Novel Use of Catheter Mount as an Alternative to T-piece.

Catheter mounts with swivel connectors are used to attach the endotracheal tube to the ventilator circuit, dampening jerks and drags and increasing patient comfort. We suggest a unique application of catheter mount as T-piece for weaning, eliminating the need for a single inventory purchase and repurposing a previously used item for a new use, lowering the financial burden on patients. In our ICU, catheter mounts are being used as an alternative to T-piece for 30-minute weaning trials following successful SBT trials to evaluate patients' response to Zero PEEP (ZEEP) and therefore the probable occurrence of alveolar derecruitment to decrease extubation failure. How to cite this article: Anand A, Panda R, Kodamanchili S, Saigal S, Gowthaman TB, Bhardwaj K. Novel Use of Catheter Mount as an Alternative to T-piece. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(2):246-247.

On Admission, Microcirculation Abnormality is an Independent Predictor of Sepsis and Sepsis-related Mortality: A Hospital-based Study.

Background: Microcirculatory derangement is the primary cause of organ dysfunction in patients with sepsis. Assessment of the microcirculation is usually done by means of indirect parameters (SvO2 transcutaneous PO2 serum lactate.) The aim of our study is to understand microcirculatory abnormalities in patients with sepsis by directly visualizing the tiny vessels using hand-held video microscopes (HVMs) and determining the role of this modality in the prediction of sepsis-related mortality. Methods: A longitudinal prospective hospital-based study was carried out in medical ward and ICU of a tertiary care hospital. Patients admitted with the presumed infectious disease were included. Evaluation of sublingual microcirculation was done in these patients from Day 1 to Day 5 Clinical and laboratory variables and microcirculation variables were compared between patients with or without sepsis and between survivors and non-survivors of sepsis. Chi-square test for categorical and Student's t-test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables were applied. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed using the Cox-proportional hazard model. Results and discussion: On admission, microcirculation assessment measure, PPV (small), was significantly reduced in those with sepsis, as compared to those without sepsis. Multivariable models indicate the inverse relationship of PPV small with mortality. How to cite this article: Panda A, Revadi G, Sharma JP, Pakhare A, Singhai A, Joshi R, et al. On Admission, Microcirculation Abnormality is an Independent Predictor of Sepsis and Sepsis-related Mortality: A Hospital-based Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(3):294-301.

Trendelenburg Ventilation in Patients of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome with Poor Lung Compliance and Diaphragmatic Dysfunction.

Background: Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are generally ventilated in either 45° head elevation or prone position as they are associated with decreased incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and mortality, respectively.1,2 But in patients with poor lung compliance and super-added diaphragmatic weakness/dysfunction, generating a minimum amount of adequate tidal volume (TV) would be very difficult in propped up/supine/prone position, leading to worsening hypoxia and CO2 retention. We noticed a sustained increase in TV for patients with poor lung compliance (Cs <15 mL/cm H2O) and diaphragmatic dysfunction (bilateral diaphragmatic excursion <1 cm, on spontaneous breaths) when the patients are switched to Trendelenburg position with the same ventilator settings. Patients and methods: A case report with possible explanation for the observed changes has been mentioned. Results: Trendelenburg ventilation delivered more TV than propped up or prone ventilation in patients of ARDS with poor lung compliance and diaphragmatic dysfunction. Conclusion: Trendelenburg ventilation increases static lung compliance and delivers more TV when compared to propped up/supine/prone ventilation in patients of ARDS with poor lung compliance and diaphragmatic dysfunction. Although the exact mechanism behind this is not known till now, we formulated few theories that could explain the possible mechanism. How to cite this article: Kodamanchili S, Saigal S, Anand A, Panda R, Priyanka TN, Balakrishnan GT, et al. Trendelenburg Ventilation in Patients of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome with Poor Lung Compliance and Diaphragmatic Dysfunction. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(3):319-321.

