Existing Data Sources in Clinical Epidemiology: Database of Community Acquired Infections Requiring Hospital Referral in Eastern Denmark (DCAIED) 2018-2021.

Infectious diseases are major health care challenges globally and a prevalent cause of admission to emergency departments. Epidemiologic characteristics and outcomes based on population level data are limited. The Database of Community Acquired Infections in Eastern Denmark (DCAIED) 2018-2021 was established with the aim to explore and estimate the population characteristics, and outcomes of patients suffering from community acquired infections at the emergency departments in the Capital Region and the Zealand Region of Denmark using data from electronic medical records. Adult patients (≥18 years) presenting to the emergency department with suspected or confirmed infection are included in the cohort. Presence of sepsis and organ failure are assessed using modified criteria from the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). During the inclusion period from January 2018 to January 2022, 2,241,652 adult emergency department visits have been registered. Of these, 451,825 were unique encounters of which 60,316 fulfilled criteria of suspected infection and 28,472 fulfilled sepsis criteria and 8,027 were defined as septic shock. The database covers the entire Capital and Zealand Region of Denmark with an uptake area of 2.6 million inhabitants and includes demographic, laboratory and outcome indicators, with complete follow-up. The database is well-suited for epidemiological research for future national and international collaborations.

Pulmonary artery pressure as a method for assessing hydration status in an anuric hemodialysis patient - a case report.

BACKGROUND: Setting the dry weight and maintaining fluid balance is still a difficult challenge in dialysis patients. Overhydration is common and associated with increased cardiac morbidity and mortality. Pulmonary hypertension is associated with volume overload in end-stage renal dysfunction patients. Thus, monitoring pulmonary pressure by a CardioMEMS device could potentially be of guidance to physicians in the difficult task of assessing fluid overload in hemodialysis patients. CASE PRESENTATION: 61-year old male with known congestive heart failure deteriorated over 3 months' time from a state with congestive heart failure and diuresis to a state of chronic kidney disease and anuria. He began a thrice/week in-hospital hemodialysis regime. As he already had implanted a CardioMEMS device due to his heart condition, we were able to monitor invasive pulmonary artery pressure during the course of dialysis sessions. To compare, we estimated overhydration by both bioimpedance and clinical assessment. Pulmonary artery pressure correlated closely with fluid drainage during dialysis and inter-dialytic weight gain. The patient reached prescribed dry weight but remained pulmonary hypertensive by definition. During two episodes of intradialytic systemic hypotension, the patient still had pulmonary hypertension by current definition. CONCLUSION: This case report observes a close correlation between pulmonary artery pressure and fluid overload in a limited amount of observations. In this case we found pulmonary artery pressure to be more sensitive towards fluid overload than bioimpedance. The patient remained pulmonary hypertensive both as he reached prescribed dry weight and experienced intradialytic hypotensive symptoms. Monitoring pulmonary artery pressure via CardioMEMS could hold great potential as a real-time guidance for fluid balance during hemodialysis, though adjusted cut-off values for pulmonary pressure for anuric patients may be needed. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings of this case report and the applicability of pulmonary pressure in assessing optimal fluid balance.

Readmittance rates within seven days are preferable in quality measuring of emergency departments.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this article was to qualify and test the recommendations of a national Danish report. We conducted an investigation on the readmittance rate as well as reasons for readmittance in a patient cohort defined through the process of internal audit at the Emergency Department at Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark. METHODS: A retrospective, descriptive study of admitted patients in November 2014, including a total of 1,440 patients. Data and parameters were obtained from electronic patient records. RESULTS: A total of 162 patients were readmitted within 30 days from their initial admission (11% of the cohort). Of this group, 139 (86%) readmittances were unpreventable or planned. Readmissions caused by missed diagnosis or insufficient treatment accounted for 8% and 6%, respectively. The median time until readmission in these cases were two and four and a half days, respectively. The median time to readmission for the unpreventable readmissions ranged from 13 to 18.5 days. CONCLUSION: In terms of patient safety, our data support a seven-day observation period for readmission rates when measuring or monitoring quality of care in emergency departments. FUNDING: none. TRIAL REGISTRATION: none.