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PubMed1996

Risk factors for nosocomial pneumonia: comparing adult critical-care populations.

The purpose of the study was to examine risk factors for nosocomial pneumonia in the surgical and medical/respiratory intensive care unit (ICU) populations. In a public teaching hospital, all cases of nosocomial pneumonia in the surgical and medical/respiratory ICUs (n = 20, respectively) were identified by prospective surveillance during a 5-yr period from 1987-1991. Each group of ICU cases was compared with 40 ICU control patients who did not acquire pneumonia, and analyzed for 25 potential risk factors. Surgical ICU patients were found to have consistently higher rates of nosocomial pneumonia than medical ICU patients (RR = 2.2). The strongest predictor for nosocomial pneumonia in both the surgical and medical/respiratory ICU groups was found to be prolonged mechanical ventilation (> 1 d) resulting in a 12-fold increase in risk over nonventilated patients. APACHE III score was found to be predictive of nosocomial pneumonia in the surgical ICU population, but not in the medical/respiratory ICU population. We conclude that certain groups deserve special attention for infection control intervention. Surgical ICU patients with high APACHE scores and receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation may be at the greatest risk of acquiring nosocomial pneumonia of all hospitalized patients.

APACHE↗

PubMed2001

Risk factors and prognostic indicators of bacterial meningitis in a cohort of 3580 postneurosurgical patients.

In order to identify the incidence, risk factors and prognostic indicators of postneurosurgical bacterial meningitis, a 9-y retrospective cohort study was performed. The cohort comprised 3580 individuals who underwent neurosurgical operations at the Department of Neurosurgery of Catholic University, Rome, a 1,700-bed university hospital. We observed 52 episodes of postneurosurgical meningitis, with infection rates of 1.4/100 patients, 0.8/100 operations for craniotomies and 2.6/100 operations for internal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt or ventriculostomy with external drainage. The overall infection rate decreased from 2.5/100 operations in 1989 to 0.9/100 in 1997 (p = 0.03). Logistic regression analysis indicated that duration of ventriculostomy with external drainage [p < 0.01; odds ratio (OR) = 9.67; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.44-38.321 and increasing value of the APACHE III score (p <0.01; OR = 8.51; 95% CI = 2.15-33.68) were independent risk factors for development of meningitis. The overall case fatality rate was 8%. Predictors of mortality were low ( < 1.66 mmol/l) CSF glucose concentration (p = 0.001), increasing value of the APACHE IIl score (p = 0.002) and Gram-negative aetiology (p = 0.003).

APACHE↗

PubMed2000

Prediction of acute renal failure by "bedside formula" in medical and surgical intensive care patients.

BACKGROUND: Prediction of which intensive care unit (ICU) patients are likely to develop acute renal failure (ARF) would be useful. However, scoring systems such as APACHE have been disappointing in this regard. We previously developed a bedside formula to predict ARF using only 3 parameters: serum albumin, urine osmolality, and presence of sepsis. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 115 consecutive medical ICU (MICU) patients, comparing the bedside formula to APACHE II AND APACHE III as predictors of ARF or death and looking at nutritional parameters such as iron binding capacity, triceps skin fold, mid-arm circumference, and total lymphocyte count. We then evaluated 123 additional consecutive MICU and 98 consecutive surgical ICU (SICU) patients, comparing the bedside formula to APACHE II. RESULTS: The bedside formula was consistently more accurate than APACHE II in predicting ARF or in-hospital death in MICU patients. However, in SICU neither formula predicted ARF, and APACHE II predicted in-hospital death slightly better. No nutritional parameter other than albumin correlated with ARF. CONCLUSION: The bedside formula appears superior to APACHE II in predicting ARF or death in MICU but not SICU. This suggests that these two ICU populations are different.

APACHE↗

PubMed2002

Predicting mortality in stroke.

