A prospective cohort study of the use of domiciliary intravenous antibiotics in bronchiectasis.

BACKGROUND: We introduced domiciliary intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy in patients with bronchiectasis to promote patient-centred domiciliary treatment instead of hospital inpatient treatment. AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of domiciliary IV antibiotic therapy in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. METHODS: In this prospective study conducted over 5 years, we assessed patients' eligibility for receiving domiciliary treatment. All patients received 14 days of IV antibiotic therapy and were monitored at baseline/day 7/day 14. We assessed the treatment outcome, morbidity, mortality and 30-day readmission rates. RESULTS: A total of 116 patients received 196 courses of IV antibiotics. Eighty courses were delivered as inpatient treatment, 32 as early supported discharge (ESD) and 84 as domiciliary therapy. There was significant clinical and quality of life improvement in all groups, with resolution of infection in 76% in the inpatient group, 80% in the ESD group and 80% in the domiciliary group. Morbidity was recorded in 13.8% in the inpatient group, 9.4% in the ESD group and 14.2% in the domiciliary IV group. No mortality was recorded in either group. Thirty-day readmission rates were 13.8% in the inpatient group, 12.5% in the ESD group and 14.2% in the domiciliary group. Total bed days saved was 1443. CONCLUSION: Domiciliary IV antibiotic therapy in bronchiectasis is clinically effective and was safe in our cohort of patients.

Rotational thrombolelastometry produces potentially clinical useful results within 10 min in bleeding emergency department patients: the DEUCE study.

OBJECTIVES AND BACKGROUND: For the first time in the Emergency Department (ED), to assess the use of rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) in patients presenting with all-cause haemodynamic shock, specifically (a) to establish whether a 5- min (A5) or a 10-min result (A10) is accurate compared with a final maximum clot firmness (MCF) result; (b) to compare time to A10 and formal laboratory coagulation result; (c) to assess whether bleeding ED trauma, gastrointestinal and aortic aneurysm patients are coagulopathic according to ROTEM; and (d) to compare ROTEM results with formal laboratory coagulation parameters. METHODS: Patients presenting to the ED in haemodynamic shock were recruited. A citrated coagulation sample was taken and once a ROTEM researcher arrived in the ED, was subjected to ROTEM analysis. RESULTS: Between 28 September 2010 and 31 August 2011, 40 patients were recruited (15 gastrointestinal bleeds, 20 major trauma cases and five ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms). A10 and MCF correlated well (κ=0.98); A5 and MCF correlated less well (κ=0.91). The mean time to result (SD) was 57 (28) min for the formal laboratory coagulation result and 50 (45) min for the ROTEM A10 result (including delay to start of analysis). Seven patients were coagulopathic on ROTEM. CONCLUSION: Eighteen percent of bleeding ED patients are coagulopathic using ROTEM including 25% of trauma patients. A 10-min ROTEM clot firmness (A10) is an excellent surrogate for MCF and allows a result to be obtained earlier than formal laboratory results and potentially within 10 min of the patient arriving in the ED.