Kosar Khwaja

Critically Ill Patients With 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) Infection in Canada

CONTEXT Between March and July 2009, the largest number of confirmed cases of 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection occurred in North America. OBJECTIVE To describe characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of critically ill patients in Canada with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS A prospective observational study of 168 critically ill patients with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection in 38 adult and pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) in Canada between April 16 and August 12, 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measures were 28-day and 90-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included frequency and duration of mechanical ventilation and duration of ICU stay. RESULTS Critical illness occurred in 215 patients with confirmed (n = 162), probable (n = 6), or suspected (n = 47) community-acquired 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection. Among the 168 patients with confirmed or probable 2009 influenza A(H1N1), the mean (SD) age was 32.3 (21.4) years; 113 were female (67.3%) and 50 were children (29.8%). Overall mortality among critically ill patients at 28 days was 14.3% (95% confidence interval, 9.5%-20.7%). There were 43 patients who were aboriginal Canadians (25.6%). The median time from symptom onset to hospital admission was 4 days (interquartile range [IQR], 2-7 days) and from hospitalization to ICU admission was 1 day (IQR, 0-2 days). Shock and nonpulmonary acute organ dysfunction was common (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment mean [SD] score of 6.8 [3.6] on day 1). Neuraminidase inhibitors were administered to 152 patients (90.5%). All patients were severely hypoxemic (mean [SD] ratio of Pao(2) to fraction of inspired oxygen [Fio(2)] of 147 [128] mm Hg) at ICU admission. Mechanical ventilation was received by 136 patients (81.0%). The median duration of ventilation was 12 days (IQR, 6-20 days) and ICU stay was 12 days (IQR, 5-20 days). Lung rescue therapies included neuromuscular blockade (28% of patients), inhaled nitric oxide (13.7%), high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (11.9%), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (4.2%), and prone positioning ventilation (3.0%). Overall mortality among critically ill patients at 90 days was 17.3% (95% confidence interval, 12.0%-24.0%; n = 29). CONCLUSION Critical illness due to 2009 influenza A(H1N1) in Canada occurred rapidly after hospital admission, often in young adults, and was associated with severe hypoxemia, multisystem organ failure, a requirement for prolonged mechanical ventilation, and the frequent use of rescue therapies.

Practice management guidelines for identification of cervical spine injuries following trauma: update from the eastern association for the surgery of trauma practice management guidelines committee.

BACKGROUND Injury to the cervical spine (CS) is common after major trauma. The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma first published its Practice Management Guidelines for the evaluation of CS injury in 1998. A subsequent revision was published in 2000. Since that time a large volume of literature has been published. As a result, the Practice Management Guidelines Committee set out to develop updated guidelines for the identification of CS injury. METHODS A search of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health MEDLINE database was performed using PubMed (www.pubmed.gov). The search retrieved English language articles regarding the identification of CS injury from 1998 to 2007. The questions posed were: who needs CS imaging; what imaging should be obtained; when should computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or flexion/extension radiographs be used; and how is significant ligamentous injury excluded in the comatose patient? RESULTS Seventy-eight articles were identified. From this group, 52 articles were selected to construct the guidelines. CONCLUSION There have been significant changes in practice since the previous CS injury guidelines. Most significantly, computed tomography has supplanted plain radiography as the primary screening modality in those who require imaging. Clinical clearance remains the standard in awake, alert patients with trauma without neurologic deficit or distracting injury who have no neck pain or tenderness with full range of motion. Cervical collars should be removed as soon as feasible. Controversy persists regarding CS clearance in the obtunded patient without gross neurologic deficit.

Hypertonic saline resuscitation attenuates neutrophil lung sequestration and transmigration by diminishing leukocyte-endothelial interactions in a two-hit model of hemorrhagic shock and infection.

