A rare presentation of triple-barrel aortic dissection in a Ghanaian male.

Acute aortic dissection in unusual/rare circumstances may become chronic and multi lumen. A high clinical acumen, examination and investigations in the acute setting, may help reduce late/misdiagnosis and complications in low resource settings.

From Telemedicine to the ICU-Fever and Rash in a 9-Year-Old Girl.

A 9-year-old girl presented to her primary care pediatrician via telemedicine during the initial months of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic because of 4 days of warmth perceived by her mother, decreased energy, and a new rash on her upper extremities. After 10 additional days of documented fever >38°C, worsening fatigue, and 1 day of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, she was allowed to schedule an in-person visit with her pediatrician after testing negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. She appeared ill on arrival to clinic, and her pediatrician recommended evaluation in an emergency department. Her initial laboratory testing revealed nonspecific elevation in several inflammatory markers and leukopenia, and she responded well to intravenous hydration. Over the next 2 weeks, her fever persisted, constitutional symptoms worsened, and she developed progressively painful cervical lymphadenopathy and pancytopenia. She was evaluated in clinic by several specialists and eventually was urged to present to the emergency department again, at which time she was admitted to the PICU. After consulting additional specialists and waiting for laboratory results, the team reached a definitive diagnosis and initiated therapy; however, she experienced rapid clinical decline shortly thereafter. The specialists who assisted with identification of the underlying etiology of her symptoms were able to work together to manage the subsequent complications.

Addressing the mental health needs of learners and nonlearners in an academic medical center during COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted life for people throughout the world, especially for those in health care who experience unique stressors. To support the psychological needs of staff, faculty, and learners at a biomedical sciences university, faculty at Baylor College of Medicine created a mental health and wellness support program consisting of multiple behavioral health care pathways, including phone support, a self-guided mental health app, a coping skills group, and individual therapy services. The authors present this program as a model for academic institutions to support the well-being of faculty, staff, and learners.

CT-Guided Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression for Lumbar Discogenic Radiculopathy-Performance of a Novel Combi-Therapy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: On the basis of reported immediate and short-term excruciating pain by patients in the post-procedural period of computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) in our clinic, we present our initial clinical experience with a novel combi-therapy using a combination of CT-guided PLDD and CT-guided epidural nerve blocks, which proved effective in managing the pain. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 patients who met the criteria for PLDD, underwent treatment for lumbar discogenic radiculopathy between 2014 and 2017. Fifty-five percent of the patients were males and 45% were females with a mean age of 46.25 years. Ninety-five patients underwent one level PLDD and five patients two-level PLDD procedures. CT-guided epidural nerve block with a combination of Bupivacaine, Lignocaine, and Kenalog was used in a 3× procedure separated by a 1-week interval. The first nerve block was given the same day, immediately after the PLDD procedure. The visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain was used during the pre-procedure and post-procedure periods. RESULTS: Among the patients who underwent one level PLDD, 88 had L4-L5 levels, 5 had L5-S1 levels and 2 had L3-L4 levels. L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels were the most common two-level PLDD locations in seven patients. Five patients in our study subsequently underwent open surgical treatment. All patients reported immediate pain relief, which was sustained after the procedure. The average pre-procedure VAS score was 7.6 (range from 5 to 8.2) and the VAS score immediately after the procedure was on average 0.5 (ranging from 0 to 2). CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this initial experience using a combi-therapy of CT-guided PLDD and CT-guided epidural nerve block have shown the benefits of this novel approach, offering significant immediate pain relief in the post-procedural phase, favorable outcomes in the short to mid-term and a significantly reduced rate of re-surgery (7%) compared with the use of only CT-guided PLDD. Lasers Surg Med 00:1-5, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Epidemiology of Anaphylaxis in Critically Ill Children in the United States and Canada.

