A young metastatic lung cancer patient developed empyema due to an infection with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Hydropneumothorax was detected and managed by a tube thoracotomy. However, persistent air leakage through the chest tube was observed due to the presence of a bronchopleural fistula (BPF). As hypercapnic respiratory failure had progressed and the large air leak did not diminish by conservative management, a pumpless extracorporeal lung assist (pECLA) device was inserted. The pECLA allowed the patient to be weaned from mechanical ventilation and the BPF to heal. The present case shows the effective application of pECLA in a patient with empyema complicated with BPF and severe hypercapnic respiratory failure. pECLA enabled us to minimize airway pressure to aid in the closure of the BPF in the mechanically ventilated patient.
Acinetobacter baumannii ; Bronchial Fistula ; Carbon Dioxide* ; Carbon* ; Chest Tubes ; Empyema* ; Fistula ; Humans ; Hydropneumothorax ; Hypercapnia ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Thoracotomy

BACKGROUND: The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II model has been widely used in Korea. However, there have been few studies on the APACHE IV model in Korean intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to compare the ability of APACHE IV and APACHE II in predicting hospital mortality, and to investigate the ability of APACHE IV as a critical care triage criterion. METHODS: The study was designed as a prospective cohort study. Measurements of discrimination and calibration were performed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test respectively. We also calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). RESULTS: The APACHE IV score, the Charlson Comorbidity index (CCI) score, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and unplanned ICU admissions were independently associated with hospital mortality. The calibration, discrimination, and SMR of APACHE IV were good (H = 7.67, P = 0.465; C = 3.42, P = 0.905; AUROC = 0.759; SMR = 1.00). However, the explanatory power of an APACHE IV score >93 alone on hospital mortality was low at 44.1%. The explanatory power was increased to 53.8% when the hospital mortality was predicted using a model that considers APACHE IV >93 scores, medical admission, and risk factors for CCI >3 coincidentally. However, the discriminative ability of the prediction model was unsatisfactory (C index <0.70). CONCLUSIONS: The APACHE IV presented good discrimination, calibration, and SMR for hospital mortality.
APACHE* ; Calibration ; Cohort Studies ; Comorbidity ; Critical Care ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Hospital Mortality ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Mortality* ; Prospective Studies ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Risk Factors ; ROC Curve ; Tertiary Care Centers* ; Triage

BACKGROUND: Liver transplantation (LT) is a complicated procedure with a high incidence of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). Previous studies indicate that even transient or mild post-LT AKI can result in critical conditions, including prolonged stays in hospitals and intensive care units and increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and occurrence of AKI in LT recipients. METHODS: Medical data from 203 patients who received LT surgery from January 2010 to August 2016 in a single university hospital setting were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Patients were classified as either underweight (BMI <20 kg/m²) or normal weight (20 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m²). Demographic data, anesthetic methods, complications, and perioperative laboratory test values of each patient were assessed. Propensity analyses and logistic regression were performed to evaluate the association between BMI and post-LT AKI. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in occurrence of post-LT AKI between underweight and normal weight patients. The underweight patient group had significantly longer hospital stay compared with the normal weight patient group (P = 0.023). CONCLUSIONS: BMI classification was neither a positive nor negative predictor of postoperative AKI occurrence. However, patients with lower BMI had significantly longer hospital stay compared with their counterparts. Although our study was limited by its retrospective design, our observations suggest that lower BMI might play a role in post-LT AKI.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Body Mass Index* ; Classification ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies* ; Thinness

