Venous thromboembolism risk and prophylaxis in hospitalised medically ill patients. The ENDORSE Global Survey.

Thromb Haemost. 2010 Feb 2;103(4)

Authors: Bergmann JF, Cohen AT, Tapson VF, Goldhaber SZ, Kakkar AK, Deslandes B, Huang W, Anderson FA,

Limited data are available regarding the risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) and VTE prophylaxis use in hospitalised medically ill patients. We analysed data from the global ENDORSE survey to evaluate VTE risk and prophylaxis use in this population according to diagnosis, baseline characteristics, and country. Data on patient characteristics, VTE risk, and prophylaxis use were abstracted from hospital charts. VTE risk and prophylaxis use were evaluated according to the 2004 American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines. Multivariable analysis was performed to identify factors associated with use of ACCP-recommended prophylaxis. Data were evaluated for 37,356 hospitalised medical patients across 32 countries. VTE risk varied according to medical diagnosis, from 31.2% of patients with gastrointestinal/hepatobiliary diseases to 100% of patients with acute heart failure, active non-infectious respiratory disease, or pulmonary infection (global rate, 41.5%). Among those at risk for VTE, ACCP-recommended prophylaxis was used in 24.4% haemorrhagic stroke patients and 40-45% of cardiopulmonary disease patients (global rate, 39.5%). Large differences in prophylaxis use were observed among countries. Markers of disease severity, including central venous catheters, mechanical ventilation and admission to intensive care units, were strongly associated with use of ACCP-recommended prophylaxis. In conclusion, VTE risk varies according to medical diagnosis. Less than 40% of at-risk hospitalised medical patients receive ACCP-recommended prophylaxis. Prophylaxis use appears to be associated with disease severity rather than medical diagnosis. These data support the necessity to improve implementation of available guidelines for evaluating VTE risk and providing prophylaxis to hospitalised medical patients.

PMID: 20135072 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Consequences of bed rest.

Crit Care Med. 2009 Oct;37(10 Suppl):S422-8

Authors: Brower RG

Bed rest is frequently prescribed for critically ill patients because it is assumed to be beneficial for preventing complications, for conserving scarce metabolic resources, and for providing patient comfort. Furthermore, higher levels of physical activity in critically ill patients have been assumed to be impractical or not feasible. Bed rest has been prescribed in the past for several other clinical conditions including acute flares of rheumatoid arthritis, cavitary tuberculosis, acute myocardial infarction, and acute low back pain. However, randomized, controlled, clinical trials failed to demonstrate beneficial effects of bed rest in most of these conditions. Bed rest can cause several complications that may delay or prevent recovery from critical illnesses including disuse muscle atrophy, joint contractures, thromboembolic disease, and insulin resistance. Recent studies demonstrated the feasibility and safety of physical medicine programs in critically ill patients including those with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Other physical medicine tools, such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation and passive stretching of muscles, may also reduce some complications of bed rest.

PMID: 20046130 [PubMed - in process]

Controversies in non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary interventions.

Cleve Clin J Med. 2010 Feb;77(2):101-9

Authors: Bhatt DL

Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) and unstable angina represent the majority of acute coronary syndromes. Recent studies have helped clarify treatment strategies. Drug-eluting stents have reduced the problem of restenosis, but questions remain about the length of time patients need dual antiplatelet therapy.

PMID: 20124267 [PubMed - in process]

Clinical trials of early mobilization of critically ill patients.

Crit Care Med. 2009 Oct;37(10 Suppl):S442-7

Authors: Kress JP

Intensive care unit-acquired weakness is a common complication of critical illness leading to severe functional impairment in many intensive care unit survivors. Critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation are routinely immobilized for prolonged time periods. This immobilization is exacerbated by frequent administration of sedative agents. Recently, several investigators have described the feasibility and potential benefits of mobilizing mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients. Such an intervention requires a multidisciplinary team approach to patient care, involving nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and respiratory therapy practitioners. Recent studies of early mobilization of mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients have noted this intervention to be safe and associated with improved functional outcomes in this extremely ill patient cohort. Such outcomes include high percentages of patients able to ambulate on intensive care unit and hospital discharge and shortened hospital length of stay. With preliminary studies demonstrating remarkable feasibility and successes, further prospective studies of early mobilization are needed to evaluate this intervention.

PMID: 20046133 [PubMed - in process]

Hypokalemia Following Polyethylene Glycol-Based Bowel Preparation for Colonoscopy in Older Hospitalized Patients with Significant Comorbidities(March) (FREE).

