Microcirculatory perfusion disturbances in septic shock: results from the ProCESS trial.

Background: We sought to determine the effects of alternative resuscitation strategies on microcirculatory perfusion and examine any association between microcirculatory perfusion and mortality in sepsis.

Methods: This was a prospective, formally designed substudy of participants in the Protocolized Care in Early Septic Shock (ProCESS) trial. We recruited from six sites with the equipment and training to perform these study procedures.

Second consensus on the assessment of sublingual microcirculation in critically ill patients: results from a task force of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.

Purpose: Hand-held vital microscopes (HVMs) were introduced to observe sublingual microcirculatory alterations at the bedside in different shock states in critically ill patients. This consensus aims to provide clinicians with guidelines for practical use and interpretation of the sublingual microcirculation. Furthermore, it aims to promote the integration of routine application of HVM microcirculatory monitoring in conventional hemodynamic monitoring of systemic hemodynamic variables.

Mildly elevated lactate levels are associated with microcirculatory flow abnormalities and increased mortality: a microSOAP post hoc analysis.

Background: Mildly elevated lactate levels (i.e., 1-2 mmol/L) are increasingly recognized as a prognostic finding in critically ill patients.

Application of the Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis (Sepsis-3) Classification: a retrospective population-based cohort study.

Background: The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3) present clinical criteria for the classification of patients with sepsis. We investigated incidence and long-term outcomes of patients diagnosed with these classifications, which are currently unknown.

Methods: We did a retrospective analysis using data from 30 239 participants from the USA who were aged at least 45 years and enrolled in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort.

Endothelial Permeability and Hemostasis in Septic Shock: Results From the ProCESS Trial.

Background: We studied patients from the Protocolized Care in Early Septic Shock (ProCESS) trial to determine the effects of alternative resuscitation strategies on circulating markers of endothelial cell permeability and hemostasis and the association between biomarkers and mortality.

Methods: This was a prospective study of biomarkers of endothelial cell permeability (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF], soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 [sFLT-1], angiopoietin 2 [Ang-2]) and biomarkers of hemostasis (von Willebrand factor [vWF], thrombomodulin [TM], tissue plasminogen activator [tPA] in 605 of the 1,341 ProCESS participants in a derivation cohort and 305 participants in a validation cohort. Analyses assessed (1) the impact of varying resuscitation strategies on biomarker profiles and (2) the association of endothelial biomarkers with 60-day in-hospital mortality.

Systematic Molecular Phenotyping: A Path Toward Precision Emergency Medicine?

Precision medicine is an emerging approach to disease treatment and prevention that considers variability in patient genes, environment, and lifestyle. However, little has been written about how such research impacts emergency care. Recent advances in analytical techniques have made it possible to characterize patients in a more comprehensive and sophisticated fashion at the molecular level, promising highly individualized diagnosis and treatment.

Ligation of Glycophorin A Generates Reactive Oxygen Species Leading to Decreased Red Blood Cell Function.

Acute, inflammatory conditions associated with dysregulated complement activation are characterized by significant increases in blood concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ATP. The mechanisms by which these molecules arise are not fully understood. In this study, using luminometric- and fluorescence-based methods, we show that ligation of glycophorin A (GPA) on human red blood cells (RBCs) results in a 2.

Cost-effectiveness of quantitative pretest probability intended to reduce unnecessary medical radiation exposure in emergency department patients with chest pain and dyspnea.

Objectives: Quantitative pretest probability (qPTP) incorporated into a decision support tool with advice can reduce unnecessary diagnostic testing among patients with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and pulmonary embolism (PE), reducing 30-day costs without an increase in 90-day adverse outcomes. This study estimates long-term (beyond 90-day) costs and outcomes associated with qPTP. The authors hypothesized that qPTP reduces lifetime costs and improves outcomes in low-risk patients with symptoms suggestive of ACS and PE.

Diagnosing appendicitis: evidence-based review of the diagnostic approach in 2014.

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is the most common abdominal emergency requiring emergency surgery. However, the diagnosis is often challenging and the decision to operate, observe or further work-up a patient is often unclear. The utility of clinical scoring systems (namely the Alvarado score), laboratory markers, and the development of novel markers in the diagnosis of appendicitis remains controversial.

Outcomes and radiation exposure of emergency department patients with chest pain and shortness of breath and ultralow pretest probability: a multicenter study.

Study Objective: Excessive radiation exposure remains a concern for patients with symptoms suggesting acute coronary syndrome and pulmonary embolism but must be judged in the perspective of pretest probability and outcomes. We quantify and qualify the pretest probability, outcomes, and radiation exposure of adults with both chest pain and dyspnea.

Methods: This was a prospective, 4-center, outcomes study.

The association of near infrared spectroscopy-derived StO2 measurements and biomarkers of endothelial activation in sepsis.

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) may be utilized in conjunction with a vascular occlusion test to quantify a tissue bed's ability to re-oxygenate by measuring continuous tissue oxygen saturation recovery rate. We hypothesize that NIRS recovery slope will be associated with expression of endothelial biomarkers, thus, making it a feasible bedside surrogate for assessing endothelial activation/dysfunction in patients with sepsis. A secondary analysis of a prospective, multicenter, observational study was done on a convenience sample of adult patients at four university emergency departments consisting of patients with septic shock, sepsis without shock and patients without infection.

Whole blood lactate kinetics in patients undergoing quantitative resuscitation for severe sepsis and septic shock.

Background: We sought to compare the association of whole-blood lactate kinetics with survival in patients with septic shock undergoing early quantitative resuscitation.

Methods: This was a preplanned analysis of a multicenter, ED-based, randomized, controlled trial of early sepsis resuscitation. Inclusion criteria were suspected infection, two or more systemic inflammation criteria, either systolic BP< 90 mm Hg after a fluid bolus or lactate level > 4 mM, two serial lactate measurements, and an initial lactate level > 2.

Biomarkers of endothelial cell activation in early sepsis.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the association of endothelial-related markers with organ dysfunction and in-hospital mortality to validate our earlier findings in a multicenter study. We hypothesize that (i) endothelial biomarkers will be associated with organ dysfunction and mortality in sepsis and that (ii) soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) holds promise as a novel prognostic marker in sepsis.

Methods: This was a prospective, multicenter, observational study of a convenience sample of emergency department (ED) patients with a suspected infection presenting to one of four urban, academic medical center EDs between January 2009 and January 2010.

The association of near-infrared spectroscopy-derived tissue oxygenation measurements with sepsis syndromes, organ dysfunction and mortality in emergency department patients with sepsis.

Introduction: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) noninvasively measures peripheral tissue oxygen saturation (StO₂). NIRS may be utilized along with a vascular occlusion test, in which limb blood flow is temporarily occluded and released, to quantify a tissue bed's rate of oxygen exchange during ischemia and recovery. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that NIRS-derived StO₂ measures (StO₂ initial, StO₂ occlusion and StO₂ recovery) identify patients who are in shock and at increased risk of organ dysfunction (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score ≥ 2 at 24 hours) and dying in the hospital.