Mustafa Kemal Arslantas

Changing Definitions of Sepsis

Sepsis is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients despite the use of modern antibiotics and resuscitation therapies. Outcomes in sepsis have improved overall, probably because of an enhanced focus on early diagnosis and other improvements in supportive care, but mortality rates still remain unacceptably high. The diagnosis and definition of sepsis is a critical problem due to the heterogeneity of this disease process. Although it is apparent that much more needs to be done to advance our understanding, sepsis and related terms remain difficult to define. A 1991 consensus conference developed initial definitions that systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) to infection would be called sepsis. Definitions of sepsis and septic shock were revised in 2001 to incorporate the threshold values for organ damage. In early 2016, the new definitions of sepsis and septic shock have changed dramatically. Sepsis is now defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The consensus document describes organ dysfunction as an acute increase in total Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score two points consequently to the infection. A significant change in the new definitions is the elimination of any mention of SIRS. The Sepsis-3 Task Force also introduced a new bedside index, called the qSOFA, to identify outside of critical care units patients with suspected infection who are likely to develop sepsis. Recently updated the consensus definitions improved specificity compared with the previous descriptions.

Renal Resistive Index Measurement by Transesophageal Echocardiography: Comparison with Translumbar Ultrasonography and Relation to Acute Kidney Injury

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between transesophageal ultrasonography-derived renal resistive index values (RRITEE) and a standard translumbar renal ultrasound-derived RRI (RRITLUSG). The effectiveness of each method to predict acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery also was compared. DESIGN A prospective observational study. SETTING A teaching university hospital. PARTICIPANTS Sixty patients undergoing cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS First, RRI was measured with both methods after anesthesia induction. Second, another measurement was performed with TEE after cardiopulmonary bypass and immediately following the surgery with translumbar ultrasound. To test the correlation between the 2 methods and to plot a Bland-Altman graph, preoperative RRI values measured by both techniques were used. Receiver operating characteristic curves also were plotted to compare the diagnostic values of RRI measured intraoperatively by TEE after cardiopulmonary bypass and by RRITLUSG after surgery. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS There was a statistically significant correlation between the 2 RRI measurement approaches (r = 0.86, p<0.0001). The Bland-Altman plot indicated good agreement between the methods. The area under the curve (AUC) of RRITEE in predicting AKI was 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.64-0.9, p = 0.001), and the AUC of RRITLUSG after surgery was 0.85 (95% CI = 0.7-0.98, p<0.0001). In predicting AKI, an uncertainty zone for RRITEE values between 0.68 and 0.71 was computed by the gray-zone approach. CONCLUSIONS RRITEE showed clinically acceptable agreement with RRITLUSG. Indeed, RRI measured intraoperatively with TEE was comparable to RRITLUSG in terms of detecting postoperative AKI.

Primary Graft Dysfunction after Lung Transplantation.

Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is a severe form of acute lung injury that is a major cause of early morbidity and mortality encountered after lung transplantation. PGD is diagnosed by pulmonary oedema with diffuse alveolar damage that manifests clinically as progressive hypoxemia with radiographic pulmonary infiltrates. Inflammatory and immunological response caused by ischaemia and reperfusion is important with regard to pathophysiology. PGD affects short- and long-term outcomes, the donor organ is the leading factor affecting these adverse ramifications. To minimize the risk of PGD, reduction of lung ischaemia time, reperfusion optimisation, prostaglandin level regulation, haemodynamic control, hormone replacement therapy, ventilator management are carried out; for research regarding donor lung preparation strategies, certain procedures are recommended. In this review, recent updates in epidemiology, pathophysiology, molecular and genetic biomarkers and technical developments affecting PGD are described.

Epidemiology of sepsis in intensive care units in Turkey: a multicenter, point-prevalence study