Effect of Remdesivir Administration on Occurrence of Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Critically Ill COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background and objectives: Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) are frequent in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Remdesivir is used worldwide for treatment in COVID-19. In this retrospective observational study, our primary objective was to assess the impact of remdesivir administration on the incidence of MACE and associated 28 day survival in critically ill patients admitted for moderate to severe COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients and methods: We analyzed the data of 437 patients admitted in intensive care unit (ICU) and divided them into two groups: R group (received remdesivir at ICU admission) and NR group (nonremdesivir) or based on the occurrence of MACE in ICU. We followed the data until discharge, death, or 28 days postadmission. Our primary objective was to investigate the log-odds of survival with remdesivir administration and a correlation/regression analysis of MACE with remdesivir administration in all included patients. Results: The incidence of MACE was 72 among 437 patients, with 17 (9.3%) patients in R group vs 55 (21.8%) in NR group (p <0.001). On performing correlation analysis between MACE and remdesivir administration, significant correlation coefficient of -0.168 (p = 0.004) was obtained. On regression analysis, the odds ratio for occurrence of MACE with remdesivir administration was 0.362 (regression coefficient: -1.014, p <0.001). It indicates a 64% decrease in the log-odds of MACE and a 16% increase in the log-odds of survival with remdesivir administration. All 72 patients with MACE had expired, suggesting a high mortality risk with cardiac complications. The odds ratio for mortality due to MACE with remdesivir administration was 0.216 (regression coefficient: -1.530, p -<0.001). It indicates a 79% decrease in the log-odds of death due to MACE with remdesivir administration. Conclusion: Our study showed significant reduction in MACE and mortality benefit in patients who received remdesivir in comparison to standard treatment. How to cite this article: Panda R, Singh P, Jain G, Saigal S, Karna ST, Anand A, et al. Effect of Remdesivir Administration on Occurrence of Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Critically Ill COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Observational Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(9):993-999.

Weaning Outcomes and 28-day Mortality after Tracheostomy in COVID-19 Patients in Central India: A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Tracheostomy is integral in long-term intensive care of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients. There is a paucity of studies on weaning outcomes and mortality after tracheostomy in COVID-19 in Indian scenario. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, single-center, observational study of severe COVID-19 patients who underwent elective tracheostomy (n = 65) during critical care in a tertiary care institute in Central India from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021. Data were collected from Medical records, ICU charts, and follow-up visits by patient. A primary objective was to study the clinical characteristics, tracheostomy complications, weaning outcomes, and mortality at 28 and 60 days of ICU admission. We categorized the cohort into two groups (deceased and survivor) and studied association of clinical parameters with 28-day mortality. Cox Proportional regression analysis was applied to calculate the hazard ratio among the predictors of mortality with p value <0.05 as significant. RESULTS: Elective tracheostomy was done in 69 of 436 (15.8%) patients on invasive mechanical ventilation, of which 65 were included. Tracheostomy was percutaneous in 45/65 (69%) and surgical in 20/65 (31%) with timing from intubation as early in 41/65 and late in 24/65 with most common indication as weaning failure followed by anticipated prolonged ventilation. Tracheostomy complications were present in 29/65 (45%) patients with no difference in complication rates between timing and type of tracheostomy. Downsizing, decannulation, and weaning were successful in 22%, 32 (49%), and 35/65 (54%) patients after tracheostomy. The 28-day mortality was 30/65 (46%). The fractional inspired oxygen concentration (FiO2) requirement in survivors was lower (0.4-0.6, p = 0.015) with a higher PaO2/FiO2 ratio (118-200, p = 0.033). Early tracheostomy within 7 days of intubation was not associated with weaning or survival benefit. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that tracheostomy should be delayed to after 7 days of intubation, especially till FiO2 reduces to 0.5 with improvement in PaO2/FiO2 for better outcomes and avoiding a wasted procedure (CTRI/2021/07/034768). STUDY HIGHLIGHTS: Tracheostomy is integral in care of COVID-19 patients needing prolonged ventilation. There is no difference in complications in early/late or percutaneous dilatational/surgical technique. We observed successful weaning post-tracheostomy in 54% patients. Mortality at 28 days was 46%. Early tracheostomy within 7 days of intubation did not improve weaning or survival. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Karna ST, Trivedi S, Singh P, Khurana A, Gouroumourty R, Dodda B, et al. Weaning Outcomes and 28-day Mortality after Tracheostomy in COVID-19 Patients in Central India: A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(1):85-93.

