Dong Woo Seo

An Increase in Initial Shock Index Is Associated With the Requirement for Massive Transfusion in Emergency Department Patients With Primary Postpartum Hemorrhage

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine whether initial shock index (SI) was independently associated with the requirement for massive transfusion (MT) in emergency department (ED) patients with primary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). A retrospective cohort study of ED patients with primary PPH was performed at a university-affiliated, tertiary referral center between January 2004 and May 2012. Patients were classified to two groups: MT group (patients who received ≥10 U of packed red blood cells within 24 h of ED admission) and non-MT group (patients who received <10 U). Variables of the two groups were compared using univariate and multivariate analyses. A total of 126 patients were included in this study. Of these patients, 26 (20.6%) were included in MT group and 100 (79.4%) in non-MT group. Patients in MT group had significantly lower blood pressure and higher heart rate compared with patients in non-MT group (P < 0.01). Initial SI was significantly higher in MT group than in non-MT group (1.3 vs 0.8, P < 0.01). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, initial SI and heart rate were the only variables associated with the requirement for MT, with an odds ratio of 9.47 (95% confidence interval, 1.75–51.28; P < 0.01) and 1.06 (95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.09; P < 0.01), respectively. In conclusion, initial SI was independently associated with the requirement for MT in ED patients with primary PPH. Routine calculation of initial SI can help clinicians to identify patients who may benefit from timely and appropriate use of MT to improve clinical outcomes.

Prognostic Value of Timing of Antibiotic Administration in Patients With Septic Shock Treated With Early Quantitative Resuscitation

Background:The Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommends initiating broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment within 1 hour of septic shock recognition. However, there is controversy regarding this owing to contradictory studies. This study investigated the relationship between the antibiotic administration interval and 28-day mortality in septic shock patients treated with an early quantitative resuscitation protocol in an emergency department (ED). Methods:715 consecutive septic shock patients were prospectively collected from January 2010 to December 2012. Of these, 426 patients developed shock at or after initial assessment, and the time of initial antibiotic administration was recorded. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Results:The median antibiotic administration interval was 91.5 (47.0–158.0) minutes, and the 28-day mortality was 20.0%. Mortality did not change with hourly delays in antibiotic administration up to 5 hours after shock recognition: 1 hour (odds ratio [OR]: 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45–1.45), 2 hours (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.40–1.29) and 3 hours (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.30–1.25). However, inability to achieve early resuscitation goals (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.07–3.51), sequential organ failure assessment score (OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.17–1.44) and lactic acid concentration (OR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.11–2.49) were significantly associated with an increased risk of 28-day mortality. Conclusions:Among septic shock patients who underwent early quantitative resuscitation in an ED, mortality did not increase with hourly delays in antibiotic administration. These data call into question the strength of the association between hourly delays in antibiotic administration and mortality in septic shock patients.

Advanced radiology utilization in a tertiary care emergency department from 2001 to 2010.

Objective To evaluate the utilization trends of advanced radiology, i.e. computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), examination in an emergency department (ED) of an academic medical center from 2001 to 2010. Patients and Methods We assessed the overall CT and MRI utilization, and the ED patient encounters. Each examination was evaluated according to the patient’s age and anatomically relevant regions. Results During the study period, 737,760 patient visited the ED, and 156,287 CT and 35,018 MRI examinations were performed. The number of annual ED patients increased from 63,770 in 2001 to 94,609 in 2010 (P = 0.018). The rate of CT utilization increased from 105.5 per 1000 patient visits in 2001 to 289.2 in 2010 (P<0.001), and the rate of MRI utilization increased from 8.1 per 1000 patient visits in 2001 to 74.6 in 2010 (P<0.001). In all of the patient age groups, the overall CT and MRI utilization increased. The greater the patient age, the more likely the use of advanced radiology [CT: 87.1 per 1000 patients in age <20 vs. 293.9 per 1000 in age>60 (P<0.001); MRI: 5.1 per 1000 patients in age <20 vs. 108.7 per 1000 in age>60 (P<0.001)]. Abdomen-pelvis (40.2%) and the head (35.7%) comprised the majority of CT scans, while the head (86.4%) comprised the majority of MRI examinations. The rates of advanced radiology use increased across all anatomical regions, with the highest increase being in chest CT (5.9 per 1000 to 49.2) and head MRI (7.2 per 1000 to 61.9). Conclusion We report a three-fold and nine-fold increase in the use of CT and MRI, respectively, during the study period. Additional studies will be required to understand the causes of this change and to determine the effect of advanced radiology utilization on the patient outcome.