Physicians are faced with the task of predicting the immediate and long term outcome in stroke patients. It is also important to efficiently and optimally utilize resources. We used APACHE III scoring system or predicting in hospital outcome in patients with stroke. We found it to be sensitive (>90%) and resonably specific (73%) in predicting short term, in-hospital mortality, in our study group.

APACHE↗

PubMed1996

Hemostasis with endoscopic hemoclipping for severe gastrointestinal bleeding in critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVES: The fact that endoscopic hemostasis is difficult to achieve and that the rebleeding rate is high in critically ill patients with gastrointestinal bleeding has often been reported. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of endoscopic hemoclipping for gastrointestinal bleeding from ulcers and gastrointestinal lesions associated with critical illnesses. METHODS: Critically ill patients who were treated in a university hospital were studied prospectively. For patients with predefined clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding, an established protocol of endoscopic hemoclipping (including indications and procedures) was used. RESULTS: Ten of 885 patients were treated according to this protocol. All suffered circulatory collapse, and respiratory management required intubation. The initial rate of hemostasis was 100%, and no rebleeding was observed. The APACHE III scores at 24 h after hemostasis were reduced, relative to the time of bleeding (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Endoscopic hemoclipping is useful in achieving hemostasis in critically ill patients with severe gastrointestinal bleeding.

APACHE↗

PubMed1995

Hypothermia during elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: the high price of avoidable morbidity.

PURPOSE: Adverse outcomes apparently associated with hypothermia led us to examine patients undergoing elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs to test the hypothesis that hypothermia (temperature less than 34.5 degrees C) is associated with increased morbidity and excess mortality rates. METHODS: Two hundred sixty-two elective AAA repairs were retrospectively reviewed for preoperative and intraoperative risk factors. Core temperature, age, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and APACHE III scores (raw and temperature-adjusted), fluid resuscitation, and perioperative organ dysfunction were recorded prospectively. Outcome measures included lengths of stay in the intensive care unit and in the hospital, and hospital mortality rates. RESULTS: Except for a higher risk of hypothermia in women (p < 0.05), by univariate analysis, preoperative risk factors were similar in patients in the hypothermic and normothermic groups. After operation, patients with hypothermia had significantly greater APACHE scores (p < 0.0001), and patients in the hypothermic nonsurvivor group took significantly longer to rewarm (p < 0.05), suggesting marked hypoperfusion. Patients with hypothermia had significantly greater fluid (p < 0.05), transfusion (p < 0.01), vasopressor (p < 0.05), and inotrope (p < 0.05) requirements, resulting in significantly higher incidences of organ dysfunction (53.0% vs 28.7%, p < 0.01) and death (12.1% vs 1.5%, p < 0.01) and markedly prolonged lengths of stay in the unit (9.2 +/- 2.0 vs 5.3 +/- 0.6, p < 0.05) and in the hospital (24.3 +/- 2.9 vs 15.0 +/- 0.08, p < 0.01). By multivariate analysis, female gender (p = 0.004) was the only predictor of intraoperative hypothermia, whereas initial hypothermia was significantly predictive of both prolonged hypothermia and development of organ failure (p < 0.05). Organ failure (p < 0.05) and acute myocardial infarction (p < 0.01) were independent predictors of death. CONCLUSIONS: After AAA repair, patients with hypothermia have multiple physiologic derangements associated with adverse outcomes. Although multiple etiologic factors are interacting, body temperature is one variable that should be controlled during aortic surgery.

APACHE↗

PubMed2000

Epidemiology of nosocomial infection and resistant organisms in patients admitted for the first time to an acute rehabilitation unit.

