Journal of intensive care medicine
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J Intensive Care Med · May 2020
Multicenter Study Observational StudyComplementary Role of Hypothermia Identification to the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score in Predicting Patients With Sepsis at High Risk of Mortality: A Retrospective Analysis From a Multicenter, Observational Study.
Although the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) has been recommended for identifying patients at higher risk of hospital death, it has only a 60% sensitivity for in-hospital mortality. On the other hand, hypothermia associates with increased mortality and organ failure in patients with sepsis. This study aimed to assess the predictive validity of qSOFA for identifying patients with sepsis at higher risk of multiple organ dysfunction or death and the complementary effect of hypothermia. ⋯ A qSOFA score ≥2 may identify >90% of 28-day deaths among patients with severe sepsis; hypothermia may complement the predictive ability of qSOFA.
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Studies exploring the effect of body mass index (BMI) on outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU) have yielded mixed results, with few studies assessing patients at the extremes of obesity. We sought to understand the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with super obesity (BMI > 50 kg/m2) as compared to morbid obesity (BMI > 40 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2). ⋯ Super obese patients are most commonly admitted to the MICU with pulmonary diagnoses and have an increased use of noninvasive ventilation. Super obesity was not associated with increased ICU mortality. Clinicians should be prepared to offer NIMV to super obese patients and anticipate a longer LOS in this group.
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J Intensive Care Med · May 2020
Assessing Acid-Base Status in Circulatory Failure: Relationship Between Arterial and Peripheral Venous Blood Gas Measurements in Hypovolemic Shock.
In severe circulatory failure agreement between arterial and mixed venous or central venous values is poor; venous values are more reflective of tissue acid-base imbalance. No prior study has examined the relationship between peripheral venous blood gas (VBG) values and arterial blood gas (ABG) values in hemodynamic compromise. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between hemodynamic parameters, specifically systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the arterial-peripheral venous (A-PV) difference for all commonly used acid-base parameters (pH, Pco 2, and bicarbonate). ⋯ In hypovolemic shock, the peripheral VBG does not demonstrate a higher CO2 concentration and lower pH compared to arterial blood. Therefore, the peripheral VBG is not a surrogate for the tissue acid-base status in hypovolemic shock, likely due to peripheral vasoconstriction and central shunting of blood to essential organs. This contrasts with the selective venous respiratory acidosis previously demonstrated in central venous and mixed venous measurements in circulatory failure, which is more reflective of acid-base imbalance at the tissue level than arterial blood. Further work needs to be done to better define the relationship between ABG and both central and peripheral VBG values in various types of shock.
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J Intensive Care Med · May 2020
Observational StudyRed Blood Cell Product Transfusion Thresholds and Clinical Outcomes.
To determine whether patients transfused red blood cell (RBC) products according to guideline-specified pretransfusion hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations or for other reasons were more likely to survive their intensive care unit (ICU) stay. ⋯ Conservative RBC product transfusion practices for groups that are targeted by guidelines are justified by outcomes observed in clinical practice. This study provides evidence for the liberal administration of RBC products to critically ill adults with acute blood loss based on association with lower risk of mortality.