The impact of downtime on neurologic intact survival in patients with targeted temperature management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: National multicenter cohort study ☆

AIM OF STUDY The association between long duration of resuscitation efforts in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and neurologic outcome is unclear and understudied with advancements in post-cardiac arrest care and high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We investigated how downtime, defined as the interval from collapse-to-return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), impacts on neurologic outcome in OHCA patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). METHODS A multicenter, registry-based, retrospective cohort study was conducted using cases from 24 hospitals across South Korea. Of the 930 adults (≥18 years) non-traumatic OHCA patients treated with TTM between January 2007 and December 2012 at these hospitals, we included 858 patients who had sufficient data for calculating downtime. Good neurologic outcome was defined as a cerebral performance category score of 1 or 2. RESULTS Median downtime was 30.0 (22.0-41.0min) and 242 patients (28.2%) had good neurologic outcome. When downtime was divided by 10-min intervals (≤10min, 11-20min, 21-30min, 31-40min, 41-50min, 51-60min, and >60min), their neurologically intact survival rate were 48.2%, 51.6%, 29.2%, 22.1%, 16.1%, 14.8%, and 7.1%, respectively (p=0.01). Although downtime was associated with poor neurologic outcome [odds ratio 1.06 (1.05-1.08), p<0.01], the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of downtime for outcome was only 0.67, 95% CI (0.63-0.71). Furthermore, even with downtime >20min, 22.2% (150/526) patients still had a good neurologic outcome, and this percentage increased to 50.3% (93/185) in patients with an initial shockable rhythm, and 31.1% (134/431) with age <65 years. CONCLUSIONS We found that neurologically intact survival can occur at prolonged downtimes and were unable to identify a downtime for which survivability was clearly futile. These data suggest that downtime should not be considered as a factor in determining whether to provide aggressive post-arrest care, especially in patients with young patients or those with an initially shockable rhythm.

Optimal insertion depth of central venous catheters—Is a formula required? A prospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION To determine the optimal length for initial insertion of central venous catheters (CVCs) and to evaluate whether a recommended depth predicted optimal positioning of CVCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS All patients who were CVC-cannulated and who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) during a 10-month period were included. We measured the distance from catheter insertion to the superior vena cava/right atrium (SVC/RA) junction and calculated a recommended insertion depth. We compared the accuracy of the recommended depth with that suggested by the formula of Peres for predicting optimal positioning of a CVC. RESULTS Of the 1238 patients who were CVC-cannulated over 10 months, 106 underwent chest CT. Based on the mean distance from the CVC insertion point to the distal SVC, we determined that the recommended depth of insertion should be 14 cm for the right subclavian vein, 15 cm for the right internal jugular vein, 17 cm for the left subclavian vein and 18 cm for left internal jugular vein. Using these guidelines, initial placement of a CVC in the distal SVC was more accurate than when the Peres formula was used (91.5% vs. 77.4%, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS For Asian populations, we found that these guidelines are more accurate than those derived from the Peres formulae and more simple to use, thus increasing the likelihood of optimal tip location within the SVC on the first attempt and eliminating the need for later repositioning.

Predictive performance of the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score as a screening tool for sepsis, mortality, and intensive care unit admission in patients with febrile neutropenia.

