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Background: Frailty epitomizes the most complex consequence of an aging population. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of frailty, measured using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), on outcomes of older people in an emergency department (ED). Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study enrolling patients aged 65 years and older in a medical center of Taiwan between March 8, 2021, and November 30, 2021. The primary outcome was 90-day mortality rate. Individuals were categorized into three groups based on the CFS scores. Logistic regression was employed to examine the influence of frailty on clinical outcomes following covariate adjustment. Survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan–Meier curves and Log rank tests. Results: A total of 473 individuals were included in the study, with a mean age of 82.1 years, and 60.5% of them were males. The 90-day mortality rate was 10.6%. Among these groups, the CFS score 7– 9 group had the highest 90-day mortality rate (15.9%), followed by the CFS score 4– 6 group (8.0%) and the CFS score 1– 3 group (7.1%). The multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated a significant impact of CFS score on prognosis, with adjusted odd ratios of 1.24 (95% CI 1.06– 1.47) for 90-day mortality, 1.18 (95% CI 1.06– 1.31) for hospitalization, and 1.30 (95% CI 1.12– 1.52) for 180-day mortality. The Kaplan–Meier curves revealed a significantly higher 90-day mortality rate for patients with high CFS scores (Log rank tests, p = 0.019). Conclusion: In the older ED population, the severity of frailty assessed by the CFS emerged as a significant and important prognostic factor for hospitalization, 90-day mortality, and 180-day mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcopenia has serious clinical consequences and poses a major threat to older people. Gastrointestinal environmental factors are believed to be the main cause. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between sarcopenia and gastric mobility and to investigate the relationship between sarcopenia and the concentration of gastrointestinal hormones in older patients. Patients aged ≥ 75 years were recruited for this prospective study from August 2018 to February 2019 at the emergency department. The enrolled patients were tested for sarcopenia. Gastric emptying scintigraphy was conducted, and laboratory tests for cholecystokinin(CCK), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), peptide YY (PYY), nesfatin, and ghrelin were performed during the fasting period. We enrolled 52 patients with mean age of 86.9 years, including 17 (32.7%) patients in the non-sarcopenia group, 17 (32.7%) patients in the pre-sarcopenia group, and 18 (34.6%) in the sarcopenia group. The mean gastric emptying half-time had no significant difference among three groups. The sarcopenia group had significantly higher fasting plasma concentrations of CCK, GLP-1, and PYY. We concluded that the older people with sarcopenia had significantly higher plasma concentrations of CCK, GLP-1, and PYY. In the elderly population, anorexigenic gastrointestinal hormones might have more important relationships with sarcopenia than orexigenic gastrointestinal hormones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the relationship between trends in emergency department modified early warning score (EDMEWS) and the prognosis of elderly patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).Methods: Consecutive non-traumatic elderly ED patients (≥65 years old) admitted to the ICU between July 2018 and June 2019 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. The selected patients had at least 2 separate MEWS during their ED stay. Detailed patient information was retrieved initially from the ICU database of our hospital and then crosschecked with electronic medical recording system to confirm the completeness and correctness of the data. Patients who had do-not-resuscitate order and those with incomplete data of EDMEWS, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score, or survival information (7-day and 30-day mortality) were excluded. The trends in EDMEWS were determined using the regression line of multiple MEWS measured during ED stay, in which EDMEWS trend progression was defined as the slope of the regression line > zero. The relationship between EDMEWS trend and prognosis was assessed using univariate and multivariate analyses (multiple logistic regression analysis).Results: Of the 1423 selected patients, 499 (35.1%) had worsening 24-h APACHE II score, 110 (7.7%) died within 7 days, and 233 (16.4%) died within 30 days. Factors that were significantly associated with worsening 24-h APACHE II score, 7-day mortality, and 30-day mortality in univariate analysis were selected for inclusion into multiple logistic regression analyses. After adjusting for other covariates, EDMEWS