BACKGROUND: Anaphylaxis is a rapid-onset, multisystem, and potentially fatal hypersensitivity reaction with varied reports of prevalence, incidence, and mortality. There are limited cases reported of severe and/or fatal pediatric anaphylaxis. OBJECTIVE: This study describes the largest cohort of intensive care unit pediatric anaphylaxis admissions with a comprehensive analysis of identified triggers, clinical and demographic information, and probability of death. METHODS: We describe the epidemiology of pediatric anaphylaxis admissions to North American pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) that were prospectively enrolled in the Virtual Pediatric Systems database from 2010 to 2015. One hundred thirty-one PICUs in North America (United States and Canada) were queried for anaphylaxis International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision or International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes from the Virtual Pediatric Systems database from 2010 to 2015 in the United States and Canada. One thousand nine hundred eighty-nine patients younger than 18 years were identified out of 604,279 total number of patients admitted to a PICU in the database during this time frame. RESULTS: The primary outcome was mortality, which was compared with patient and admission data using Fisher exact test. Secondary outcomes (intubation, length of stay, mortality risk scores, systolic blood pressure, and pupillary reflex) were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test, as appropriate. One thousand nine hundred eighty-nine patients with an anaphylaxis International Classification of Diseases code were identified in the database. One percent of patients died because of critical anaphylaxis. Identified triggers for fatal cases were peanuts, milk, and blood products. Peanuts were the most common trigger. Children were mostly male when younger than 13 years, and mostly female when 13 years and older. Average length of stay was 2 days. There was a higher proportion of Asian patients younger than 2 years or when the trigger was food. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest study to describe pediatric critical anaphylaxis cases in North America and identifies food as the most common trigger. Death occurs in 1% of cases, with intubation occurring most commonly in the first hour. The risk for intensive care unit admission in children underscores the serious nature of anaphylaxis in this population.

Short-duration post CT-guided thoracic biopsy monitoring- clinical experience with 440 patients.

PURPOSE: With several studies recording a higher percentage of complications in the first hour of post-biopsy, this study sought to evaluate the safety in the reduction in post-biopsy patient monitoring time after computed tomography (CT)-guided thoracic biopsies, providing a basis for further research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study involving patients who were referred to our centre for CT-guided thoracic biopsies from January 2010 to December 2017. Patients who presented with no complications immediately after the post-biopsy CT scan were given 30 min of post-biopsy care after which they were discharged, and given a hot line to call in case of any complication. There was also a follow-up call by a nurse after 24 h to inquire about any complication and general condition of the patients. RESULTS: A total of 440 core needle thoracic biopsies were performed within the period of the study. The most common thoracic region indicated for biopsy was mediastinal (n = 240, 54.5%), followed by lung (n = 185, 42.0%). Complications were recorded at a rate of 6.4% (n = 28), with 4.1% (n = 18) been pneumothorax and pulmonary haemorrhage and haemoptysis accounting for 2.3% (n = 10). No relevant complications were recorded in patients who presented with no complications immediately after the post-biopsy CT scan (n = 374, 85%). CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this initial study have shown that thirty minutes of post-biopsy care could be sufficient for patients present with no complications immediately after a post-procedural scan in CT-guided thoracic biopsies; providing a basis for similar algorithms to be explored in a randomised control study to substantiate the observation.

Age-gender distribution of coronary artery calcium score in a black African population in Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Distribution of coronary artery calcium (CAC) has been determined in different heterogeneous populations in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Based on findings showing that geography and culture can influence CAC scoring beyond traditional race groups, we determined the distribution of CAC in a homogenous black African population to provide an initial basis for a larger CAC score study in Africa. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a preliminary study using computed tomography to determine the CAC scores within a black African population who were referred to our center. Other information on patients were recorded through a combination of one-on-one interviews and medical records. A total of 170 patients were involved in our study, including 60.6% males, with an average age of 53.9 ± 9.2 years. The majority (78.8%) had a zero calcium score, with patients within the age group of 55-64 years dominating the non-zero calcium score population. Males were found to have higher calcium levels compared to females, and coronary artery calcification and prevalence steadily rose with the increasing age. However, P-values of 0.328 and <0.001 were observed with distribution of CAC according to gender and age, respectively. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study showed that the distribution of CAC was markedly affected by the age of our study population, which will be more apparent in a larger study.

A Severe Case of Murine Typhus Presenting With Anemia and Severe Thrombocytopenia.

