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This article describes the unique practice of nurse-driven titration of continuous insulin infusion in post-cardiac surgery patients in the intensive care unit at a tertiary care teaching hospital. A prospective quality assurance study was conducted to support our innovative practice.

Summary Purpose Study the relationship between moral distress (MD) and futile care in the critical care unit (CCU). Subjects and methods A cross-sectional survey consisting of 38 clinical situations associated with MD related to 6 categories: physician practice, nursing practice, institutional factors, futile care, deception and euthanasia was distributed to 100 nurses at a single CCU. The intensity and frequency of MD were scored with Likert scale: 0—lowest and 6—highest. Results The survey was completed by 44 (44%) nurses. Median age was 33 years, 80% females. Median intensity of MD was high for the six categories and had no relationship with age, time in CCU or nursing practice. The encounter frequency of MD for futile care was the highest and was significantly related to age >33 years ( p =0.03), time in CCU >4 years ( p =0.04) and nursing practice >7 years ( p =0.01). Conclusion MD associated with clinical situations representing futile care increased with time in CCU. Future interventions are required to minimize the exposure to futile care situations and develop mechanisms to mitigate the effects of MD in the CCU.

OBJECTIVE To clarify the relationship of patient and critical illness characteristics (including any history of diabetes mellitus) to glycemic control with insulin and hospital mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODS A case-control descriptive study was performed of patients admitted to a tertiary-care center multi-disciplinary closed intensive care unit (ICU) at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz, between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2003, after implementation of a glycemic management protocol. Hospital mortality, the primary outcome, was examined in nondiabetic and diabetic ICU patients receiving insulin and in patients not requiring insulin (control group). RESULTS Of 7285 patients, 2826 (39%) required insulin, 1083 of whom (15% of total) had a history of diabetes mellitus. The control group had a median (10th-90th percentile) glucose level of 118 mg/dL (range, 97–153 mg/dL) and a 5% mortality rate. The median glucose level was 134 mg/dL (range, 110–181 mg/dL) in nondiabetic patients and 170 mg/dL (121–238 mg/dL) in diabetic patients ( P P .001). Compared with nondiabetic survivors, nondiabetic nonsurvivors had longer periods with glucose levels greater than 144 mg/dL. Diabetic nonsurvivors vs diabetic survivors had longer periods with glucose levels greater than 200 mg/dL. Poor glycemic control in nondiabetic patients was associated with increased insulin requirement and increased mortality. Critical illness characteristics that predicted poor glycemic control were advanced age, history of diabetes, cardiac surgery, postoperative complications, severity of illness, nosocomial infections, prolonged mechanical ventilation, or concurrent medications. CONCLUSIONS Critical illness characteristics determined glycemic control and clinical outcome in ICU patients. Acute insulin resistance was associated with worse outcomes in nondiabetic patients. Although critical illness characteristics influenced glycemic control, future evaluation of the effect of insulin administration and optimal glycemic control in ICU patients is necessary.

Paraneoplastic neurological disorders are a well recognized complication of malignancy. A case report to expand the currently described clinical manifestations of type 1 antineuronal antibody (ANNA-1)-associated paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis to include coma. We present an unusual case of fluctuating coma and rapid fulminant progression to acute respiratory failure from central alveolar hypoventilation caused by ANNA-1 paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis associated with small-cell lung carcinoma. Paraneoplastic infiltration of the brainstem and cerebellum, including respiratory and arousal centers, was documented on autopsy. Paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis should be considered as a possible cause of coma and central alveolar hypoventilation.

Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common and confers a high rate of disability and mortality. Current treatments are primarily supportive. Therapeutic hypothermia has been proposed for severe TBI because of its ability to reduce intracranial pressure and putative neuroprotective effects. Objective To critically appraise the current evidence concerning the efficacy of therapeutic hypothermia in the treatment of severe TBI. Methods The objective was addressed through the development of a structured, critically appraised topic. This incorporated a clinical scenario, background information, a structured question, literature search strategy, critical appraisal, results, evidence summary, commentary, and bottom line conclusions. Participants included consultant and resident neurologists, a medical librarian, clinical epidemiologists, and critical care and neurocritical care content experts. Results A recent multicenter randomized controlled trial was selected for critical assessment; meta-analyses were also reviewed. Subjects with severe TBI were randomized to either rapid cooling to 33°C for 48 hours (treatment, n=52) or normothermia (control, n=45). Outcome assessments included mortality and disability at 6 months as measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Initiation of hypothermia began within 2.5 hours of injury and patients were rewarmed over a mean of 17.2 hours. The study was terminated for futility; no difference in outcome or mortality was detected between treatment groups. Post hoc subgroup analysis showed that among subjects who required hematoma evacuation, hypothermia was associated with a lower rate of poor clinical outcome (number needed to treat=2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-78.3, P=0.02) and a trend toward a decrease in mortality (P=0.16). Conclusions Current cumulative evidence does not support general use of therapeutic hypothermia for acute severe TBI. However, further investigation of the role of therapeutic hypothermia may be warranted for specific TBI subgroups.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe acute respiratory failure was proposed more than 40 years ago. Despite the publication of the ARDSNet study and adoption of lung protective ventilation, the mortality for acute respiratory failure due to acute respiratory distress syndrome has continued to remain high. This technology has evolved over the past couple of decades and has been noted to be safe and successful, especially during the worldwide H1N1 influenza pandemic with good survival rates. The primary indications for ECMO in acute respiratory failure include severe refractory hypoxemic and hypercarbic respiratory failure in spite of maximum lung protective ventilatory support. Various triage criteria have been described and published. Contraindications exist when application of ECMO may be futile or technically impossible. Knowledge and appreciation of the circuit, cannulae, and the physiology of gas exchange with ECMO are necessary to ensure lung rest, efficiency of oxygenation, and ventilation as well as troubleshooting problems. Anticoagulation is a major concern with ECMO, and the evidence is evolving with respect to diagnostic testing and use of anticoagulants. Clinical management of the patient includes comprehensive critical care addressing sedation and neurologic issues, ensuring lung recruitment, diuresis, early enteral nutrition, treatment and surveillance of infections, and multisystem organ support. Newer technology that delinks oxygenation and ventilation by extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal may lead to ultra-lung protective ventilation, avoidance of endotracheal intubation in some situations, and ambulatory therapies as a bridge to lung transplantation. Risks, complications, and long-term outcomes and resources need to be considered and weighed in before widespread application. Ethical challenges are a reality and a multidisciplinary approach that should be adopted for every case in consideration.