trend progression was significantly associated with 24-h APACHE II score progression, 7-day mortality, and 30-day mortality.Conclusions: EDMEWS trend progression was significantly associated with 24-h APACHE II score progression, 7-day mortality, and 30-day mortality in elderly ED patients admitted to the ICU. EDMEWS is a simple and useful tool for precisely monitoring patients' ongoing condition and predicting prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The aim of the study was to compare titration of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) with electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and with ventilator-embedded pressure–volume (PV) loop in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Approach. Eighty-seven moderate to severe ARDS patients (arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen ratio, PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 200 mmHg) were randomized to either EIT group (n = 42) or PV group (n = 45). All patients received identical medical care using the same general support guidelines and protective mechanical ventilation. In the EIT group, the selected PEEP equaled the airway pressure at the intercept between cumulated collapse and overdistension percentages curves and in the PV group, at the pressure where maximal hysteresis was reached. Main results. Baseline characteristics and settings were comparable between the groups. After optimization, PEEP was significantly higher in the PV group (17.4 ± 1.7 versus 16.2 ± 2.6 cmH2O, PV versus EIT groups, p = 0.02). After 48 h, driving pressure was significantly higher in the PV group (12.4 ± 3.6 versus 10.9 ± 2.5 cmH2O, p = 0.04). Lung mechanics and oxygenation were better in the EIT group but did not statistically differ between the groups. The survival rate was lower in the PV group (44.4% versus 69.0%, p = 0.02; hazard ratio 2.1, confidence interval 1·1–3.9). None of the other pre-specified exploratory clinical endpoints were significantly different. Significance. In moderate to severe ARDS, PEEP titration guided with EIT, compared with PV curve, might be associated with improved driving pressure and survival rate. Trial registration: NCT03112512, 13 April, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor progression with chemoresistance and local recurrence is commonly happened during treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Cancer stem cells (CSC) may respond for tumor progression. However, there are few reports regarding metabolism of esophageal CSCs with clinical correlation. In this work, we demonstrated that ESCC cell lines in spheroid culture display CSC phenotypes, including increased ALDH activity, chemoresistance and tumor initiation, which are dependent on Hsp27 activation. Esophageal CSCs also exhibit reprogrammed metabolic features particularly higher glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, which are regulated via the Hsp27–AKT–HK2 pathway. Moreover, HK2 is required for maintenance of CSC phenotypes. Inhibition of CSC metabolism reduces cell growth and tumor formation. Clinically, patients who underwent surgical resection for esophageal cancer, and displayed overexpression of both Hsp27 and HK2, had the worst prognosis of all expression types. In conclusion, stem cells features and aberrant metabolic reprogramming of esophageal CSCs depend on the Hsp27–AKT–HK2 pathway. Targeting Hsp27 and HK2 could be novel therapeutic strategy for treating esophageal cancer and warrants further investigation. What's new? Cancer stem cells (CSC) are suspected of contributing to chemoresistance in esophageal cancer, a role likely made possible by CSC metabolic plasticity and rapid adaptation to changes in tumor microenvironment. Here, human esophageal squamous cancer cells in spheroid culture were found to exhibit key CSC features, including elevated ALDH activity, glycolysis, and oxidative phosphorylation. Hsp27‐AKT‐HK2 pathway upregulation was required for CSC phenotype maintenance. In vivo, inhibition of CSC metabolism successfully blocked tumor growth. While Hsp27 and HK2 upregulation correlates with poor prognosis in patients, the data suggest that Hsp27‐AKT‐HK2 targeting and metabolic inhibition can potentially be used against esophageal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hemothorax is most commonly resulted from a closed chest trauma, while a tube thoracostomy (TT) is usually the first procedure attempted to treat it. However, TT may lead to unexpected results and complications in some cases. The advantage of thoracic ultrasound (TUS) over a physical examination combined with chest radiograph (CXR) for diagnosing hemothorax1 has been proposed previously. However, its benefits in terms of avoiding non-therapeutic TT have not yet been confirmed. Therefore, this study is aimed to evaluate the severity of hemothorax in blunt chest trauma patients by using TUS in order to avoid