Risk Factors For Hospital Death Research Articles

A multicenter clinical study of critically ill patients with sepsis complicated with acute kidney injury in Beijing: incidence, clinical characteristics and outcomes

To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and prognosis of critically ill patients with sepsis combined with acute kidney injury (AKI) in intensive care unit (ICU) in Beijing, and to analyze the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality among these critically ill patients. Data were collected from the Beijing AKI Trial (BAKIT) database, including 9 049 patients consecutively admitted to 30 ICUs in 28 tertiary hospitals in Beijing from March 1 to August 31, 2012. Patients were divided into non-AKI and non-sepsis group, AKI and non-sepsis group, non-AKI and sepsis group, AKI and sepsis group. Clinical data recorded included demographic characteristics, primary reasons for ICU admission, comorbidities, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II(APACHE II) within 24 hours of ICU admission, physiological and laboratory indexes, treatment in the ICU, AKI staging based on the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), as well as the prognostic indicators including length of stay in ICU, length of stay in hospital, ICU and in-hospital mortality. The primary endpoint was discharge or in-hospital death. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the risk factors for hospital death in ICU patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn to analyze the cumulative survival of ICU patients during hospitalization. A total of 3 107 critically ill patients were ultimately enrolled, including 1 259 cases in the non-AKI and non-sepsis group, 931 cases in the AKI and non-sepsis group, 264 cases in the non-AKI and sepsis groups, and 653 cases in the AKI and sepsis group. Compared with the other three group, patients in the AKI and sepsis group were the oldest, had the lowest mean arterial pressure (MAP), and the highest APACHE II score, SOFA score, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (SCr) levels, and they also had the highest proportion of receiving mechanical ventilation, requiring vasopressor support, and undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT), all P < 0.01. Of these 3 107 patients, 1 584 (51.0%) were diagnosed with AKI, and the incidence of AKI in patients with sepsis was significantly higher than in those without sepsis [71.2% (653/917) vs. 42.5% (931/2 190), P < 0.01]. The highest proportion of KDIGO 0 stage was observed in the non-sepsis group (57.5%), while the highest proportion of KDIGO 3 stage was observed in the sepsis group (32.2%). Within the same KDIGO stage, the mortality of patients with sepsis was significantly higher than that of non-sepsis patients (0 stage: 17.8% vs. 3.1%, 1 stage: 36.3% vs. 7.4%, 2 stage: 42.7% vs. 17.1%, 3 stage: 54.6% vs. 28.6%, AKI: 46.1% vs. 14.2%). The ICU mortality (38.7%) and in-hospital mortality (46.1%) in the AKI and sepsis group were significantly higher than those in the other three groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curves further showed that the cumulative survival rate of patients with AKI and sepsis during hospitalization was significantly lower than that of the other three groups (53.9% vs. 96.9%, 85.8%, 82.2%, Log-Rank: χ 2 = 379.901, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that among surviving patients, length of ICU stay and total length of hospital stay were significantly longer in the AKI and sepsis group than those in the other three groups (both P < 0.01). Multivariate regression analysis showed that age, APACHE II score and SOFA score within 24 hours of ICU admission, coronary heart disease, AKI, sepsis, and AKI combined with sepsis were independent risk factors for ICU mortality in patients (all P < 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, AKI, sepsis, and sepsis combined with AKI were significantly associated with higher ICU and in-hospital mortality, with the highest ICU mortality [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 14.82, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 8.10-27.12; Hosmer-Lemeshow test: P = 0.816] and in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR = 7.40, 95%CI was 4.94-11.08; Hosmer-Lemeshow test: P = 0.708) observed in patients with sepsis combined with AKI. The incidence of AKI is high in sepsis patients, and those with both AKI and sepsis have a higher disease burden, more abnormalities in physiological and laboratory indicators, and significantly increased ICU and in-hospital mortality. Among surviving patients, the length of ICU stay and total length of hospital stay are also longer in the AKI and sepsis group. Age, APACHE II score and SOFA score within 24 hours of ICU admission, coronary heart disease, AKI, and sepsis are independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality in ICU patients.

