No improvement in mortality among critically ill patients with carbapenems as initial empirical therapy and more detection of multi-drug resistant pathogens associated with longer use: a post hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study.

Whether empirical therapy with carbapenems positively affects the outcomes of critically ill patients with bacterial infections remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of carbapenems as the initial antimicrobial administration reduces mortality and whether the duration of carbapenem use affects the detection of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. This was a post hoc analysis of data acquired from Japanese participating sites from a multicenter, prospective observational study [Determinants of Antimicrobial Use and De-escalation in Critical Care (DIANA study)]. A total of 268 adult patients with clinically suspected or confirmed bacterial infections from 31 Japanese intensive care units (ICUs) were analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: patients who were administered carbapenems as initial antimicrobials (initial carbapenem group, n = 99) and those who were not administered carbapenems (initial non-carbapenem group, n = 169). The primary outcomes were mortality at day 28 and detection of MDR pathogens. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that mortality at day 28 did not differ between the two groups [18 (18%) vs 27 (16%), respectively; odds ratio: 1.25 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59-2.65), P = 0.564]. The subdistribution hazard ratio for detecting MDR pathogens on day 28 per additional day of carbapenem use is 1.08 (95% CI: 1.05-1.13, P < 0.001 using the Fine-Gray model with death regarded as a competing event). In conclusion, in-hospital mortality was similar between the groups, and a longer duration of carbapenem use as the initial antimicrobial therapy resulted in a higher risk of detection of new MDR pathogens.IMPORTANCEWe found no statistical difference in mortality with the empirical use of carbapenems as initial antimicrobial therapy among critically ill patients with bacterial infections. Our study revealed a lower proportion of inappropriate initial antimicrobial administrations than those reported in previous studies. This result suggests the importance of appropriate risk assessment for the involvement of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and the selection of suitable antibiotics based on risk. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that a longer duration of carbapenem use as initial therapy is associated with a higher risk of subsequent detection of MDR pathogens. This finding underscores the importance of efforts to minimize the duration of carbapenem use as initial antimicrobial therapy when it is necessary.

The Current Discussion Regarding End-of-Life Care for Patients with Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest with Initial Non-Shockable Rhythm: A Narrative Review.

Despite recent advances in resuscitation science, outcomes in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with initial non-shockable rhythm remains poor. Those with initial non-shockable rhythm have some epidemiological features, including the proportion of patients with a witnessed arrest, bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), age, and presumed etiology of cardiac arrest have been reported, which differ from those with initial shockable rhythm. The discussion regarding better end-of-life care for patients with OHCA is a major concern among citizens. As one of the efforts to avoid unwanted resuscitation, advance directive is recognized as a key intervention, safeguarding patient autonomy. However, several difficulties remain in enhancing the effective use of advance directives for patients with OHCA, including local regulation of their use, insufficient utilization of advance directives by emergency medical services at the scene, and a lack of established tools for discussing futility of resuscitation in advance care planning. In addition, prehospital termination of resuscitation is a common practice in many emergency medical service systems to assist clinicians in deciding whether to discontinue resuscitation. However, there are also several unresolved problems, including the feasibility of implementing the rules for several regions and potential missed survivors among candidates for prehospital termination of resuscitation. Further investigation to address these difficulties is warranted for better end-of-life care of patients with OHCA.

External validation of the rCAST for patients after in-hospital cardiac arrest: a multicenter retrospective observational study.

No established predictive or risk classification tool exists for the neurological outcomes of post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) in patients with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). This study aimed to investigate whether the revised post-cardiac arrest syndrome for therapeutic hypothermia score (rCAST), which was developed to estimate the prognosis of PCAS patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), was applicable to patients with IHCA. A retrospective, multicenter observational study of 140 consecutive adult IHCA patients admitted to three intensive care units. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of the rCAST for poor neurological outcome and mortality at 30 days were 0.88 (0.82-0.93) and 0.83 (0.76-0.89), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the risk classification according to rCAST for poor neurological outcomes were 0.90 (0.83-0.96) and 0.67 (0.55-0.79) for the low, 0.63 (0.54-0.74) and 0.67 (0.55-0.79) for the moderate, and 0.27 (0.17-0.37) and 1.00 (1.00-1.00) for the high-severity grades. All 22 patients classified with a high-severity grade showed poor neurological outcomes. The rCAST showed excellent predictive accuracy for neurological prognosis in patients with PCAS after IHCA. The rCAST may be useful as a risk classification tool for PCAS after IHCA.