To assess the safety of early (2 hrs) extubation after elective infrarenal aortic surgical procedures.A retrospective chart review of 192 consecutive elective infrarenal aortic surgical procedures from January 1990 to March 1994 at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale was undertaken.Combined general and epidural anesthesia was used extensively (187 patients; 97.4%). Early extubation was accomplished in 166 (86.5%) patients. Time to extubation was dependent on clinical factors and not by protocol. All early extubations occurred in the operating room or recovery room with a median time from skin closure of 12 minutes. Ten patients were extubated from 2 to 12 hours after the procedure, 14 patients more than 12 hours after the procedure, and 2 patients were not extubated and subsequently expired. Of the 166 patients extubated within 2 hours, 8 (4.8%) required reintubation. Factors found univariantly to be significantly associated with failure of early extubation include obesity, abnormal chest x-ray postoperatively, prior myocardial infarction, and prior coronary revascularization (p0.05).Early extubation (2 hrs) after elective infrarenal aortic procedures may be performed safely and should be undertaken unless clinical features suggest failure of extubation.

Numerous studies have found no clinically significant benefit to the perioperative use of pulmonary artery catheters (PACs), and peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICCs) have been reported to measure central venous pressure (CVP) accurately. The objective of this study was to determine whether the dynamic shifts in preload associated with elective reconstruction of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) are accurately reflected by CVP measurements from open-ended PICCs compared to CVP measurements from concomitant indwelling PACs. This is a retrospective review of prospectively collected data. PICCs and PACs were placed preoperatively in five patients undergoing elective AAA reconstruction. CVP measurements were recorded every 15 min during the operation. Bland-Altman statistical analysis was used to determine the degree of agreement in data collected by the two measurement devices. Seventy-three paired measurements of CVP from concomitant indwelling PICCs and PACs obtained from five patients undergoing elective AAA reconstruction revealed PICC measurements to be higher than PAC measurements by 0.6 mm Hg (overall correlation coefficient 0.92). The difference between the two measurement devices was expected to be

Corticosteroid supplementation based on plasma cortisol measurement was reported to decrease mortality in vasopressor-dependent critical illness.Random levels or maximal increments of plasma cortisol measured after short adrenal stimulation may predict mortality independent of concurrent organ dysfunction or sex, and corticosteroid supplementation may decrease mortality in vasopressor-dependent critical illness.An observational descriptive study.Critically ill patients receiving vasopressors for treatment of hemodynamic instability.Random levels (n = 522 patients) and maximal increments (n = 282 patients) of plasma cortisol were measured after 250 microg of adrenocorticotropic hormone was administered for short stimulation tests before patients received corticosteroid supplementation. The severity of acute illness was measured by sequential organ failure assessment.Hospital mortality.The overall mortality was 24%. A random plasma cortisol level of 15 microg/dL or less was associated with lower mortality than a random plasma cortisol level greater than 15 microg/dL in men (12% vs 26%, respectively; P.01) and women (13% vs 31%, respectively; P.01). A maximal plasma cortisol increment of 9 microg/dL or less increased mortality as compared with an increment greater than 9 microg/dL in men (31% vs 11%, respectively; P.01) but not in women (30% vs 29%, respectively; P = .8). Random levels and maximal increments of plasma cortisol did not influence hospital mortality predicted by the sequential organ failure assessment score. Corticosteroids were given to 244 patients (47%) without an effect on mortality (mortality rate of 27% for patients given corticosteroids vs mortality rate of 22% for patients who did not receive corticosteroids; P = .6). Corticosteroids did not influence mortality when plasma cortisol was a random level of 15 microg/dL or less (mortality rate of 14% for patients who received corticosteroids vs mortality rate of 10% for those who did not receive corticosteroids; P = .4) or when plasma cortisol was a maximal increment of 9 microg/dL or less (mortality rate of 30% for patients who received corticosteroids vs mortality rate of 31% for patients who did not receive corticosteroids; P = .9).Remote organ dysfunction and sex influenced mortality associated with cortisol levels measured in critical illness. Corticosteroid supplementation guided by arbitrary levels or increments of plasma cortisol in critical illness did not improve survival. Better guidelines for corticosteroid supplementation in critical illness should be developed to avoid potential adverse effects from unwarranted treatment.

ILLIAMS SYNDROME is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by a variable spectrum of abnormalities including supravalvular aortic stenosis, multiple peripheral pulmonary arterial stenoses, elfin face, mental and statural deficiency, characteristic dental malformation, and infantile hypercalcemia.‘** In this report, the anesthetic management of a child with supravalvular aortic stenosis, diffuse hypoplasia of the aortic arch and proximal descending aorta, and stenoses of the proximal left carotid and subclavian arteries is described. CASE REPORT