Search

Background: While several scoring systems have been developed to predict short-term outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, there is currently no dedicated prognostic tool for drowning-associated cardiac arrest (DACA) patients., Methods: Patients experiencing DACA from two retrospective multicenter cohorts of drowning patients were included in the present study. Among the patients from the development cohort, risk-factors for day-28 mortality were assessed by logistic regression. A prediction score was conceived and assessed in patients from the validation cohort., Results: Among the 103 included patients from the development cohort, the day-28 mortality rate reached 51% (53/103). Identified independent early risk-factors for day-28 mortality included cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration longer than 20 min (OR 6.40 [95% CI 1.88-23.32]; p = 0.003), temperature at Intensive Care Unit admission <34 °C (OR 8.84 [95% CI 2.66-32.92]; p < 0.001), need for invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 6.83 [95% CI 1.47-40.87]; p = 0.02) and lactate concentration > 7 mmol/L (OR 3.56 [95% CI 1.01-13.07]; p = 0.04). The Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) of the developed score based on those variables reached 0.91 (95% CI, 0.86-0.97). The optimal cut-off for predicting poor outcomes was 4 points with a sensitivity of 92% (95% CI, 82-98%), a specificity of 82% (95% CI, 67-91%), a positive predictive value (PPV) of 84% (95% CI, 72-95%) and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 91% (95% CI, 79-96%). The assessment of this score on the validation cohort of 81 patients exhibited an AUC of 0.82. Using the same 4 points threshold, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV values of the validation cohort were: 81%, 67%, 72% and 77%, respectively., Conclusion: In patients suffering from drowning induced initial cardiac arrest admitted to ICU with a DACA score ≥ 4, the likelihood of survival at day-28 is significantly lower. Prospective validation of the DACA score and assessment of its usefulness are warranted in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors report no conflict of interest related to this work., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To identify clinical and biological criteria predictive of significant traumatic injury in only kinetic-based polytrauma patients without clinical severity criteria. To propose a decisional algorithm to assist the emergency doctor in deciding whether or not to perform a WBCT in the above population., Methods: Retrospective bi-center study. 1270 patients with high velocity trauma without clinical severity criteria, for whom a WBCT was performed in 2017, were included. Patients with hemodynamic, respiratory or neurological severity criterion or those requiring pre-hospital resuscitation measures were excluded. Our primary endpoint was the identification of a significant lesion, i.e. any lesion that led to hospitalization > 24 h for monitoring or medico-surgical treatment. Data collected were age, sex, mechanism of injury, Glasgow Coma Scale score, number of symptomatic body regions, blood alcohol level, and neutrophil count., Results: Multivariate analysis found independent predictors of significant injury: fall > 5 m (OR: 14.36; CI: 2.3-283.4; p = 0.017), Glasgow score = 13 or 14 (OR: 4.40; CI:1.30-18.52; p = 0.027), presence of 2 symptomatic body regions (OR: 10.21; CI: 4.66-23.72; p = 0.05), positive blood alcohol level (OR: 2.81; CI: 1.13-7.33; p = 0.029) and neutrophilic leukocytosis (OR: 8.76; CI: 3.94-21.27; p = 0.01). A composite clinico-biological endpoint predictive of the absence of significant lesion was identified using a Classification and Regression Tree: number of symptomatic regions < 2, absence of Neutrophilic leukocytosis and negative blood alcohol concentration., Conclusion: A simple triage algorithm was created with the objective of identifying, in high velocity trauma without clinical severity criteria, those without significant traumatic injury., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is frequently diagnosed late, leading to a poor prognosis. Our aims were to identify predictive factors of delayed diagnosis and to analyze the outcomes of patients with AMI admitted in emergency units., Methods: All the patients with AMI (2015-2020), in two Emergency units, were retrospectively included. Two groups were defined according to the time of diagnosis between the arrival at emergency unit and the CT scan: ≤ 6 h (early), > 6 h (delayed)., Results: 119 patients (mean age = 71 ± 7 years) were included. The patients with a delayed diagnosis (n = 33, 28%) were significantly associated with atypical presentation, including lower rates of abdominal pain (73 vs 89%, p = 0.003), abdominal tenderness (33 vs 43%, p = 0.03), and plasma lactate (4 ± 2 vs 6 ± 7 mmol/l, p = 0.03) when compared with early diagnosis. After multivariate analysis, the absence of abdominal pain was the only independent predictive factor of delayed diagnosis (Odd Ratio = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.03-0.88, p = 0.03). Patients with delayed diagnosis tended to be associated to lower rates of revascularization (9 vs 17%, p = 0.4), higher rates of major surgical morbidity (90 vs 57%, p = 0.1), longer length of stay (16 ± 23 vs 13 ± 15 days, p = 0.4) and, at the end of follow-up, higher rate of short small bowel syndrome (18 vs 7%, p = 0.095)., Conclusion: AMI is a challenge for emergency physicians. History of patient, physical exam, biological data are not sufficient to diagnose AMI. New biomarkers, and awareness of emergency physicians should improve and accelerate the diagnosis of AMI., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

Although very common, the precise mechanisms that explain the symptomatology of neuroendocrine syncope (NES) remain poorly understood. This disease, which can be very incapacitating, manifests itself as a drop in blood pressure secondary to vasodilation and/or extreme slowing of heart rate. As studies continue, the involvement of the adenosinergic system is becoming increasingly evident. Adenosine, which is an ATP derivative, may be involved in a large number of cases. Adenosine acts on G protein-coupled receptors with seven transmembrane domains. A 1 and A 2A adenosine receptor dysfunction seem to be particularly implicated since the activation leads to severe bradycardia or vasodilation, respectively, two cardinal symptoms of NES. This mini-review aims to shed light on the links between dysfunction of the adenosinergic system and NHS. In particular, signal transduction pathways through the modulation of cAMP production and ion channels in relation to effects on the cardiovascular system are addressed. A better understanding of these mechanisms could guide the pharmacological development of new therapeutic approaches.

Purpose: Since 2014, a trauma system (TS) for the Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur (PACA) region has been set up with protocols based on the European guidelines for the management of bleeding trauma patients. The present study aims to assess compliance with protocols in penetrating thoracic trauma on admission to a level I trauma centre and to determine whether compliance impacts morbidity and mortality., Methods: This multicentric pre-post study included all penetrating thoracic trauma patients referred to Marseille area level I centres between January 2009 and December 2019. On the basis of the European guidelines, eight objectively measurable recommendations concerning the in-hospital trauma care for the first 24 h were analysed. Per-patient and per-criterion compliance rates and their impact on morbidity and mortality were evaluated before and after TS implementation., Results: A total of 426 patients were included. No differences between the two groups (before and after 2014) were reported for demographics or injury severity. The median (interquartile range) per-patient compliance rate increased from 67% [0.50; 0.75] to 75% [0.67; 1.0] (p < 0.01) after implementation of a TS. The 30-day morbidity-mortality was, respectively, of 17% (30/173) and 13% (32/253) (p = 0.18) before and after TS implementation. A low per-patient compliance rate was associated with an increase in the 30-day morbidity-mortality rate (p < 0.01). Severity score-adjusted per-patient compliance rates were associated with decreased 30-day morbidity-mortality (odds ratio [IC 95%] = 0.98 [0.97; 0.99] p = 0.01)., Conclusion: Implementation of a TS was associated with better compliance to European recommendations and better outcomes for severe trauma patients. These findings should encourage strict adherence to European trauma protocols to ensure the best patient outcomes., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

The survival rate after cardiac arrest (CA) remains low. The utilization of extracorporeal life support is proposed to improve management. However, this resource-intensive tool is associated with complications and must be used in selected patients. We performed a meta-analysis to determine predictive factors of survival. Among the 81 studies included, involving 9256 patients, survival was 26.2% at discharge and 20.4% with a good neurologic outcome. Meta-regressions identified an association between survival at discharge and lower lactate values, intrahospital CA, and lower cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) duration. After adjustment for age, intrahospital CA, and mean CPR duration, an initial shockable rhythm was the only remaining factor associated with survival to discharge (β = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.007-0.02; p = 0.0004)., (Copyright © ASAIO 2021.)