We discuss a child with severe thrombocytopenia and mild anemia admitted to the Hematology service who quickly deteriorated to a life-threatening state. However, once rickettsial disease was considered in the differential diagnosis and empiric doxycycline begun, she quickly and fully recovered. A diagnostic panel, including Rickettsia typhi serology, confirmed the diagnosis of murine typhus but this occurred weeks after she had recovered. Given the potential severity of rickettsial diseases and the ease of modern travel across geographic borders, hematology-oncology providers everywhere must consider rickettsial diseases in their differential diagnosis of critically ill children and begin empiric therapy with doxycycline promptly.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Serum Procalcitonin for Bacteremia in Critically Ill Children.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial sepsis is frequently encountered in children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and requires early recognition and treatment. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a serum biomarker with a high sensitivity to predict bacteremia in critically-ill adults. This study sought to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of PCT for bacteremia in febrile children in the PICU. METHODS: This retrospective observational study used data from children admitted to the PICU from October 2010 to October 2012. Patients up to 21 years of age were included if they had an abnormal temperature, serum PCT and blood culture assayed, and were not receiving empiric antibiotics at the time. RESULTS: There were 202 PCT values that met inclusion criteria. The prevalence of positive blood cultures was 13.2% (27 total positive blood cultures). The area under the curve (AUC) for PCT was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.70-0.89), the AUC for lactate was 0.76 (95% CI, 0.65-0.87), and the AUC for C-reactive protein was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.57-0.80). The optimal threshold of PCT for accuracy was determined to be 2 ng/mL (sensitivity = 69.2%, specificity = 74.4%, positive predictive value = 28.6%, negative predictive value = 94.2%). The combination of an abnormal lactate (> 2.0mmol/L) increased the specificity of PCT for diagnosing bacteremia. CONCLUSIONS: PCT has a good diagnostic accuracy to rule-out bacteremia in critically-ill, febrile children. The combination of PCT and an abnormal lactate value increases the specificity and may improve the ability to diagnose bacteremia.

Quality: performance improvement, teamwork, information technology and protocols.

Using the Institute of Medicine framework that outlines the domains of quality, this article considers four key aspects of health care delivery which have the potential to significantly affect the quality of health care within the pediatric intensive care unit. The discussion covers: performance improvement and how existing methods for reporting, review, and analysis of medical error relate to patient care; team composition and workflow; and the impact of information technologies on clinical practice. Also considered is how protocol-driven and standardized practice affects both patients and the fiscal interests of the health care system.

Critical outcomes: clinical and team performance across acute illness scenarios in emergency departments of critical access hospitals.

In their provision of acute care services, emergency department (ED) providers in critical access hospitals (CAHs) are uniquely challenged by limitations in personnel, facility resources, and available expertise. We sought to define the impact of team behaviors among ED staff in CAHs on clinical performance by studying the relationship between team and clinical performance scores across 100 simulated scenarios. Team and clinical performance scores were calculated for each scenario using standardized checklists to quantify goal achievement and aggregated across teams and scenario types. These scores were compared using bivariate analysis and correlated with clinical and team performance outcomes using Pearson's correlation (r coefficient). There was a positive correlation between team and clinical performance across all scenarios; the relationship was statistically significant (p<.05) in 3 scenarios: acute coronary syndrome (r=.69; p=.027); abdominal aortic aneurysm (r=.77; p=.009); and nonaccidental trauma (r=.75; p=.013). The wide correlation between clinical and team performance may be a function of the critical care event itself or the unique characteristics of CAHs that make them more vulnerable when faced with high acuity, complex, and infrequently encountered clinical scenarios.

Extracorporeal life support for status asthmaticus: the breath of life that's often forgotten.

Status asthmaticus continues to be significant cause of intensive care admission, morbidity, and mortality in pediatric populations. Furthermore, despite improved outpatient management and broader use of controller medications, patients with severe status asthmaticus account for a notable proportion of these admissions. There is variability in management and outcomes between institutions; however, early and aggressive management to avoid respiratory failure is paramount. In those patients who progress to develop severe respiratory failure, extracorporeal life support (ECLS) can be a life-saving therapy. Here, we briefly overview the use of ECLS for status asthmaticus, as reported through the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization, including the specific institutional experience at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, and consider how earlier initiation of ECLS may benefit patients with severe status asthmaticus refractory to conventional medical therapy.