The objectives of this study were to define the epidemiology of nosocomial bacterial colonization and infection and to define predictors of nosocomial infection among a cohort (n=423) of admissions to an acute rehabilitation unit. Overall, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and enterococci were the most commonly identified colonizing organisms. Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most commonly identified colonizing gram-negative bacilli. During 70 (16.5%) of the 423 hospitalizations in the unit, 94 nosocomial infections occurred. The most common infections were those of the urinary tract (30% of 94 infections) or a surgical site (17%), Clostridium difficile diarrhea (15%), and bloodstream infection (12.8%). Antibiotic-resistant bacteria most commonly caused bloodstream infection (41.7%) and surgical site infection (56.3%). Independent predictors of nosocomial infection at the time of admission were functional status (measured with the functional independence measure), APACHE III score, and spinal cord injury. In conclusion, gram-positive organisms were the predominant strains causing nosocomial colonization and infection. The logistic model, if verified, may be useful in defining patients who should be targeted for measures to prevent nosocomial infection.

APACHE↗

PubMed1997

Clinical features and outcome of patients admitted to the intensive care unit after plastic surgical procedures: implications for cost reduction and quality of care.

Recent interest in cutting cost and improving utilization and delivery of perioperative services has prompted surgeons to identify patient populations that would benefit from care in an intensive care unit as opposed to intermediate or standard care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) after major plastic/reconstructive surgical procedures in order to determine appropriate perioperative management strategies for these patients. We reviewed retrospectively the data from 2,805 consecutive admissions to the SICU between 1990 and 1996. Forty-two patients (1.5%) who had undergone major plastic/reconstructive procedures were identified. Outcomes (mortality, length of stay in the SICU and hospital, and the degree of organ dysfunction) were compared between this population, an illness severity-matched (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation [APACHE]-II and APACHE III) population of patients recovering from vascular surgical procedures, and a similarly matched population of SICU patients who were randomly assigned to serve as a second control group. The hospital mortality of the plastic surgical patient population (9.5%) was significantly higher than the zero mortality of the random cohort (p < 0.05). A second analysis compared the SICU plastics group to a case-controlled group of patients who were admitted to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) for at least 24 hours of perioperative monitoring. SICU patients had significantly higher APACHE II scores (10.9) when compared to PACU patients (7.2; p < 0.01). Based on severity of illness scoring and eventual mortality, patients admitted to our SICU after major reconstructive surgery were selected appropriately for that setting. In contrast, the patients who stayed in the PACU for perioperative monitoring did not require life-supporting therapy and, therefore, were overmonitored. Care could be provided in a specialized unit with dedicated nursing specifically trained for that purpose.

APACHE↗

PubMed2001

Nosocomial bacterial pneumonia in human immunodeficiency virus infected subjects: incidence, risk factors and outcome.

The presented study examined the incidence, risk factors and outcome of nosocomial bacterial pneumonia (NBP) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects. Forty-two cases of NBP were ascertained by a 5-yr prospective surveillance and were matched to 84 controls. NBP incidence was 10.8 per 10,000 hospital patient-days. In particular, the incidence of NBP was 13.9 per 10,000 patient-days in the period 1994-1996 and 5.6 per 10,000 patient-days in the period 1997-1998 (p=0.01). By using regression analysis, predictors for developing NBP were an increasing value of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score (p<0.01) and the presence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related central nervous system (CNS) diseases (p=0.01). The additional hospital stay attributable to NBP was 15 days. The attributable mortality rate was estimated to be 29%. Nosocomial bacterial pneumonia is more common in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection, high Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score and central nervous system diseases. Although the incidence of nosocomial bacterial pneumonia, as well of other opportunistic infections, decreased considerably in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, it still represents an important cause of mortality.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗

PubMed2000

Clinical decision support systems for outcome measurement and management.

Clinical decision support systems are the foundation for outcome management programs through the measurement of specific outcomes, data storage, data analysis, predictive modeling, and risk-adjusted comparison of actual outcomes with predicted outcomes. Many clinical decision support tools or databases are available to clinicians. This article reviews two widely available tools that provide clinical decision support for critical care clinicians, the Project IMPACT and APACHE III Critical Care Series clinical decision support systems. These tools are discussed with regard to risk adjustment methodology, validity, reliability, database size and representation, retrospective and prospective data and analysis, and quality control. Clinical application of clinical decision support systems for benchmarking and use in process improvement and outcome management is reviewed.

