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OBJECTIVES: This study aims to test the ability of the surprise question (SQ), when asked to emergency physicians (EPs), to predict in-hospital mortality among adults admitted to an emergency room (ER). METHODS: This prospective cohort study at an academic medical centre included consecutive patients 18 years or older who received care in the ER and were subsequently admitted to the hospital from 20 April 2018 to 20 October 2018. EPs were required to answer the SQ for all patients who were being admitted to hospital. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The cohort included 725 adults (mean (SD) age, 60 (17) years, 51% men) from 58 128 emergency department (ED) visits. The mortality rates were 20.6% for 30-day all-cause in-hospital mortality and 23.6% for in-hospital mortality. The diagnostic test characteristics of the SQ have a sensitivity of 53.7% and specificity of 87.1%, and a relative risk of 4.02 (95% CI 3.15 to 5.13), p<0.01). The positive and negative predictive values were 57% and 86%, respectively; the positive likelihood ratio was 4.1 and negative likelihood ratio was 0.53; and the accuracy was 79.2%. CONCLUSIONS: We found that asking the SQ to EPs may be a useful tool to identify patients in the ED with a high risk of in-hospital mortality.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a highly pathogenic infection responsible for the world pandemic in 2020. COVID-19 is characterized by an increased number of critically ill patients with a high risk of health care system collapse. Therefore, the search for severity biomarkers and potential therapies is crucial. In this study, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2 -induced cytokines, cytokines receptors and growth factors profile, in critical COVID-19 patients admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) aiming to identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. We designed a prospective study enrolling 62 adults with severe COVID-19 during the first two Brazilian COVID-19 waves (from May to July 2020 and December 2020 to May 2021), convenience samples recruitment in first 24 hours and then, every 4 days until day 20 of ICU admission from a tertiary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. Controls were healthy blood donors. Whole blood was used to evaluate 17 cytokines, cytokines receptors and growth factors. Due to low mortality rate, we used the need of mechanical ventilation as primary endpoint. In our analysis, we found a different pattern in soluble CD137 (sCD137) in critically ill patients with COVID-19, with a direct relationship between increased levels and worse clinical outcome. sCD137 was related with increased risk of mechanical ventilation and World Health Organization (WHO) clinical score for disease severity. CD137 is a tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF) family member, mainly responsible for T-cell activation. Soluble isoforms of immune checkpoints competitively regulate function of their membrane-bound counterparts. Our study demonstrated the onward increase in sCD137 levels during severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and its correlation with worse outcomes, suggesting sCD137 as a potential reliable severity biomarker.
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O presente estudo teve por objetivo avaliar o nível de conhecimento dos estudantes de Medicina sobre o funcionamento do Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência (Samu) , dada a importância deste serviço para a população e seu papel fundamental no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) . Para tanto, acadêmicos do primeiro ao 12ºsemestre foram entrevistados mediante um questionário padronizado. Concluiu-se que mesmo acadêmicos de Medicina, indivíduos que se encontram imersos na área da saúde, possuem conhecimento aquém do esperado sobre o Samu, independentemente do período cursado, fazendo-nos questionar o conhecimento da população em geral sobre o tema e a importância da realização de novos estudos e comparação de dados em âmbito nacional.
This study aimed to assessthe knowledge of medical students about the functioning of the pre-hospital emergency medical service (EMS), given the importance of this service to the population and its role in the Unified Health System (SUS). Therefore, first to sixth year students were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. The conclusion was drawn that even medical students, individuals who are immersed in health, have an unsatisfying level of knowledge about the SAMU, regardless of the stage of their studies, leading us to query the knowledge of the general public about this service and the importance of conducting further studies and making comparisons of nationwide data.
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OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the potential protective effects of fucoidan, an L- and P-selectin modulator, in 2 murine models of acute pancreatitis. METHODS: Acute pancreatitis was induced in mice either by the retrograde infusion of taurolithocholic acid sulfate into the pancreatic duct or by intraperitoneal injections of cerulein (50 µg/kg per hour). The experimental groups received fucoidan (25 mg/kg, intravenously) before pancreatitis induction, whereas control groups received only saline. After 24 hours, serum amylase, lipase, interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and nitrite were measured. In addition, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity (lung and pancreas) and histological assessment (pancreas) were determined. RESULTS: Serum amylase, lipase, nitrite, TNF-α, and IL-1ß, and pancreatic and lung MPO were increased in both taurolithocholic acid sulfate and cerulein acute pancreatitis compared with the respective control groups. Fucoidan significantly decreased the augmented levels of amylase, lipase, pancreatic and lung MPO, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and nitrite in both models. Pancreas histological changes observed in both acute pancreatitis models were significantly attenuated by fucoidan. CONCLUSIONS: Fucoidan reduced the severity of acute pancreatitis in mice by decreasing neutrophil infiltration and systemic inflammation, suggesting that modulation of selectins may constitute a promising therapeutic approach.
