Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
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The "herald wave" of the H1N1 pandemic spread from Mexico to the United States in spring 2009. Initially, the epicenter of H1N1 in the United States was in the New York area. Our hospital, like others, was inundated with large numbers of patients who presented at the Emergency Department (ED) with influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) for swine influenza testing and evaluation. ⋯ Clinicians can use the Winthrop-University Hospital Infectious Disease Division's Diagnostic swine influenza triad to make a rapid clinical diagnosis of probable H1N1 pneumonia in hospitalized adult patients with negative RIDTs.
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To examine the evidential basis underpinning the monitoring of skin temperature and core-peripheral temperature gradient as elements of hemodynamic assessment in critically ill and adult cardiac surgical patients. ⋯ Skin temperature and core-peripheral temperature gradient should not be considered in isolation from other hemodynamic parameters when assessing cardiac status until they are validated by further large-scale prospective studies.
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Subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) is an infection of the heart involving damaged valves or endothelium. The most common organisms causing SBE are the viridans streptococci. Viridans streptococci differ in their propensity to cause SBE, which is related to the ability to adhere to damaged heart valves and endothelium, which is a function of extracellular matrix production. Streptococcus intermedius is a member of the S. anginosus group. S. intermedius is one of the many strains of viridans streptococci and a rare cause of SBE. SBE may result following a high-grade, sustained veridans streptococcal bacteremia in patients with predisposing cardiac lesions. Because viridans streptococci are relatively avirulent pathogens in normal hosts, they usually present as SBE. Some strains of viridans streptococci are inherently more virulent (eg, S. intermedius) and clinically resemble S. lugdunensis or S. aureus. ⋯ In this case, despite optimal antimicrobial therapy, and in the absence of resistance/tolerance, therapeutic failure was best explained on the basis of S. intermedius virulence. The take-home lesson for clinicians is that it is better to err on the side of antibiotic prophylaxis even in patients with low-risk cardiac lesions. Failure to administer antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures may result in SBE and have disastrous consequences for the patient, which, in this case, resulted in a cerebral vascular accident, embolic occlusion of the leg, and mitral valve replacement. In terms of virulence in patients with endocarditis, S. intermedius may resemble S. lugdenesis.
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Thrombocytopenia is common in intensive care units (ICUs), and is associated with a poor prognosis. An acute decrease in total platelet count is frequently observed in severe sepsis, followed by a relative increase indicating organ-failure recovery. However, few data are available describing this effect and its relationship with outcomes in specific subgroups of ICU patients. ⋯ Determining trends in platelet counts is of additional prognostic value, compared with single measurements.