BACKGROUND Hypertonic saline (HTS) attenuates polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN)-mediated tissue injury after hemorrhagic shock. We hypothesized that HTS resuscitation reduces early in vivo endothelial cell (EC)-PMN interactions and late lung PMN sequestration in a two-hit model of hemorrhagic shock followed by mimicked infection. METHODS Thirty-two mice were hemorrhaged (40 mm Hg) for 60 minutes and then given intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (10 microg) 1 hour after resuscitation with shed blood and either HTS (4 mL/kg 7.5% NaCl) or Ringers lactate (RL) (twice shed blood volume). Eleven controls were not manipulated. Cremaster intravital microscopy quantified 5-hour EC-PMN adherence, myeloperoxidase assay assessed lung PMN content (2 1/2 and 24 hours), and lung histology determined 24-hour PMN transmigration. RESULTS Compared with RL, HTS animals displayed 55% less 5-hour EC-PMN adherence (p = 0.01), 61% lower 24-hour lung myeloperoxidase ( p= 0.007), and 57% lower mean 24-hour lung histologic score ( p= 0.027). CONCLUSION Compared with RL, HTS resuscitation attenuates early EC-PMN adhesion and late lung PMN accumulation in hemorrhagic shock followed by inflammation. HTS resuscitation may attenuate PMN-mediated organ damage.

Severely injured geriatric population: morbidity, mortality, and risk factors.

BACKGROUND With an increasing life expectancy and more active elderly population, management of geriatric trauma patients continues to evolve. The aim was to describe the mechanism and injuries of severely injured geriatric patients and to identify risk factors associated with mortality. METHODS The Trauma Registry at a Canadian Level I trauma center was queried for all trauma patients older than 65 years and injury severity score >15 from 2004 to 2006, resulting in a retrospective chart review of 276 patients. The data were subsequently analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS Average age was 81.5 years (mean injury severity score of 25). Most common comorbid illness was hypertension (57.3%) and most frequent mechanism of injury was falls (72.3%). The overall mortality was comparable with the US National Trauma Data Bank (26.8% vs. 32.0%, confidence interval, 0.00-0.10). Geriatric patients requiring intubation, blood transfusions, or suffering from head, C-spine, or chest trauma had an increased likelihood of death. In-hospital respiratory, gastrointestinal, or infectious complications also had higher likelihood of death. CONCLUSIONS Falls continue to be the most frequent mechanism of injury in severely injured geriatric patients. Risk factors associated with a higher likelihood of death are identified. More research is needed to better understand this important and increasing group of trauma patients.

An evidence-based approach to patient selection for emergency department thoracotomy: A practice management guideline from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma

BACKGROUND Within the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) framework, we performed a systematic review and developed evidence-based recommendations to answer the following PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes) question: should patients who present pulseless after critical injuries (with and without signs of life after penetrating thoracic, extrathoracic, or blunt injuries) undergo emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) (vs. resuscitation without EDT) to improve survival and neurologically intact survival? METHODS All patients who underwent EDT were included while those involving either prehospital resuscitative thoracotomy or operating room thoracotomy were excluded. Quantitative synthesis via meta-analysis was not possible because no comparison or control group (i.e., survival or neurologically intact survival data for similar patients who did not undergo EDT) was available for the PICO questions of interest. RESULTS The 72 included studies provided 10,238 patients who underwent EDT. Patients presenting pulseless after penetrating thoracic injury had the most favorable EDT outcomes both with (survival, 182 [21.3%] of 853; neurologically intact survival, 53 [11.7%] of 454) and without (survival, 76 [8.3%] of 920; neurologically intact survival, 25 [3.9%] of 641) signs of life. In patients presenting pulseless after penetrating extrathoracic injury, EDT outcomes were more favorable with signs of life (survival, 25 [15.6%] of 160; neurologically intact survival, 14 [16.5%] of 85) than without (survival, 4 [2.9%] of 139; neurologically intact survival, 3 [5.0%] of 60). Outcomes after EDT in pulseless blunt injury patients were limited with signs of life (survival, 21 [4.6%] of 454; neurologically intact survival, 7 [2.4%] of 298) and dismal without signs of life (survival, 7 [0.7%] of 995; neurologically intact survival, 1 [0.1%] of 825). CONCLUSION We strongly recommend that patients who present pulseless with signs of life after penetrating thoracic injury undergo EDT. We conditionally recommend EDT for patients who present pulseless and have absent signs of life after penetrating thoracic injury, present or absent signs of life after penetrating extrathoracic injury, or present signs of life after blunt injury. Lastly, we conditionally recommend against EDT for pulseless patients without signs of life after blunt injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Systematic review/guideline, level III.

Hypertonic saline and the microcirculation.