Changing Critical Care Patterns and Associated Outcomes in Mechanically Ventilated Severe COVID-19 Patients in Different Time Periods: An Explanatory Study from Central India.

Background: The outcomes in critical illness depend on disease severity, practice protocols, workload, and access to care. This study investigates the factors affecting outcomes in mechanically ventilated coronavirus disease-2019 acute respiratory distress syndrome (COVID-19 ARDS) patients admitted in a tertiary teaching hospital intensive care unit (ICU) in Central India with reference to different time periods in pandemic. This is one of the largest series of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients, globally. Methods: This retrospective cohort study classified the entire data into four time periods (Period 1: April 2020 to June 2020; Period 2: July 2020 to September 2020; Period 3: October 2020 to December 2020; and Period 4: January 2021 to April 2021). We performed a multivariable-adjusted analysis to evaluate predictors of mortality, adjusted for baseline-severity, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA score) and time period. We applied mixed-effect binomial logistic regression to model fixed-effect variables with incremental complexity. Results: Among the 56 survivors (19.4%) out of 288 mechanically ventilated patients, there was an up-gradient of survival proportion (0, 18.2, 17.4, and 28.6%) in four time periods. Symptom-intubation interval (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03-1.31) and driving pressures (DPs) (OR 1.17; 95% CI 1.07-1.28) were significant predictors of mortality in the model having minimal AIC and BIC values. Patients aged above 60 years also had a larger effect, but statistically insignificant effect favoring mortality (OR 1.99; 95% CI 0.92-4.27). The most complex but less parsimonious model (with higher AIC/BIC) indicated the protective odds of high steroid on mortality (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.59-0.82). Conclusion: The outcomes in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients are heterogeneous across time windows and may be affected by the complex interaction of baseline risk and critical care parameters. How to cite this article: Saigal S, Joshi A, Panda R, Goyal A, Kodamanchili S, Anand A, et al. Changing Critical Care Patterns and Associated Outcomes in Mechanically Ventilated Severe COVID-19 Patients in Different Time Periods: An Explanatory Study from Central India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(9):1022-1030.

Successful use of tPA for thrombolysis in COVID related ARDS: a case series.

We describe successful usage of low dose Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) (30-50 mg) in three COVID19 critically ill patients, who were in worsening respiratory failure in-spite of being on therapeutic anticoagulation. All patients had respiratory rate > 40; FiO2 > 0.7(on NIV); PiO2/FiO2 ratio < 100 and D-dimer>1000 ng/ml. C.T. Pulmonary Angiography could not be done in these patients due to poor general condition, but 2D echo was normal and none of the patients was in shock. So there was no conventional indication of thrombolysis in these patients, yet after thrombolysis, we saw dramatic changes in oxygenation. All patients became off oxygen within 3-7 days and were discharged within 2 weeks. The whole idea was to prevent intubation, since mortality rates are very high in intubated COVID19 patients. tPA is associated with <1% risk of fatal bleed. In this unprecedented pandemic with high mortality rates, thrombolysis could be an effective and safe option in carefully selected critically ill patients of COVID19.

Variation in therapeutic strategies for the management of severe COVID-19 in India: A nationwide cross-sectional survey.