Background: Optimal management of community-acquired intra-abdominal infections (IAI) requires timely surgical source control and adequate anti-infective treatment., Objective: To describe the initial management of community-acquired IAI admitted to the emergency department and assess the association between the length of time to either diagnosis or therapeutic procedures and patient outcomes., Design: A prospective, multicentre, observational study., Setting: Thirteen teaching hospitals in France between April 2018 and February 2019., Patients: Two hundred and five patients aged at least 18 years diagnosed with community-acquired IAI., Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was hospital length of stay. The secondary outcome was hospital mortality., Results: Patients had a mean age of 56 (± 21) years and a median [interquartile] SAPS II of 26 [17 to 34]. Among the study cohort, 18% were postoperatively transferred to intensive care unit and 7% had died by day 28. Median [IQR] time to imaging, antibiotic therapy and surgery were 4 [2 to 6], 7.5 [4 to 12.5] and 9 [5.5 to 17] hours, respectively. The length of time to surgical source control [0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98 to 0.99], SOFA greater than 2 [0.36 (95% CI, 0.26 to 0.651)], age greater than 60 years [0.65 (95% CI, 0.45 to 0.94)], generalized peritonitis [0.7 (95% CI, 0.56 to 0.89)] and laparotomy surgery [0.657 (95% CI, 0.42 to 0.78)] were associated with longer hospital length of stay. The duration of time to surgical source control [1.02 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.04)], generalized peritonitis [2.41 (95% CI, 1.27 to 4.61)], and SOFA score greater than 2 [6.14 (95% CI, 1.40 to 26.88)] were identified as independent risk factors for 28-day mortality., Conclusion: This multicentre observational study revealed that the time to surgical source control, patient severity and generalized peritonitis were identified as independent risk factors for increased hospital LOS and mortality in community-acquired IAI. Organisational strategies to reduce the time to surgical management of intra-abdominal infections should be further evaluated., Study Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov on 1 April 2018, NCT03544203., (Copyright © 2022 European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.)

Background: Vasovagal syncope is a common cause of syncope which, if recurrent, can have multiple negative consequences such as injury and occupational disability. Various medications can be used to decrease the recurrence of vasovagal syncope but there are no drugs that can be used by patients to interrupt a perceived vasovagal episode., Methods: A phase I study was performed to evaluate the tolerability and safety of a gel formulation containing capsaicin (1 mg), phenylephrine HCL (PE) and caffeine citrate (200 mg) (CPC) in normal adult volunteers. Secondary objectives were to characterize the pharmacokinetics (PK) of the CPC formulation and the highest dose of PE needed to achieve a target increase in systolic BP of at least 40 mmHg. After receiving the first dose, a second dose of the CPC mixture was administered at 2 h. Suboptimal changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) were noted at PE doses of 0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 mg, therefore a second cohort was studied at PE doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg. Blood samples were collected in rapid sequence and were assayed for all three drugs., Results: A total of 17 subjects received the drug with no serious adverse effects reported. All doses were well tolerated, although the capsaicin content usually caused expected temporary oral and gastric discomfort. One subject did not complete the study because of a vasovagal reaction that was associated with the frequent blood sampling. There was a 5-25 min lag in the appearance of measurable blood concentrations of capsaicin and phenylephrine. Most subjects had baseline caffeine concentrations from dietary use, with a gradual increase noted after 15 min consistent with GI absorption. Although the intended criterion of a 40 mmHg increase in SBP was not reached, a clinically significant increase in BP for at least 15 min was noted in the six subjects who received the highest dose of PE (30 mg), with a gradual decline over the next 2 h., Conclusion: The ternary mixture of capsaicin, phenylephrine, and caffeine was well tolerated when administered as two sublingual/oral doses over a 2-h period., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Lung ultrasound is commonly used for the diagnosis of pneumothorax. However, recognition of pleural sliding is subjective and can be difficult for novice. The primary objective was to compare a novices physician's performance in diagnosing pneumothorax from ultrasound (US) scans either with visual evaluation or with maximum longitudinal pleural strain (MLPS). The secondary objective was to compare the diagnostic relevance of US with visual evaluation or MLPS to diagnose pneumothorax with an intermediately experienced and an expert physician., Methods: We conducted a prospective, observational study in two emergency department and two intensive care unit, between February 2019 and June 2020. We included 99 adult patients with suspected pneumothorax, who received a chest computed tomography (CT). Three physicians with different experience of interpreting US scans (a novice physician, an intermediately experienced physician, and an expert) analyzed the US scans of 99 patients with suspected pneumothorax (50 (51%) with confirmed pneumothorax), which were confirmed by CT scan., Results: With a threshold of 5%, the MLPS sensitivity was 94% (95% CI [83%; 98%]), and the specificity was 100% (95% CI [93%; 100%]). The novice physician had an area under the curve (AUC) with visual analysis of 0.75 (95% CI [0.67; 0.83]) vs 0.86 (95% CI [0.79; 0.94]) with MLPS (p = 0.04). The intermediate physician's AUC for diagnosing pneumothorax with visual analysis was 0.93 (95% CI [0.88; 0.99]) vs 1.00 (95% CI [1.00; 1.00]) with MLPS (p < 0.01) and for the expert physician it was 0.98 (95% CI [0.95;1.00]) vs 0.97 (95% CI [0.93; 1.00]), respectively (p = 0.69)., Conclusion: In our study, speckle tracking analysis improved the accuracy of US for the novice and the intermediate but not the expert sonographer in the diagnosis of pneumothorax., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Xavier Bobbia declares a competing interest as an US teacher for GE (GE Medical Systems Ultrasound) customers. The other authors state that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The main objective was to evaluate the precision of the Modified Lung Ultrasound (MLUS score) for predicting the need for respiratory support in the first 48 hours in patients with dyspnea due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The secondary objectives were 1) to compare the MLUS and National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2), as well as the combination of both scores, as predictors of severity according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement; and 2) to compare severity assessed by ultrasound scoring to severity assessed by lung computed tomography (CT)., Material and Methods: Multicenter prospective observational cohort study conducted from March 30 to April 30, 2020, in 2 university hospitals. Adult patients with dyspnea due to COVID-19 were included. An initial lung ultrasound was performed, and the results of MLUS, NEW2, and lung CT evaluations were recorded. Patients were classified by risk according to the WHO scale at 48 hours, as follows: low risk (score less than 5) or high risk (score of 5 or more)., Results: A total of 100 patients were included: 35 (35%) were classified as low risk and 65 (65%) as high risk. The correlation between the MLUS and WHO assessments was positive and very high (Spearman rank correlation 􀁕 = 0.832; P .001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the MLUS, NEW2 and combined ultrasound scores, in relation to prediction of risk classification were, respectively, 0.96 (0.93-0.99), 0.89 (0.82-0.95) and 0.98 (0.96-1.0). The MLUS and lung CT assessments were correlated., Conclusion: An early lung ultrasound score can predict clinical severity in patients with dyspnea due to COVID-19.

