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Background: Acute reduction in hemoglobin levels is frequently seen during sepsis. Previous studies have focused on the management of anemia in patients with septic shock admitted to intensive care units (ICU's), including aggressive blood transfusion aiming to enhance tissue oxygenation., Aim: To study the changes in hemoglobin concentrations during the first week of sepsis in the setting of Internal Medicine (IM) units, and their correlation to survival., Design: Observational prospective study., Methods: We recorded hemoglobin values upon admission and throughout the first week of hospital stay in a consecutive cohort of septic patients admitted to IM units at a community hospital, the patients were enrolled into a prospective registry. Data on blood transfusions was also collected, we examined the correlation between hemoglobin concentrations during the first week of sepsis and survival, the effect of blood transfusion was also assessed., Results: Eight hundred and fifteen patients (815) with sepsis were enrolled between February 2008 to January 2009. More than 20 % of them had hemoglobin levels less than 10g/dL on admission, a rate that was doubled during the first week of sepsis. Overall, 68 (8.3 %) received blood transfusions, 14 of them (20.6 %) due to bleeding. Typically, blood transfusion was given to older patients with a higher rate of malignancy and lower hemoglobin levels. While hemoglobin concentration on admission had strong correlation with in-hospital mortality (O.R-0.83 [95 % C.I. 0.74-0.92], blood transfusion was not found to be an independent predicting factor for mortality., Conclusion: Anemia is very common in sepsis. While hemoglobin level on admission exhibit independent correlation with survival, blood transfusion do not.

Introduction: Prognosis estimation offered by physicians for patients inflicted by sepsis on their admission to Internal Medicine (IM) departments is considered a challenge. Early prognosis estimation is critical and determines the intensity of treatment offered. The accuracy of prognosis estimation made by physicians has previously been investigated mainly among intensive care physicians and oncologists., Objective: To ascertain the accuracy of prognosis prediction made by internists for septic patients on admission to IM departments., Methods: Physicians were asked to estimate the prognosis of every patient identified to have sepsis on admission. Their intuitive assessment of prognosis was incorporated into the patients' electronic medical record. Survival follow-up was recorded until death or for at least 2 years. Later we compared survival with physicians' prognosis estimations., Results: Prognosis estimation was recorded for 1,073 consecutive septic patients admitted throughout the years 2008-2009 to IM departments. The mean age of patients was 74.7 ± 16.1 years. A total of 42.4% were suspected to have pneumonia, and 65.4% died during a mean follow-up time of 661.1 ± 612.3 days. Almost half of the patients classified to have good prognosis survived compared to 14.9% and 4.9% of those with intermediate and bad prognosis estimation, respectively (P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Internists can discriminate well between septic patients with good, intermediate, and bad prognosis.

Background: Elderly patients are at a higher risk of acquiring sepsis, and are largely being treated in Internal Medicine (IM) departments., Aim: To characterize the differences between nonagenarians and other age groups in patients admitted to IM departments with sepsis, and to assess predictors for survival in patients older than 90 years of age., Design and Methods: A prospective registry of all-comers with sepsis admitted to IM departments in a community-based Medical Center was build. Patients' demographics, medical history, clinical presentation and outcomes were recorded and analyzed according to age groups., Results: One thousand and eighty patients were followed for a mean of 83.63 ± 65.90 days. Nonagenarians constituted 10.93% (118/1080) of our cohort. Of these, 70.48% had a cognitive impairment and 82.60% had reduced functional state. Of these, 5.61 and 10.50% fulfilled the criteria of septic shock and severe sepsis, respectively. Sepsis category was significantly influenced by age groups (P < 0.001). Complications secondary to sepsis at admission and throughout hospitalization, and mortality rates, were higher in the nonagenarian population (61.86 vs. 51.14%, P = 0.032 and 37.29 vs. 20.06%, P < 0.001, respectively), and overall survival was significantly lower in the nonagenarian population (40.68 vs. 66.84%, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: Patients treated in IM departments for sepsis are old, and a significant percentage is older than 90 years of age with reduced function and mental status at baseline. These frail patients are afflicted by a worse outcome, which is most likely associated with poor functional status at baseline and severe deconditioning during the acute illness. Prognostic tools are needed to address today's trends in patient-mix and disease severity, specifically for very-old patients admitted with sepsis cared for in IM departments.

