, respectively]. CONCLUSIONS: Trajectory pattern of serially measured urinary L-FABP was significantly associated with MAKE in ICU patients.

Impact of renal dysfunction on the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis using urinary trypsinogen-2: A retrospective study.

AIM: Early diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is crucial, and urinary trypsinogen has been recently reported as a useful biomarker for diagnosing acute pancreatitis. We aimed to evaluate the impact of renal dysfunction on the diagnostic performance of urinary trypsinogen-2 for acute pancreatitis. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using the clinical data of patients who visited the Department of Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Tokyo Hospital between 1 October, 2021, and 30 June, 2022. Patients with available data on qualitative urinary trypsinogen-2 levels were identified. We compared the urinary trypsinogen-2 levels among patients who were clinically diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. We further stratified the patients according to renal function parameters, such as serum creatinine level, blood urea nitrogen level, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, and evaluated the performance of urinary trypsinogen-2 as a biomarker for acute pancreatitis. RESULTS: Within 9 months, 35 patients were identified. Of them, 22 patients showed positive results and 13 showed negative results on the urinary trypsinogen-2 test. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 0.80, 0.40, 0.18, and 0.92, respectively. Based on the blood urea nitrogen level and estimated glomerular filtration rate, the prevalence of false-positive results was significantly higher in patients with reduced renal function than in those with normal renal function. CONCLUSION: In patients with reduced renal function, the urinary trypsinogen-2 qualitative test results might be interpreted with caution when used for diagnosing acute pancreatitis.

The care burden for technology-dependent children with long-term home ventilation increases along with the improvement of their motor functions.

Since the establishment of Japan's publicly supported pediatric home medical care (PHMC) system in 2012, the number of technology-dependent children (TDC) who are supported by PHMC has been increasing. We expected care to become easier as TDC mobility increased. However, many family caregivers complained of the opposite, that the burden of care increased as TDC's mobility increased. Therefore, we aimed to study the problems of the care burden of families in relation to the improvement of mobility of TDC with a focus on respiratory support. We conducted a survey among caregivers of TDC in two parts: a first survey was done between 2018 and 2020, and a follow-up survey in 2023. In each medical procedure, the correlation of TDC's motor function level with care burden was analyzed by using correlation analysis. In 15 households, caregivers' activities were monitored to elucidate the problems of the care objectively. The second survey was conducted in February 2023 in TDC whose medical records were available. Analysis of 418 cases showed that care-burden increased with improvements in the children's motor ability in tracheostomy, or remained the same in other procedures. A follow-up study in 262/418 cases of this group showed that part of these TDC with high mobility aged 1-8, after passing through the mobile phase with increased burden of care, had a high potential to be weaned from medical devices.  Conclusion: For TDC who acquire motor skills during PHMC, the burden of care for caregivers either increases or remains the same. It is important to maintain social support for TDC on the recovering mobile stage. What is Known: • There was no clear information on the care burden when TDC become mobile. What is New: • We did a qualitative study to show that the care burden increases when TDC become mobile. • In addition, mobike TDC showed a high potential for recovery.

Bite wound and mauling of a zookeeper by a gorilla.

The majority of bite wounds that we encounter in the emergency department are caused by dogs, cats and humans, but bite injuries can be caused by a variety of animals. Here, we describe a case of bite wound and trauma caused by a large gorilla (Western lowland gorilla) weighing over 170 kg. Gorilla bites are rare, and the patient had an open fracture of the right distal radioulna in addition to multiple bite wounds. Treatment required careful consideration of gorilla antigenicity and a literature review to guide the selection of appropriate antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, trauma inflicted by large animals tends to require systemic traumatological screening, and patients can develop acute stress disorder because of a fear of being attacked again; therefore, early psychiatric intervention is important.

Monitoring the Resolution of Acute Exacerbation of Airway Bronchoconstriction in an Asthma Attack Using Capnogram Waveforms.

Patients with acute bronchospasm can show a distinct slope of the capnogram ("shark fin") as a result of asynchronous alveolar excretion. Although the slope of the upward alveolar plateau (phase III) in the capnogram waveforms of non-intubated patients is known to help monitor the therapeutic response to acute bronchospasm, little is known about the significance of its slope among intubated patients. Therefore, we quantified the phase III slope of an intubated patient with acute asthma to investigate whether capnogram waveforms could be useful for identifying the response to antibronchospasm treatment in real time. CASE SUMMARY: The patient was a 53-year-old man who had a history of asthma. He presented to the emergency department with the primary complaint of respiratory distress. He was diagnosed with severe asthma attack and required invasive mechanical ventilation for 10 days, during which we quantified the phase III slope of the capnogram. The phase III slope decreased during treatment, with a significant reduction from the third to the fourth day; however, a significant decrease in end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) was observed from the fifth to the sixth day. We found that the slope values decreased earlier than EtCO2 reduction, although the absolute EtCO2 values eventually decreased in response to antibronchospasm treatment. CONCLUSION: There were several reports that evaluated the phase III slope in non-intubated patients with asthma, but this is the first report measuring the phase III slope in an intubated patient over several days. Capnogram waveforms may serve as useful real-time indicators to monitor acute bronchospasm among mechanically ventilated patients.

Correction: Improvement of loperamide-induced slow transit constipation by Bifidobacterium bifidum G9-1 is mediated by the correction of butyrate production and neurotransmitter profile due to improvement in dysbiosis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248584.].

Changes in carbon dioxide production and oxygen uptake evaluated using indirect calorimetry in mechanically ventilated patients with sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Several clinical guidelines recommend monitoring blood lactate levels and central venous oxygen saturation for hemodynamic management of patients with sepsis. We hypothesized that carbon dioxide production (VCO2) and oxygen extraction (VO2) evaluated using indirect calorimetry (IC) might provide additional information to understand the dynamic metabolic changes in sepsis. METHODS: Adult patients with sepsis who required mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) of our hospital between September 2019 and March 2020 were prospectively enrolled. Sepsis was diagnosed according to Sepsis-3. Continuous measurement of VCO2 and VO2 using IC for 2 h was conducted within 24 h after tracheal intubation, and the changes in VCO2 and VO2 over 2 h were calculated as the slopes by linear regression analysis. Furthermore, temporal lactate changes were evaluated. The primary outcome was 28-day survival. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients with sepsis were enrolled, 26 of whom survived 76%. Significant differences in the slope of VCO2 (- 1.412 vs. - 0.446) (p = 0.012) and VO2 (- 2.098 vs. - 0.851) (p = 0.023) changes were observed between non-survivors and survivors. Of note, all eight non-survivors and 17 of the 26 survivors showed negative slopes of VCO2 and VO2 changes. For these patients, 17 survivors had a median lactate of - 2.4% changes per hour (%/h), whereas non-survivors had a median lactate of 2.6%/hr (p = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: The non-survivors in this study showed temporal decreases in both VCO2 and VO2 along with lactate elevation. Monitoring the temporal changes in VCO2 and VO2 along with blood lactate levels may be useful in predicting the prognosis of sepsis.