non-therapeutic TT in stable cases.Methods: The data from 46,036 consecutive patient visits to our trauma center over a four-year period were collected, and those with blunt chest trauma were identified. Patients who met any of the following criteria were excluded: transferred from another facility, with an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) score ≥ 2 for any region except the chest region, with a documented finding of tension pneumothorax or pneumothorax >10%, younger than 16 years old and with indications requiring any non-thoracic major operation. The decision to perform TT for those patients in the non-TUS group was made on the basis of CXR findings and clinical symptoms. The continuous data were analyzed by using the two-tailed Student’s t test, and the discrete data were analyzed by Chi-square test.Results: A total of 84 patients met the criteria for inclusion in the final analysis, with TT having been performed on 42 (50%) of those patients. The mean volume of the drainage amount was 860 ml after TT. The TT drainage was less than 500 ml in 12 patients in the non-TUS group (40%), while none was less than 500 ml in the TUS group (p = 0.036, Fisher’s exact test). In terms of the positive rate of subsequent effective TT, the sensitivity of TUS was 90% and the specificity was 100%. There were 3 patients with delayed hemothorax: 2 of the 58 (3.6%) in the non-TUS group and 1 of 26 (4.5%) in the TUS group (p > 0.05, Fisher’s exact test). The hospital length of stay in the non-TUS group with non-therapeutic TT was significantly longer than in the TUS group without TT (8.2 vs. 5.4 days, p = 0.018). There were no other major complications or deaths in either group during the 90-day follow-up period.Conclusion: In the case of blunt trauma, TUS can rapidly and accurately evaluate hemothorax to avoid TT in patients who may not benefit much from it. As a result, the rate of non-therapeutic TT can be decreased, and the influence on shortening hospital length of stay may be further evaluated with prospective controlled study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the determinant factors and prognostic significance of emergency department do-not-resuscitate (ED-DNR) orders for patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH).Methods: Consecutive adult SICH patients treated in our ED from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016 were selected as the eligible cases from our hospital's stroke database. Patients' information was comprehensively reviewed from the database and medical and nursing charts. ED-DNR orders were defined as DNR orders written during ED stay. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant determinants of ED-DNR orders. Thirty- and 90-day neurological outcomes were analyzed to test the prognosis impact of ED-DNR orders.Results: Among 835 enrolled patients, 112 (12.1%) had ED-DNR orders. Significant determinant factors of ED-DNR orders were age, ambulatory status before the event, brain computed tomography findings of midline shift, intraventricular extension, larger hematoma size, and ED arrival GCS ≤8. Patients with and without ED-DNR orders had a similar 30-day death rate if they had the same initial ICH score point. During 30 to 90days, patients with ED-DNR orders had a significantly increased mortality rate. However, the rate of improvement in neurological status between the two groups was not significantly different.Conclusions: Older and sicker SICH patients had higher rate of ED-DNR orders. The mortality rates between patients with and without ED-DNR orders for each ICH score point were not significantly different. During the 30-to-90-day follow-up, the rates of neurological improvement in both groups were similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the performance of Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS), Rapid Acute Physiology Score (RAPS), and Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) in ascertaining the severity of illness and predicting the mortality of adult hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). This will assist emergency physicians (EPs) in risk stratification. Methods: Data for 66 adult HPVG patients who visited the EDs of 2 research hospitals between October 1999 and April 2016 were analyzed. REMS, RAPS, and MEWS were calculated based on data in the ED, and probability of death was calculated for each patient based on these scores. The ability of REMS, RAPS, and MEWS to predict group mortality was assessed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and calibration analysis. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for each scoring system were 92.1%, 89.3%, and 90.9% for REMS, 86.8%, 82.1%, and 84.8% for RAPS, and 78.9%, 89.3%, and 83.3% for MEWS respectively. In the ROC curve analysis, the areas under the curve for REMS, RAPS, and MEWS were 0.929, 0.877, and 0.856 respectively. Conclusion: Our study is the largest series performed in a population of adult HPVG patients in the ED. The results from this study demonstrate that REMS is superior in predicting the mortality of these patients compared to RAPS and MEWS. We therefore recommend that REMS be used for outcome prediction and risk stratification of adult HPVG in the ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the incidence and risk factors for interhospital transfer neurological deterioration (IHTND) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (SICH).Methods: Consecutive adult patients with first-ever SICH referred to our emergency department (ED) and transported by ambulance from July 2011 through June 2015 were eligible for this prospective observational study. Enrolled patients had SICH with elapsed time <12 hours and a nearly normal Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (≥13) at presentation. IHTND was defined as GCS score drop ≥2 points during the time from last GCS measure in first ED (shortly before transport) and first measure in second ED (shortly after arrival), which was confirmed by the accompanying nurse practitioner. The potential risk factors for IHTND were screened by χ2 test, unpaired t test (parametric data) or Mann-Whitney U test (non-parametric data) in univariate analysis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for other covariates.Results: Among 217 enrolled patients, 36 (16.6%) had IHTND. After adjustment for other covariates in multiple logistic regression analysis, the significant predictors of IHTND were arrival systolic blood pressure ≥180 mm Hg (p=0.026, OR=2.741, 95% CI 1.126 to 6.674), infratentorial ICH (p=0.015, OR=3.182, 95% CI 1.248 to 8.113), presence of intraventricular haemorrhage (p=0.023, OR=2.533, 95% CI 1.137 to 5.645) and larger ICH (by 1 mL increment of haematoma, p=0.013, OR=1.027, 95% CI 1.006 to 1.048).Conclusions: About one-sixth of referred not comatose patients with SICH developed IHTND. Some risk factors were identified for the first time. Modifying procedures for proper transfer of patients at high-risk for IHTND might help in safely transferring patients with SICH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the performance of Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II), the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score for predicting illness severity and the mortality of adult hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). This will assist emergency physicians in risk stratification. METHODS: Data for 48 adult HPVG patients who visited our ED between December 2009 and December 2013 were analyzed. The SAPS II, APACHE II score, and SOFA score were calculated based on the worst laboratory values in the ED. The probability of death was calculated for each patient based on these scores. The ability of the SAPS II, APACHE II score, and SOFA score to predict group mortality was assessed by using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and calibration analysis. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 92.6%,71.4%, and 83.3%, respectively, for the SAPS II method; 77.8%, 81%, and 79.2%, respectively, for the APACHE II scoring system, and 77.8%, 76.2%, and 79.2%, respectively, for the SOFA score. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the areas under the curve for the SAPS II, APACHE II scoring system, and SOFA score were 0.910, 0.878, and 0.809, respectively. CONCLUSION: This is one of the largest series performed in a population of adult HPVG patients in the ED. The results from the present study showed that SAPS II is easier and more quickly calculated than the APACHE II and more superior in predicting the mortality of ED adult HPVG patients than the SOFA. We recommend that the SAPS II be used for outcome prediction and risk stratification in adult HPVG patients in the ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhabdophis tigrinus is a common colubrid snake that can be found in an extensive geographical region in East Asia. It consists of two subspecies: R.t. tigrinus (yamakagashi) and R.t. formosanus (Taiwan tiger keelback). R. tigrinus possesses two different sets of poisonous glands: the Duvernoy's glands in the maxilla, and the nuchal glands in the dorsal skin of the neck. We report the first case in current English literature of toxin ophthalmia caused by the nuchal gland secretion of R.t. formosanus . The patient was a 40-year-old man whose right eye was sprayed by the nuchal gland fluid of R.t. formosanus. He presented with symptoms of foreign body sensation, progressive burning pain, and blurred vision. Ophthalmologic examination revealed diffuse superficial punctate keratitis, corneal stromal edema with Descemet folds, and conjunctival congestion. The patient responded well to topical treatment with a corticosteroid, antihistamine, and antibiotic, and had a favorable clinical course and outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]