Blood cell analysis is a major pillar of biomedical research and healthcare. These analyses are performed in central laboratories. Rapid shipment from collection site to the central laboratories is currently needed because cells and biomarkers degrade rapidly. The dried blood spot from a fingerstick allows the preservation of cellular molecules for months but entire cells are never recovered. Here leucocyte elution is optimized from dried blood spots. Flow cytometry and mRNA expression profiling are used to analyze the recovered cells. 50-70% of the leucocytes that are dried on a polyester solid support via elution after shaking the support with buffer are recovered. While red blood cells lyse upon drying, it is found that the majority of leucocytes are preserved. Leucocytes have an altered structure that is improved by adding fixative in the elution buffer. Leucocytes are permeabilized, allowing an easy staining of all cellular compartments. Common immunophenotyping and mRNAs are preserved. The ability of a new biomarker (CD169) to discriminate between patients with and without Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome induced by Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections is also preserved. Leucocytes from blood can be dried, shipped, and/or stored for at least 1 month, then recovered for a wide variety of analyses, potentially facilitating biomedical applications worldwide., (© 2021 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted procedure in improving pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations 6 months after an emergency department (ED) visit among patients aged 65 years and older., Methods: We conducted a cluster-randomized, controlled, parallel-group, open-label implementation trial in 18 EDs in France and Monaco. Participants were recruited from November 2015 to September 2016. EDs were randomly assigned with a 1:1 ratio to provide either a multifaceted procedure that combined structured information about pneumococcal and influenza vaccines and three text message reminders sent to patients every two weeks (intervention arm) or nonstructured information only (control arm). The outcomes were self-reported pneumococcal vaccination and influenza vaccination rates within 6 months of enrollment., Results: A total of 9 EDs were randomized to the intervention arm (n = 780 patients) and 9 to the control arm (n = 695 patients). The median age for all enrolled patients was 74 years (25-75th percentiles, 69 to 82): 50.1% were male, 34.9% had at least one underlying condition, and 30.7% were at risk for invasive pneumococcal infection. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the multifaceted intervention did not alter the pneumococcal vaccination rate (6.4% versus 4.6%, absolute difference: 1.8; 95% CI: [-0.9 to 4.4]; p = 0.19), whereas it improved the influenza vaccination rate (52.1% versus 40.0%, absolute difference: 12.1; 95% CI: [2.4 to 21.8]; p = 0.01). At 12 months, mortality did not differ between the intervention (9.7%) and control (11.2%) arms ( p = 0.35)., Conclusions: A multifaceted intervention based on text message reminders provides an opportunity to increase anti-influenza vaccination among elderly patients visiting the ED. Efforts are warranted to provide better information on pneumococcal diseases and the benefits of pneumococcal vaccines, especially in the elderly.

Background: The COVID-19 crisis has strained world health care systems. This study aimed to develop an innovative prediction score using clinical and biological parameters (PREDICT score) to anticipate the need of intensive care of COVID-19 patients already hospitalized in standard medical units., Methods: PREDICT score was based on a training cohort and a validation cohort retrospectively recruited in 2020 in the Marseille University Hospital. Multivariate analyses were performed, including clinical, and biological parameters, comparing a baseline group composed of COVID-19 patients exclusively treated in standard medical units to COVID-19 patients that needed intensive care during their hospitalization., Results: Independent variables included in the PREDICT score were: age, Body Mass Index, Respiratory Rate, oxygen saturation, C-reactive protein, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and lactate dehydrogenase. The PREDICT score was able to correctly identify more than 83% of patients that needed intensive care after at least 1 day of standard medical hospitalization., Conclusions: The PREDICT score is a powerful tool for anticipating the intensive care need for COVID-19 patients already hospitalized in a standard medical unit. It shows limitations for patients who immediately need intensive care, but it draws attention to patients who have an important risk of needing intensive care after at least one day of hospitalization.

The identification of a bacterial, viral, or even noninfectious cause is essential in the management of febrile syndrome in the emergency department (ED), especially in epidemic contexts such as flu or CoVID-19. The aim was to assess discriminative performances of two biomarkers, CD64 on neutrophils (nCD64) and CD169 on monocytes (mCD169), using a new flow cytometry procedure, in patients presenting with fever to the ED during epidemics. Eighty five adult patients presenting with potential infection were included during the 2019 flu season in the ED of La Timone Hospital. They were divided into four diagnostic outcomes according to their clinical records: no-infection, bacterial infection, viral infection and co-infection. Seventy six patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were also compared to 48 healthy volunteers. For the first cohort, 38 (45%) patients were diagnosed with bacterial infections, 11 (13%) with viral infections and 29 (34%) with co-infections. mCD169 was elevated in patients with viral infections, with a majority of Flu A virus or Respiratory Syncytial Virus, while nCD64 was elevated in subjects with bacterial infections, with a majority of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. nCD64 and mCD169 showed 90% and 80% sensitivity, and 78% and 91% specificity, respectively, for identifying patients with bacterial or viral infections. When studied in a second cohort, mCD169 was elevated in 95% of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections and remained at normal level in 100% of healthy volunteers. nCD64 and mCD169 have potential for accurately distinguishing bacterial and acute viral infections. Combined in an easy and rapid flow cytometry procedure, they constitute a potential improvement for infection management in the ED, and could even help for triage of patients during emerging epidemics., (© 2021 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.)

Chronic cannabis use can be associated with uncontrollable vomiting and abdominal pain. Diagnostic criteria for cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) were defined in 2012 by Simonetto et al. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of CHS, the patients' epidemiological characteristics, and to show the difficulties encountered in caring for these patients in emergency departments, the extent of health care and an unsuitable follow-up in general practices. A prospective cohort of patients with CHS was recruited among a target population of patients leaving the adult emergency services of the Marseille hospitals Nord and La Timone between October 2017 and July 2018, with abdominal pain syndrome of unidentified etiology. Inclusion criteria for the CHS cohort were chronic cannabis use associated with nausea and vomiting. There were 48 patients included in the CHS cohort who took cannabis daily, in a target population of 2 848 patients (i.e. 1.6%). A hot shower was the most effective symptomatic treatment in 54.2% of cases. Patients suffering from CHS spent significantly more hours in emergency departments (11 vs. 6.5), and, on average, visits were more frequent (4.9 vs. 3). 20.3% of them were hospitalized to continue pain medication. Once out of hospital, follow-up was limited, and weaning off cannabis, the only etiological treatment, was difficult to set up. Informing patients about CHS is essential, and a hot shower could be systematically proposed, thus limiting an unnecessary extent of health care. CHS is genuine, medical staff should be made aware of it in occupational training, and it should be seriously considered in health policies., (© 2020 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.)

The pathophysiology of cardiogenic shock (CS) varies depending on its etiology, which may lead to different hemodynamic profiles (HP) and may help tailor therapy. We aimed to assess the HP of CS patients according to their etiologies of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and acute decompensated chronic heart failure (ADCHF). We included patients admitted for CS secondary to ADCHF and AMI. HP were measured before the administration of any inotrope or vasopressor. Systemic Vascular Resistances index (SVRi), Cardiac Index (CI), and Cardiac Power Index (CPI) were measured by trans-thoracic Doppler echocardiography on admission. Among 37 CS patients, 28 had CS secondary to ADCHF or AMI and were prospectively included. The two groups were similar in terms of demographic data and shock severity criteria. AMI CS was associated with lower SVRi compared to CS related to ADCHF: 2010 (interquartile range (IQR): 1895-2277) vs. 2622 (2264-2993) dynes-s·cm -5 ·m -2 ( p = 0.002). A trend toward a higher CI was observed: respectively 2.13 (1.88-2.18) vs. 1.78 (1.65-1.96) L·min -1 ·m -2 ( p = 0.067) in AMICS compared to ADCHF. CS patients had different HP according to their etiologies. AMICS had lower SVR and tended to have a higher CI compared to ADHF CS. These differences should be taken into account for patient selection in future research.

