Category Archives: Original Research

Renal Manifestations and their Association with Mortality and Length of Stay in COVID-19 Patients at a Safety-net Hospital

Sandra Gomez-Paz1, Eric Lam2, Luis Gonzalez-Mosquera2, Diana Cardenas-Maldonado2, Joshua Fogel3, Ellen Gabrielle Kagan2, Sofia Rubinstein1

1 Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, New York, USA
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, New York, USA
3 Department of Business Management, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, New York, USA

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2022-0010

Background: Renal involvement in COVID-19 leads to severe disease and higher mortality. We study renal parameters in COVID-19 patients and their association with mortality and length of stay in hospital. Methods: A retrospective study (n=340) of confirmed COVID-19 patients with renal involvement determined by the presence of acute kidney injury. Multivariate analyses of logistic regression for mortality and linear regression for length of stay (LOS) adjusted for relevant demographic, comorbidity, disease severity, and treatment covariates. Results: Mortality was 54.4% and mean LOS was 12.9 days. For mortality, creatinine peak (OR:35.27, 95% CI:2.81, 442.06, p<0.01) and persistent renal involvement at discharge (OR:4.47, 95% CI:1.99,10.06, p<0.001) were each significantly associated with increased odds for mortality. Increased blood urea nitrogen peak (OR:0.98, 95%CI:0.97,0.996, p<0.05) was significantly associated with decreased odds for mortality. For LOS, increased blood urea nitrogen peak (B:0.001, SE:<0.001, p<0.01), renal replacement therapy (B:0.19, SE:0.06, p<0.01), and increased days to acute kidney injury (B:0.19, SE:0.05, p<0.001) were each significantly associated with increased length of stay. Conclusion: Our study emphasizes the importance in identifying renal involvement parameters in COVID-19 patients. These parameters are associated with LOS and mortality, and may assist clinicians to prognosticate COVID-19 patients with renal involvement.

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Early Empirical Anidulafungin Reduces the Prevalence of Invasive Candidiasis in Critically Ill Patients: A Case-control Study

Md Jahidul Hasan1, Sharmind Neelotpol2, Raihan Rabbani3

1 Clinical Pharmacy Service, Department of Pharmacy, Square Hospitals Ltd, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2 Department of Pharmacy, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
3 Internal Medicine and ICU, Square Hospitals Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2022-0006

Introduction: Invasive candidiasis (IC) in critically ill patients is a serious infection with high rate of mortality. As an empirical therapy, like antibiotics, the use of antifungals is not common in intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide. The empirical use of echinocandins including anidulafungin is a recent trend.
Aim of the study: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of empirical anidulafungin in the development of invasive candidiasis in critically ill patients in ICU.
Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted on 149 patients with sepsis with/without septic shock and bacterial pneumonia. All the patients were divided into two groups. The ‘control group’ termed as ‘NEAT group’ received no empirical anidulafungin therapy and the ‘treated group’ termed as ‘EAT group’ received empirical anidulafungin therapy in early hospitalization hours.
Results: Seventy-two and 77 patients were divided into the control and the treated group, respectively. Patients in EAT group showed less incidences of IC (5.19%) than that of the NEAT group (29.17%) (p = 0.001). Here, the relative risk (RR) was 0.175 (95% CI, 0.064-0.493) and the risk difference (RD) rate was 24% (95% CI, 12.36%-35.58%). The 30-day all-cause mortality rate in NEAT group was higher (19.44%) than that of in EAT group (10.39%) (p = 0.04). Within the first 10-ICU-day, patients in the EAT group left ICU in higher rate (62.34%) than that in the NEAT group (54.17%).
Conclusion: Early empirical anidulafungin within 6 h of ICU admission reduced the risk of invasive candidiasis, 30-day all cause mortality rate and increased ICU leaving rate within 10-day of ICU admission in critically ill patients.

