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Various electrocardiographic changes occur during sepsis, but data on the clinical importance of a low QRS voltage in sepsis are still limited. We aimed to evaluate the association between low QRS voltage identified early in sepsis and mortality in patients with sepsis. Between September 2019 and December 2020, all consecutive adult patients diagnosed with sepsis in the emergency room or general ward at Samsung Medical Center were enrolled. Patients without a 12-lead electrocardiogram recorded within 48 h of recognition of sepsis were excluded. In 432 eligible patients, 12-lead electrocardiogram was recorded within the median of 24 min from the first recognition of sepsis, and low QRS voltage was identified in 115 (26.6%) patients. The low QRS group showed more severe organ dysfunction and had higher levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. The hospital mortality was significantly higher in the low QRS voltage group than in the normal QRS voltage group (49.6% vs. 28.1%, p < 0.001). Similarly, among the 160 patients who required intensive care unit admission, significantly more patients in the low QRS group died in the intensive care unit (35.9% vs. 18.2%, p = 0.021). Low QRS voltage was associated with increased hospital mortality in patients with sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined whether compared to conventional mechanical ventilation (MV), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is associated with decreased hospital mortality or fibrotic changes in patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome. A cohort of 72 patients treated with ECMO and 390 with conventional MV were analyzed (February 2020–December 2021). A target trial was emulated comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs no ECMO within 7 days of MV in patients with a PaO2/FiO2 < 80 or a PaCO2 ≥ 60 mmHg. A total of 222 patients met the eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 42 initiated ECMO. ECMO was associated with a lower risk of hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36–0.96). The risk was lower in patients who were younger (age < 70 years), had less comorbidities (Charlson comorbidity index < 2), underwent prone positioning before ECMO, and had driving pressures ≥ 15 cmH2O at inclusion. Furthermore, ECMO was associated with a lower risk of fibrotic changes (HR, 0.30; 95% CI 0.11–0.70). However, the finding was limited due to relatively small number of patients and differences in observability between the ECMO and conventional MV groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary artery catheterization (PAC) has been used as a clinical standard for cardiac output (CO) measurements on humans. On animals, however, an ultrasonic flow sensor (UFS) placed around the ascending aorta or pulmonary artery can measure CO and stroke volume (SV) more accurately. The objective of this paper is to compare CO and SV measurements using a noninvasive electrical impedance tomography (EIT) device and three invasive devices using UFS, PAC-CCO (continuous CO) and arterial pressure-based CO (APCO). Thirty-two pigs were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated. A UFS was placed around the pulmonary artery through thoracotomy in 11 of them, while the EIT, PAC-CCO and APCO devices were used on all of them. Afterload and contractility were changed pharmacologically, while preload was changed through bleeding and injection of fluid or blood. Twenty-three pigs completed the experiment. Among 23, the UFS was used on 7 pigs around the pulmonary artery. The percentage error (PE) between COUFS and COEIT was 26.1%, and the 10-min concordance was 92.5%. Between SVUFS and SVEIT, the PE was 24.8%, and the 10-min concordance was 94.2%. On analyzing the data from all 23 pigs, the PE between time-delay-adjusted COPAC-CCO and COEIT was 34.6%, and the 10-min concordance was 81.1%. Our results suggest that the performance of the EIT device in measuring dynamic changes of CO and SV on mechanically-ventilated pigs under different cardiac preload, afterload and contractility conditions is at least comparable to that of the PAC-CCO device. Clinical studies are needed to evaluate the utility of the EIT device as a noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous monitoring of both hemodynamic and respiratory parameters would be beneficial to patients, e.g., those in intensive care unit. The objective of this exploratory animal study was to test the feasibility of simultaneous measurements of relative tidal volume (rTV) and relative stroke volume (rSV) using an electrical impedance tomography (EIT) device equipped with a new real-time source separation algorithm implemented as two spatial filters. Five pigs were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated. The supplied tidal volume from a mechanical ventilator was reduced to 70, 50 and 30% from the 100% normal volume to simulate hypoventilation. The respiratory volume signal and cardiac volume signal were generated by applying the spatial filters to the acquired EIT data, from which values of rTV and rSV were extracted. The measured rTV values were compared with the TV values from the mechanical ventilator using the four-quadrant concordance analysis method. For changes in TV, the concordance rate in each animal ranged from 81.8% to 100%, while it was 92.5% when the data from all five animals were pooled together. When the measured rTV values for each animal were scaled to the absolute TVEIT values in mL using the TVVent data from the mechanical ventilator, the smallest 95% limits of agreement (LoA) were − 6.04 and 7.44 mL for the 70% ventilation level, and the largest 95% LoA were − 18.1 and 19.4 mL for the 50% ventilation level. The percentage error between TVEIT and TVVent was 10.3%. Although similar statistical analyses on rSV data could not be performed due to limited intra-animal variability, changes in rSV values measured by the EIT device