AIM: During the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the physicians are using various off-label therapeutics to manage COVID-19. We undertook a cross-sectional survey to study the current variation in therapeutic strategies for managing severe COVID-19 in India. METHODS: From January 4 to January 18, 2021, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians involved in the management of severe COVID-19. The survey had three sections: 1. Antiviral agents, 2. Immunomodulators, and 3. Adjuvant therapies. RESULTS: 1055 respondents (from 24 states and five union territories), of which 64.2% were consultants, 54.3% working in private hospitals, and 39.1% were from critical care medicine completed the survey. Remdesivir (95.2%), antithrombotics (94.2%), corticosteroids (90.3%), vitamins (89.7%) and empirical antibiotics (85.6%) were the commonly used therapeutics. Ivermectin (33%), convalescent plasma (28.6%) and favipiravir (17.6%) were other antiviral agents used. Methylprednisolone (50.2%) and dexamethasone (44.1%) were preferred corticosteroids and at a dose equivalent of 8 mg of dexamethasone phosphate (70.2%). There was significant variation among physicians from different medical specialities in the use of favipiravir, corticosteroids, empirical antibiotics and vitamins. CONCLUSION: There is a considerable variation in the physicians' choice of therapeutic strategies for the management of severe COVID-19 in India, as compared with the available evidence.

Reanalyzing the Mortality Analysis of COVID-19 Deaths in a Tertiary Care Center in India.

How to cite this article: Anand A, Panghal R, Kaler P, Saigal S, Panda R, Kodamanchili S, et al. Reanalyzing the Mortality Analysis of COVID-19 Deaths in a Tertiary Care Center in India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021; 25(10):1211.

Frequency and Impact of Preadmission Digestive Symptoms on Outcome in Severe COVID-19: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) commonly presents with respiratory symptoms. However, symptoms involving the digestive system may be present, significance of which is not well studied in the Indian scenario. METHODS: This prospective observational cohort study included consecutive patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to intensive care unit of our tertiary care hospital from September 9, 2020, to March 14, 2021. We evaluated the frequency of preadmission digestive symptoms and compared the demographic, clinical, laboratory parameters, and organ failure at admission and during intensive care along with mortality between those with and without digestive symptoms. In the digestive group, we sought to find predictors of mortality. RESULTS: Digestive symptoms were present in 76/234 (32.4%) with severe COVID-19 infection. In comparison to nondigestive group, digestive patients had higher need for noninvasive ventilation (p 0.028), invasive lines (68%, p 0.003), vasopressors (64%, p 0.01), blood product transfusion (21.1%, p <0.001), and heart failure (55.4%, p 0.041). Confounding factors of alcohol abuse, smoking, sedentary lifestyle as a causative agent for heart failure could not be ruled out. Proportional mortality rate is higher in the digestive group (65.8%, p = 0.015). Mortality is multifactorial with preadmission abdominal pathologies (HR 4.3) or central nervous system (CNS)-related comorbidities (HR 2.829), presentation with multiple digestive symptoms (HR 6.9), higher sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA) score at admission (HR 1.258) and discharge (HR 1.162), and presence of acute kidney injury (AKI) Grade 3 (HR 2.95) as predictors of mortality. After adjusting for all confounders, need for vasopressor was observed to be associated with 11.58 times higher risk of mortality. CONCLUSION: Preadmission digestive symptoms may be associated with a turbulent illness with invasive interventions, heart failure, and greater proportional mortality in severe COVID-19. AKI Grade 3 is identified as a preventable risk factor predicting mortality. CTRI/2021/03/032325. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Karna ST, Singh P, Revadi G, Khurana A, Shivhare A, Saigal S, et al. Frequency and Impact of Preadmission Digestive Symptoms on Outcome in Severe COVID-19: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(11):1247-1257.

Simple Mobile Application for Calculating "Ergotrauma" Made Using an Excel Sheet.

How to cite this article: Anand A, Saigal S, Panda R, Kodamanchili S, Shrivastava P, Das A, et al. Simple Mobile Application for Calculating "Ergotrauma" Made Using an Excel Sheet. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(9):1081.