Background: Sepsis is prevalent in internal medicine (IM) departments. Elderly patients with sepsis and chronic medical conditions are at an increased risk for venous thromboemolism (VTE). The objective of this study was to assess the rate of VTE and the accuracy of the Padua Prediction Score (PPS) to predict VTE in patient with sepsis admitted to IM departments., Methods: We prospectively collected data on septic patients admitted to IM departments in a community-based medical center. Additionally, we retrospectively collected VTE risk factors and events throughout a 1-year post hospitalization period. We computed the PPS for every patient, and analyzed the data accordingly., Results: In total, 1080 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 74.68 ± 16.1 years. The average PPS was 4.86 ± 2.26, and 71.2% of the patients had a positive PPS. Only 17.8% of the patients received anticoagulant prophylaxis during their hospital stay. Seven patients had VTE on admission, 14 (1.29%) acquired in-hospital VTE, and 7 (0.65%) had VTE post discharge throughout 1 year. In all, 21.9% patients died during hospitalization, and the overall survival rate was 64%. PPS was not correlated with anticoagulant administration (P = 0.36), in-hospital VTE (P = 0.23) or 1-year VTE (P = 0.40), but was significantly associated with in-hospital death and survival (P < 0.0001)., Conclusion: The rate of VTE in medical patients with sepsis in IM departments is low, and PPS lacks granularity in detecting patients at risk of acquiring it. In this population, a positive PPS is highly associated with death, and may reflect a more general co-morbidity and disease severity index., (© 2012 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis.)

We evaluated the effects of hyperoxia on pulmonary inflammatory changes in sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in rats. Seven groups were studied: sham-operated rats breathing air for 20 or 48 h; CLP breathing air for 20 or 48 h; and CLP + 100% oxygen for 20 h, or 70% oxygen for 48 h, or 100% oxygen intermittently (6 h/d) for 48 h. Video microscopy was used to monitor lung macromolecular leak, microvascular flow velocity, and shear rates, and lung morphometry was used for leukocyte infiltration and solid tissue area. Cell counts, tumor necrosis factor α, and nitrites were determined in peripheral blood and lung lavage fluid. Expression of adhesion molecules in blood leukocytes was evaluated by flow cytometry. Cecal ligation and puncture induced inflammation manifested in leukopenia, left shift, thrombocytopenia, increased expression of L selectin and CD11, increased serum and lavage fluid tumor necrosis factor α and leukocytes, and increased lung tissue area, macromolecular leak, and sequestration of leukocytes. Inhalation of 100% oxygen for 20 h increased nitrites (P < 0.01) and decreased leukocyte count in lavage fluid (P < 0.05) and attenuated lung macromolecular leak and changes in solid tissue area (P < 0.01). Inhalation of 70% oxygen (48 h) attenuated expression of adhesion molecules (P < 0.001) but failed to attenuate markers of lung inflammation. In contrast, intermittent 100% oxygen exerted favorable effects on markers of inflammation, attenuated leukocyte expression of L selectin and CD11 (P < 0.01), decreased pulmonary sequestration of leukocytes (P < 0.001), and ameliorated changes in macromolecular leak (P < 0.01) and lung solid tissue area (P < 0.05). Our data support the beneficial effects of safe subtoxic regimens of normobaric hyperoxia on the systemic and pulmonary inflammatory response following CLP.

Widespread vascular endothelial injury is the major mechanism for multiorgan dysfunction in sepsis. Following this process, the permeability of the alveolar capillaries is augmented with subsequent increase in water content and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Nevertheless, the role of alveolar epithelium is less known. Therefore, we examined alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) using isolated perfused rat lung model in septic rats without ARDS. Sepsis was induced by ligating and puncturing the cecum with a 21-gauge needle. AFC was examined 24 and 48 h later. The expression of Na-K-ATPase proteins was examined in type II alveolar epithelial cells (ATII) and basolateral membrane (BLM). The rate of AFC in control rats was 0.51 ± 0.02 ml/h (means ± SE) and decreased to 0.3 ± 0.02 and 0.33 ± 0.03 ml/h in 24 and 48 h after sepsis induction, respectively (P < 0.0001). Amiloride, significantly decreased AFC in sepsis; conversely, isoproterenol reversed the inhibitory effect of sepsis. The alveolar-capillary barrier in septic rats was intact; therefore the finding of increased extravascular lung water in early sepsis could be attributed to accumulation of protein-poor fluid. The expression of epithelial sodium channel and Na-K-ATPase proteins in whole ATII cells was not different in both cecal ligation and puncture and control groups; however, the abundance of Na-K-ATPase proteins was significantly decreased in BLMs of ATII cells in sepsis. Early decrease in AFC in remote sepsis is probably related to endocytosis of the Na-K-ATPase proteins from the cell plasma membrane into intracellular pools, with resultant inhibition of active sodium transport in ATII cells.

