Publications by authors named "Buell K"

Background: Early diagnostic uncertainty for infection causes delays in antibiotic administration in infected patients and unnecessary antibiotic administration in noninfected patients.

Objective: To develop a machine learning model for the early detection of untreated infection (eDENTIFI), with the presence of infection determined by clinician chart review.

Derivation Cohort: Three thousand three hundred fifty-seven adult patients hospitalized between 2006 and 2018 at two health systems in Illinois, United States.

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Background: Critical illness, or acute organ failure requiring life support, threatens over five million American lives annually. Electronic health record (EHR) data are a source of granular information that could generate crucial insights into the nature and optimal treatment of critical illness. However, data management, security, and standardization are barriers to large-scale critical illness EHR studies.

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Importance: Among critically ill adults, randomized trials have not found oxygenation targets to affect outcomes overall. Whether the effects of oxygenation targets differ based on an individual's characteristics is unknown.

Objective: To determine whether an individual's characteristics modify the effect of lower vs higher peripheral oxygenation-saturation (Spo2) targets on mortality.

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A recent randomized trial found that using a bougie did not increase the incidence of successful intubation on first attempt in critically ill adults. The average effect of treatment in a trial population, however, may differ from effects for individuals. We hypothesized that application of a machine learning model to data from a clinical trial could estimate the effect of treatment (bougie vs.

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Purpose Of Review: Invasive mechanical ventilation is a lifesaving intervention for patients with severe acute hypoxic respiratory failure (AHRF), but it is associated with neuromuscular, cognitive, and infectious complications. Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) may provide sufficient respiratory support without these complications. The helmet interface for NIV could address concerns raised for the use of NIV as first-line therapy in AHRF.

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Background: Invasive mechanical ventilation in critically ill adults involves adjusting the fraction of inspired oxygen to maintain arterial oxygen saturation. The oxygen-saturation target that will optimize clinical outcomes in this patient population remains unknown.

Methods: In a pragmatic, cluster-randomized, cluster-crossover trial conducted in the emergency department and medical intensive care unit at an academic center, we assigned adults who were receiving mechanical ventilation to a lower target for oxygen saturation as measured by pulse oximetry (Spo) (90%; goal range, 88 to 92%), an intermediate target (94%; goal range, 92 to 96%), or a higher target (98%; goal range, 96 to 100%).

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Background: Medical Procedure Services (MPS) may represent a solution to the educational gap in procedural training among internal medicine residents and the unmet need for the clinical provision of non-urgent inpatient procedures. However, there is little guidance available to help launch an MPS. Furthermore, procedural outcomes from a newly initiated MPS, including those comparing trainees versus attending physicians, are lacking.

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Article Synopsis
  • The PILOT trial is a study aimed at determining the best oxygen saturation levels (SpO targets) for patients on mechanical ventilation in ICU settings, comparing low, intermediate, and high SpO targets.
  • Conducted at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the trial features a unique design where participating units switch their assigned SpO targets every two months, measuring the number of days patients can breathe without a ventilator over 28 days.
  • The study has received ethical approval and aims to share its findings through scientific publications and conferences.
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We report a case of a 31-year-old immunocompetent male who presented with altered mental status and agitation requiring intubation. As sedation was weaned, he demonstrated choreiform movements with associated hemiballismus of the right upper and lower extremities, and he was ultimately diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis. The patient's chorea did not terminate after the completion of induction antifungal therapy and all pharmacologic options for the management of chorea were ineffective.

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Objectives: Neurocysticercosis (NCC) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a high disease burden and are prevalent in overlapping low- and middle-income areas. Yet, treatment guidance for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) co-infected with NCC is currently lacking. This study aims to scope the available literature on HIV/AIDS and NCC co-infection, focusing on epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnostics and treatment outcomes.

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Respiratory support (noninvasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula) applied at the time of extubation has been reported to reduce reintubation rates, but concerns regarding effectiveness have limited uptake into practice. To determine if providing postextubation respiratory support to all patients undergoing extubation in a medical ICU would decrease the incidence of reintubation. We conducted a pragmatic, two-armed, cluster-crossover trial of adults undergoing extubation from invasive mechanical ventilation between October 1, 2017, and March 31, 2019, in the medical ICU of an academic medical center.

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Background And Aims: The number of procedures performed by internal medicine residents in the United States (US) is declining. An increasing proportion of residents do not feel confident performing essential invasive bedside procedures and, upon graduation, desire additional training. Several residency programs have utilized the medical procedure service (MPS) to address this issue.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates when it’s safe to reduce broad-spectrum antibiotics targeting resistant Gram-negative rods (GNRs) in critically ill adults, focusing on culture results over a 48-hour period.
  • Preliminary results show that 87% of respiratory cultures and 85% of blood cultures that later showed GNR resistance to ceftriaxone already indicated growth within the first 48 hours.
  • However, 13% of respiratory and 15% of blood cultures didn't show growth until after this time frame, suggesting the need for more research to establish optimal de-escalation timing for antibiotic use in these patients.
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Introduction: Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a neurosurgical emergency. Early diagnosis with MRI and subsequent surgical decompression surgery can prevent permanent neurological dysfunction. Charing Cross Hospital (CXH) is a tertiary neurosurgical referral centre where in the emergency department (ED), current practice mandated a neurosurgery review prior to requesting MRI.

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Introduction: Age-related immunosenescence influences the presentation of tuberculosis (TB) in older patients. Here, we explore the clinical and radiological presentation of TB in the elderly and the factors associated with time to treatment for TB.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study comparing the clinical, radiological and demographic characteristics of TB patients aged ≥65 years with TB patients aged 18-64 years in a large cohort of TB patients in the UK.

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Background: Loiasis is mostly considered a relatively benign infection when compared with other filarial and parasitic diseases, with Calabar swellings and eyeworm being the most common signs. Yet, there are numerous reports in the literature of more serious sequelae. Establishing the relationship between infection and disease is a crucial first step toward estimating the burden of loiasis.

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Introduction: Following extubation from invasive mechanical ventilation, nearly one in seven critically ill adults requires reintubation. Reintubation is independently associated with increased mortality. Postextubation respiratory support (non-invasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula applied at the time of extubation) has been reported in small-to-moderate-sized trials to reduce reintubation rates among hypercapnic patients, high-risk patients without hypercapnia and low-risk patients without hypercapnia.

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