Volume 4, Issue 3, July 2018
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Category Archives: JCCM 2018, Vol. 4, Issue 3
Hospital Resilience: A Recent Concept in Disaster Preparedness
DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2018-0016
Planning for a disaster must anticipate how demands imposed by a disaster equate with the capacity of the available facilities. Resources must be organized before an event occurs so that they are best prepared in every way to treat as many victims as possible. The actual number of victims is less relevant than the extent receiving facility can be adjusted to meet the appropriate requirements of victims. Multiple casualty incidents (MCIs) are defined as a large number of casualties generated over a short period that are appropriately managed with existing or extended resources. Mass casualty events (MCEs), in contrast, are major medical disasters that erode organized community support mechanisms and result in casualty numbers which overwhelm resources [1].
Due to the increased frequency and impact of disasters, including natural disasters, pandemics and terrorism, the concept of disaster resilience is accepted as being of increasing importance.
The notion of resilience can be defined as the capacity to adapt to unexpected challenges and the flexibility to revert to normality. Additionally, the issues learned from the experience should be incorporated into protocols which would allow for better preparedness for future challenges [2,3]. [More]
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Acute Pulmonary Embolism in a Teenage Female – A Case Report
DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2018-0015
Thrombophilia represents a tendency towards excessive blood clotting and the subsequent development of venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE is a rare condition in children that comprises both deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). This paper reports the case of a 16-year-old girl, admitted to the Pediatrics Clinic No. 1, Tîrgu Mureș, Romania, for dyspnea, chest pain and loss of consciousness. Her personal history showed that she had had two orthopedic surgical interventions in infancy, two pregnancies, one spontaneous miscarriage and a recent caesarian section at 20 weeks of gestation for premature detachment of a normally positioned placenta associated with a deceased fetus. Laboratory tests showed increased levels of D-dimers. Angio-Computed Tomography (Angio-CT) showed multiple filling defects in both pulmonary arteries, establishing the diagnosis of PE. The laboratory tests were undertaken to assist in the diagnoses of a possible thrombophilia underlined a low level of antithrombin III. Antiphospholipid syndrome was ruled out and genetic tests revealed no specific mutation. Anticoagulant therapy was initiated with unfractionated heparin and afterwards subcutaneously low molecular heparin was prescribed for three months. Later it has been changed to oral therapy with acenocoumarol. The patient was discharged in good general status with the recommendation of life-long anticoagulation therapy. Thrombophilia is a significant risk factor for PE, and it must be ruled out in all cases of repeated miscarriage.
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Transplant Critical Care: Is There A Need for Sub-specialized Units? — A Perspective
DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2018-0014
The critical care involved in solid-organ transplantation (SOT) is complex. Pre-, intra- and post-transplant care can significantly impact both – patients’ ability to undergo SOT and their peri-operative morbidity and mortality. Much of the care necessary for medical optimization of end-stage organ failure (ESOF) patients to qualify and then successfully undergo SOT, and the management of peri-operative and/or long-term complications thereafter occurs in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The current literature specific to critical care in abdominal SOT patients was reviewed. This paper provides a contemporary perspective on the potential multifactorial advantages of sub-specialized transplant critical care units in providing efficient, comprehensive, and collaborative multidisciplinary care.
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Emerging Infection with Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in Neonate. A Case Report
DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2018-0013
Background: Elizabethkingia meningoseptica are Gram-negative rod bacteria which are commonly found in the environment. The bacteria have also been associated with nosocomial infections, having been isolated on contaminated medical equipment, especially in neonatal wards.
Case report: Here, we present the case of a premature female infant born at 33 weeks’ gestational age, with neonatal meningitis. The onset was marked by fever, in the 5th day of life, while in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The patient was commenced on Gentamicin and Ampicillin, but her clinical condition worsened. Psychomotor agitation and food refusal developed in the 10th day of life, and a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis was made based on clinical and cerebrospinal fluid findings. A strain of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica sensitive to Vancomycin, Rifampicin and Clarithromycin was isolated from cerebrospinal fluid. First-line antibiotic therapy with Meropenem and Vancomycin was adjusted by replacing Meronem with Piperacillin/Tazobactam and Rifampicin. The patient’s clinical condition improved, although some isolated febrile episodes were still present. The cerebrospinal fluid was normalized after 6 weeks of antibiotic treatment, although periventriculitis and tetraventricular hydrocephalus were revealed by imaging studies. Neurosurgical drainage was necessary.
Conclusion: Elizabethkingia meningoseptica can cause severe infection, with high risk of mortality and neurological sequelae in neonates. Intensive care and multidisciplinary interventions are crucial for case management.
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Effects of Fibrinogen Levels and Platelet Counts on Viscoelastic Testing in Cirrhotic Patients
DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2018-0012
Introduction. Cirrhotic patients have been considered for decades to have a pro-haemorrhagic pattern and were treated as such based on the results from standard coagulation tests. The aim of our study was to determine the effects of platelet count and fibrinogen levels on rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) parameters.
Methods. We prospectively included 176 patients with End-Stage Liver Disease (ESLD) admitted to our Intensive Care Unit prior to liver transplantation. Collected data consisted of severity scores, liver, renal and standard coagulation tests, fibrinogen levels, platelet counts and ROTEM parameters. Four ROTEM assays were performed (ExTEM, InTEM, ApTEM and FibTEM) and the following parameters included: CT – clotting time, CFT – clot formation time, MCF – maximum clot firmness, ML – maximum lysis, alpha angle, TPI – thrombin potential index, MaxV – maximum velocity of clot formation (MaxV), MaxVt – time to MaxV, MCE- maximum clot elasticity and AUC – area under the curve.
Results. Statistical analysis demonstrated a linear correlation between platelet counts and ExTEM TPI (R2 linear =0.494), ExTEM MaxV (R2 linear =0.253), ExTEM MCE (R2 linear = 0.351) and ExTEM MCF (R2 cubic = 0.498). Fibrinogen levels correlated linearly with ExTEM MCF (R2 linear = 0.426), ExTEM TPI (R2 linear = 0.544), ExTEM MaxV (R2 linear = 0.332), ExTEM MCE (R2 linear = 0.395) and non-linearly with ExTEM CFT (R2 cubic = 0.475).
Conclusion. Fibrinogen levels and platelet counts had an important effect on both standard and derived ROTEM parameters. Further analysis is required in order to determine clinically oriented cut-off values below which severe coagulopathy would develop.
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