BACKGROUND: Fluid overload prior to continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is an important prognostic factor. Thus, precise evaluation of fluid status is necessary to treat such patients. In this study, we investigated whether fluid assessment using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) can predict outcomes in critically ill patients requiring CRRT. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed in patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit and who required CRRT. BIA was conducted before CRRT; then, the ratio of extracellular water to total body water (ECW/TBW) was derived to estimate volume status. RESULTS: A total of 31 patients treated with CRRT were included. There were 18 men (58.1%), and the median age was 67 years (interquartile range, 51 to 78 years). Fourteen patients (45.2%) died within 28 days after CRRT initiation. Patients were divided into 16 with ECW/TBW ≥0.41 and 15 with ECW/TBW <0.41. Survival rate within 28 days was different between the two groups (P = 0.044). Cox regression analysis revealed a relationship between ECW/TBW ≥0.41 and 28-day mortality, but it was not statistically significant (hazard ratio, 3.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.9 to 9.8; P = 0.061). Lastly, the area under the curve of ECW/TBW for 28-day mortality was analyzed. The area under the curve of ECW/TBW was 0.73 (95% confidence interval, 0.54 to 0.92), and this was significant (P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: Fluid status can be assessed using BIA in critically ill patients requiring CRRT, and BIA can predict mortality. Further large trials are needed to confirm the usefulness of BIA in critically ill patients.
Body Water ; Critical Illness* ; Electric Impedance* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Mortality ; Observational Study* ; Prospective Studies* ; Renal Replacement Therapy* ; Survival Rate ; Water

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the clinical usefulness of the quick Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score (based on the 2016 definition of sepsis) at intensive care unit admission in Korean patients with bacteremia. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 236 patients between March 2011 and February 2016. In addition to the qSOFA, the Modified Early Warning score (MEWS) and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria were calculated. RESULTS: The patients' median age was 69 years, and 61.0% were male. Of the patients, 127 (53.8%) had a qSOFA score ≥2 points. They had significantly higher rates of septic shock, thrombocytopenia, and hyperlactatemia, and increased requirements for ventilator care, neuromuscular blocking agents, vasopressors, and hemodialysis within 72 hours after intensive care unit admission. They also had a significantly higher 28-day mortality rate. When analyzed using common thresholds (MEWS ≥5 and ≥2 SIRS criteria), patients with a MEWS ≥5 had the same results as those with a qSOFA score ≥2 (P < 0.05). However, patients with ≥2 SIRS criteria showed no significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that a qSOFA score ≥2 at admission is a useful screening tool for predicting disease severity and medical resource usage within 72 hours after admission, and for predicting 28-day mortality rates in patients with bacteremia. In addition, qSOFA scores may be more useful than SIRS criteria in terms of prognostic utility.
Bacteremia* ; Critical Care* ; Humans ; Hyperlactatemia ; Intensive Care Units* ; Korea* ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Neuromuscular Blocking Agents ; Prognosis ; Renal Dialysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Shock, Septic ; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome ; Thrombocytopenia ; Ventilators, Mechanical