Ann Pharmacother. 2010 Feb 2;

Authors: Ho JM, Juurlink DN, Cavalcanti RB

BACKGROUND: Polyethylene glycol-based bowel preparations (PEGBPs) are widely perceived as safe and effective alternatives to oral sodium phosphate for bowel cleansing prior to colonoscopy. Most studies supporting this belief involve young patients with few comorbidities. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the incidence of electrolyte disturbances following PEGBPs administered prior to colonoscopy among elderly inpatients and hypothesize that PEGBP would be associated with hypokalemia in this setting. METHODS: This retrospective chart review, conducted at 3 tertiary care teaching hospitals in Toronto, Canada, from 2005 to 2007, included 96 consecutive patients aged 65 or older who were admitted to the hospital and given PEGBP prior to their first inpatient colonoscopy. Patients were excluded if they received additional cathartics, underwent colonoscopy while admitted to a critical care unit, or were admitted for a complication arising from an outpatient colonoscopy. The primary outcome was hypokalemia (serum potassium </=3.2 mEq/L) within 48 hours of PEGBP. RESULTS: Of 96 patients, 73 had serum electrolytes measured at baseline and within 48 hours following PEGBP administration. Hypokalemia was identified in 4 patients (5.5%) prior to PEGBP and in 15 patients (20.5%) after PEGBP (p < 0.001). The incidence of significant hypokalemia, defined as serum potassium <3.0 mEq/L, in this group was 9.6% (p = 0.008). We found consistent results among patients with and without concomitant diuretic treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Among older patients, administration of PEGBP is commonly complicated by the development of hypokalemia, which is occasionally severe. Monitoring of electrolytes may be necessary following colonoscopy, particularly in patients with cardiac or renal disease.

PMID: 20124467 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Managing acute upper GI bleeding, preventing recurrences.

Cleve Clin J Med. 2010 Feb;77(2):131-42

Authors: Albeldawi M, Qadeer MA, Vargo JJ

Acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is common and potentially life-threatening and needs a prompt assessment and aggressive medical management. All patients need to undergo endoscopy to diagnose, assess, and possibly treat any underlying lesion. In addition, patients found to have bleeding ulcers should receive a proton pump inhibitor, the dosage and duration of treatment depending on the endoscopic findings and clinical factors.

PMID: 20124271 [PubMed - in process]

Staphylococcus aureus with reduced glycopeptide susceptibility in Liverpool, UK.

J Antimicrob Chemother. 2010 Feb 2;

Authors: Kirby A, Graham R, Williams NJ, Wootton M, Broughton CM, Alanazi M, Anson J, Neal TJ, Parry CM

Objectives To investigate if colonization with heterogeneous glycopeptide-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hGISA) is associated with hGISA bacteraemia. Methods Isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) from blood cultures and from swabs to detect MRSA colonization were screened for reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides by an agar incorporation method. Isolates detected by this screen were tested for glycopeptide resistance by MacroEtest, standard MIC Etest methods and population analysis profile-AUC (PAP-AUC) analysis. S. aureus isolates with and without reduced glycopeptide susceptibility were characterized by PFGE and spa typing. Results MRSA isolates with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides, as identified by the MacroEtest method, were detected in the colonization screens of 86 of 2550 MRSA-positive patients. The isolates were confirmed by Etest MIC and PAP-AUC analysis as hGISA. A total of 82/86 of the hGISA colonizing isolates were EMRSA-16 by PFGE; the remainder were EMRSA-15. Bacteraemia with hGISA was identified in five patients during the study period; two isolates were EMRSA-16 and three were EMRSA-15. hGISA colonization could not be linked to hGISA bacteraemia and hGISA bacteraemia could not be linked to hGISA colonization. Four of the five hGISA bacteraemias developed following teicoplanin therapy for a central venous catheter-associated MRSA bacteraemia. Conclusions Laboratory strategies to reduce morbidity associated with hGISA should focus on testing for hGISA in bacteraemic (rather than colonizing) MRSA isolates in patients with recurrent S. aureus bacteraemia following glycopeptide exposure.

PMID: 20124288 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Insulin-treated diabetes is not associated with increased mortality in critically ill patients.