Purpose: The relationship between lung ultrasound (LUS) and chest computed tomography (CT) scans in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia is not clearly defined. The primary objective of our study was to assess the performance of LUS in determining severity of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia compared with chest CT scan. Secondary objectives were to test the association between LUS score and location of the patient, use of mechanical ventilation, and the pulse oximetry (SpO 2 )/fractional inspired oxygen (FiO 2 ) ratio., Methods: A multicentre observational study was performed between 15 March and 20 April 2020. Patients in the Emergency Department (ED) or Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with acute dyspnoea who were PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2, and who had LUS and chest CT performed within a 24-h period, were included., Results: One hundred patients were included. LUS score was significantly associated with pneumonia severity assessed by chest CT and clinical features. The AUC of the ROC curve of the relationship of LUS versus chest CT for the assessment of severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia was 0.78 (CI 95% 0.68-0.87; p < 0.0001). A high LUS score was associated with the use of mechanical ventilation, and with a SpO 2 /FiO 2 ratio below 357., Conclusion: In known SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia patients, the LUS score was predictive of pneumonia severity as assessed by a chest CT scan and clinical features. Within the limitations inherent to our study design, LUS can be used to assess SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia severity.

Background: Drowning is still a major cause of accidental death worldwide. In 1997, Szpilman proposed a classification of drowning that has become the reference. As considerable efforts have been made to improve prevention and care, it seemed appropriate to reassess the prognosis and clinical presentation of drowning patients more than 20 years after this first publication. The aim of this study is to provide a reappraisal of patients who need advanced health care and a precise description of their respective neurologic, respiratory, and hemodynamic profiles., Methods: This retrospective study was conducted over four consecutive summer periods between 2014 and 2017 in ICUs located in France, French Polynesia, and the French Antilles. Patients were classified according to the drowning classification system proposed by Szpilman., Results: During the study period, 312 drowning patients were admitted with severe clinical presentation (grades 2-6). All patients benefited from rapid extraction from the water (< 10 min for all) and specialized care (emergency medical services), starting from the prehospital period. Although the global hospital mortality was similar to that previously reported (18.5%), great differences existed among the severity grades. Respective grade mortalities were low for grades 2 through 5 (grade 2, 0%; grade 3, 3%; grade 4, 0%; grade 5, 2%), and the mortality for grade 6 remained similar to that previously reported (54%). These results confirmed that the occurrence of cardiac arrest after drowning is still bad prognosis. Conversely, for other grades, this study strengthens the importance of specialized intervention to interrupt the drowning process., Conclusions: On the basis of these results, drowning-related cardiac arrest is still the prognosis cornerstone. For other victims, the prognosis was better than previously expected, which strengthens the importance of specialized intervention to interrupt the drowning process., (Copyright © 2020 American College of Chest Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We report the third outbreak of pneumococcal pneumonia within one year among workers in European shipyards. During January and February 2020, 37 cases of pneumonia were identified in a shipyard in Marseille, south-eastern France. Outbreak control measures were implemented, including a mass vaccination campaign with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine targeting all shipyard workers. Given the high mobility of shipyard workers, coordinated responses between European public health institutes are necessary to avoid further outbreaks.

Use of peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) is very common in hospitals. According to the literature, after a visit to the emergency department >75% of hospitalised patients carry a PVC, among which almost 50% are useless. In this study, the presence and complications of PVCs in an infectious diseases (ID) unit of a French tertiary-care university hospital were monitored. A total of 614 patients were prospectively included over a 6-month period. Among the 614 patients, 509 (82.9%) arrived in the ID unit with a PVC, of which 260 (51.1%) were judged unnecessary and were removed as soon as the patients were examined by the ID team. More than one-half of PVCs were removed within 24 h in the unit (308/509; 60.5%). PVCs were complicated for 65 (12.8%) of the 509 patients, with complications including extravasation, cutaneous necrosis, lymphangitis, phlebitis, tearing off the patient, superficial venous thrombosis and arthritis. We must therefore continue to search for unjustified PVC insertion. Alternatives to the intravenous administration route must be proposed, such as subcutaneous infusion or oral antibiotic therapy., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: In an Emergency Department (ED), the etiological identification of infected subjects is essential. 13 infection-related biomarkers were assessed using a new flow cytometry procedure. Materials & methods: If subjects presented with febrile symptoms at the ED, 13 biomarkers' levels, including CD64 on neutrophils (nCD64) and CD169 on monocytes (mCD169), were tested and compared with clinical records. Results: Among 50 subjects, 78% had bacterial infections and 8% had viral infections. nCD64 showed 82% sensitivity and 91% specificity for identifying subjects with bacterial infections. mCD169, HLA-ABC ratio and HLA-DR on monocytes had high values in subjects with viral infections. Conclusion: Biomarkers showed promising performances to improve the ED's infectious stratification.

Background: Long boarding time in emergency department (ED) leads to increased morbidity and mortality. Prediction of admissions upon triage could improve ED care efficiency and decrease boarding time., Objective: To develop a real-time automated model (MA) to predict admissions upon triage and compare this model with triage nurse prediction (TNP)., Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four EDs during 1 month. MA used only variables available upon triage and included in the national French Electronic Emergency Department Abstract. For each patient, the triage nurse assessed the hospitalization risk on a 10-point Likert scale. Performances of MA and TNP were compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves, the accuracy, and the daily and hourly mean difference between predicted and observed number of admission., Results: A total of 11 653 patients visited the EDs, and 19.5-24.7% were admitted according to the emergency. The area under the curves (AUCs) of TNP [0.815 (0.805-0.826)] and MA [0.815 (0.805-0.825)] were similar. Across EDs, the AUCs of TNP were significantly different (P < 0.001) in all EDs, whereas AUCs of MA were all similar (P>0.2). Originally, using daily and hourly aggregated data, the percentage of errors concerning the number of predicted admission were 8.7 and 34.4%, respectively, for MA and 9.9 and 35.4%, respectively, for TNP., Conclusion: A simple model using variables available in all EDs in France performed well to predict admission upon triage. However, when analyzed at an hourly level, it overestimated the number of inpatient beds needed by a third. More research is needed to define adequate use of these models.

Objective: In the emergency department (ED), the severity assessment of shock is a fundamental step prior to the admission in the intensive care unit (ICU). As biomarkers are time consuming to evaluate the severity of micro- and macro-circulation alteration, capillary refill time and skin mottling score are two simple, available clinical criteria validated to predict mortality in the ICU. The aim of the present study is to provide clinical evidence that capillary refill time and skin mottling score assessed in the ED also predict ICU admission of patients with septic or haemorrhagic shock., Methods: This trial is an observational, non-randomised controlled study. A total of 1500 patients admitted to the ED for septic or haemorrhagic shock will be enrolled into the study. The primary outcome is the admission to the ICU., Results: The study will not impact the treatments provided to each patient. Capillary refill time and skin mottling score will not be taken into account to decide patient's treatments and/or ICU admission. Patients will be followed up during their hospital stay to determine their precise destination after the ED (home, ICU or ward) and the 28- and 90-day mortality after hospital admission., Conclusion: The results from the present study will provide clinical evidence on the correlation between the ICU admission and the capillary refill time and the skin mottling score in septic or haemorrhagic shock admitted to the ED. The aim of the present study is to provide two simple, reliable and non-invasive tools for the triage and early orientation of these patients., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© Copyright 2019 by Turkish Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Society.)

