Unintended consequences - A qualitative exploration of baseline testing in community rugby concussion management.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding key stakeholders' perceptions around the value of baseline testing, as well as barriers or facilitators experienced as part of the process, may assist with the decision-making process of whether to implement baseline testing in community sport. This study explored coaches', players' and physiotherapists' perceptions of the perceived value, barriers and facilitators of baseline testing as part of New Zealand Rugby's (NZR) community concussion initiative. DESIGN: The study employed a pragmatic, qualitative descriptive design. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were used to explore participants' perceptions. In total, 73 individual interviews were conducted. The sample consisted of 36 players, 13 coaches and 24 physiotherapists involved in NZR's concussion management pathway. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: In terms of perceived value, baseline testing was reported to play a role in i) facilitating a positive concussion culture; ii) positive perceptions of rugby and player safety and iii) enhancing concussion management as part of the pathway. Barriers and facilitators of the baseline testing process included i) stakeholder buy-in as critical driver of the process and ii) contextual and operational factors. Although contextual and operational challenges exist, these participants, as key stakeholders in the process, perceived the value of baseline testing to be more important than the barriers experienced. CONCLUSIONS: The value of baseline testing extends beyond concussion assessment and management, by enhancing community concussion awareness, attitudes and player safety. The findings of this study may assist in the decision-making process around inclusion of pre-season baseline testing in community rugby.

A case report of acute hypothermia during initial inpatient clozapine titration with review of current literature on clozapine-induced temperature dysregulations.

BACKGROUND: Here we describe a unique case of clozapine-associated hypothermia during initial titration of this medication in an acute inpatient psychiatry setting. Only a handful of cases on this topic have been published. We discuss possible pharmacologic mechanisms supporting or refuting the propensity of clozapine to induce hypothermia, as well as risk factors for clozapine-induced hypothermia, and a comparison to clozapine-induced hyperthermia. CASE PRESENTATION: A 70 year-old African American female with treatment-refractory schizoaffective disorder developed hypothermia with a nadir temperature of 89 °F (31.7 °C) after 7 days on clozapine, on a total dose of 50 mg twice daily. Accompanying symptoms included bradycardia, hypotension, QTc prolongation, tachypnea, hypoxemia, and an absence of shivering. The patient was transferred to the ICU, and rewarmed within 10 h with the discontinuation of her clozapine, ziprasidone, and carvedilol. Broad spectrum antibiotics were initiated, but discontinued shortly after, as the patient had no leukocytosis, and blood cultures were negative. DISCUSSION: While hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, sepsis, and stroke were effectively ruled out, alternative drug-disease (including chronic kidney disease), and drug-drug interactions were considered possible contributing features. Benzodiazepines, valproic acid, ziprasidone, and the numerous antihypertensive agents the patient was taking were considered as either primary or compounding factors for hypothermia. After exclusion or inclusion of these alternative causes, we calculated a score of 4 (possible) for clozapine-induced hypothermia on the Naranjo Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Clozapine-induced hypothermia may occur more commonly than clinicians believe. Practitioners should be cognizant of this potentially fatal phenomenon, and monitor for temperature dysregulations while on clozapine, especially during initial titration, in those with multiple comorbid factors, and on additional medications that may contribute to hypothermia.

Mayo Registry for Telemetry Efficacy in Arrest Study: An Assessment of the Utility of Telemetry in Predicting Clinical Decompensation.

INTRODUCTION: Our study assesses the utility of telemetry in identifying decompensation in patients with documented cardiopulmonary arrest. METHODS: A retrospective review of inpatients who experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest from May 1, 2008, until June 30, 2014, was performed. Telemetry records 24 hours prior to and immediately preceding cardiopulmonary arrest were reviewed. Patient subanalyses based on clinical demographics were made as well as analyses of survival comparing patients with identifiable rhythm changes in telemetry to those without. RESULTS: Of 242 patients included in the study, 75 (31.0%) and 110 (45.5%) experienced telemetry changes at the 24-hour and immediately preceding time periods, respectively. Of the telemetry changes, the majority were classified as nonmalignant (n = 50, 66.7% and n = 66, 55.5% at 24 hours prior and immediately preceding, respectively). There was no difference in telemetry changes between intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU patients and among patients stratified according to the American Heart Association telemetry indications. There was no difference in survival when comparing patients with telemetry changes immediately preceding and at 24 hours prior to an event (n = 30, 27.3% and n = 15, 20.0%) to those without telemetry changes during the same periods (n = 27, 20.5% and n = 42, 25.2%; P = .22 and .39). CONCLUSION: Telemetry has limited utility in predicting clinical decompensation in the inpatient setting.

Descriptive Analysis of Medication Administration During Inpatient Cardiopulmonary Arrest Resuscitation (from the Mayo Registry for Telemetry Efficacy in Arrest Study).

Advanced cardiovascular life support guidelines exist, yet there are variations in clinical practice. Our study aims to describe the utilization of medications during resuscitation from in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest. A retrospective review of patients who suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest from May 2008 to June 2014 was performed. Clinical and resuscitation data, including timing and dose of medications used, were extracted from the electronic medical record and comparisons made. A total of 94 patients were included in the study. Patients were divided into different groups based on the medication combination used during resuscitation: (1) epinephrine; (2) epinephrine and bicarbonate; (3) epinephrine, bicarbonate, and calcium; (4) epinephrine, bicarbonate, and epinephrine drip; and (5) epinephrine, bicarbonate, calcium, and epinephrine drip. No difference in baseline demographics or clinical data was present, apart from history of dementia and the use of calcium channel blockers. The number of medications given was correlated with resuscitation duration (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.50, p <0.001). The proportion of patients who died during the arrest was 12.5% in those who received epinephrine alone, 30.0% in those who received only epinephrine and bicarbonate, and 46.7% to 57.9% in the remaining groups. Patients receiving only epinephrine had shorter resuscitation durations compared to that of the other groups (p <0.001) and improved survival (p = 0.003). In conclusion, providers frequently use nonguideline medications in resuscitation efforts for in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrests. Increased duration and mortality rates were found in those resuscitations compared with epinephrine alone, likely due to the longer resuscitation duration in the former groups.

Mayo registry for telemetry efficacy in arrest (MR TEA) study: An assessment of the effect of admission diagnosis on outcomes from in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest.

INTRODUCTION: Little data exists evaluating how different risk factors influence outcomes following in-hospital arrests. METHODS: A retrospective review of patients that suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest between 1 May 2008 and 30 June 2014 was performed. Patients were stratified into subsets based on cardiac versus non-cardiac reasons for admission. RESULTS: 199 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 138 (69.3%) had a non-cardiac reason for admission and 61 (30.7%) a cardiac etiology. No difference in demographics and non-cardiac comorbidities were present. Cardiac-related comorbidities were more prevalent in the cardiac etiology subset. Arrests with a shockable rhythm were more common in the cardiac group (P < 0.0001), yet return of spontaneous circulation from the index event was similar (P = 0.254). More patients in the cardiac group were alive at 24-h post resuscitation (n = 34, 55.7% versus n = 49, 35.5%; P = 0.0085), discharge (n = 21, 34.4% versus n = 19, 13.8%; P = 0.0018), and at last follow-up (n = 13, 21.3% versus n = 14, 10.1%; P = 0.0434). CONCLUSION: Although patients with cardiac and non-cardiac etiologies for admission have similar rates of return of spontaneous circulation, those with cardiac etiologies are more likely to survive to hospital discharge and outpatient follow-up.