Lung Ultrasound and Blood Gas-Based Classification of Critically Ill Patients with Dyspnea: A Pathophysiologic Approach.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to classify dyspneic patients and to evaluate outcome variables on the basis of lung ultrasound (LUS) and arterial blood gas (ABG) findings. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart-based review in which we included patients with dyspnea admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) between March 2015 and August 2016. On the basis of LUS (presence of A-lines/B-lines) and ABG (hypoxia/hypercarbia), patients were classified into six groups: (i) metabolic defect (dry lung, no hypoxia); (ii) perfusion defect (dry lung, hypoxia); (iii) ventilation defect (dry lung, hypoxia, and hypercarbia); (iv) ventilation and alveolar defect (wet lung, hypoxia, and hypercarbia); (v) alveolar defect-consolidation ([wet lung] hypoxia, no echocardiographic [ECG] abnormality); (vi) alveolar defect-pulmonary edema (wet lung [usually bilateral], hypoxia, ECG abnormality). The patient's demographic data, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, need for intubation, vasopressors, form of mechanical ventilation, ICU outcome, and length of stay were noted. RESULTS: A total of 244 out of 435 patients were eligible for inclusion in the study. The median age was 56 years. 132 patients (54.1%) required mechanical ventilation, and median SOFA score was 7. Noninvasive ventilation was required in 87.5% of patients with ventilation defect as compared to 9.2% with alveolar defect-consolidation (P < 0.0001). We had 21.7% mortality in patients with alveolar defect-consolidation, 10.8% mortality in patients with metabolic defect, and 8.7% mortality in patients with alveolar defect-pulmonary edema (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This classification gives an organized approach in managing patients with dyspnea. It predicts that patients with alveolar defect-consolidation are most sick of all the groups and need immediate intervention.

A cat has 9 lives: The dilemma of diagnosing non hodgkin's lymphoma in intensive care unit.

Non hodgkins lymphoma is a common haematological malignancy characterized by abnormal clonal proliferation of T-cells, B-cells or both. The incidence of non hodgkins lymphoma is rapidly rising. The diagnosis and management of NHL presents as a challenge in developing countries like India due to high prevalence of tuberculosis, cost and poor patient compliance. We describe an unusual case of a patient who presented as a diagnostic dilemma and took 8 diagnosis before finally being confirmed as a case of NHL. A suspicion for NHL should always be kept in mind in a patient presenting with pneumonia, bilateral pulmonary infiltrates and eosinophilia.

Mapping the Characteristics of Critical Care Facilities: Assessment, Distribution, and Level of Critical Care Facilities from Central India.

BACKGROUND: In low- and middle-income countries such as India, where health systems are weak, the number of available Critical Care Unit (Intensive Care Unit [ICU]) beds is expected to be low. There is no study from the Indian subcontinent that has reported the characteristics and distribution of existing ICUs. We performed this study to understand the characteristics and distribution of ICUs in Madhya Pradesh (MP) state of Central India. We also aimed to develop a consensus scoring system and internally validate it to define levels of care and to improve health system planning and to strengthen referral networks in the state. METHODS: We obtained a list of potential ICU facilities from various sources and then performed a cross-sectional survey by visiting each facility and determining characteristics for each facility. We collected variables with respect to infrastructure, human resources, equipment, support services, procedures performed, training courses conducted, and in-place policies or standard operating procedure documents. RESULTS: We identified a total of 123 ICUs in MP. Of 123 ICUs, 35 were level 1 facilities, 74 were level 2 facilities, and only 14 were level 3 facilities. Overall, there were 0.17 facilities per 100,000 population (95* confidence interval [CI] 0.14-0.20 per 100,000 populations). There were a total of 1816 ICU beds in the state, with an average of 2.5 beds per 100,000 population (95* CI 2.4-2.6 per 100,000 population). Of the total number of ICU beds, 250 are in level 1, 1141 are in level 2, and 425 are in level 3 facilities. This amounts to 0.34, 1.57, and 0.59 ICU beds per 100,000 population for levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study could just be an eye opener for our healthcare authorities at both state and national levels to estimate the proportion of ICU beds per lac population. Similar mapping of intensive care services from other States will generate national data that is hitherto unknown.