APACHE↗

PubMed2006

Outcome of adult umbilical cord blood transplant patients admitted to a medical intensive care unit.

Umbilical cord blood transplant (UCBT) has emerged as an alternate source of stem cells for transplantation in patients with hematologic malignancies. However, outcomes of adult UCBT patients requiring ICU admission remain unknown. In order to identify predictors of ICU transfer and mortality in UCBT patients, the course and outcome of all adult (> or = 16 years old) patients who underwent UCBT between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2003 at University Hospitals of Cleveland were analyzed. Forty-four patients underwent UCBT during the study period and 25 (57%) required ICU transfer. Use of a myeloablative preparative regimen was a significant predictor of ICU transfer (P = 0.03). An infusion of higher numbers of nucleated cells was protective from ICU transfer (P = 0.05). For those patients transferred to the ICU, mortality was 72%. The univariate predictors of mortality, at the time of ICU admission were a high APACHE III score (P = 0.0004), use of vasopressors (P = 0.03), and a low platelet count (P = 0.03). We conclude that transfer of UCBT patients to an ICU may be predicted by their preparative regimen, while ICU mortality may be predicted by physiologic parameters upon admission.

APACHE↗

PubMed2003

Extended-spectrum cephalosporin compared to cefazolin for treatment of Klebsiella pneumoniae-caused liver abscess.

From January 1995 to May 2000, a total of 107 adults with liver abscess due to Klebsiella pneumoniae admitted at a large medical center in northern Taiwan were reviewed. Patients were considered to have received cefazolin or an extended-spectrum cephalosporin if they received at least 3 days of that antibiotic within the first 5 days of hospitalization. Fifty-nine (55.1%) patients received cefazolin, and 48 (44.9%) patients received an extended-spectrum cephalosporin. The demographic data, clinical features, severities of illness, and rates of early drainage for the two groups were comparable. However, the rates of developing complications for the two groups were significantly different (37.3 versus 6.3%, respectively; P < 0.001). Furthermore, six independent factors preventing severe complications following liver abscess due to K. pneumoniae were identified: normal platelet count, alkaline phosphatase less than 300 U/liter, no gas formation in the abscess, APACHE III score less than 40, use of an extended-spectrum cephalosporin, and early drainage. In conclusion, cefazolin therapy may be suboptimal for patients with liver abscess due to K. pneumoniae despite active in vitro susceptibility. Use of an extended-spectrum cephalosporin and early drainage for patients with liver abscess due to K. pneumoniae are suggested.

APACHE↗

PubMed2006

Renal recovery from acute tubular necrosis requiring renal replacement therapy: a prospective study in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Data on the incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) resulting from irreversible acute tubular necrosis (ATN) are controversial. This prospective cohort study was designed to assess the need for short- and long-term dialysis in critically ill patients with severe ATN and to define risk factors for lack of renal recovery. METHODS: 433 consecutive patients with clinically diagnosed severe ATN necessitating renal replacement therapy were enrolled. Eight patients were excluded because renal biopsy revealed another cause of acute renal failure. None of the remaining 425 patients had pre-existing chronic renal insufficiency. Primary outcome criteria were recovery of renal function at discharge and ESRD status at 1 year follow-up. RESULTS: The overall in-hospital mortality of the cohort was 47%. At discharge, 57% of the 226 surviving patients had normal renal function, 33% had mild to moderate renal failure (serum creatinine: 1.3-3 mg/dl) and 10% had severe renal failure (serum creatinine: 3-6 mg/dl). Multivariate analysis showed that neither patient characteristics (age, gender, comorbid conditions), severity of illness (APACHE III, number of failed organs) nor mode and duration of renal replacement therapy were related to recovery of renal function. After 1 year, 76 of the surviving patients had died and in one patient chronic renal failure had progressed to ESRD. CONCLUSIONS: If critically ill patients with normal renal function prior to the renal insults survive the precipitating cause of ATN, the overwhelming majority will recover sufficient renal function.