Crit Care. 2010 Feb 4;14(1):R12

Authors: Vincent JL, Preiser JC, Sprung CL, Moreno R, Sakr Y

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: This was a planned substudy from the European observational Sepsis Occurrence in Acutely ill Patients (SOAP) study to investigate the possible impact of insulin-treated diabetes on morbidity and mortality in ICU patients. METHODS: The SOAP study was a cohort, multicenter, observational study which included data from all adult patients admitted to one of 198 participating ICUs from 24 European countries during the study period. For this substudy, patients were classified according to whether or not they had a known diagnosis of insulin-treated diabetes mellitus. Outcome measures included the degree of organ dysfunction/failure as assessed by the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, the occurrence of sepsis syndromes and organ failure in the ICU, hospital and ICU length of stay, and all cause hospital and ICU mortality. RESULTS: Of the 3147 patients included in the SOAP study, 226 (7.2%) had previously diagnosed insulin-treated diabetes mellitus. On admission, patients with insulin-treated diabetes were older, sicker, as reflected by higher simplified acute physiology system II (SAPS II) and SOFA scores, and more likely to be receiving hemodialysis than the other patients. During the ICU stay, more patients with insulin-treated diabetes required renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis or hemofiltration) than other patients. There were no significant differences in ICU or hospital lengths of stay or in ICU or hospital mortality between patients with or without insulin-treated diabetes. Using a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis with hospital mortality censored at 28-days as the dependent factor, insulin-treated diabetes was not an independent predictor of mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Even though patients with a history of insulin-treated diabetes are more severely ill and more likely to have renal failure, insulin-treated diabetes is not associated with increased mortality in ICU patients.

PMID: 20132545 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Patterns of antimicrobial therapy in severe nosocomial infections: empiric choices, proportion of appropriate therapy, and adaptation rates-a multicentre, observational survey in critically ill patients.

Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2010 Jan 30;

Authors: Vogelaers D, De Bels D, Forêt F, Cran S, Gilbert E, Schoonheydt K, Blot S,

This prospective, observational multicentre (n=24) study investigated relationships between antimicrobial choices and rates of empiric appropriate or adequate therapy, and subsequent adaptation of therapy in 171 ICU patients with severe nosocomial infections. Appropriate antibiotic therapy was defined as in vitro susceptibility of the causative pathogen and clinical response to the agent administered. In non-microbiologically documented infections, therapy was considered adequate in the case of favourable clinical response <5 days. Patients had pneumonia (n=127; 66 ventilator-associated), intra-abdominal infection (n=23), and bloodstream infection (n=21). Predominant pathogens were Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=29) Escherichia coli (n=26), Staphylococcus aureus (n=22), and Enterobacter aerogenes (n=21). In 49.6% of infections multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria were involved, mostly extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (EBSL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae and MDR non-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria. Prior antibiotic exposure and hospitalisation in a general ward prior to ICU admission were risk factors for MDR. Empiric therapy was appropriate/adequate in 63.7% of cases. Empiric schemes were classified according to coverage of (i) ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae and non-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria ("meropenem-based"), (ii) non-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria (schemes with an antipseudomonal agent), and (iii) first-line agents not covering ESBL-Enterobacteriaceae nor non-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria. Meropenem-based schemes allowed for significantly higher rates of appropriate/adequate therapy (p<0.001). This benefit remained when only patients without risk factors for MDR were considered (p=0.021). In 106 patients (61%) empiric therapy was modified: in 60 cases following initial inappropriate/inadequate therapy, in 46 patients in order to refine empiric therapy. In this study reflecting real-life practice, first-line use of meropenem provided significantly higher rates of the appropriate/adequate therapy, irrespective of presence of risk factors for MDR.

PMID: 20122817 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Perioperative liver protection.

Curr Opin Crit Care. 2010 Feb 3;

Authors: Beck C, Schwartges I, Picker O

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review presents important pathophysiological alterations associated with impaired liver function and discusses protective perioperative strategies and the various anaesthetic agents recommended. RECENT FINDINGS: Perioperative liver impairment is a serious complication of anaesthesia and surgery. Unfortunately, clinicians are provided with only crude macrohaemodynamic monitoring devices to optimize their therapy. Technical improvements have revealed some complex mysteries of perioperative microcirculatory alterations and have disclosed a large heterogeneity between different vascular beds. The present review will critically discuss current clinical concepts of optimizing global haemodynamic variables and the often contrasting effects of vasoactive agents on the microcirculatory nutritional blood flow. Finally, promising protective experimental interventions of pharmacological or ischaemic preconditioning are presented and their often disillusioning transition into recent clinical trials is highlighted. SUMMARY: Targeted perioperative liver protection still lacks adequate monitoring tools and is currently based on optimization of global haemodynamic variables. While there is currently no evidence suggesting a positive effect of ischaemic preconditioning, promising experimental results of pharmacological preconditioning and therapeutic hypothermia require further evaluation in larger randomized clinical trials.