Action and resistance mechanisms of antibiotics: A guide for clinicians.

Infections account for a major cause of death throughout the developing world. This is mainly due to the emergence of newer infectious agents and more specifically due to the appearance of antimicrobial resistance. With time, the bacteria have become smarter and along with it, massive imprudent usage of antibiotics in clinical practice has resulted in resistance of bacteria to antimicrobial agents. The antimicrobial resistance is recognized as a major problem in the treatment of microbial infections. The biochemical resistance mechanisms used by bacteria include the following: antibiotic inactivation, target modification, altered permeability, and "bypass" of metabolic pathway. Determination of bacterial resistance to antibiotics of all classes (phenotypes) and mutations that are responsible for bacterial resistance to antibiotics (genetic analysis) are helpful. Better understanding of the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance will help clinicians regarding usage of antibiotics in different situations. This review discusses the mechanism of action and resistance development in commonly used antimicrobials.

Targeted temperature management: Current evidence and practices in critical care.

Targeted temperature management (TTM) in today's modern era, especially in intensive care units represents a promising multifaceted therapy for a variety of conditions. Though hypothermia is being used since Hippocratic era, the renewed interest of late has been since early 21(st) century. There have been multiple advancements in this field and varieties of cooling devices are available at present. TTM requires careful titration of its depth, duration and rewarming as it is associated with side-effects. The purpose of this review is to find out the best evidence-based clinical practice criteria of therapeutic hypothermia in critical care settings. TTM is an unique therapeutic modality for salvaging neurological tissue viability in critically ill patients viz. Post-cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury (TBI), meningitis, acute liver failure and stroke. TTM is standard of care in post-cardiac arrest situations; there has been a lot of controversy of late regarding temperature ranges to be used for the same. In patients with TBI, it reduces intracranial pressure, but has not shown any favorable neurologic outcome. Hypothermia is generally accepted treatment for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in newborns. The current available technology to induce and maintain hypothermia allows for precise temperature control. Future studies should focus on optimizing hypothermic treatment to full benefit of our patients and its application in other clinical scenarios.

Unrecognized catatonia as a cause for delayed weaning in Intensive Care Unit.

The cause of altered sensorium in critical care settings includes metabolic derangements, drug and toxin overdose, central nervous system infections, neurodegenerative disorders, vascular events, hypo-perfusion states, and septic encephalopathy. Here, we present a case of an elderly woman who presented to us with altered sensorium with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Her metabolic parameters, imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid study were all normal despite that she continued to remain in altered sensorium and had an unrecognized behavioral state that delayed her weaning.

Thrombo-prophylaxis in acutely ill medical and critically ill patients.

Thrombo-prophylaxis has been shown to reduce the incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and mortality in surgical patients. The purpose of this review is to find out the evidence-based clinical practice criteria of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis in acutely ill medical and critically ill patients. English-language randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis were included if they provided clinical outcomes and evaluated therapy with low-dose heparin or related agents compared with placebo, no treatment, or other active prophylaxis in the critically ill and medically ill population. For the same, we searched MEDLINE, PUBMED, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. In acutely ill medical patients on the basis of meta-analysis by Lederle et al. (40 trials) and LIFENOX study, heparin prophylaxis had no significant effect on mortality. The prophylaxis may have reduced PE in acutely ill medical patients, but led to more bleeding events, thus resulting in no net benefit. In critically ill patients, results of meta-analysis by Alhazzani et al. and PROTECT Trial indicate that any heparin prophylaxis compared with placebo reduces the rate of DVT and PE, but not symptomatic DVT. Major bleeding risk and mortality rates were similar. On the basis of MAGELLAN trial and EINSTEIN program, rivaroxaban offers a single-drug approach to the short-term and continued treatment of venous thrombosis. Aspirin has been used as antiplatelet agent, but when the data from two trials the ASPIRE and WARFASA study were pooled, there was a 32% reduction in the rate of recurrence of venous thrombo-embolism and a 34% reduction in the rate of major vascular events.