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Using Machine Learning Techniques to Predict Hospital Admission at the Emergency Department

Georgios Feretzakis1,3, George Karlis2, Evangelos Loupelis1, Dimitris Kalles3, Rea Chatzikyriakou1, Nikolaos Trakas1, Eugenia Karakou1, Aikaterini Sakagianni1, Lazaros Tzelves1, Stavroula Petropoulou1, Aikaterini Tika1, Ilias Dalainas1, Vasileios Kaldis1

1 Sismanogleio General Hospital, Athens, Greece
2 Sotiria General Hospital of Chest Diseases of Athens, Athens, Greece
3 Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2022-0003

Introduction: One of the most important tasks in the Emergency Department (ED) is to promptly identify the patients who will benefit from hospital admission. Machine Learning (ML) techniques show promise as diagnostic aids in healthcare.
Aim of the study: Our objective was to find an algorithm using ML techniques to assist clinical decision-making in the emergency setting.
Material and methods: We assessed the following features seeking to investigate their performance in predicting hospital admission: serum levels of Urea, Creatinine, Lactate Dehydrogenase, Creatine Kinase, C-Reactive Protein, Complete Blood Count with differential, Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time, DDimer, International Normalized Ratio, age, gender, triage disposition to ED unit and ambulance utilization. A total of 3,204 ED visits were analyzed.
Results: The proposed algorithms generated models which demonstrated acceptable performance in predicting hospital admission of ED patients. The range of F-measure and ROC Area values of all eight evaluated algorithms were [0.679-0.708] and [0.734-0.774], respectively. The main advantages of this tool include easy access, availability, yes/no result, and low cost. The clinical implications of our approach might facilitate a shift from traditional clinical decision-making to a more sophisticated model.
Conclusions: Developing robust prognostic models with the utilization of common biomarkers is a project that might shape the future of emergency medicine. Our findings warrant confirmation with implementation in pragmatic ED trials.

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Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Patients Requiring Invasive Mechanical Ventilation in a Lower Middle-Income Country

Taymmia Ejaz, Fazal Rehman, Arslan Ahmed, Safia Akhlaq, Sheema Saadia, Adil Aziz, Erfan Hussain

The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0044

Background: Covid-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) requires intensive care, which is highly expensive in lower-income countries. Outcomes of COVID-19 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in Pakistan have not been widely reported. Identifying factors forecasting outcomes will help decide optimal care levels and prioritise resources.
Methods: A single-centre, retrospective study on COVID-19 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation was conducted from 1st March to 31st May 2020. Demographic variables, physical signs, laboratory values, ventilator parameters, complications, length of stay, and mortality were recorded. Data were analysed in SPSS ver.23.
Results: Among 71 study patients, 87.3% (62) were males, and 12.7% (9) were females with a mean (SD) age of 55.5(13.4) years. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension were the most common comorbidities in 54.9% (39) patients. Median(IQR) SOFA score on ICU admission and at 48 hours was 7(5-9) and 6(4-10), and median (IQR) APACHE-II score was 15 (11-24) and 13(9-23), respectively. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 57.7%; 25% (1/4), 55.6% (20/36) and 64.5% (20/31) in mild, moderate, and severe ARDS, respectively. On univariate analysis; PEEP at admission, APACHE II and SOFA score at admission and 48 hours; Acute kidney injury; D-Dimer>1.5 mg/L and higher LDH levels at 48 hours were significantly associated with mortality. Only APACHE II scores at admission and D-Dimer levels> 1.5 mg/L were independent predictors of mortality on multivariable regression (p-value 0.012 & 0.037 respectively). Admission APACHE II scores, Area under the ROC curve for mortality was 0.80 (95%CI 0.69-0.90); sensitivity was 77.5% and specificity 70% (cut-off ≥13.5).
Conclusion: There was a high mortality rate in severe ARDS. The APACHE II score can be utilised in mortality prediction in COVID-19 ARDS patients. However, larger-scale studies in Pakistan are required to assess predictors of mortality.