CAUSES OF AN UNFRIENDLY CLINICAL OUTCOME OF MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION AGGRAVATED BY CARDIOGENIC SHOCK: A SINGLE-CENTER RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Summary. Aim. Search for risk factors of adverse clinical outcome of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS).&#x0D; Materials and methods. 1,292 consecutive patients with AMI treated by emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the reperfusion center of Zaitsev V.T. Institute for General and Emergency Surgery NAMS of Ukraine were selected. 54 out of 1292 patients (4.2%) matched the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) criteria of CS stage C and higher either on admission or during hospitalization.&#x0D; Results. The overall hospital mortality in patients with CS due to AMI in our series was 59.3%. Univariant analysis revealed that the age of 65 and higher, left ventricular ejection fraction &lt;40%, a single-vessel coronary lesion, absence of concomitant chronic total occlusion (CTO), reperfusion deterioration and cardiac arrest were the only risk factors for hospital death in CS patients. The risk of CS progression was independently associated with anemic syndrome (Hb &lt; 118 g/l), chronic total occlusion, and multivessel coronary disease. In a multivariant logistic regression the preexisting LV EF&#x0D; &lt;40%, single-vessel disease and absence of CTO were found as the independent predictors of hospital mortality in СS.&#x0D; Conclusions. СS in patients with AMI still be a significant challenge even after successful PCI, associated with high in-hospital mortality (59.3%). There is an unmet need for development and implementation of an adjusted registry-based national protocol for CS management in order to improve patient survival.

197. A Predictive Model for the Prompt Identification of Suspected Sepsis Patients with High Death Risk

Abstract Background How to improve the high mortality rate of sepsis? The prompt identification of at-risk patients, and the interdisciplinary sepsis treatment protocol implementation are interventions that can reverse such unacceptable outcome. The objective of our study is to summarize main results of the protocol for the management of sepsis and septic shock, implemented at Biocor Instituto, a general hospital in Belo Horizonte, a 3,000,000 inhabitants city from Brazil. Methods Prospective cohort study of patients with sepsis, evaluated between May/2018-Apr/2020. Univariate and multivariate analysis by logistic regression to identify risk factors for hospital death. Results Over 28 months, 220 patients were included in sepsis protocol: 121 hospital deaths, a crude mortality = 121/220 = 55% (95%C.I. = [48%;62%]). 136 patients (62%) came from the emergency room. In 97 cases (44%) it was possible to isolate 111 microorganisms, with a predominance of Klebsiella, E.coli, and S.aureus. 75% of the cases (165) had definition of APACHE, with the absolute majority of these (88%) having APACHE between 25 and 40. Most patients (52%) received antibiotic (ATB) in 15 minutes and only 4% received ATB after 60 minutes of waiting time. In 198 patients (90%) it was possible to identify the focus of sepsis, with a predominance of pulmonary (47%), urinary (21%) and abdominal (15%). Hospital mortality varied from 30 to 62%, when the focus was pulmonary (p-value = 0.045). In univariate analysis (Figure 1), pulmonary sepsis, creatinine, lactate, and APACHE were significantly associated with hospital death. The time for ATB administration was typically close to 20 minutes, and time to receive the therapeutic antibiotic were not associated with the patient’s death. By using the logistic model (Figure 2) to assign cases of predicted hospital death for probabilities &amp;gt;= 0.5 and controls for probabilities &amp;lt; 0.5, the prediction model had a sensitivity of 0.68 (0.59–0.76), a specificity of 0.58 (0.48–0.67), an area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.75 (0.68–0.82). There was no significant difference between observed versus expected mortality by APACHE (Figure 3). Figure 1. Univariate analysis to identify risk factors for hospital death. Figure 2. Logistic model for predicting hospital death. Figure 3. Observed X Expected/severity-adjusted mortality (APACHE). Conclusion The logistic model developed uses only creatinine and lactate data to predict suspected sepsis patients with high death risk. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Characteristics and Outcomes of US Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19.