BACKGROUND: Initial evaluation of injury severity in trauma patients is an important and challenging task. We aimed to assess whether easily measurable biochemical parameters (hemoglobin, pH, and prothrombin time/international normalized ratio [PT/INR]) can predict in-hospital mortality in patients with severe trauma. METHODS: This retrospective study involved review of the medical records of 315 patients with severe trauma and an injury severity score >15 who were managed at Gyeongsang National University Hospital between January 2005 and December 2015. We extracted the following data: in-hospital mortality, injury severity score, and initial hemoglobin level, pH, and PT/INR. The predictive values of these variables were compared using receiver operation characteristic curves. RESULTS: Of the 315 patients, 72 (22.9%) died. The in-hospital mortality rates of patients with hemoglobin levels <8.4 g/dl and ≥8.4 g/dl were 49.8% and 9.9%, respectively (P < 0.001). At a cutoff hemoglobin level of 8.4 g/dl, the sensitivity and specificity values for mortality were 81.9% and 86.4%, respectively. At a pH cutoff of 7.25, the sensitivity and specificity values for mortality were 66.7% and 77.8%, respectively; 66.7% of patients with a pH <7.25 died versus 22.2% with a pH ≥7.25 (P < 0.001). The in-hospital mortality rates for patients with PT/INR values ≥1.4 and <1.4 were 37.5% and 16%, respectively (P < 0.001; sensitivity, 37.5%; specificity, 84%). CONCLUSIONS: Using the suggested cutoff values, hemoglobin level, pH, and PT/INR can simply and easily be used to predict in-hospital mortality in patients with severe trauma.
Acidosis ; Biomarkers* ; Cohort Studies* ; Hospital Mortality* ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Injury Severity Score ; International Normalized Ratio ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Prothrombin ; Retrospective Studies* ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUND: Early recognition of the signs and symptoms of clinical deterioration could diminish the incidence of cardiopulmonary arrest. The present study investigates outcomes with respect to cardiopulmonary arrest rates in institutions with and without rapid response systems (RRSs) and the current level of cardiopulmonary arrest rate in tertiary hospitals. METHODS: This was a retrospective study based on data from 14 tertiary hospitals. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) rate reports were obtained from each hospital to include the number of cardiopulmonary arrest events in adult patients in the general ward, the annual adult admission statistics, and the structure of the RRS if present. RESULTS: Hospitals with RRSs showed a statistically significant reduction of the CPR rate between 2013 and 2015 (odds ratio [OR], 0.731; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.577 to 0.927; P = 0.009). Nevertheless, CPR rates of 2013 and 2015 did not change in hospitals without RRS (OR, 0.988; 95% CI, 0.868 to 1.124; P = 0.854). National university-affiliated hospitals showed less cardiopulmonary arrest rate than private university-affiliated in 2015 (1.92 vs. 2.40; OR, 0.800; 95% CI, 0.702 to 0.912; P = 0.001). High-volume hospitals showed lower cardiopulmonary arrest rates compared with medium-volume hospitals in 2013 (1.76 vs. 2.63; OR, 0.667; 95% CI, 0.577 to 0.772; P < 0.001) and in 2015 (1.55 vs. 3.20; OR, 0.485; 95% CI, 0.428 to 0.550; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: RRSs may be a feasible option to reduce the CPR rate. The discrepancy in cardiopulmonary arrest rates suggests further research should include a nationwide survey to tease out factors involved in in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest and differences in outcomes based on hospital characteristics.
Adult ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Heart Arrest* ; Hospitals, High-Volume ; Humans ; Incidence ; Motivation* ; Patient Safety ; Patients' Rooms ; Pilot Projects* ; Quality of Health Care ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers

The title of page 189 should be corrected.

Rupture limited to the lobar bronchus from blunt trauma is especially rare, and the symptoms are light so diagnosis is difficult. In a patient who visited the hospital complaining of shortness of breath after falling down, atelectasis continued in the chest x-ray. Four days after visiting the hospital, a left upper lobar bronchial rupture was diagnosed through a bronchoscopy and 3 dimensional chest computerized tomography. When diagnosis is delayed in the case of a rupture limited to the lobar bronchus, bronchial obstruction can occur from the formation of granulation tissue, so regular monitoring is important. Therefore, when atelectasis continues after blunt trauma, it is important to differentially diagnose a lobar bronchial rupture through tests such as bronchoscopy.
Bronchi ; Bronchoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Granulation Tissue ; Humans ; Lung Injury ; Pulmonary Atelectasis* ; Rupture* ; Thorax

We report two cases of toxic methemoglobinemia caused by an inert ingredient in pesticide product after intentional ingestion of pesticide. First, 51-year-old male visited to the emergency department (ED) after the ingestion of pesticide in a suicide attempt. Initial methemoglobin (MetHb) level was 25.6%. We did not know the cause of methemoglobinemia at that time. Second, 56-year-old female visited to the ED after the ingestion of the same pesticide in a suicide attempt. MetHb level after 30 minutes was 16.1%. The patients were treated with methylene blue. We contacted to the Korean Rural Development Administration and estimated that magnesium nitrate was more likely to cause methemoglobinemia. This report highlights the importance of considering the possibility of methemoglobinemia caused by inert ingredient in pesticide and early antidotal therapy.
Eating* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Humans ; Magnesium ; Male ; Methemoglobin ; Methemoglobinemia* ; Methylene Blue ; Middle Aged ; Pesticides ; Social Planning ; Suicide