PurposeIn Sepsis-3, the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score was developed as criteria to use for recognizing patients who may have poor outcomes. This study was performed to evaluate the predictive performance of the qSOFA score as a screening tool for sepsis, mortality, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in patients with febrile neutropenia (FN). We also tried to compare its performance with that of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria and Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) score for FN.MethodsWe used a prospectively collected adult FN data registry. The qSOFA and SIRS scores were calculated retrospectively using the preexisting data. The primary outcome was the development of sepsis. The secondary outcomes were ICU admission and 28-day mortality.ResultsOf the 615 patients, 100 developed sepsis, 20 died, and 38 were admitted to ICUs. In multivariate analysis, qSOFA was an independent factor predicting sepsis and ICU admission. However, compared to the MASCC score, the area under the receiver operating curve of qSOFA was lower. qSOFA showed a low sensitivity (0.14, 0.2, and 0.23) but high specificity (0.98, 0.97, and 0.97) in predicting sepsis, 28-day mortality, and ICU admission.ConclusionsPerformance of the qSOFA score was inferior to that of the MASCC score. The preexisting risk stratification tool is more useful for predicting outcomes in patients with FN.

Hybrid reality-based user experience and evaluation of a context-aware smart home

A hybrid reality-based user experience and evaluation of a context-aware smart home.Integration of context-awareness and interactive visualization to evaluate the smart home.Integration of egocentric virtual reality and exocentric augmented reality.Experimental study to evaluate usability, human-physical object interaction, and usefulness. A smart home is considered as a new environment that can apply the use of Internet-of-Things (IoT). For that reason, the realization of the smart home requires the seamless integration among humans, physical objects, and user interactions. However, this accomplishment is currently unrealistic and expensive, considering the need to construct different types of physical smart homes and the need to evaluate them through the various aspects of user experiences. Thus, virtual reality is widely used for the preliminary test and pre-evaluation. However, there is little work to systematically evaluate the user experiences such as usability, natural and intuitive interaction between human and physical objects, and usefulness. This paper proposes a hybrid reality-based user experience and evaluation of a context-aware smart home. The user experience is provided by the integration of egocentric virtual reality and exocentric augmented reality. Furthermore, to make a smart home environment more natural and realistic, a world-in-miniature (WIM) of the smart home has been constructed where various kinds of tangible and physical smart home activities are allowed for prototyping a number of appliances, sensors, and human-physical object interactions. To evaluate the proposed approach, both qualitative and quantitative experiments are performed and analyzed. The proposed approach aims to provide developers and end users or consumers a useful tool for understanding and experiencing the smart home environment. Prior to the development of a physical smart home environment, it is essential for developers and designers to validate smart home services regarding context and visual awareness. Furthermore, it must be used for consumers or future residents to evaluate the smart home such that developers provide more customer-oriented environment and capture related problems before constructing the home.

The impact of saddle embolism on the major adverse event rate of patients with non-high-risk pulmonary embolism

OBJECTIVE Wider application of CT angiography (CTA) improves the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). It also permits the visualisation of saddle embolism (SE), namely thrombi, which are located at the bifurcation of the main pulmonary artery. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SE and whether SE predicts a complicated clinical course in patients with non-high-risk PE. METHODS In total, 297 consecutive patients with non-high-risk PE confirmed using CTA in the emergency department were studied. The presence of SE and its ability to predict the occurrence of major adverse events (MAEs) within 1 month were determined. RESULTS Of the 297 patients, 27 (9.1%) had an SE. The overall mortality at 1 month was 12.5%; no significant difference was observed between the SE and non-SE groups (18.5% vs 11.9%, p=0.32). However, patients with SE were more likely to receive thrombolytic therapy (29.6% vs 8.1%, p<0.01) and had significantly more MAEs (59.3% vs 25.6%, p<0.01). CONCLUSION At the time of diagnosis, SE, as determined using CTA, is associated with the development of MAE within 1 month. It may be a simple method for risk stratification of patients with non-high-risk PE. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE The prognosis of patients with SE, especially those who are haemodynamically stable, is unclear. This study shows that patients with SE, determined with CTA, is associated with the development of MAE.