High versus low positive end-expiratory pressure setting in patients receiving veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome: study protocol for the multicentre, randomised ExPress SAVER Trial.

INTRODUCTION: While limiting the tidal volume to 6 mL/kg during veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) to ameliorate lung injury in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is widely accepted, the best setting for positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is still controversial. This study is being conducted to investigate whether a higher PEEP setting (15 cmH2O) during V-V ECMO can decrease the duration of ECMO support needed in patients with severe ARDS, as compared with a lower PEEP setting. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study is an investigator-initiated, multicentre, open-label, two-arm, randomised controlled trial conducted with the participation of 20 intensive care units (ICUs) at academic as well as non-academic hospitals in Japan. The subjects of the study are patients with severe ARDS who require V-V ECMO support. Eligible patients will be randomised equally to the high PEEP group or low PEEP group. Recruitment to the study will continue until a total of 210 patients with ARDS requiring V-V ECMO support have been randomised. In the high PEEP group, PEEP will be set at 15 cmH2O from the start of V-V ECMO until the trials for liberation from V-V ECMO (or until day 28 after the allocation), while in the low PEEP group, the PEEP will be set at 5 cmH2O. Other treatments will be the same in the two groups. The primary endpoint of the study is the number of ECMO-free days until day 28, defined as the length of time (in days) from successful libration from V-V ECMO to day 28. The secondary endpoints are mortality on day 28, in-hospital mortality on day 60, ventilator-free days during the first 60 days and length of ICU stay. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval for the trial at all the participating hospitals was obtained on 27 September 2022, by central ethics approval (IRB at Hiroshima University Hospital, C2022-0006). The results of this study will be presented at domestic and international medical congresses, and also published in scientific journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: The Japan Registry of Clinical Trials jRCT1062220062. Registered on 28 September 2022. PROTOCOL VERSION: 28 March 2023, version 4.0.

Lung Abscess and Pyothorax in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

The mortality rate of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation remains high. This study determined the percentage and characteristics of patients who developed lung abscesses or pyothorax and their mortality rates among adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU who required mechanical ventilation. Of the 64 patients with COVID-19 assessed, 30 (47%) developed ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), of whom 6 (20%) developed pyothorax or lung abscess. There were no statistically significant differences in patient characteristics, treatment after ICU admission, or outcomes between those with and without these complications, except for age. VAP complicated by Lung abscess or pyothorax was caused by a single organism, with Staphylococcus aureus (n = 4) and Klebsiella species (n = 2) being the primary causative agents. Occur infrequently in patients with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation. Large-scale studies are required to elucidate their effects on clinical outcomes.

Predictive Accuracy of the ROX Index for Re-Intubation in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have suggested that high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is useful for respiratory support after extubation in subjects with COVID-19 pneumonia, whereas 18% subsequently needed to undergo re-intubation. This study aimed to evaluate whether the breathing frequency (f)-ratio of oxygen saturation (ROX) index, which has been shown to be useful for predicting future intubation, is also useful for re-intubation in subjects with COVID-19. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed mechanically ventilated subjects with COVID-19 who underwent HFNC therapy after extubation at 4 participating hospitals between January 2020-May 2022. We evaluated the predictive accuracy of ROX at 0, 1, and 2 h for re-intubation until ICU discharge and compared the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the ROX index with those of f and SpO2 /FIO2 . RESULTS: Among the 248 subjects with COVID-19 pneumonia, 44 who underwent HFNC therapy after extubation were included. A total of 32 subjects without re-intubation were classified into the HFNC success group, and 12 with re-intubation were classified into the failure group. The overall trend that the area under the ROC curve of the ROX index was greater than that of the f and SaO2 /FIO2 was observed, although there was no statistical significance at any time point. The ROX index at 0 h, at the cutoff point of < 7.44, showed a sensitivity and specificity of 0.42 and 0.97, respectively. A trend of positive correlation between the time until re-intubation and ROX index at each time point was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The ROX index in the early phase of HFNC therapy after extubation was useful for predicting re-intubation with high accuracy in mechanically ventilated subjects with COVID-19. Close observation for patients with < 7.44 ROX index just after extubation may be warranted because of their high risk for re-intubation.

Quantification of respiratory sounds by a continuous monitoring system can be used to predict complications after extubation: a pilot study.