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Comparison of the National Early Warning Scores and Rapid Emergency Medicine Scores with the APACHE II Scores as a Prediction of Mortality in Patients with Medical Emergency Team Activation: A Single-centre Retrospective Cohort Study

Junpei Haruna1, Hiroomi Tatsumi1, Satoshi Kazuma1, Hiromitsu Kuroda1, Yuya Goto1, Wakiko Aisaka1, Hirofumi Terada1, Tomoko Sonoda2, Yoshiki Masuda1

1 Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan
2 Department of Public Health, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0040

Introduction: The medical emergency team enables the limitation of patients’ progression to critical illness in the general ward. The early warning scoring system (EWS) is one of the criteria for medical emergency team activation; however, it is not a valid criterion to predict the prognosis of patients with MET activation.
Aim: In this study, the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS) was compared with that of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score in predicting the prognosis of patients who had been treated a medical emergency team.
Material and Methods: In this single-centre retrospective cohort study, patients treated by a medical emergency team between April 2013 and March 2019 and the 28-day prognosis of MET-activated patients were assessed using APACHE II, NEWS, and REMS.
Results: Of the 196 patients enrolled, 152 (77.5%) were men, and 44 (22.5%) were women. Their median age was 68 years (interquartile range: 57-76 years). The most common cause of medical emergency team activation was respiratory failure (43.4%). Univariate analysis showed that APACHE II score, NEWS, and REMS were associated with 28-day prognostic mortality. There was no significant difference in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of APACHE II (0.76), NEWS (0.67), and REMS (0.70); however, the sensitivity of NEWS (0.70) was superior to that of REMS (0.47).
Conclusion: NEWS is a more sensitive screening tool like APACHE II than REMS for predicting the prognosis of patients with medical emergency team activation. However, because the accuracy of NEWS was not sufficient compared with that of APACHE II score, it is necessary to develop a screening tool with higher sensitivity and accuracy that can be easily calculated at the bedside in the general ward.

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The Predictive Potential of Elevated Serum Inflammatory Markers in Determining the Need for Intubation in CoVID-19 Patients

Samuel Windham, Kellen Hirsch, Ryan Peterson, David Douin, Lakshmi Chauhan, Lauren Heery, Connor Fling, Nemanja Vukovic, Fernando Holguin, Shanta Zimmer, Kristine Erlandson

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, CO, USA

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0035

Introduction: The predictive potential of demographics, clinical characteristics, and inflammatory markers at admission to determine future intubation needs of hospitalised CoVID-19 patients is unknown. The study aimed to determine the predictive potential of elevated serum inflammatory markers in determining the need for intubation in CoVID-19 Patients.
Methods: In a retrospective cohort study of hospitalised SARS-CoV2 positive patients, single and multivariable regression analyses were used to determine covariate effects on intubation odds, and a minimax concave penalty regularised logistic regression was used to build a predictive model. A second prospective independent cohort tested the model.
Results: Systemic inflammatory markers obtained at admission were higher in patients that required subsequent intubation, and adjusted odds of intubation increased for every standard deviation above the mean for c-reactive protein (CRP) OR:2.8 (95% CI 1.8-4.5, p<0.001) and lactate dehydrogenase OR:2.1 (95% CI 1.3-3.3, p=0.002). A predictive model incorporating C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, and diabetes status at the time of admission predicted intubation status with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78 with corresponding sensitivity of 86%, specificity of 63%. This predictive model achieved an AUC of 0.83, 91% sensitivity, and 41% specificity on the validation cohort.
Conclusion: In patients hospitalised with CoVID-19, elevated serum inflammatory markers measured within the first twenty-four hours of admission are associated with an increased need for intubation. Additionally, a model of C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, and the presence of diabetes may play a predictive role in determining the future need for intubation.