Aim: Management of patients with infections within the Emergency Department (ED) is challenging for practitioners, as the identification of infectious causes remains difficult with current techniques. A new combination of two biomarkers was tested with a new rapid flow cytometry technique. Materials & methods: Subjects from the ED were tested for their CD64 on neutrophils (nCD64) and CD169 on monocytes (mCD169) levels and results were compared to their clinical records. Results: Among 139 patients, 29% had confirmed bacterial infections and 5% viral infections. nCD64 and mCD169 respectively showed 88 and 86% sensitivity and 90 and 100% specificity for identifying subjects in bacterial or viral conditions. Conclusion: This point-of-care technique could allow better management of patients in the ED.

Introduction: For the most severe drowned patients, hypoxemia represents one of the major symptoms. As the influence of the type of water (fresh or salt water) on respiratory function is still unclear, the primary endpoint of this multicenter study was to compare hypoxemia according to the type of water., Methods: Medical records of adult patients who experienced a drowning event and were consequently admitted to 10 ICU for acute respiratory failure were analyzed retrospectively using data collected over three consecutive summer periods. From an initial cohort of acute respiratory failure drowned patients, patients were matched by age, sex, Glasgow Coma Scale, and occurrence of cardiac arrest (yes or no)., Results: Among an initial cohort of 242 patients, 38 pairs were matched correctly. At the initial assessment, carried out upon ICU admission, hypoxemia was found to be deeper in the fresh water group (PaO2/FiO2: 141 ± 76 vs. 220 ± 122, P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in tissue oxygenation (assessed by blood lactate level) between groups. In terms of biology results, sodium levels were higher in the salt water group in the initial assessment (144 ± 6.8 vs. 140 ±5.2 mmol/l, P = 0.004), but no difference was observed later. No difference was recorded in the outcome or length of stay in ICU between groups., Conclusion: Drowning in fresh water was associated with deeper hypoxemia in the initial assessment. Despite this initial difference, latter respiratory and biological parameters or outcome were similar in both groups.

Objectives: Lung ultrasound has value in diagnosing dyspnea. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a modified lung ultrasound (MLUS) score to predict the severity of acute dyspnea in elderly patients., Methods: This was an observational single-centre study including patients over age 64 admitted to the emergency department for acute dyspnea with hypoxia. Participants had an early lung ultrasound performed by a dedicated emergency physician, followed by the usual care by a team blinded to the lung ultrasound results. Patients were allocated by disposition to either a critical care (CC) group (patients who needed admission to the intensive care unit [ICU] and/or who died within 48 h) or a standard care group., Results: Among 137 patients analysed (mean age 79 ± 13 years, 74 [54%] women), 43 (31%) were categorized into the CC group. The time taken to obtain the MLUS was 30 ± 22 min. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the MLUS for predicting the CC group was 0.97 (0.92-0.99; p &lt; 0.01) with a cut-off set strictly above 17 for 93% sensitivity (81-99), 99% specificity (94-100), a positive predictive value of 98% (87-100), a negative predictive value of 97% (91-99), a positive likelihood ratio of 86, a negative likelihood ratio of 0.07, and a diagnostic accuracy of 97% (93-99). In a multivariate analysis, the MLUS was the only independent associated factor for the CC group., Conclusion: An early lung ultrasound score can predict the need for ICU admission and/or death within 48 hours in elderly dyspneic patients.

The mechanism of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with normal heart remains unclear. While exogenous adenosine can trigger AF, nothing is known about the behavior of endogenous adenosine plasma level (APL) at the onset of AF and during ablation procedure. Ninety-one patients (68 with paroxysmal AF: 40 males, 66 ± 16 years; 23 with persistent AF: 14 males, 69 ± 11 years) and 18 controls were included. Among paroxysmal patients: i) medical therapy alone was performed in 45 cases and ablation procedure in 23. AF was spontaneously resolutive in 6 cases; ii) 23 underwent ablation procedure and blood was collected simultaneously in a brachial vein and in the left atrium; 17 were spontaneously in sinus rhythm while 6 were in sinus rhythm after direct current cardioversion. Among persistent patients: i) in 17 patients, blood samples were collected in a brachial vein before and after direct current cardioversion; ii) in 6 patients, blood samples were collected simultaneously in a brachial vein and in left atrium before and after cardioversion during ablation procedure. CV-APL was higher in patients with persistent AF vs patients with paroxysmal AF (median [range]: 0.9[0.6-1.1] vs 0.7[0.4-1.1] μM; p < 0.001). In patients with paroxysmal AF, LA-APL increased during the AF episode (0.95[0.85-1.4] vs 2.7[1.5-7] μM; p = 0.03) and normalized in sinus rhythm after DCCV. In patients with persistent AF, LA-APL was higher than CV-APL (1.2[0.7-1.8] vs 0.9[0.6-1.1] μM; p < 0.001), and both normalized in sinus rhythm (CV-APL: 0.8[0.6-1.1] vs 0.75[0.4-1] μM; p = 0.03), (LA-APL: 1.95[1.3-3] vs 1[0.5-1.15] μM; p = 0.03). The occurrence of AF is associated with a strong increase of APL in the atrium. The cause of this increase needs further investigations.

Introduction: This study investigated invasive mechanical ventilation modalities used in severe blunt chest trauma patients with pulmonary contusion. Occurrence, risk factors, and outcomes of early onset acute respiratory distress syndrome were also evaluated., Methods: We performed a retrospective multicenter observational study including 115 adult patients hospitalized in six level 1 trauma intensive care units between April and September of 2014. Independent predictors of early onset acute respiratory distress syndrome were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis based on clinical characteristics and initial management., Results: Protective ventilation principles were highly implemented, even prophylactically before acute respiratory distress syndrome occurrence. Early onset acute respiratory distress syndrome appeared to be associated with lung contusion of >20% of total lung volume and early onset pneumonia., Conclusions: Predictors of early onset acute respiratory distress syndrome could help with identifying high-risk populations, potentially improving case management through specific protocol development for these patients.

Objectives: Emergency department (ED) professionals are exposed to burnout syndrome due to excessive workload and high demands for care. The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence burnout among all ED staff and to determine associated factors., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 3 EDs. The data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. It included demographical and occupational data, general health questions, burnout level (Maslach Burnout Inventory), job strain (Karasek), and quality of life (Medical Outcome Study Short Form)., Results: Of the 529 professionals working in EDs, 379 responses were collected (participation rate of 71.6%). Emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP), the major components of burnout, were reported, respectively, by 15.8% and 29.6% of the professionals. Burnout prevalence was 34.6%, defined as a severely abnormal level of either EE or DP. The medical category was significantly more affected by the burnout compared with their colleagues: nearly one ED physician out of two had a burnout (50.7%). In the multivariate analysis of covariance, job strain and a low mental component score were the two main factors independently associated with burnout (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The results of our study show that ED professionals are a vulnerable group. Preventive approaches to stress and burnout are needed to promote quality of work life.

