L Ray Matthews

Worsening severity of vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased length of stay, surgical intensive care unit cost, and mortality rate in surgical intensive care unit patients

BACKGROUND Vitamin D deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States. It is seldom measured or recognized, and rarely is treated, particularly in critically ill patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and impact of vitamin D deficiency in surgical intensive care unit patients. We hypothesized that severe vitamin D deficiency increases the length of stay, mortality rate, and cost in critically ill patients admitted to surgical intensive care units. METHODS We performed a prospective observational study of vitamin D status on 258 consecutive patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Grady Memorial Hospital between August 2009 and January 2010. Vitamin D levels (25 [OH]2 vitamin-D3) were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as follows: severe deficiency was categorized as less than 13 ng/mL; moderate deficiency was categorized as 14 to 26 ng/mL; mild deficiency was categorized as 27 to 39 ng/mL; and normal levels were categorized as greater than 40 ng/mL. RESULTS Of the 258 patients evaluated, 70.2% (181) were men, and 29.8% (77) were women; 57.6% (148) were African American and 32.4% (109) were Caucasian. A total of 138 (53.5%) patients had severe vitamin D deficiency, 96 (37.2%) had moderate deficiency, 18 (7.0%) had mild deficiency, and 3 (1.2%) of the patients had normal vitamin D levels. The mean length of stay in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for the severe vitamin D-deficient group was 13.33 ± 19.5 days versus 7.29 ± 15.3 days and 5.17 ± 6.5 days for the moderate and mild vitamin D-deficient groups, respectively, which was clinically significant (P = .002). The mean treatment cost during the patient stay in the surgical intensive care unit was

Klebsiella pneumoniae Liver Abscess and Metastatic Endophthalmitis

51,413.33 ±

Healthcare outcome disparities in trauma care.

75,123.00 for the severe vitamin D-deficient group,

High Dose Vitamin D, Digoxin, and BiDil Reverse Congestive Heart Failure in a Critically ILL Trauma Patient and a Severely Obese Male Patient

28,123.65 ±

Vitamin D, Glutamine, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Close Staff Supervision Reduce Mortality Rate at a Level I Trauma Center

59,752.00 for the moderate group, and

The Role of Dr. Colonel Vance H. Marchbanks in developing an oxygen delivery system: A “Forgotten First” in Aviation and Aerospace

20,414.11 ±

Traumatic Injuries Requiring Simultaneous Emergent Operative Procedures, Knife Wounds to the Top of the Skull and the Abdomen

25,714.30 for the mild vitamin D-deficient group, which also was clinically significant (P = .027). More importantly, the mortality rate for the severe vitamin D-deficient group was 17 (12.3%) versus 11 (11.5%) in the moderate group (P = .125). Because no deaths occurred in the mildly or normal vitamin D-deficient groups, we compared the mortality rate between severe/moderate and mild/normal vitamin D groups (P = .047). CONCLUSIONS In univariate analysis, severe and moderate vitamin D deficiency was related inversely to the length of stay in the surgical intensive care unit (r = .194; P = .001), related inversely to surgical intensive care unit treatment cost (r = .194; P = .001) and mortality (r = .125; P = .023), compared with the mild vitamin D-deficient group, after adjusting for age, sex, race, and comorbidities (myocardial infarctions, acute renal failure, and pneumonia); the length of stay, surgical intensive care unit cost, and mortality remained significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency.

Aggressive Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency in Hispanic and African American Critically Injured Trauma Patients Reduces Health Care Disparities (Length of stay, Costs, and Mortality) in a Level I Trauma Center Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Introduction. Klebsiella pneumoniae is a well-known cause of liver abscess. Higher rates of liver abscess associated with Klebsiella pneumoniae are seen in Taiwan. Metastatic endophthalmitis is a common complication associated with a poor prognosis despite aggressive therapy. Case Report. We report a case of a 67-year-old Korean female with Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess. The patient developed metastatic endophthalmitis and ultimately succumbed to her disease despite aggressive medical and surgical treatment. Conclusion. Dissemination of Klebsiella pneumoniae is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Liver abscesses preferably should be treated with percutaneous drainage, but surgical treatment is needed in some cases. Metastatic spread to the eye is a common complication that must be treated aggressively with intravenous antibiotics and surgical intervention if necessary.

Incidentally diagnosed intussusception spontaneously resolved in an adult patient after blunt trauma: A rare case report

A recent article by Dr. Haider et al1, “Association between Hospitals Caring for a Disproportionately High Percentage of Minority Trauma Patients and Increased Mortality: A Nationwide Analysis of 434 Hospitals,” raised the question of whether there was an increased mortality risk among trauma patients treated at hospitals with higher proportions of minority patients (i.e., black and Hispanic patients combined). They categorized 434 hospitals included in the National Trauma Data Bank between 2007 and 2008 on the basis of the percentage of minority patients admitted and treated due to acute traumatic injury. In their analysis they compared the adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality between hospitals with less than 25% of patients who were minorities as the reference group (majority) versus hospitals with 25% to 50% of patients who were minorities (mixed) and hospitals with more than 50% of patients who were minorities.1

Delayed splenic rupture presenting as atypical chest pain and right bundle branch block

Presently, the prevalence of congestive heart failure in the United States is 6.5 million people. We report two cases of severe congestive heart failure patients with a very poor prognosis, treated successfully with a combination of high dose vitamin D, digoxin, and BiDil (Matthews’ Two Inotrope Protocol).