Introduction: Due to the increasing burden on hospital systems, most elderly patients with non-surgical sepsis are admitted to general internal medicine departments. Disease-severity scoring systems are used for stratification of patients for utilization management, performance assessment, and clinical research. Some widely used scoring systems for septic patients are inappropriate when rating non-surgical patients in a non-intensive care unit (ICU) environment mainly because their calculations require types of data that are frequently unavailable. This study aimed to assess the fitness of four scoring systems for septic patients hospitalized in general internal medicine departments: modified early warning score (MEWS), simple clinical score (SCS), mortality in emergency department sepsis (MEDS) score, and rapid emergency medicine score (REMS)., Methods: We prospectively collected computerized data of septic patients admitted to general internal medicine departments in our community-based university hospital. We followed 28-day in-hospital mortality, overall in-hospital mortality, and 30- and 60-day mortality. Using a logistic regression procedure we calculated the area under ROC curve (AUC) for every scoring system., Results: Between February 1st, 2008 and April 30th, 2009 we gathered data of 1,072 patients meeting sepsis criteria on admission to general internal medicine departments. The 28-day mortality was 19.4%. The AUC for the MEWS was 0.65-0.70, for the SCS 0.76-0.79, for the MEDS 0.73-0.75, and for the REMS, 0.74-0.79. Using Hosmer-Lemeshow statistics, a lack of fit was found for the MEDS model. All scoring systems performed better than calculations based on sepsis severity., Conclusions: The SCS and REMS are the most appropriate clinical scores to predict the mortality of patients with sepsis in general internal medicine departments.

Changes in pulmonary microhemodynamics are important variables in a large variety of pathological processes. We used in vivo fluorescent videomicroscopy of the subpleural microvasculature in mechanically ventilated rats to directly monitor microvascular flow velocity (FV) and shear rate in pulmonary arterioles, capillaries, and venules in healthy rats and in septic rats 20 h after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Observations were made through a small thoracotomy after injection of fluorescent microspheres (D = 1 microm) into the systemic circulation. The FVs were calculated off-line by frame-by-frame measurements of the distance covered by individual microspheres per unit of time. In healthy rats, inspiratory FV were 1322 +/- 142 microm/s in subpleural arterioles and 599 +/- 25 microm/s in capillaries. The highest FV was found in venules (1552 +/- 132 microm/s). The calculated shear rates were 547 +/- 62/s in arterioles and 619 +/- 19/s in capillaries. The highest shear rates were detected in venules (677 +/- 59/s). No significant changes in FV and shear rates were observed throughout the 1-h observation period in any of the microvascular compartments. Pulmonary microvascular FV and shear rates found in sham-operated rats in the CLP experiments were not significantly different from values of healthy rats. The CLP caused a significant increase in leukocyte sequestration in the lungs and a mean of 27% to 34% decrease in FV in all sections of the pulmonary microvasculature (P < 0.001 in capillaries and P < 0.05 in venules). Also, CLP caused a 23% decrease in capillary shear rate that reached only borderline statistical significance (P < 0.06) and a significant 35% decrease in mean shear rate in venules (P < 0.05). Fluorescent videomicroscopy is offered as a stable and reproducible method for in vivo determinations of pulmonary microhemodynamics in clinically relevant models of sepsis.

Background: Elderly patients are at a higher risk of acquiring sepsis, and are largely being treated in Internal Medicine (IM) departments.Aim: To characterize the differences between nonagenarians and other age groups in patients admitted to IM departments with sepsis, and to assess predictors for survival in patients older than 90 years of age.Design and methods: A prospective registry of all-comers with sepsis admitted to IM departments in a community-based Medical Center was build. Patients’ demographics, medical history, clinical presentation and outcomes were recorded and analyzed according to age groups.Results: One thousand and eighty patients were followed for a mean of 83.63 ± 65.90 days. Nonagenarians constituted 10.93% (118/1080) of our cohort. Of these, 70.48% had a cognitive impairment and 82.60% had reduced functional state. Of these, 5.61 and 10.50% fulfilled the criteria of septic shock and severe sepsis, respectively. Sepsis category was significantly influenced by age groups (P < 0.001). Complications secondary to sepsis at admission and throughout hospitalization, and mortality rates, were higher in the nonagenarian population (61.86 vs. 51.14%, P = 0.032 and 37.29 vs. 20.06%, P < 0.001, respectively), and overall survival was significantly lower in the nonagenarian population (40.68 vs. 66.84%, P < 0.001).Conclusions: Patients treated in IM departments for sepsis are old, and a significant percentage is older than 90 years of age with reduced function and mental status at baseline. These frail patients are afflicted by a worse outcome, which is most likely associated with poor functional status at baseline and severe deconditioning during the acute illness. Prognostic tools are needed to address today’s trends in patient-mix and disease severity, specifically for very-old patients admitted with sepsis cared for in IM departments [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]