APACHE↗

PubMed2000

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: predictors of 30-day mortality in a large cohort.

We performed a retrospective study of a large cohort of patients who had episodes of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) from January 1995 through February 1999 at 1 medical center to identify predictors of 30-day mortality in SAB. Among 293 patients with episodes of SAB, 68 died (23.2%) within 30 days of onset. There was no significant difference in 30-day mortality associated with treatment with vancomycin, a beta-lactam, or a miscellaneous group of antimicrobial agents (P=.180). By logistic regression, an acute physiology score (a component of the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation [APACHE III]) >60 at onset of SAB was the most important predictor of 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR], 15.7). Other significant predictors were lung (OR, 5.8) or unknown (OR, 4.1) focus of SAB, age > or =65 years (OR, 2.0), and diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.4). Future investigators of SAB should take into consideration acute severity of illness at onset as well as other factors when evaluating or comparing outcomes.

APACHE↗

PubMed1995

High-risk intrahospital transport of critically ill patients: safety and outcome of the necessary "road trip".

OBJECTIVE: Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients is often necessary for optimal patient care. However, transport of intensive care unit (ICU) patients within the hospital has been associated with a high rate of potentially detrimental complications. This study was designed to determine the occurrence rate of transport-related complications and to determine if these complications have any effect on patient morbidity and mortality. DESIGN: Prospective, cohort-matched study. SETTING: A 780-bed urban, university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Seven hundred fifty-nine surgical ICU patients. INTERVENTIONS: One hundred seventy-five patients were transported out of the surgical ICU for diagnostic testing or operative interventions deemed necessary by their surgical or critical care team. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and APACHE III scores were determined 24 hrs after admission. Transport patients were stratified into low-risk and high-risk transport groups. Patients were considered a high-risk transport if they required positive end-expiratory pressure of > 5 cm H2O, a continuous infusion of dobutamine, or a continuous infusion of norepinephrine. The high-risk group was further stratified into three groups based on the number of defined treatment regimens required to maintain the patient during transport. The patients were then followed during their transport for any potentially detrimental complications, such as a need for an increased dose of vasoactive medications, loss of intravenous access, a need for additional ventilatory support, or cardiopulmonary arrest. APACHE-matched control cohorts were identified as patients who did not leave the surgical ICU. The overall occurrence rate of complications was similar in the two groups (low-risk group, 6.3%; high-risk group, 5.5%). The mortality rate for all transport patients was 28.6%, which was statistically higher (p < .01) than the mortality rate for all control patients (11.4%). However, there was no mortality as a direct result of a transport. The overall mortality rate (10.9%) of the low-risk group was not significantly different from the APACHE-matched controls (6.0%). The overall mortality rate (51.4%) in the high-risk group was significantly higher (p < .01) than the APACHE-matched controls, but was not statistically higher than predicted mortality (p = .416). Both the low-risk and the high-risk groups stayed in the surgical ICU three times as long as the APACHE-matched control cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients is safe and carries a low risk of detrimental complications. Although patients requiring "high-risk" interventions experienced a higher mortality rate than did APACHE-matched controls, the increase in mortality does not appear to be directly related to the intrahospital transport. Patients requiring transport out of the surgical ICU are a more critically ill group of patients. These patients require a greater length of stay in the surgical ICU and may experience an increased mortality rate by virtue of the severity of their illness.