PMID: 20134321 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Do guidelines change outcomes in ventilator-associated pneumonia?

Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2010 Feb 3;

Authors: Bassi GL, Ferrer M, Saucedo LM, Torres A

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of the study is to summarize effects of implementation of current and past guidelines for management and treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) on outcome of intensive care patients, with particular focus on etiology of VAP, pathogens prediction, appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy and mortality. RECENT FINDINGS: Several studies have shown that in patients with clinical suspicion of VAP, appropriate antibiotic therapy administered in a timely manner can improve survival. Guidelines for management and treatment of VAP have been developed to help physicians to achieve those goals. Implementation of guidelines into clinical practice is difficult to achieve and requires extensive education for healthcare personnel and translation of recommendations into local protocols. Studies have shown that guidelines implementation is associated with better outcome. However, extensive research needs to be undertaken in order to validate efficacy of guidelines in predicting etiology of pneumonia, in particular, to promptly identify multidrug-resistant pathogens. Only one recent report has validated the latest guidelines and called attention for further research to improve microbial prediction. SUMMARY: Guidelines implementation can improve outcomes. To achieve this goal, guidelines should be adapted to local microbiology, accurately predict VAP pathogens and help physicians to administer the most appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy.

PMID: 20134322 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Are Residents' Decisions Influenced More by a Decision Aid or a Specialist's Opinion? A Randomized Controlled Trial.

J Gen Intern Med. 2010 Jan 30;

Authors: Medow MA, Arkes HR, Shaffer VA

BACKGROUND: Physicians are reluctant to use decision aids despite their ability to improve care. A potential reason may be that physicians do not believe decision aid advice. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether internal medicine residents lend more credence to contradictory decision aid or human advice. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. Residents read a scenario of a patient with community-acquired pneumonia and were asked whether they would admit the patient to the intensive care unit or the floor. Residents were randomized to receive contrary advice from either a referenced decision aid or an anonymous pulmonologist. They were then asked, in light of this new information, where they would admit the patient. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred eight internal medicine residents. MEASUREMENTS: The percentage of residents who changed their admission location and the change in confidence in the decision. MAIN RESULTS: Residents were more likely to change their original admission location (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.04 to 5.1, P = 0.04) and to reduce their confidence in the decision (adjusted difference between means -12.9%, 95% CI -3.0% to -22.8%, P = 0.011) in response to the referenced decision aid than to the anonymous pulmonologist. Confidence in their decision was more likely to change if they initially chose to admit the patient to the floor. CONCLUSIONS: In a hypothetical case of community-acquired pneumonia, physicians were influenced more by contrary advice from a referenced decision aid than an anonymous specialist. Whether this holds for advice from a respected specialist or in actual practice remains to be studied.

PMID: 20119873 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Influenza Testing and Antiviral Prescribing Practices Among Emergency Department Clinicians in 9 States During the 2006 to 2007 Influenza Season.

Ann Emerg Med. 2010 Jan;55(1):32-39

Authors: Mueller MR, Smith PJ, Baumbach JP, Palumbo JP, Meek JI, Gershman K, Vandermeer M, Thomas AR, Long CE, Belflower R, Spina NL, Martin KG, Lynfield R, Openo KP, Kirley PD, Pasutti LE, Barnes BG, Schaffner W, Kamimoto L