Background: Work-related stress is a significant health and safety concern., Objectives: To assess the prevalence of burnout and occupational stress among emergency department (ED) professionals and to identify associated factors., Methods: A cross-sectional study included all ED professionals of a French university hospital. Data were collected using the French versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Karasek Job Content Questionnaire., Results: Of the 166 respondents (75.8%), 19.3% reported burnout and 27.1% job strain. Factors associated with burnout were work-related dissatisfaction, fear of making mistakes, lack of time to perform tasks, and being younger. Those factors associated with job strain were having at least one sick leave in the past year, being affected by hard work, interpersonal conflicts at workplace, and sleep disorders., Conclusions: Compared to the literature, our results showed a lower prevalence of burnout among physicians but similar among paramedics. The proportion of professionals with job strain was higher than that of the whole French working population. Organizational factors and the work environment were the primary causes of burnout and job strain, while being younger was the only associated sociodemographic factor. The identification of professionals experiencing difficulty is essential to ensure patient safety, particularly in the high-risk field of emergency medicine.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/3731069.].

Background: Drowning literature have highlighted the submersion time as the most powerful predictor in assessing the prognosis. Reducing the time taken to provide a flotation device and prevent submersion appears of paramount importance. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide the location of the swimmer and a flotation device., Objective: The objective of this simulation study was to evaluate the efficiency of a UAV in providing a flotation device in different sea conditions, and to compare the times taken by rescue operations with and without a UAV (standard vs UAV intervention). Several comparisons were made using professional lifeguards acting as simulated victims. A specifically-shaped UAV was used to allow us to drop an inflatable life buoy into the water., Results: During the summer of 2017, 28 tests were performed. UAV use was associated with a reduction of time it took to provide a flotation device to the simulated victim compared with standard rescue operations (p < 0.001 for all measurements) and the time was reduced even further in moderate (81 ± 39 vs 179 ± 78 s; p < 0.001) and rough sea conditions (99 ± 34 vs 198 ± 130 s; p < 0.001). The times taken for UAV to locate the simulated victim, identify them and drop the life buoy were not altered by the weather conditions., Conclusion: UAV can deliver a flotation device to a swimmer safely and quickly. The addition of a UAV in rescue operations could improve the quality and speed of first aid while keeping lifeguards away from dangerous sea conditions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the short-term respiratory tolerance and haemodynamic efficiency of low-volume resuscitation with hypertonic saline and hydroxyethylstarch (HS/HES) in a pig model of lung contusion and controlled haemorrhagic shock. We hypothesised that a low-volume of HS/HES after haemorrhagic shock did not impact contused lungs in terms of extravascular lung water 3hours after trauma., Methods: A lung contusion resulting from blunt chest trauma was induced in 28 anaesthetised female pigs with five bolt-shots to the right thoracic cage, followed by haemorrhagic shock and fluid resuscitation. Pigs were randomly allocated into two groups: fluid resuscitation by 4ml/kg of HS/HES, or fluid resuscitation by 10ml/kg of normal saline (NS). Monitoring was based on transpulmonary thermodilution and a pulmonary artery catheter. After 3h, animals were euthanized to measure extravascular lung water (EVLW) by gravimetry., Results: Blunt chest trauma was followed by a transient collapse and hypoxaemia in both groups. Post-mortem gravimetric assessment demonstrated a significant difference between EVLW in the NS-group (8.1±0.7ml/kg) and in the HS/HES-group (6.2±0.6ml/kg, P=0.038). Based on a pathological EVLW threshold of > 7ml/kg, results indicated that only the NS-group experienced moderate pulmonary oedema, contrary to the HS/HES-group. After haemorrhagic shock, HS/HES infusion enabled the restoration of effective mean arterial pressure and cardiac index. Intrapulmonary shunting increased transiently after fluid resuscitation but there was no significant impairment of oxygenation., Conclusion: In this pig model of lung contusion, the short-term assessment of fluid resuscitation after haemorrhagic shock with 4ml/kg of HS/HES showed that pulmonary oedema was avoided compared to fluid resuscitation with 10ml/kg of NS., (Copyright © 2017 Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

According to recent literature, pretreatment with a P2Y 12 ADP receptor antagonist before coronary angiography appears no longer suitable in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) due to an unfavorable risk-benefit ratio. Optimal delay of the invasive strategy in this specific context is unknown. We hypothesize that without P2Y 12 ADP receptor antagonist pretreatment, a very early invasive strategy may be beneficial. The EARLY trial (Early or Delayed Revascularization for Intermediate- and High-Risk Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes?) is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label, 2-parallel-group study that plans to enroll 740 patients. Patients are eligible if the diagnosis of intermediate- or high-risk NSTE-ACS is made and an invasive strategy intended. Patients are randomized in a 1:1 ratio. In the control group, a delayed strategy is adopted, with the coronary angiography taking place between 12 and 72 hours after randomization. In the experimental group, a very early invasive strategy is performed within 2 hours. A loading dose of a P2Y 12 ADP receptor antagonist is given at the time of intervention in both groups. Recruitment began in September 2016 (n = 558 patients as of October 2017). The primary endpoint is the composite of cardiovascular death and recurrent ischemic events at 1 month. The EARLY trial aims to demonstrate the superiority of a very early invasive strategy compared with a delayed strategy in intermediate- and high-risk NSTE-ACS patients managed without P2Y 12 ADP receptor antagonist pretreatment., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Long-term mortality in patients with acute severe hypertension is unclear. The authors aimed to compare short-term (hospital) and long-term (12 months) mortality in these patients. A total of 670 adults presenting for acute severe hypertension between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015, were included. A total of 57.5% were hypertensive emergencies and 66.1% were hospitalized: 98% and 23.2% of those with hypertensive emergencies and urgencies, respectively (P = .001). Hospital mortality was 7.9% and was significantly higher for hypertensive emergencies (12.5% vs 1.8%, P = .001). At 12 months, 106 patients died (29.4%), mainly from hypertensive emergencies (38.9% vs 8.9%, P = .001). Median survival was 14 days for neurovascular emergencies and 50 days for cardiovascular emergencies. Patients with hypertensive emergencies or urgencies had bad long-term prognosis. Short-term mortality is mainly caused by neurovascular emergencies, but cardiovascular emergencies are severe, with high mortality at 12 months. These results justify better follow-up and treatment for these patients., (©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

We report here 4 examples of management of infectious diseases (IDs) at the University Hospital Institute Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, France, to illustrate the value of expert protocols feeding standardized management of IDs. First, we describe our experience on Q fever and Tropheryma whipplei infection management based on in vitro data and clinical outcome. Second, we describe our management-based approach for the treatment of infective endocarditis, leading to a strong reduction of mortality rate. Third, we report our use of fecal microbiota transplantation to face severe Clostridium difficile infections and to perform decolonization of patients colonized by emerging highly resistant bacteria. Finally, we present the standardized management of the main acute infections in patients admitted in the emergency department, promoting antibiotics by oral route, checking compliance with the protocol, and avoiding the unnecessary use of intravenous and urinary tract catheters. Overall, the standardization of the management is the keystone to reduce both mortality and morbidity related to IDs., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: Despite the extensive literature on drowning, clinical data are still lacking on the best medical strategy to use. Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is the main component of drowning pathophysiology. The objectives of this multicenter study were to analyze the clinical course of drowning-related ARF patients and to describe the efficacy of the ventilatory strategies used., Methods: Medical records of drowned adult patients admitted in seven ICUs after prehospital emergency medical care during three consecutive summer periods were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Among the 126 patients (58±21 years) admitted, 38 patients with cardiac arrest at the scene were not analyzed, 26 received mechanical ventilation (MV), and 48 patients received noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Compared with patients placed under MV, the NIV patients presented a better initial neurological (Glasgow Coma Scale of 7±4 vs. 12±3, P<0.05) and hemodynamic status from the prehospital stage (mean arterial pressure of 77±18 vs. 96±18, P<0.001). With comparable ARF-related hypoxemia to MV, the NIV was maintained with success in 92% (44/48). Both MV and NIV were associated with rapid improvement of oxygenation and short ICU length of stay [3 (1-14) and 2 (1-7), respectively]., Conclusion: Despite the absence of recommendation for NIV use in case of drowning-related ARF, this technique was often used with safety and efficacy. The decision for NIV use was mainly based on the preserved or improved neurological status.