To show that quantification of abnormal respiratory sounds by our developed device is useful for predicting respiratory failure and airway problems after extubation. A respiratory sound monitoring system was used to collect respiratory sounds in patients undergoing extubation. The recorded respiratory sounds were subsequently analyzed. We defined the composite poor outcome as requiring any of following medical interventions within 48 h as defined below. This composite outcome includes reintubation, surgical airway management, insertion of airway devices, unscheduled use of noninvasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula, unscheduled use of inhaled medications, suctioning of sputum by bronchoscopy and unscheduled imaging studies. The quantitative values (QV) for each abnormal respiratory sound and inspiratory sound volume were compared between composite outcome groups and non-outcome groups. Fifty-seven patients were included in this study. The composite outcome occurred in 18 patients. For neck sounds, the QVs of stridor and rhonchi were significantly higher in the outcome group vs the non-outcome group. For anterior thoracic sounds, the QVs of wheezes, rhonchi, and coarse crackles were significantly higher in the outcome group vs the non-outcome group. For bilateral lateral thoracic sounds, the QV of fine crackles was significantly higher in the outcome group vs the non-outcome group. Cervical inspiratory sounds volume (average of five breaths) immediately after extubation was significantly louder in the outcome group vs non-outcome group (63.3 dB vs 54.3 dB, respectively; p < 0.001). Quantification of abnormal respiratory sounds and respiratory volume may predict respiratory failure and airway problems after extubation.

Regional respiratory sound abnormalities in pneumothorax and pleural effusion detected via respiratory sound visualization and quantification: case report.

Assessment of respiratory sounds by auscultation with a conventional stethoscope is subjective. We developed a continuous monitoring and visualization system that enables objectively and quantitatively visualizing respiratory sounds. We herein present two cases in which the system showed regional differences in the respiratory sounds. We applied our novel continuous monitoring and visualization system to evaluate respiratory abnormalities in patients with acute chest disorders. Respiratory sounds were continuously recorded to assess regional changes in respiratory sound volumes. Because we used this system as a pilot study, the results were not shown in real time and were retrospectively analyzed. Case 1 An 89-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for sudden-onset respiratory distress and hypoxia. Chest X-rays revealed left pneumothorax; thus, we drained the thorax. After confirming that the pneumothorax had improved, we attached the continuous monitoring and visualization system. Chest X-rays taken the next day showed exacerbation of the pneumothorax. Visual and quantitative findings showed a decreased respiratory volume in the left lung after 3 h. Case 2 A 94-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for dyspnea. Chest X-rays showed a large amount of pleural effusion on the right side. The continuous monitoring and visualization system visually and quantitatively revealed a decreased respiratory volume in the lower right lung field compared with that in the lower left lung field. Our newly developed continuous monitoring and visualization system enabled quantitatively and visually detecting regional differences in respiratory sounds in patients with pneumothorax and pleural effusion.

Prevalence of rapid response systems in small hospitals: A questionnaire survey.

ABSTRACT: The rapid response system (RRS) was introduced for early stage intervention in patients with deteriorating clinical conditions. Responses to unexpected in-hospital patient emergencies varied among hospitals. This study was conducted to understand the prevalence of RRS in smaller hospitals and to identify the need for improvements in the responses to in-hospital emergencies.A questionnaire survey of 971 acute-care hospitals in western Japan was conducted from May to June 2019 on types of in-hospital emergency response for patients in cardiac arrest (e.g., medical emergency teams [METs]), before obvious deterioration (e.g., rapid response teams [RRTs]), and areas for improvement.We received 149 responses, including those from 56 smaller hospitals (≤200 beds), which provided fewer responses than other hospitals. Response systems for cardiac arrest were used for at least a limited number of hours in 129 hospitals (87%). The absence of RRS was significantly more frequent in smaller hospitals than in larger hospitals (13/56, 23% vs 1/60, 2%; P < .01). METs and RRTs operated in 17 (11%) and 15 (10%) hospitals, respectively, and the operation rate for RRTs was significantly lower in smaller hospitals than in larger hospitals (1/56, 2% vs 12/60, 20%; P < .01). Respondents identified the need for education and more medical staff and supervisors; data collection or involvement of the medical safety management sector was ranked low.The prevalence of RRS or predetermined responses before obvious patient deterioration was ≤10% in small hospitals. Specific education and appointment of supervisors could support RRS in small hospitals.

Indoor gas phase photoactivity of yttrium modified titanate films for fast acetaldehyde oxidation.