The systemic inflammation that occurs in shock states is believed to promote overexuberant microcirculatory activation, the release of toxic proteases and oxygen radicals causing microvascular damage, and subsequent tissue and organ injury. Although shock-associated microvascular failure is often unresolved after standard resuscitation, hypertonic saline (HTS) appears to reduce microvascular collapse, restoring vital nutritional blood flow. In addition, hypertonic fluids tend to blunt the up-regulation of leukocyte and endothelial adhesion molecules that occurs with isotonic resuscitation of shock. Recently, direct evaluation by intravital microscopy has shown that HTS resuscitation dampens the interactions between leukocytes, platelets, and endothelium found with Ringers lactate resuscitation. Furthermore, fewer cellular interactions have been correlated with attenuation in microvascular wall permeability after resuscitation with HTS. Better characterization of microcirculatory effects by hypertonic saline may provide mechanisms for improved morbidity and mortality associated with hypertonic resuscitation.

Impact of a specialized multidisciplinary tracheostomy team on tracheostomy care in critically ill patients

BACKGROUND A multidisciplinary tracheostomy team was created in 2005 to follow critically ill patients who had undergone a tracheostomy until their discharge from hospital. Composed of a surgeon, surgical resident, respiratory therapist, speech-language pathologist and clinical nurse specialist, this team has been meeting twice a week for rounds involving patients who transitioned from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the medical and surgical wards. Our objective was to assess the impact of this multidisciplinary team on downsizing and decannulation times, on the incidence of speaking valve placement and on the incidence of tracheostomy-related complications on the ward. METHODS This study was conducted at a tertiary care, level-1 trauma centre and teaching hospital and involved all patients who had received a tracheostomy during admission to the ICU from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2004 (preservice group), and from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006 (postservice group). We compared the outcomes of patients who required tracheostomies in a 12-month period after the team was created with those of patients from a similar time frame before the establishment of the team. RESULTS There were 32 patients in the preservice group and 54 patients in the postservice group. Under the new tracheostomy service, there was a decrease in incidence of tube blockage (5.5% v. 25.0%, p = 0.016) and calls for respiratory distress (16.7% v. 37.5%, p = 0.039) on the wards. A significantly larger proportion of patients also received speaking valves (67.4% v. 19.4%, p < 0.001) after creation of the team. Furthermore, there appeared to be a decreased time to first tube downsizing (26.0 to 9.4 d) and decreased time to decannulation (50.4 to 28.4 d), although this did not reach statistical significance owing to our small sample size. CONCLUSION Standardized care provided by a specialized multidisciplinary tracheostomy team was associated with fewer tracheostomy-related complications and an increase in the use of a speaking valve.

Using the age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index to predict outcomes in emergency general surgery.

BACKGROUND We evaluated the role of the Charlson age-comorbidity index (CACI), a weighted comorbidity index that reflects cumulative increased likelihood of 1-year mortality, in predicting perioperative outcomes in an emergency general surgery population at a large Canadian teaching hospital. METHODS A retrospective chart review of emergency general surgery admissions in 2010 was conducted. Patients who had surgery were identified. Mode of surgery and CACI were recorded, as well as measures of outcome, including 30-day mortality and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. A multivariate stepwise logistic regression model was created to assess the effect of age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index on postoperative outcomes while controlling for the effect of possible confounders. The prediction ability of CACI for mortality was assessed using receiver operating characteristic analyses considering the area under the curve and its 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS Of the 529 admissions to general surgery from the emergency department, 257 patients underwent a surgical intervention. The CACI scores ranged from 0 to 16. We described a total of 11 deaths (4.3%) and 30 ICU admissions (11.7%). CACI was associated with an increased risk of 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio,1.39; 95% CI, 1.11–1.73; p = 0.0034). Receiver operating characteristic analysis was consistent with high accuracy of CACI for mortality prediction alone, resulting in area under the curve or c statistic of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.84–0.95). CACI was similar in predicting mortality to a multivariate model. CACI was also found to be associated with ICU admission (adjusted odds ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.01–1.37; p < 0.0382). CACI is not as good a predictor for ICU admission when compared with the multivariate model. CONCLUSION We have shown that the CACI is a valid tool for 30-day mortality prediction in the context of emergency general surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic study, level III.