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Survey of U.S. Critical Care Practitioners on Net Ultrafiltration Prescription and Practice Among Critically Ill Patients Receiving Kidney Replacement Therapy

Huiwen Chen1,2, Raghavan Murugan1

1 Center for Critical Care Nephrology, Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2 Renal and Electrolyte Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0034

Introduction: The current prescription and practice of net ultrafiltration among critically ill patients receiving kidney replacement therapy in the U.S. are unclear.
Aim of the study: To assess the attitudes of U.S. critical care practitioners on net ultrafiltration (UFNET) prescription and practice among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury treated with kidney replacement therapy.
Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted of a multinational survey of intensivists, nephrologists, advanced practice providers, and ICU and dialysis nurses practising in the U.S.
Results: Of 1,569 respondents, 465 (29.6%) practitioners were from the U.S. Mainly were nurses and advanced practice providers (58%) and intensivists (38.2%). The median duration of practice was 8.7 (IQR, 4.2-19.4) years. Practitioners reported using continuous kidney replacement therapy (as the first modality in 60% (IQR 20%-90%) for UFNET. It was found that there was a significant variation in assessment of prescribed-to-delivered dose of UFNET, use of continuous kidney replacement therapy for UFNET, methods used to achieve UFNET, and assessment of net fluid balance during continuous kidney replacement therapy. There was also variation in interventions performed for managing hemodynamic instability, perceived barriers to UFNET, belief that early and protocol-based fluid removal is beneficial, and willingness to enroll patients in a clinical trial.
Conclusions: There was considerable practice variation in UFNET among critical care practitioners in the U.S., reflecting the need to generate evidence-based practice guidelines for UFNET.

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The Importance of Iron Administration in Correcting Anaemia after Major Surgery

Mirela Tiglis1,2, Cristian Cobilinschi1,2, Liliana Elena Mirea1,2, Alexandru Emil Băetu1,2, Ileana Peride1, Tiberiu Paul Neagu1, Andrei Niculae1, Ionel Alexandru Checherită1, Ioana Marina Grintescu1,2

1 “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
2 Emergency Clinical Hospital of Bucharest, Romania

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0028

Introduction: Postoperative anaemia can affect more than 90% of patients undergoing major surgeries. Patients develop an absolute iron deficiency in the face of significant blood loss or preoperative anaemia and major surgery. Studies have shown the negative impact of these factors on transfusion requirements, infections, increased hospitalisation and long-term morbidities.
Aim of the study: The research was performed to determine the correlation between intravenous iron administration in the postoperative period and improved haemoglobin correction trend.
Material and methods: A prospective study was conducted to screen and treat iron deficiency in patients undergoing major surgery associated with significant bleeding. For iron deficiency anaemia screening, in the postoperative period, the following bioumoral parameters were assessed: haemoglobin, serum iron, transferrin saturation (TSAT), and ferritin, direct serum total iron-binding capacity (dTIBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH). In addition, serum glucose, fibrinogen, urea, creatinine and lactate values were also collected.
Results: Twenty-one patients undergoing major surgeries (52,38% were emergency and 47,61% elective interventions) were included in the study. Iron deficiency, as defined by ferritin 100-300 μg/L along with transferrin saturation (TSAT) < 20 %, mean corpuscular volume (MVC) < 92 fL, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) < 33 g/dL, serum iron < 10 μmol/L and direct serum total iron-binding capacity (dTIBC) > 36 μmol/L, was identified in all cases. To correct the deficit and optimise the haematological status, all patients received intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (500-1000 mg, single dose). Using Quadratic statistical analysis, the trend of haemoglobin correction was found to be a favourable one.
Conclusion: The administration of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose in the postoperative period showed the beneficial effect of this type of intervention on the haemoglobin correction trend in these groups of patients.