BackgroundThe prevalence and mortality of sepsis are largely unknown in Turkey, a country with high antibiotic resistance. A national, multicenter, point-prevalence study was conducted to determine the prevalence, causative microorganisms, and outcome of sepsis in intensive care units (ICUs) in Turkey.MethodsA total of 132 ICUs from 94 hospitals participated. All patients (aged > 18 years) present at the participating ICUs or admitted for any duration within a 24-h period (08:00 on January 27, 2016 to 08:00 on January 28, 2016) were included. The presence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), severe sepsis, and septic shock were assessed and documented based on the consensus criteria of the American College of Chest Physicians and Society of Critical Care Medicine (SEPSIS-I) in infected patients. Patients with septic shock were also assessed using the SEPSIS-III definitions. Data regarding demographics, illness severity, comorbidities, microbiology, therapies, length of stay, and outcomes (dead/alive during 30 days) were recorded.ResultsOf the 1499 patients included in the analysis, 237 (15.8%) had infection without SIRS, 163 (10.8%) had infection with SIRS, 260 (17.3%) had severe sepsis without shock, and 203 (13.5%) had septic shock. The mortality rates were higher in patients with severe sepsis (55.7%) and septic shock (70.4%) than those with infection alone (24.8%) and infection + SIRS (31.2%) (p < 0.001). According to SEPSIS-III, 104 (6.9%) patients had septic shock (mortality rate, 75.9%). The respiratory system (71.6%) was the most common site of infection, and Acinetobacter spp. (33.7%) were the most common isolated pathogen. Approximately, 74.9%, 39.1%, and 26.5% of Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas spp. isolates, respectively, were carbapenem-resistant, which was not associated with a higher mortality risk. Age, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score at ICU admission, sequential organ failure assessment score on study day, solid organ malignancy, presence of severe sepsis or shock, Candida spp. infection, renal replacement treatment, and a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:4 (compared with a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:2) were independent predictors of mortality in infected patients.ConclusionsA high prevalence of sepsis and an unacceptably high mortality rate were observed in Turkish ICUs. Although the prevalence of carbapenem resistance was high in Turkish ICUs, it was not associated with a higher risk for mortality.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03249246. Date: August 15, 2017. Retrospectively registered.

Effect of Vasoactive Therapy Used for Brain-Dead Donors on Graft Survival After Kidney Transplantation

Serum catecholamine levels and peripheral vascular resistance decrease after brain death. Vasoactive drugs are used to control these hemodynamic changes and to improve perfusion of the organs. These drugs might have a role in rejection or loss of the graft organ. We aimed to investigate the effects of vasoactive drugs used in the cadaveric donor care on post-transplant renal graft functions. In this retrospective study, medical records of 135 cadaveric donors (270 kidneys) and recipients of these kidneys were evaluated. Correlation analysis was done to assess the data for factors that may cause rejection and graft loss. Vasoactive drug (noradrenaline 49%, dopamine 60%, adrenaline 3%, dobutamine 11%) consumption ratio was 85.8% in donor care. Increased number of noradrenaline infusion days was associated with decreased rates of graft rejection and graft loss. This correlation was not found for dopamine. Results of the Pearson correlation analysis test showed a relation between noradrenaline use and decrease in graft loss and graft rejection. Noradrenaline but not dopamine used in cadaveric donor care decreased the graft rejection rate and graft loss, presumably by improving hemodynamic stability and organ perfusion, although we found no special reason.

Sequential Measurements of Pentraxin 3 Serum Levels in Patients with Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Nested Case-Control Study

Purpose The main purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamics of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) compared with procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with suspicion of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Materials and Methods We designed a nested case-control study. This study was performed in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care academic university and teaching hospital. Ninety-one adults who were mechanically ventilated for >48 hours were enrolled in the study. VAP diagnosis was established among 28 patients following the 2005 ATS/IDSA guidelines. Results The median PTX3 plasma level was 2.66 ng/mL in VAP adults compared to 0.25 ng/mL in non-VAP adults (p < 0.05). Procalcitonin and CRP levels did not significantly differ. Pentraxin 3, with a 2.56 ng/mL breakpoint, had 85% sensitivity, 86% specificity, 75% positive predictive value, and 92.9% negative predictive value for VAP diagnosis (AUC = 0.78). Conclusions With the suspicion of VAP, a pentraxin 3 plasma breakpoint of 2.56 ng/mL could contribute to the decision of whether to start antibiotics.

Effect of Interviews Done by Intensive Care Physicians on Organ Donation

In this study, we examined the correspondence between intensive care unit physicians and the relatives of potential brain-dead donors regarding the decision to donate or the reasons for refusing organ donation. A total of 12 consecutive cases of potential brain-dead patients treated in intensive care units of Marmara University Pendik Education and Research Hospital in 2013 were evaluated. For each of the cases, the Potential Donor Questionnaire, and Family Notification, Brain Death Criteria Fulfilment and Organ Donation Conversation Questionnaires were used to collect the required data. Statistically, descriptive analyses were performed. We concluded that honestly, regularly, and sufficiently informed relatives of the potential brain-dead donor more readily donate organs, with a positive contribution from the intensive care physician.

Early administration of low dose norepinephrine for the prevention of organ dysfunctions in patients with sepsis

The importance of vasopressors in achieving the mean arterial pressure target in the early resuscitation of septic shock has been demonstrated and sepsis has been recently defined as a systemic response to infection with the presence of some degree of organ dysfunction [1, 2]. However, timing of norepinephrine (NE) for the prevention of organ dysfunctions in sepsis has not been investigated.

The Effect of Low Dose Sildenafil On Verapamil - Induced Cardiovascular Toxicity in Rats

Experimental studies have shown that sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, may have significant cardioprotective effects if used in low doses [[1, 2]].