Category Archives: JCCM 2019, Vol. 5, Issue 3

Determination of Cut-off Serum Values for Resistin and S100B Protein in Patients Who Survived a Cardiac Arrest

Raluca M. Tat1, Adela Golea2, Ştefan C. Vesa3, Daniela Ionescu4

1 Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care I, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2 Surgical Department of “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
3 Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
4 Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care I, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Outcome Research Consortium, Cleveland, United States of America

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2019-0018

Introduction: In an attempt to identify patients who have successfully survived a resuscitated cardiac arrest (CA), attention is drawn to resistin and S100B protein, two biomarkers that have been studied in relation to CA.
Aim: The study aimed to identify the potential cut-off serum values for resistin and S100B in patients who had CA, compared to healthy volunteers, given that, currently, none of the markers have normal and pathological reference range limits for human assay levels related to this pathology.
Materials and Methods: Forty patients, resuscitated after out-of-hospital CA and forty healthy controls, were included in the study. All patients were followed up for seventy-two hours after CA or until death. Blood samples for biomarkers were collected on admission to the ED (0-time interval) and at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours following resuscitation. Only one blood sample was collected from the controls. The serum concentrations of biomarkers were measured.
Results: For each time interval, median serum levels of resistin and S100 B were ​​ significantly higher in patients with CA compared to healthy controls. The cut-off value for resistin in patients with CA, at the 12-hours versus controls, was > 8.2 ng/ml. The cut-off value for S100B in patients with CA versus controls recorded at 6 hours, was > 11.6 pg/ml.
Conclusion: Serum levels of resistin and S100B are higher among resuscitated CA patients compared to controls.

Keywords: , , ,
Full text: PDF

Perioperative Care for Organ Transplant Recipient: Time for Paradigm Shift

Alexander A. Vitin

Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle WA, USA

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2019-0016

Transplantation medicine, one of the emerging major medical disciplines, encompasses a wide variety of clinical subspecialties.
The concept of replacing organs which are failing or showing insufficiency, with single or multiple organs, either artificial or from donors, is accepted in literally every clinical field
There is explosive growth in the transplant sector driven by an ever-increasing patient demand fuelled by the already well-proven efficiency of organ transplantation as an ultimate treatment for end-stage organs failure and the ever-expanding infrastructure of the transplantation industry.
The foundation of this industry rests on two pillars: transplantation medicine and transplantation science. The sheer magnitude of the progress within the transplantation industry, as it stands today, maybe best illustrated by impressive statistics and facts, accomplishments and ongoing research trends. [More]

Keywords: ,
Full text: PDF

Precision Medicine and its Role in the Treatment of Sepsis: A Personalised View

Alexandra Lazăr1, Anca Meda Georgescu2, Alexander Vitin3, Leonard Azamfirei1

1 Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania
2 Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania
3 Department of Anesthesiology & Pain, Medicine University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle WA, USA

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2019-0017

In recent years, a new form of medicine has become increasingly significant, namely, personalised medicine (PM). PM is a form of care in which treatment is tailored for an individual patient.
PM is about using multiple data sets to create a digital human mapping. A person’s biological traits are determined by the interactions of hundreds of genes and gene networks, as well as external factors such as diet and exercise. Combining and then investigating these multiple databases with powerful statistical tools, allows a new understanding of how genetic intricacy drives health and disease and so leads to a closer personalised medical approach that targets each individual’s unique genetic make-up.
Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to infection, ranging from systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) to septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS). Sepsis is the most common cause of death in intensive care patients. Treatments in an ICU may need to be adapted to the continuous and rapid changes of the disease, making it challenging to identify a single target. PM is thus seen as the future of sepsis treatment in the ICU.
The fact that individual patients respond differently to treatment should be regarded as a starting point in the approach to providing treatment. The disease itself comes secondary to this concept.

Keywords: , , , ,
Full text: PDF

The Management of a Thirteen Weeks Pregnant Woman Rendered Brain-Dead Following a Ruptured Aneurysm

Iwona Pikto-Pietkiewicz, Antoni Okniński, Rafał Wójtowicz, Marlena Wójtowicz

Central Clinical Hospital of the MSWiA. Clinical Department of Intensive Care and Anaesthesiology. Warsaw, Poland

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2019-0015

Introduction: The current lack of clear guidelines on how to manage cases of brain-dead pregnant patients makes this topic controversial and extremely difficult to deal with for both medical and ethical reasons. This report deals with such a situation.
Case presentation: A twenty-seven years old woman, thirteen weeks pregnant, with a ruptured brain aneurysm was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit. She presented with loss of all brain functions, but somatic support was sustained to enable the delivery of her baby.
Conclusion: The case report gives a detailed account of the management of the mother before the successful delivery of her baby. It indicates the need for ongoing contributions to the debate on this delicate subject area to establish guidelines on how to manage brain-dead pregnant patients.

Keywords: , , , ,
Full text: PDF

Locked-In Syndrome Following Cervical Manipulation by a Chiropractor: A Case Report

Guillaume Giordano Orsini1, Giorgios-Emmanouil Metaxas2, Vincent Legros3

1 Emergency Department, University Hospital of Reims, Reims, France
2 Radiology Department, University Hospital of Reims, Reims, France
3 Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Reims, Reims, France

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2019-0014

Introduction: Vertebrobasilar occlusion poses difficult diagnostic issues and even when properly diagnosed has a poor prognosis. Newer studies highlight a better outcome when thrombectomy was carried out between six and twenty-four hours after an initial diagnosis of stroke. This paper reports a case where a patient suffered a vertebrobasilar stroke secondary to a traumatic bilateral vertebral arteries dissection was treated with late thrombectomy.
Case presentation: A 34-year-old woman was manipulated on the cervical spinal column by a chiropractor. Following three weeks of cervical pain, she presented with severe aphasia and quadriplegia (NIHSS = 28). An MRI scan indicated ischemia of the vertebrobasilar system. Thirty-one hours after the onset of these symptoms, a thrombectomy was performed. After one month, the patient could move her head and the proximal part of her limbs but remained confined to bed (NIHSS = 13).
Conclusion: The current case illustrates the benefit of late mechanical thrombectomy for a posterior cerebral circulation infarct. Although there was a delay in treatment, partial recovery ensued.

Keywords: , , ,
Full text: PDF

Cervical Spine Spondylitis with an Epidural Abscess in a Patient with Brucellosis: A Case Report

Mohammad Reza Hasanjani Roushan1, Soheil Ebrahimpour1, Zeinab Mohseni Afshar2, Arefeh Babazadeh1

1 Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, I.R. Iran
2 Department of Infectious Diseases, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2019-0013

Introduction: Human brucellosis, the most prevalent zoonotic disease worldwide, is a systemic infection which can involve several organs. Among musculoskeletal complaints, spondylitis is the most frequent complication of brucellosis and primarily affects the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae. The involvement of the cervical spine is infrequent.
Case report: This case report concerns an unusual case of cervical spine spondylitis with an epidural abscess due to Brucella in a 43-year-old man. The diagnosis was based on the patient being domiciled in an endemic region, his symptoms and his occupation. Clinical outcomes improved following antimicrobial therapy of rifampin, doxycycline, and gentamycin, and were confirmed radiologically.
Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for these patients. The timely commencement of medical treatment can help prevent surgery.

Keywords: ,
Full text: PDF