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Analgosedation: The use of Fentanyl Compared to Hydromorphone

Hahnl Choi1, Sara Radparvar1, Samuel L. Aitken2, Jerry Altshuler3

1 Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA
2 University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
3 Hackensack Meridian Health JFK Medical Center, Edison, NJ, USA

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0026

Background: The 2018 Society of Critical Care Medicine guidelines on the “Prevention and Management of Pain, Agitation/Sedation, Delirium, Immobility, and Sleep Disruption in Adult Patients in the ICU” advocate for protocol-based analgosedation practices. There are limited data available to guide which analgesic to use. This study compares outcomes in patients who received continuous infusions of fentanyl or hydromorphone as sedative agents in the intensive care setting.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated patients admitted into the medical intensive care unit, the surgical intensive care unit, and the cardiac intensive care unit from April 1, 2017, to August 1, 2018, who were placed on continuous analgesics. Patients were divided according to receipt of fentanyl or hydromorphone as a continuous infusion as a sedative agent. The primary endpoints were ICU length of stay and time on mechanical ventilation.
Results: A total of 177 patients were included in the study; 103 received fentanyl as a continuous infusion, and 74 received hydromorphone as a continuous infusion. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Patients in the hydromorphone group had deeper sedation targets. Median ICU length of stay was eight days in the fentanyl group compared to seven days in the hydromorphone group (p = 0.11) and median time on mechanical ventilation was 146.47 hours in the fentanyl group and 122.33 hours in the hydromorphone group (p = 0.31). There were no statistically significant differences in the primary endpoints of ICU length of stay and time on mechanical ventilation between fentanyl and hydromorphone for analgosedation purposes.
Conclusion: No statistically significant differences were found in the primary endpoints studied. Patients in the hydromorphone group required more tracheostomies, restraints, and were more likely to have a higher proportion of Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) scores > 2.

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Acute Kidney Injury Following Rhabdomyolysis in Critically Ill Patients

Alvin Saverymuthu, Rufinah Teo, Jaafar Md Zain, Saw Kian Cheah, Aliza Mohamad Yusof, Raha Abdul Rahman

Department of Anaesthesiology & Intensive Care, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0025

Introduction: Rhabdomyolysis, which resulted from the rapid breakdown of damaged skeletal muscle, potentially leads to acute kidney injury.
Aim: To determine the incidence and associated risk of kidney injury following rhabdomyolysis in critically ill patients.
Methods: All critically ill patients admitted from January 2016 to December 2017 were screened. A creatinine kinase level of > 5 times the upper limit of normal (> 1000 U/L) was defined as rhabdomyolysis, and kidney injury was determined based on the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) score. In addition, trauma, prolonged surgery, sepsis, antipsychotic drugs, hyperthermia were included as risk factors for kidney injury.
Results: Out of 1620 admissions, 149 (9.2%) were identified as having rhabdomyolysis and 54 (36.2%) developed kidney injury. Acute kidney injury, by and large, was related to rhabdomyolysis followed a prolonged surgery (18.7%), sepsis (50.0%) or trauma (31.5%). The reduction in the creatinine kinase levels following hydration treatment was statistically significant in the non- kidney injury group (Z= -3.948, p<0.05) compared to the kidney injury group (Z= -0.623, p=0.534). Significantly, odds of developing acute kidney injury were 1.040 (p<0.001) for mean BW >50kg, 1.372(p<0.001) for SOFA Score >2, 5.333 (p<0.001) for sepsis and the multivariate regression analysis showed that SOFA scores >2 (p<0.001), BW >50kg (p=0.016) and sepsis (p<0.05) were independent risk factors. The overall mortality due to rhabdomyolysis was 15.4% (23/149), with significantly higher incidences of mortality in the kidney injury group (35.2%) vs the non- kidney injury (3.5%) [ p<0.001].
Conclusions: One-third of rhabdomyolysis patients developed acute kidney injury with a significantly high mortality rate. Sepsis was a prominent cause of acute kidney injury. Both sepsis and a SOFA score >2 were significant independent risk factors.

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