Heajin Chung

The clinical significance of a failed initial intubation attempt during emergency department resuscitation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients

OBJECTIVE Advanced airway management is one of the fundamental skills of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS). A failed initial intubation attempt (FIIA) is common and has shown to be associated with adverse events. We analysed the association between FIIA and the overall effectiveness of ACLS. METHODS Using emergency department (ED) out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) registry data from 2008 to 2012, non-traumatic ED-resuscitated adult OHCA patients on whom endotracheal intubation was initially tried were identified. Prehospital and demographic factors and patient outcomes were retrieved from the registry. The presence of a FIIA was determined by reviewing nurse-documented CPR records. The primary outcome was achieving a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). The secondary outcomes were time to ROSC and the ROSC rate during the first 30min of ED resuscitation. RESULTS The study population (n=512) was divided into two groups based on the presence of a FIIA (N=77). Both groups were comparable without significant differences in demographic or prehospital factors. In the FIIA group, the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for achieving a ROSC were 0.50 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31-0.81) and 0.40 (95% CI, 0.23-0.71), respectively. Multivariable median regression analysis revealed that FIIA was associated with an average delay of 3min in the time to ROSC (3.08; 95% CI, 0.08-5.80). Competing risk regression analysis revealed a significantly slower ROSC rate during the first 15min (adjusted subhazard ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.35-0.79) in the FIIA group. CONCLUSION FIIA is an independent risk factor for the decreased effectiveness of ACLS.

Bacteremia prediction model using a common clinical test in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to construct a bacteremia prediction model using commonly available clinical variables in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). BASIC PROCEDURES A prospective database including patients who were diagnosed with CAP in the emergency department was analyzed. Independent risk factors were investigated by using multivariable analysis in 60% of the cohort. We assigned a weighted value to predictive factor and made a prediction rule. This model was validated both internally and externally with the remaining 40% of the cohort and a cohort from an independent hospital. The low-risk group for bacteremia was defined as patients who have a risk of bacteremia less than 3%. MAIN FINDINGS A total of 2422 patients were included in this study. The overall rate of bacteremia was 5.7% in the cohort. The significant factors for predicting bacteremia were the following 7 variables: systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, heart rate greater than 125 beats per minute, body temperature less than 35 °C or greater than 40 °C, white blood cell less than 4000 or 12,000 cells per microliter, platelets less than 130,000 cells per microliter, albumin less than 3.3 g/dL, and C-reactive protein greater than 17 mg/dL. After using our prediction rule for the validation cohorts, 78.7% and 74.8% of the internal and external validation cohorts were classified as low-risk bacteremia groups. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.75 and 0.79 for the internal and external validation cohorts. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS This model could provide guidelines for whether to perform blood cultures for hospitalized CAP patients with the goal of reducing the number of blood cultures.

Blood pressure-targeted stepwise resuscitation for hemorrhagic shock in rats.

BACKGROUND Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an important mechanism of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Abrupt reoxygenation compared with slow reoxygenation has been known to increase ROS generation. Thus, slow and stepwise reperfusion can reduce ROS generation and subsequent ischemia-reperfusion injury. This study investigated the effect of slow reperfusion by blood pressure–targeted stepwise resuscitation (PSR) in hemorrhagic shock. METHODS Pressure-controlled hemorrhagic shock was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats for 1 hour. Rats were then allocated to one of three groups (no-resuscitation group, n = 14; PSR group, n = 15; rapid normalization of blood pressure (RR) group, n = 15). Survival time and hemodynamic changes were recorded and compared. Blood samples and liver tissue were harvested after 6 hours of resuscitation in surviving rats. RESULTS All of the rats in the no-resuscitation group were expired before the end of the 6-hour observation period. Survival times were significantly longer in the PSR group than in the RR group (survival rates, 11 of 15 vs. 5 of 15, log rank p = 0.032). Plasma amino alanine transferase, histologic liver injury, and ROS generation in the liver tissue were significantly lower in the PSR group than in the RR group (all findings significant, p < 0.05). In addition, PSR significantly decreased plasma nitric oxide, liver interleukin 1&bgr;, and liver interleukin 6 compared with rapid resuscitation in addition to augmenting Akt survival pathways (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Slow reperfusion by PSR decreased mortality, ROS generation, and liver injury in rats undergoing hemorrhagic shock. Stepwise resuscitation also decreased inflammatory cytokine production and augmented Akt survival pathways.

Gradual and stepwise increase of blood pressure in hemorrhagic shock: Mimicking ischemic post-conditioning.

Hemorrhagic shock, and subsequent resuscitation leads to global ischemia/reperfusion injury. It may result in multiple organ injury and death. Ischemic post-conditioning has been suggested to reduce organ injury. It may lead to gradual increase in tissue oxygen delivery and tissue acidosis may be reduced gradually. Gradual increase of blood pressure or blood flow in ischemic organs has been reported to decrease tissue injury. We propose that gradual and stepwise increase of blood pressure may decrease tissue injury and mortality in hemorrhagic shock by mimicking ischemic post-conditioning.

Awareness and knowledge of sepsis in the general Korean population: comparison with the awareness and knowledge of acute myocardial infarction and stroke

Objective Patients with severe sepsis or septic shock require timely, aggressive management to improve their outcomes, and early presentation of patients to the hospital may also be important. Thus, public awareness about sepsis may be important for improved outcomes. However, there are no studies regarding the public awareness of sepsis in the general Korean population. Therefore, the objective of this survey was to gain insight into the public awareness of sepsis. Methods Prospective paper-based and web-based surveys were issued between May and June 2013 to adults aged ≥18 years. Results A total of 1,081 participants responded to the survey (394 paper-based and 687 web-based). Mean age was 38.7±11.4 years, and 541 participants (50%) were men. Of the 1,081 participants, 831 (76.9%) had heard of the term “sepsis.” Of these participants, only 295 (35%) responded correctly regarding the definition of sepsis. However, 1,019 participants (94.3%) had heard of acute myocardial infarction, and 817 of these (80%) correctly defined acute myocardial infarction. Regarding stroke, 1,047 (96.9%) had heard of stroke, and 975 of these responded (93.1%) correctly to the definition of stroke. Conclusion There is poor public awareness about sepsis compared with that of acute myocardial infarction and stroke. This may limit the timely management of severe sepsis and septic shock.

Use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta in a patient with gastrointestinal bleeding

Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) was developed for controlling intra-abdominal arterial bleeding before definitive bleeding control, and is commonly used in patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Although there is limited evidence for other uses of REBOA, we used REBOA in a patient with massive gastrointestinal bleeding. A 53-year-old man with hematochezia was admitted to our emergency department with an initial systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 83 mmHg. His SBP decreased to 40 mmHg in 10 minutes despite rapid fluid infusion. We decided to resuscitate the patient with REBOA in the emergency department and then move him to an intervention room after stabilization. After aortic occlusion, SBP abruptly increased from 57 to 108 mmHg, and the patient could be transferred to an intervention room. The patient was admitted to intensive care, but died of massive rebleeding 24 hours after admission to the emergency department.