Impact of Vertical and Horizontal Skin Incisions on Outcome Measures in Tracheostomies.

Tracheostomy is a life-saving procedure in which an opening is created in the anterior wall of the trachea. Different skin incision types are administered in tracheostomy procedures, predominantly vertical and horizontal. Various literature on the skin incision types in tracheostomy had contradictory findings, with different studies observing that one skin incision type had better outcomes than its counterpart. Hence the objective of this study was to compare the outcomes associated with vertical and horizontal skin incisions in patients undergoing tracheostomy. Method The present study assessed the outcome measures between the two incision types (vertical and horizontal) in tracheostomy. A prospective longitudinal study was done based on an academic tertiary hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Participants above 18 years who underwent tracheostomy were enrolled in the study and followed up over six months during intraoperative, immediate, within seven days, and long-term periods. Result In intraoperative complications, bleeding was most common (n = 15, 16.7%), followed by passage of tube into false tract (n = 6, 6.7%) and saturation drop (n = 2, 2.2%). Immediate complications comprised T-tube blockage (n = 4, 4.4%) and bleeding (n = 1, 1.1%). Complications within seven days occurred only in the horizontal group in which stomal site ulceration (n = 4, 6.7%) and delayed bleeding (n = 2, 3.3%) was seen, and one participant had unintended decannulation. In the long term, complications observed were stomal granulation (n = 9, 19.1%), dysphagia (n = 7, 14.9%), and unintended decannulation (n = 4, 8.5%). Conclusion In the current study, the most common intraoperative complication was bleeding, the immediate complication was tube dislodgement, and tracheostomy site ulcer was the most common complication within seven days, similar to the literature findings.

Study on Assessing Serum Lactate as an Early Prognostic Determinant in Sepsis Outcome.

BACKGROUND: Apart from being one of the main causes of death, sepsis has recently been considered a chronic critical illness. This has resulted in the implementation of standard treatment recommendations for management, with a focus on the initial phases of treatment. Early detection of sepsis and prognostic grading are now crucial for management. Despite the fact that sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA), acute physiology, and chronic health evaluation II score (APACHE II) have been widely used in sepsis, there have been shortcomings such as feasibility and many lab parameters involved. As a result, this study was conducted to evaluate the role of serum lactate as an early marker and to compare it to current scoring systems for determining the outcome of sepsis. METHODS AND MATERIAL: This was an observational hospital-based study with 60 individuals recruited over a one-year period from July 2021 to June 2022. Serum lactate, as well as the other laboratory tests required for the computation of SOFA and APACHE II, were performed. The baseline data and the trend of lactate vs standard scores were examined in the first 48 hours, as well as their impact on outcomes in sepsis patients (as measured by mortality rates- patients were followed up for 28 days). The diagnostic accuracy of these scores was calculated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUROC). RESULTS: The study enrolled 60 people out of a total of 162 people who were screened. The mean age was 48.4 years, with the highest mortality occurring between the ages of 41 and 60 years. Of the total 60 participants, 34 (56.6%) were male, with the respiratory tract being the most common source of infection for sepsis (36.67%). In our study, 46 patients survived while 14 patients died. The mean lactate on admission was 3.1 mmol/L in survivors and 4 mmol/L in non-survivors, whereas APACHE II was 9 and 12.36, and SOFA was 3.63 and 7.79, respectively, in survivors and non-survivors. Serum lactate and prognosis scores were compared in the survivor and non-survivor groups, and the difference in diagnostic accuracy was found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Serum lactate can be used as an early recognition marker in patients with a probability of sepsis and serial lactate monitoring has a similar diagnostic accuracy in predicting outcomes as the traditional prognostic scoring systems SOFA and APACHE II.