were comparable to those measured by an invasive hemodynamic monitor. In this animal study, we were able to demonstrate the feasibility of an EIT device for noninvasive and simultaneous measurements of rTV and rSV in real time. However, the performance of the real-time source separation method needs to be further validated on animals and human subjects, particularly over a wide range of SV values. Future clinical studies are needed to assess the potential usefulness of the new method in dynamic cardiopulmonary monitoring and explore other clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly utilized, only a limited level of experience has been reported in postpartum cardiopulmonary failure. Ten critically ill postpartum patients who received ECMO were included between January 2010 and December 2018 in this retrospective observational study. The main indication for ECMO support was peripartum cardiomyopathy (n = 5), followed by postpartum hemorrhage (n = 2). Nine patients initially received veno-arterial ECMO, and one patient received veno-venous ECMO. Major bleeding occurred in six patients. The median number of units of red blood cells (RBC) transfused during ECMO was 14.5 units (interquartile range 6.8–37.8 units), and most RBC transfusions occurred on the first day of ECMO. The survival-to-discharge rate was 80%. Compared to the survival outcomes in female patients of similar age who received ECMO, the survival outcomes were significantly better in the study population (56% versus 80%, P = 0.0004). Despite the high risk of major bleeding, ECMO for patients with postpartum cardiac or respiratory failure showed excellent survival outcomes. ECMO is feasible in these patients and can be carried out with good outcomes in an experienced centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare but fatal condition with various underlying disorders in adult patients and is diagnosed based on the HLH-2004 criteria, which were established based on experience in pediatric patients. However, few studies have prospectively evaluated the treatment outcomes and diagnostic performance of HLH criteria in adult patients with secondary HLH. Thus, we performed a single-center, prospective cohort study of adult patients with suspected HLH, and we analyzed treatment outcomes of patients enrolled between 2017 and 2019 as an interim analysis (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03117010). Of the 73 patients with suspected HLH, 70 patients completed the evaluation for ≥ 7 of the HLH-2004 criteria, and 55 patients were diagnosed with HLH (55/73, 75%). Although serum ferritin and fever had a sensitivity of more than 90%, both had exceptionally low specificity, whereas soluble CD25 had a sensitivity of more than 90% and specificity of 80%. Forty patients with malignancy-associated HLH had B cell (n = 19) or T- or NK-cell (n = 21) lymphoid malignancy, whereas 15 patients had non-malignant disorders. Non-malignancy-associated HLH had greater than 90% 1-year overall survival (OS) after diagnosis of HLH, whereas that for malignancy-associated HLH was less than 40%. In conclusion, our study showed promising treatment outcomes for patients enrolled in our prospective cohort study, and prospectively demonstrated the diagnostic performance of the HLH-2004 criteria in adult patients with suspected HLH. Given that lymphoma was the most common cause of HLH in adults, thorough evaluation for lymphoma should be performed in adults with suspected HLH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is no noninvasive method available for simultaneous measurements of tidal volume and stroke volume. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has been used for regional lung ventilation imaging. Cardiac EIT imaging, however, has not been successful due to the technical difficulty in extracting weak cardiogenic components. Instead of regional imaging, in this paper, we use the EIT technique to simultaneously measure two global variables of tidal volume and stroke volume. Time-varying patterns of boundary voltage data originating from lung ventilation and cardiac blood flow were extracted from measured boundary voltage data using the principal component analysis (PCA) and independent component analysis (ICA). The source consistency theory was adopted to separately synthesize time-series of boundary voltage data associated with lung ventilation and cardiac blood flow. The respiratory volume signal (RVS) and cardiac volume signal (CVS) were extracted from reconstructed time-difference EIT images of lung ventilation and cardiac blood flow, respectively. After calibrating the volume signals using the mechanical ventilator and the invasive transpulmonary thermodilution (TPTD) method, tidal volume and stroke volume were computed as valley-to-peak values of the RVS and CVS, respectively. The difference in the tidal volume data between EIT and mechanical ventilator was within ± 20 ml from six pigs. The difference in the stroke volume data between EIT and TPTD was within ± 4.7 ml from the same animals. The results show the feasibility of the proposed method as a new noninvasive cardiopulmonary monitoring tool for simultaneous continuous measurements of stroke volume and tidal volume that are two most important vital signs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recirculation during veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is a known drawback that limits sufficient oxygenation. This study aimed to compare the short-term oxygenation and long-term mortality based on cannula configuration in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who receive VV-ECMO, especially in the absence of newly developed dual-lumen, single cannula. Methods: Data of patients with severe ARDS who received VV-ECMO from 2012 to 2015 at six hospitals were retrospectively analyzed. Primary outcomes were the partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) at 1, 4, and 12 h after ECMO initiation and 180-day mortality. Results: Patients (n = 335) were divided into two groups based on the return cannula site: femoral vein (n = 178) or internal jugular vein (n = 157). The propensity score matching analysis generated 90 pairs, and baseline characteristics at admission, including PaO2, were similar between the groups. PaO2 at 1, 4 and 12 h after ECMO initiation were not different according to cannula configuration. Moreover, the increment in oxygenation from the baseline values was not different between the femoral and jugular group. PaCO2 level at 1, 4 and 12 h were significantly lower in the jugular group. The two groups did not differ in terms of mortality at 180 days after ECMO, however more cannula-related complications occurred in the jugular group. Conclusion: Regardless of the cannula configuration, patients with ARDS managed with VV-ECMO showed comparable clinical outcomes in terms of short-term oxygenation and long-term mortality. Nevertheless, further well-designed randomized control trials are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Limited data are available on the intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) developed in critically ill cancer patients during their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU).Methods: All consecutive patients who underwent brain CT for suspicion of spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) with acute neurologic symptoms or signs developed during their ICU stay were retrospectively evaluated to identify predictors of ICH.Results: Over the study period, a total of 273 patients underwent brain CT scanning for suspicion of ICH, with altered mentality in 202 (74 %), seizure in 43 (16 %), and hemiparesis in 34 (13 %). However, only 49 (18 %) patients had a final diagnosis of ICH. The most common type of haemorrhage was intracerebral in 34 patients (69 %), followed by subarachnoidal haemorrhage in 17 (35 %). In multiple logistic regression analysis, anisocoric pupils or abnormal pupil reflex (adjusted OR 7.939; 95 % CI, 2.315-27.228) was an independent predictor of ICH. In addition, higher positive end-expiratory pressure (adjusted OR 1.204; 95 % CI, 1.065-1.361) was significantly associated with ICH. However, platelet count was inversely associated with ICH (adjusted OR 0.993; 95 % CI 0.988-0.999).Conclusion: Brain CT scanning should be performed even in critically ill cancer patients, especially with risk factors and acute neurologic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the high workload of mechanical ventilation, there has been a lack of studies on the association between nurse workforce and mortality in mechanically ventilated patients. We evaluated the association of the bed-to-nurse ratio with mortality in ventilated pediatric patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We conducted a nationwide retrospective analysis by using the Korean National Health Insurance database, which categorizes the bed-to-nurse ratio into 9 grades according to the number of beds divided by the number of full-time equivalent registered nurses in a unit. Patients of ages between 28 days and 18 years were enrolled. Multiple admissions and transfers from other hospitals were excluded. We evaluated the odds ratios (ORs) of in-hospital mortality using 4 groups (Grade 1: bed-to-nurse < 0.50, Grade 2: < 0.63, Grade 3: < 0.77, Grade 4 or above > 0.77) with adjustment of patient factors, hospital factors, and treatment requirements. Results: Of the 27,849 patients admitted to ICU, 11,628 (41.8%) were on mechanical ventilation. The overall in-hospital mortality rates in Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4 or above group were 4.5%, 6.8%, 6.9%, and 4.7%, respectively. The adjusted ORs (95% CI) for in-hospital mortality of mechanically ventilated patients in the Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4 or above compared to those in Grade 1 were 2.73 (95% CI 1.51–4.95), 4.02 (95% CI 2.23–7.26), and 7.83 (4.07–15.07), respectively. However, for patients without mechanical ventilation, the adjusted ORs of in-hospital mortality were not statistically significant. Conclusion: In mechanically ventilated patients, the adjusted mortality rate increased significantly, as the bed-to-nurse ratio of the ICU increased. Policies that limit the number of ventilated patients per nurse should be considered. Trial registration retrospectively registered [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) has suggested that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients should be managed by a multidisciplinary team. However, there are limited data on the impact of ECMO team on the outcomes of patients with severe acute respiratory failure.Methods: All consecutive patients with severe acute respiratory failure who underwent ECMO for respiratory support from January 2012 through December 2016 were divided into the pre-ECMO team period (before January 2014, n = 70) and the post-ECMO team period (after January 2014, n = 46). Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between the two groups.Results: The mortality rates in the intensive care unit (72.9 vs. 50.0%, P = 0.012) and hospital (75.7 vs. 52.2%, P = 0.009) were significantly decreased in the post-ECMO team period compared to the pre-ECMO team period. The median duration of ECMO support was not different between the two periods. However, the proportion of patients successfully weaned off ECMO was higher in the post-ECMO team period (42.9 vs. 65.2%, P = 0.018). During ECMO support, the incidence of cannula problems (32.9 vs. 15.2%, P = 0.034) and cardiovascular events (88.6 vs. 65.2%, P = 0.002) was reduced after implementation of the ECMO team. The 1-year mortality was significantly different between the pre-ECMO team and post-ECMO team periods (37.8 vs. 14.3%, P = 0.005).Conclusion: After implementing a multidisciplinary ECMO team, survival rate in patients treated with ECMO for severe acute respiratory failure was significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]