Chest trauma remains an issue for health services for both severe and apparently mild trauma management. Severe chest trauma is associated with high mortality and is considered liable for 25% of mortality in multiple traumas. Moreover, mild trauma is also associated with significant morbidity especially in patients with preexisting conditions. Thus, whatever the severity, a fast-acting strategy must be organized. At this time, there are no guidelines available from scientific societies. These expert recommendations aim to establish guidelines for chest trauma management in both prehospital an in hospital settings, for the first 48hours. The "Société française d'anesthésie réanimation" and the "Société française de médecine d'urgence" worked together on the 7 following questions: (1) criteria defining severity and for appropriate hospital referral; (2) diagnosis strategy in both pre- and in-hospital settings; (3) indications and guidelines for ventilatory support; (4) management of analgesia; (5) indications and guidelines for chest tube placement; (6) surgical and endovascular repair indications in blunt chest trauma; (7) definition, medical and surgical specificity of penetrating chest trauma. For each question, prespecified "crucial" (and sometimes also "important") outcomes were identified by the panel of experts because it mattered for patients. We rated evidence across studies for these specific clinical outcomes. After a systematic Grade ® approach, we defined 60 recommendations. Each recommendation has been evaluated by all the experts according to the DELPHI method., (Copyright © 2017 Société française d'anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acute heart failure (AHF) is a life-threatening medical emergency for which no new effective therapies have emerged in recent decades. No previous study has exhaustively described the entire course of care of AHF patients from first medical contact to hospital discharge or assessed its impact on prognosis., Aim: To fully describe the course of care and analyze its influence on outcomes in patients hospitalized with an AHF syndrome in an academic university center., Methods: One hundred and nineteen adults with AHF from three public academic university hospitals were consecutively enrolled in a multicenter prospective observational cohort study. All of the emergency departments, intensive care units, coronary care units, cardiology wards and other medical wards participated in the study., Results: The composite primary outcome (6-month rate of cardiovascular death, readmission for acute heart failure, acute coronary syndrome or stroke) occurred in 59% of patients. This rate was high and similar regardless of first medical contact, type of transport, first medical department of admission and number of medical departments involved in the course of care. A cardiologist was involved in management in 80% of cases. The global median hospital stay was shorter with cardiology vs non-cardiology management (7 days [interquartile range 4-11] vs 10 days [interquartile range 7-18]; P=0.003). History of hypertension (P=0.004), need for non-invasive ventilation (P=0.023) and Lee prognostic score (P=0.028) were independently associated with the primary outcome., Conclusions: Morbimortality and readmissions were high regardless of the course of care in patients admitted for AHF in real life. The reduction in hospital stay when cardiologists were involved in management encourages the creation of "mobile AHF cardiology teams"., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

The Publisher regrets that this article is an accidental duplication of an article that has already been published in , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.accpm.2017.01.003 . The duplicate article has therefore been withdrawn. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Rationale, Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the cohort of persons having experiences fatal and non-fatal drowning events, registered in the French cardiac arrest registry and to identify termination of resuscitation criteria., Methods: We performed a prospective multicenter study based on data from French cardiac arrest registry database. All patients with cardiac arrest after drowning (CAD) recorded between July 2011 and November 2014 were included. The population description was carried out by medians [interquartile ranges (IQR)] or frequencies. The characteristics were compared in terms of the primary endpoint (alive vs dead at hospital admission) using chi-square or Fisher's exact and the Mann-Whitney U test. The predictive model was carried out using the multivariate logistic regression., Results: The analysis included 234 CAD. The majority of patients were adults (83.6%) and males (64.5%). Most of the submersions occurred out of home (75.6%). We recorded 66.7% of incidents in fresh water. About a third of CAD was witnessed of which 33.8% had an immediate basic life support. Most of CAD patients received an advanced cardiac life support (87.2%). The median Mobile Medical Team response time was 22 [15-30] minutes. At hospital, 40.6% of patients were alive. Twenty one patients (9.0%) were discharged alive. Among them, 17 had a good neurological outcome. Faster interventions generally resulted in higher survival chances (Mobile Medical Team response time OR: 0.960[0.925; 0.996]; P = 0.0.031; no flow duration OR: 0.535[0.313; 0.913]; P = 0.022) if associated with ventilation (OR: 6.742[2.043; 22.250]; P = 0.002). Age (OR: 0.971[0.955; 0.988]; P = 0.001) and location outside (OR: 0.203[0.064; 0.625]; P = 0.007) are the other criteria of our model., Conclusions: The model is helpful to highlight explanative variables concerning CAD patients' outcome. The next step is the validation of these five factors by a larger study. Prevention and public training to lifesaving behaviours must be considered as priorities in French public health programmes., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare an early versus a delayed invasive strategy in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes by performing a meta-analysis of all available randomized controlled clinical trials., Background: An invasive approach is recommended to prevent death and myocardial infarction in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes. However, the timing of angiography and the subsequent intervention, when required, remains controversial., Methods: A previous meta-analysis of 7 randomized clinical trials comparing early and delayed invasive strategies in non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes with 3 new randomized clinical trials identified in a search of the published research (n = 10 trials, n = 6,397 patients) was updated., Results: The median time between randomization and angiography ranged from 0.5 to 14.0 h in the early group and from 18.3 to 86.0 h in the delayed group. There was no difference in the primary endpoint of mortality (4% vs. 4.7%; random-effects odds ratio [OR]: 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67 to 1.09; p = 0.20; I 2  = 0%). The rate of myocardial infarction was also similar (6.7% vs. 7.7%; random-effects OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.53 to 1.45; p = 0.62; I 2  = 77.5%). An early strategy was associated with a reduction in recurrent ischemia or refractory angina (3.8% vs. 5.8%; random-effects OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.40 to 0.74; p < 0.01; I 2  = 28%) and a shorter in-hospital stay (median 112 h [interquartile range: 61 to 158 h] vs. 168 h [interquartile range: 90.3 to 192 h]; random-effects standardized mean difference -0.40; 95% CI: -0.59 to -0.21; p < 0.01; I 2  = 79%). Major bleeding was similar in the 2 groups (3.9% vs. 4.2%; random-effects OR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.73 to 1.22; p = 0.64; I 2  = 0%)., Conclusions: An early invasive strategy does not reduce the risk for death or myocardial infarction compared with a delayed strategy. Recurrent ischemia and length of stay were significantly reduced with an early invasive strategy., (Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Drowning affects more than 500,000 people worldwide and is responsible for at least 350,000 deaths each year. In France, 1235 drowning resulting in 496 deaths were recorded in the summer 2012. This retrospective study has investigated the epidemiology of drowning in the city of Marseille (South of France) between 2000 and 2011. We identified 449 cases of unintentional drowning. The highest incidence was found among males with a median age of 36 years. The incidence was 5.3 victims per 10,000 inhabitants with a mortality rate of 1.2 per 10,000. These accidents occurred mainly at sea (89%) and during the summer season. A majority of drowning victims (69%) were admitted in a hospital. This is the only study in France to analyse data on drowning throughout the year and over a long period. Drowning is a serious condition burdened by 22% of victims who die.