Photoactive materials hold structural and catalytic features that make them particularly suitable for environmental applications and in the present work, protonated H3Ti3O7-Y nanofiber-like materials were prepared via the microwave assisted hydrothermal technique. The as-prepared nanofibers exhibited high surface area with titanate structure. The nanofibers, before and after yttrium incorporation, were well-distributed and the fibrous morphology could be observed clearly; as the yttrium loading increased, ribbons and the anatase phase were formed. Practical films of these nanofibers confirmed their likely UV-photoactive properties with 200 ppm of acetaldehyde degradation within 25 min in the presence of 50% of humidity. Activity retention was achieved, keeping stability for 2 consecutive cycles at room temperature. Nowadays, the increase in home office work sets human health at risk, for the exposure to toxic volatile organic compounds and microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria is more frequent indoors. In this context, the synthesized photoactive yttrium-titanate films stand as upcoming practical UV-driven materials for cleaning pollution that concentrated urban activity and indoor environments.

Occurrence and incidence rate of peripheral intravascular catheter-related phlebitis and complications in critically ill patients: a prospective cohort study (AMOR-VENUS study).

BACKGROUND: The lack of precise information on the epidemiology of peripheral intravascular catheter (PIVC)-related phlebitis and complications in critically ill patients results in the absence of appropriate preventive measures. Therefore, we aimed to describe the epidemiology of the use of PIVCs and the incidence/occurrence of phlebitis and complications in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: This prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in 23 ICUs in Japan. All consecutive patients aged ≥ 18 years admitted to the ICU were enrolled. PIVCs inserted prior to ICU admission and those newly inserted after ICU admission were included in the analysis. Characteristics of the ICU, patients, and PIVCs were recorded. The primary and secondary outcomes were the occurrence and incidence rate of PIVC-related phlebitis and complications (catheter-related blood stream infection [CRBSI] and catheter failure) during the ICU stay. RESULTS: We included 2741 patients and 7118 PIVCs, of which 48.2% were inserted in the ICU. PIVC-related phlebitis occurred in 7.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.9-8.2%) of catheters (3.3 cases / 100 catheter-days) and 12.9% (95% CI 11.7-14.2%) of patients (6.3 cases / 100 catheter-days). Most PIVCs were removed immediately after diagnosis of phlebitis (71.9%). Grade 1 was the most common phlebitis (72.6%), while grade 4 was the least common (1.5%). The incidence rate of CRBSI was 0.8% (95% CI 0.4-1.2%). In cases of catheter failure, the proportion and incidence rate per 100 intravenous catheter-days of catheter failure were 21% (95% CI 20.0-21.9%) and 9.1 (95% CI 8.7-10.0), respectively. CONCLUSION: PIVC-related phlebitis and complications were common in critically ill patients. The results suggest the importance of preventing PIVC-related complications, even in critically ill patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN-CTR, the Japanese clinical trial registry (registration number: UMIN000028019 , July 1, 2017).

Residual Analysis of Aflatoxins in Spice by HPLC Coupled with Solid-Phase Dispersive Extraction and Solid-Phase Fluorescence Derivatization Method.

BACKGROUND: Aflatoxins (AFs) are carcinogenic mycotoxins. A simple, quick, and accurate method for the micro-analysis of AFs in foodstuffs, especially spices, is needed. OBJECTIVE: A sophisticated pretreatment method that combines solid-phase dispersive extraction (SPDE) and solid-phase fluorescence derivatization using immunoaffinity (IA) gel as the solid phase was developed to analyze AFs in spices simply, quickly, and sensitively by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. METHOD: White and black pepper samples were extracted with a mixed solution of methanol/water (4:1) and then diluted with 7% aqueous solution of Triton-X. The solution was subjected to cleanup by SPDE using IA gel. Trifluoroacetic acid was added to the IA gel for on-site solid-phase fluorescence derivatization. RESULTS: Chromatograms containing well-separated peaks and few interference peaks from contaminants were obtained. The method detection limit of AFs in white and black pepper was 0.15-0.29 ng/g. Repeatability and intermediate precision were <10% and <15%, respectively, and accuracy was 61.7-87.8%. In addition, inter-laboratory precision was <29% and mean recovery was 61.5-76.7%. A favorable z-score of |Z| ≦ 1 was obtained in seven laboratories, although one laboratory gave 2 < |Z| < 3. CONCLUSIONS: The validity, reliability, practicality, and robustness of the developed method were verified. HIGHLIGHTS: By using SPDE and solid-phase fluorescence derivatization in combination for AF analysis, fluorescence derivatization during cleanup was realized, leading to simplification of the pretreatment operation.