A Descriptive Study of Bicycle Helmet Use in Montreal, 2011

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to describe bicycle helmet use among Montreal cyclists as a step towards injury prevention programming.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional study design, cyclists were observed during 60-minute periods at 22 locations on the island of Montreal. There were 1–3 observation periods per location. Observations took place between August 16 and October 31, 2011. Standard statistical methods were used, unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were calculated.ResultsA total of 4,789 cyclists were observed. The helmet-wearing proportion of all cyclists observed was 46% (95% CI 44-47). Women had a higher helmet-wearing proportion than men (50%, 95% CI 47–52 vs. 44%, 95% CI 42–45, respectively). Youth had the highest helmet-wearing proportion (73%, 95% CI 64-81), while young adults had the lowest (34%, 95% CI 30-37). Visible minorities were observed wearing a helmet 29% (95% CI 25-34) of the time compared to Caucasians, 47% (95% CI 46-49). BIXI (bike sharing program) riders were observed wearing a helmet 12% (95% CI 10-15) of the time compared to riders with their own bike, 51% (95% CI 49-52).ConclusionsAlthough above the national average, bicycle helmet use in Montreal is still considerably low given that the majority of cyclists do not wear a helmet. Injury Prevention Programs could target the entire cyclist population, but special attention may be warranted in specific groups such as young men, visible minorities, BIXI riders, and those riding in tourist areas. Additionally, a collaborative enterprise with the bicycle sharing system BIXI Montreal™ could prove to be fruitful in addressing the availability of bike helmets for BIXI riders.RésuméObjectifDécrire le port du casque de cycliste chez les cyclistes montréalais en vue d’instaurer des programmes de prévention des blessures.MéthodeÀ la faveur d’une étude transversale, nous avons observé les cyclistes sur des périodes de 60 minutes à 22 endroits sur l’île de Montréal. Il y a eu de 1 à 3 périodes d’observation à chaque endroit. Les observations ont eu lieu entre le 16 août et le 31 octobre 2011. Nous avons utilisé des méthodes statistiques types et calculé les rapports de cotes ajustés et non ajustés et les intervalles de confiance de 95 %.RésultatsNous avons observé 4 789 cyclistes en tout. La proportion observée de cyclistes portant le casque était de 46 % globalement (IC de 95 %: 44-47). Cette proportion était plus élevée chez les femmes (50 %, IC de 95 %: 47–52) que chez les hommes (44 %, IC de 95 %: 42–45). Les jeunes étaient proportionnellement les plus nombreux à porter un casque (73 %, IC de 95 %: 64-81), tandis que les jeunes adultes étaient proportionnellement les moins nombreux à le faire (34 %, IC de 95 %: 30-37). Le port du casque observé chez les cyclistes membres de minorités visibles était de 29 % (IC de 95 %: 25-34), contre 47 % chez les cyclistes blancs (IC de 95 %: 46-49). Les utilisateurs du BIXI (vélo en libre-service) ont été observés en train de porter un casque 12 % du temps (IC de 95 %: 10-15), contre 51 % du temps chez les cyclistes ayant leur propre vélo (IC de 95 %: 49-52).ConclusionsBien qu’il soit supérieur à la moyenne nationale, le port du casque de cycliste à Montréal est encore très faible, car la majorité des cyclistes n’en porte pas. Les programmes de prévention des blessures pourraient cibler tous les cyclistes, mais il serait justifié d’accorder une attention particulière à certains groupes: les jeunes hommes, les minorités visibles, les utilisateurs du BIXI et les cyclistes dans les zones touristiques. Par ailleurs, une collaboration avec le système de vélos en libre-service BIXI Montréalmc en vue d’assurer la disponibilité de casques de cyclistes pour les usagers du BIXI pourrait être fructueuse.

Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma: management of the open abdomen, part III-review of abdominal wall reconstruction.

Jose J. Diaz, Jr, MD, Daniel C. Cullinane, MD, Kosar A. Khwaja, MD, G. Hart Tyson, MD, Mickey Ott, MD, Rebecca Jerome, MLIS, MPH, Andrew J. Kerwin, MD, Bryan R. Collier, DO, Peter A. Pappas, MD, Ayodele T. Sangosanya, MD, John J. Como, MD, Faran Bokhari, MD, Elliott R. Haut, MD, Lou M. Smith, MD, Eleanor S. Winston, MD, Jaroslaw W. Bilaniuk, MD, Cynthia L. Talley, MD, Ronald Silverman, MD, and Martin A. Croce, MD, Baltimore, Maryland