Comparison of Clinical Features and Outcomes of Hospitalized Adult Patients With Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Pneumonia and Other Pneumonia

OBJECTIVES A novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus caused worldwide outbreaks starting in April 2009. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pandemic 2009 H1N1 pneumonia by comparing to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) of other origin. METHODS The authors conducted a prospective cohort study of consecutive adult (over 15 years old) patients with suspected CAP requiring admission to a tertiary university-affiliated hospital during the second wave of pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza. Based on the results of real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, the staff completed a standard assessment form and managed the patients according to a uniform protocol. Clinical characteristics, as well as laboratory and radiologic findings, were collected and compared between pandemic 2009 H1N1 pneumonia and CAP of other origin. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and secondary outcomes were duration of hospitalization, duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and requirement of mechanical ventilation. RESULTS A total of 135 patients with suspected CAP were included in the study. Of these, 59 patients were RT-PCR positive for H1N1 virus, and 76 patients were RT-PCR negative. Patients with H1N1 pneumonia were significantly younger than those with CAP of other origin (46.0 years vs. 68.0 years, p < 0.01) and more frequently had nonspecific symptoms (p < 0.01), initial leukopenia (8.5% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.01), lymphopenia (45.8% vs. 26.3%, p = 0.02), low values of C-reactive protein (CRP; 5.2 mg/dL vs. 13.4 mg/dL, p = 0.02), bilateral abnormalities (57.7% vs. 29.7%, p < 0.01) on chest radiography, ground glass opacities (43.9% vs. 12.8%, p < 0.01) on chest computed tomography, and low values of pneumonia severity index (PSI) score (56.0 vs. 91.0, p < 0.01) than those with CAP of other origin. However, there were no significant differences in infection severity, clinical outcome, length of ICU stay, requirement for mechanical ventilation, and mortality between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that clinical characteristics and outcomes of 2009 H1N1 pneumonia are comparable to those of CAP of other origin. However, some characteristics, including younger age, nonspecific symptoms (including headache, leukopenia, and fatigue), lymphopenia, lower initial CRP and PSI score, and radiologic findings (including bilateral abnormalities and ground glass opacities), may help clinicians to diagnostically differentiate between H1N1 pneumonia and CAP of other origin before the result of RT-PCR are obtained.

Predicting the Occurrence of Hypotension in Stable Patients With Nonvariceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding: Point-of-Care Lactate Testing.

Objectives: It is difficult to assess risk in normotensive patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the initial lactate value can predict the in-hospital occurrence of hypotension in stable patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Design: Retrospective, observational, single-center study. Setting: Emergency department of a tertiary-care, university-affiliated hospital during a 5-year period. Patients: Medical records of 3,489 patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were normotensive at presentation to the emergency department. We analyzed the ability of point-of-care testing of lactate at emergency department admission to predict hypotension development (defined as systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg) within 24 hours after emergency department admission. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Of the 1,003 patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding, 157 patients experienced hypotension within 24 hours. Lactate was independently associated with hypotension development (odds ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.4–1.7), and the risk of hypotension significantly increased as the lactate increased from 2.5–4.9 mmol/L (odds ratio, 2.2) to 5.0–7.4 mmol/L (odds ratio, 4.0) and to greater than or equal to 7.5 mmol/L (odds ratio, 39.2) (p < 0.001). Lactate elevation (≥ 2.5 mmol/L) was associated with 90% specificity and an 84% negative predictive value for hypotension development. When the lactate levels were greater than 5.0 mmol/L, the specificity and negative predictive value increased to 98% and 87%, respectively. Conclusions: Point-of-care testing of lactate can predict in-hospital occurrence of hypotension in stable patients with acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, subsequently, prospective validate research will be required to clarify this.