Immersion pulmonary edema (IPE) is a misdiagnosed environmental illness caused by water immersion, cold, and exertion. IPE occurs typically during SCUBA diving, snorkeling, and swimming. IPE is sometimes associated with myocardial injury and/or loss of consciousness in water, which may be fatal. IPE is thought to involve hemodynamic and cardiovascular disturbances, but its pathophysiology remains largely unclear, which makes IPE prevention difficult. This observational study aimed to document IPE pathogenesis and improve diagnostic reliability, including distinguishing in some conditions IPE from decompression sickness (DCS), another diving-related disorder.Thirty-one patients (19 IPE, 12 DCS) treated at the Hyperbaric Medicine Department (Ste-Anne hospital, Toulon, France; July 2013-June 2014) were recruited into the study. Ten healthy divers were recruited as controls. We tested: (i) copeptin, a surrogate marker for antidiuretic hormone and a stress marker; (ii) ischemia-modified albumin, an ischemia/hypoxia marker; (iii) brain-natriuretic peptide (BNP), a marker of heart failure, and (iv) ultrasensitive-cardiac troponin-I (cTnI), a marker of myocardial ischemia.We found that copeptin and cardiac biomarkers were higher in IPE versus DCS and controls: (i) copeptin: 68% of IPE patients had a high level versus 25% of DCS patients (P < 0.05) (mean ± standard-deviation: IPE: 53 ± 61 pmol/L; DCS: 15 ± 17; controls: 6 ± 3; IPE versus DCS or controls: P < 0.05); (ii) ischemia-modified albumin: 68% of IPE patients had a high level versus 16% of DCS patients (P < 0.05) (IPE: 123 ± 25 arbitrary-units; DCS: 84 ± 25; controls: 94 ± 7; IPE versus DCS or controls: P < 0.05); (iii) BNP: 53% of IPE patients had a high level, DCS patients having normal values (P < 0.05) (IPE: 383 ± 394 ng/L; DCS: 37 ± 28; controls: 19 ± 15; IPE versus DCS or controls: P < 0.01); (iv) cTnI: 63% of IPE patients had a high level, DCS patients having normal values (P < 0.05) (IPE: 0.66 ± 1.50 μg/L; DCS: 0.0061 ± 0.0040; controls: 0.0090 ± 0.01; IPE versus DCS or controls: P < 0.01). The combined "BNP-cTnI" levels provided most discrimination: all IPE patients, but none of the DCS patients, had elevated levels of either/both of these markers.We propose that antidiuretic hormone acts together with a myocardial ischemic process to promote IPE. Thus, monitoring of antidiuretic hormone and cardiac biomarkers can help to make a quick and reliable diagnosis of IPE.

Guidelines recommend a ticagrelor loading dose (LD) before PCI or a prasugrel LD at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in intermediate and high-risk non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). However, achieving an optimal PR inhibition at the time of PCI is critical to prevent adverse events and depends on the timing of LD intake in relation to PCI. We aimed to compare the rate of myonecrosis related to PCI in patients with NSTE-ACS receiving ticagrelor pretreatment versus prasugrel at the time of intervention. We prospectively randomized 213 patients with NSTE-ACS to a 180 mg of ticagrelor LD given as soon as possible after admission and before PCI or to a 60 mg LD of prasugrel given at the time of PCI. The primary end point was the rate of periprocedural myonecrosis as defined by an increase of >5 times the ninety-ninth percentiles in troponin-negative patients or a 20% increase in troponin-positive patients. The 2 groups were similar regarding baseline characteristics including clinical setting (p = 0.2). Procedural characteristics were also identical including the number of treated vessels and stenting procedures. Patients in the prasugrel group more often required emergent PCI (p = 0.001). Patients in the ticagrelor group had less periprocedural myonecrosis compared with those in the prasugrel group (19.8% vs 38.3%; p = 0.03). The rate of major adverse cardiovascular events and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium ≥2 at 1-month follow-up was low and similar between the 2 groups. In conclusion, a ticagrelor LD as soon as possible before PCI is superior to prasugrel at the time of PCI to prevent periprocedural myonecrosis in NSTE-ACS., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acute respiratory acidosis is associated with alterations in diaphragm performance. The authors compared the effects of respiratory acidosis and metabolic acidosis in the rat diaphragm in vitro., Methods: Diaphragmatic strips were stimulated in vitro, and mechanical and energetic variables were measured, cross-bridge kinetics calculated, and the effects of fatigue evaluated. An extracellular pH of 7.00 was obtained by increasing carbon dioxide tension (from 25 to 104 mmHg) in the respiratory acidosis group (n = 12) or lowering bicarbonate concentration (from 24.5 to 5.5 mM) in the metabolic acidosis group (n = 12) and the results compared with a control group (n = 12, pH = 7.40) after 20-min exposure., Results: Respiratory acidosis induced a significant decrease in maximum shortening velocity (-33%, P < 0.001), active isometric force (-36%, P < 0.001), and peak power output (-59%, P < 0.001), slowed relaxation, and decreased the number of cross-bridges (-35%, P < 0.001) but not the force per cross-bridge, and impaired recovery from fatigue. Respiratory acidosis impaired more relaxation than contraction, as shown by impairment in contraction-relaxation coupling under isotonic (-26%, P < 0.001) or isometric (-44%, P < 0.001) conditions. In contrast, no significant differences in diaphragmatic contraction, relaxation, or contraction-relaxation coupling were observed in the metabolic acidosis group., Conclusions: In rat diaphragm, acute (20 min) respiratory acidosis induced a marked decrease in the diaphragm contractility, which was not observed in metabolic acidosis.

Objectives: Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is part of the treatment strategy for comatose survivors of cardiac arrest (CA). The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficiency and the safety of a noninvasive and affordable cooling procedure applied to all types of CA in an ICU., Study Design: This was a retrospective, observational, monocenter study., Patients and Methods: In all patients remaining unconscious after CA, irrespective of their initial cardiac rhythm, TH was induced with a rapid intravenous infusion of 30 ml/kg ice-cold (4°C) saline fluid associated with external surface cooling involving ice packs and wet sheets. The body temperature was maintained between 32 and 34°C during 24 h using external surface cooling only. The patients were then passively rewarmed., Results: Of 200 eligible patients, 145 were treated by TH; 104 patients completed the 24-h TH treatment. The primary cause of noninclusion or secondary exclusion was severe hemodynamic impairment. From induction, the median time to reach the target temperature was 167 min (47-300 min). During the protocol, 24 patients did not remain within the targeted temperature range. Adverse events included hypokalemia (44%), severe arrhythmia (13.8%), bleeding (4.8%), and seizure (1.4%). All patients presented hyperglycemia. The oxygen partial pressure to oxygen fractional concentration (PaO2/FiO2) ratio remained constant after initiation and throughout the procedure, even in patients with poor systolic function., Conclusion: This noninvasive TH procedure seems efficient and safe in all patients remaining comatose after CA. Thanks to its simplicity, it could allow prehospital cooling to reach the target temperature more rapidly.

We report the case of a 36-year-old woman suffering from liver injury caused by the malfunction of a whipped cream siphon. When this patient handled the whipped cream siphon, the screwed metallic upper part of the siphon was suddenly dissociated from its base and came violently striking her right hypochondrium. At first, the severity of injury was underestimated. Subsequently, due to the persistence of pain experienced by the patient, an abdominal CT scan was performed. It highlighted a severe liver injury with rupture of a branch of the hepatic artery. The evolution was favorable after completion of an embolization and a secondary capsular rupture.