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Influenza causes significant widespread illness each year. Emergency department (ED) clinicians are often first-line providers to evaluate and make treatment decisions for patients presenting with influenza. We sought to better understand ED clinician testing and treatment practices in the Emerging Infections Program Network, a federal, state, and academic collaboration that conducts active surveillance for influenza-associated hospitalizations. METHODS: During 2007, a survey was administered to ED clinicians who worked in Emerging Infections Program catchment area hospitals' EDs. The survey encompassed the role of the clinician, years since completing clinical training, hospital type, influenza testing practices, and use of antiviral medications during the 2006 to 2007 influenza season. We examined factors associated with influenza testing and antiviral use. RESULTS: A total of 1,055 ED clinicians from 123 hospitals responded to the survey. A majority of respondents (85.3%; n=887) reported they had tested their patients for influenza during the 2006 to 2007 influenza season (Emerging Infections Program site range: 59.3 to 100%; P<.0001). When asked about antiviral medications, 55.7% (n=576) of respondents stated they had prescribed antiviral medications to some of their patients in 2006 to 2007 (Emerging Infections Program site range 32.9% to 80.3%; P<.0001). A positive association between influenza testing and prescribing antiviral medications was observed. Additionally, the type of hospital, location in which an ED clinician worked, and the number of years since medical training were associated with prescribing antiviral influenza medications. CONCLUSION: There is much heterogeneity in clinician-initiated influenza testing and treatment practices. Additional exploration of the role of hospital testing and treatment policies, clinicians' perception of influenza disease, and methods for educating clinicians about new recommendations is needed to better understand ED clinician testing and treatment decisions, especially in an environment of rapidly changing influenza clinical guidelines. Until influenza testing and treatment guidelines are better promulgated, clinicians may continue to test and treat influenza with inconsistency.

PMID: 20116012 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

A protocol of no sedation for critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation: a randomised trial.

Lancet. 2010 Jan 28;

Authors: Strøm T, Martinussen T, Toft P

BACKGROUND: Standard treatment of critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation is continuous sedation. Daily interruption of sedation has a beneficial effect, and in the general intesive care unit of Odense University Hospital, Denmark, standard practice is a protocol of no sedation. We aimed to establish whether duration of mechanical ventilation could be reduced with a protocol of no sedation versus daily interruption of sedation. METHODS: Of 428 patients assessed for eligibility, we enrolled 140 critically ill adult patients who were undergoing mechanical ventilation and were expected to need ventilation for more than 24 h. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio (unblinded) to receive: no sedation (n=70 patients); or sedation (20 mg/mL propofol for 48 h, 1 mg/mL midazolam thereafter) with daily interruption until awake (n=70, control group). Both groups were treated with bolus doses of morphine (2.5 or 5 mg). The primary outcome was the number of days without mechanical ventilation in a 28-day period, and we also recorded the length of stay in the intensive care unit (from admission to 28 days) and in hospital (from admission to 90 days). Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00466492. FINDINGS: 27 patients died or were successfully extubated within 48 h, and, as per our study design, were excluded from the study and statistical analysis. Patients receiving no sedation had significantly more days without ventilation (n=55; mean 13.8 days, SD 11.0) than did those receiving interrupted sedation (n=58; mean 9.6 days, SD 10.0; mean difference 4.2 days, 95% CI 0.3-8.1; p=0.0191). No sedation was also associated with a shorter stay in the intensive care unit (HR 1.86, 95% CI 1.05-3.23; p=0.0316), and, for the first 30 days studied, in hospital (3.57, 1.52-9.09; p=0.0039), than was interrupted sedation. No difference was recorded in the occurrences of accidental extubations, the need for CT or MRI brain scans, or ventilator-associated pneumonia. Agitated delirium was more frequent in the intervention group than in the control group (n=11, 20%vs n=4, 7%; p=0.0400). INTERPRETATION: No sedation of critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation is associated with an increase in days without ventilation. A multicentre study is needed to establish whether this effect can be reproduced in other facilities. FUNDING: Danish Society of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, the Fund of Danielsen, the Fund of Kirsten Jensa la Cour, and the Fund of Holger og Ruth Hess.

PMID: 20116842 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Chronic heart failure: contemporary diagnosis and management.

Mayo Clin Proc. 2010 Feb;85(2):180-95

Authors: Ramani GV, Uber PA, Mehra MR

Chronic heart failure (CHF) remains the only cardiovascular disease with an increasing hospitalization burden and an ongoing drain on health care expenditures. The prevalence of CHF increases with advancing life span, with diastolic heart failure predominating in the elderly population. Primary prevention of coronary artery disease and risk factor management via aggressive blood pressure control are central in preventing new occurrences of left ventricular dysfunction. Optimal therapy for CHF involves identification and correction of potentially reversible precipitants, target-dose titration of medical therapy, and management of hospitalizations for decompensation. The etiological phenotype, absolute decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction and a widening of QRS duration on electrocardiography, is commonly used to identify patients at increased risk of progression of heart failure and sudden death who may benefit from prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement with or without cardiac resynchronization therapy. Patients who transition to advanced stages of disease despite optimal traditional medical and device therapy may be candidates for hemodynamically directed approaches such as a left ventricular assist device; in selected cases, listing for cardiac transplant may be warranted.

PMID: 20118395 [PubMed - in process]