APACHE↗

PubMed2001

Double-blind placebo-controlled trial of fluconazole to prevent candidal infections in critically ill surgical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prophylactic use of enteral fluconazole to prevent invasive candidal infections in critically ill surgical patients. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Invasive fungal infections are increasingly common in the critically ill, especially in surgical patients. Although fungal prophylaxis has been proven effective in certain high-risk patients such as bone marrow transplant patients, few studies have focused on surgical patients and prevention of fungal infection. METHODS: The authors conducted a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in a single-center, tertiary care surgical intensive care unit (ICU). A total of 260 critically ill surgical patients with a length of ICU stay of at least 3 days were randomly assigned to receive either enteral fluconazole 400 mg or placebo per day during their stay in the surgical ICU at Johns Hopkins Hospital. RESULTS: The primary end point was the time to occurrence of fungal infection during the surgical ICU stay, with planned secondary analysis of patients "on-therapy" and alternate definitions of fungal infections. In a time-to-event analysis, the risk of candidal infection in patients receiving fluconazole was significantly less than the risk in patients receiving placebo. After adjusting for potentially confounding effects of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score, days to first dose, and fungal colonization at enrollment, the risk of fungal infection was reduced by 55% in the fluconazole group. No difference in death rate was observed between patients receiving fluconazole and those receiving placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Enteral fluconazole safely and effectively decreased the incidence of fungal infections in high-risk, critically ill surgical patients.

APACHE↗

PubMed2000

Plasma redox status relates to severity in critically ill patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relation between plasma redox status and severity of illness for patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: A mixed medical and surgical adult ICU with 12 beds. PATIENTS: A total of 73 consecutive patients admitted to the ICU. INTERVENTIONS: Venous blood samples were routinely obtained within 24 hrs of admission. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Plasma total antioxidant capacity and lipoperoxides were measured by spectrophotometric technique at admission to the ICU. The plasma ratio total antioxidant capacity (mM)/lipoperoxides (microM) was used as an index of plasma redox status. Plasma concentration of the markers of leukocyte activation myeloperoxidase (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and polymorphonuclear-elastase (immunoactivation assay) were also measured at admission to the ICU. Analysis of correlation between plasma ratio total antioxidant capacity/lipoperoxides and APACHE III score showed a negative association (p < .001, Spearman correlation test). Myeloperoxidase and polymorphonuclear-elastase correlated positively with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III scores (r2 = 0.58; p < .001; and r2 = 0.05; p = .035; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma redox status relates to severity in critically ill patients. We propose that it would be reasonable to provide antioxidant therapy as part of routine management of patients admitted to a mixed ICU, regardless of the specific reason for ICU admission. Plasma redox status might become useful to evaluate the risk in critically ill patients.

APACHE↗

PubMed2006

Pulmonary leptospirosis: an excellent response to bolus methylprednisolone.

BACKGROUND: This case series analyses the beneficial effect of methylprednisolone in pulmonary leptospirosis, which usually has an aggressive course and grave outcome. METHODS: 30 patients of pulmonary leptospirosis were evaluated. The initial 13 patients did not receive corticosteroids while the remaining 17 all received bolus methylprednisolone one gram intravenously for three days followed by oral prednisolone 1 mg/kg for seven days, on the basis of occasional case reports of benefit in pulmonary leptospirosis. APACHE III and lung injury scores of similar severity were considered while comparing outcomes in those who received methylprednisolone with those who did not. RESULTS: Dyspnoea and haemoptysis were the commonest symptoms in those with pulmonary manifestations. Overall mortality was 18% (3 of 17) in patients who received methylprednisolone, as compared with 62% (8 of 13 patients) in those who did not (p<0.02). In patients with established acute lung injury (ALI score >2.5), five of eight patients survived in the subgroup with corticosteroids (37% mortality) while only one of nine patients survived in the group that did not receive corticosteroids (89% mortality). Corticosteroids affected outcome only if given within the first 12 hours after the onset of pulmonary manifestations. Mortality seemed to correlate with the APACHE scores, and number of quadrants affected on chest radiographs, more than with blood gas pressures. CONCLUSIONS: Corticosteroids reduce mortality and change outcome significantly when used early in the management of pulmonary leptospirosis.

Adolescent↗