Understanding COVID-19 epidemiology is crucial to clinical care and to clinical trial design and interpretation. To describe characteristics, treatment, and outcomes among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 early in the pandemic. A retrospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients with laboratory-confirmed, symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to 57 US hospitals from March 1 to April 1, 2020. Of 1480 inpatients with COVID-19, median (IQR) age was 62.0 (49.4-72.9) years, 649 (43.9%) were female, and 822 of 1338 (61.4%) were non-White or Hispanic/Latino. Intensive care unit admission occurred in 575 patients (38.9%), mostly within 4 days of hospital presentation. Respiratory failure affected 583 patients (39.4%), including 284 (19.2%) within 24 hours of hospital presentation and 413 (27.9%) who received invasive mechanical ventilation. Median (IQR) hospital stay was 8 (5-15) days overall and 15 (9-24) days among intensive care unit patients. Hospital mortality was 17.7% (n = 262). Risk factors for hospital death identified by penalized multivariable regression included older age; male sex; comorbidity burden; symptoms-to-admission interval; hypotension; hypoxemia; and higher white blood cell count, creatinine level, respiratory rate, and heart rate. Of 1218 survivors, 221 (18.1%) required new respiratory support at discharge and 259 of 1153 (22.5%) admitted from home required new health care services. In a geographically diverse early-pandemic COVID-19 cohort with complete hospital folllow-up, hospital mortality was associated with older age, comorbidity burden, and male sex. Intensive care unit admissions occurred early and were associated with protracted hospital stays. Survivors often required new health care services or respiratory support at discharge.

Undernutrition as an Aggravating Risk for Hospital Death in Critically Ill Children with Cancer

ABSTRACT Objectives Undernourished children with cancer are at major risk for adverse outcomes. We intended to model nutritional status as risk factor for hospital death. Methods Retrospective analysis of two cohorts of children admitted in an oncology/hematology intensive care unit. Logistic regression was used for model building. Results The derivation cohort had 155 patients, with a median age of 104.9 mo., and 36 deaths (23.2%). Twenty-eight children (18.1%) had the z score of the body mass index < −2. A multivariate model with the variables “relapse of oncological disease” (Odds Ratio 3.14, P = 0.025), “surgical case” (OR 0.22, P = 0.002), “intubation/mechanical ventilation” (OR 8.38, P = 0.000) and “body mass index z score < −2” (OR 3.21, P = 0.024) generated a logit with good predictive capacity for “hospital death”. In the validation cohort, with 450 patients (median age of 92.7 mo.), the model was able to predict 55.5 of the 58 observed deaths (Standardized Mortality Rate = 1.04, 95% CI 0.80–1.34, P = 0.72), with P = 0.68 in the Hosmer test. The AUC was 0.90 (95% CI 0.86–0.93). Conclusion Undernutrition increases the risk of death, and is a variable that should be included in predictive mortality algorithms.

Факторы неблагоприятного клинического исхода инфаркта миокарда, осложненного кардиогенным шоком: результаты одноцентрового ретроспективного исследования

Цель работы – определить факторы риска неблагоприятного клинического исхода острого инфаркта миокарда (ОИМ), осложненного кардиогенным шоком (КШ).Материалы и методы. В пилотное ретроспективное исследование были отобраны 1292 пациента, поступивших в реперфузионный центр Института общей и неотложной хирургии имени В.Т. Зайцева НАМН Украины по поводу ОИМ для проведения ургентного первичного чрескожного коронарного вмешательства (ЧКВ). У 54 пациентов имелись признаки КШ стадии С и выше согласно критериям Общества по сердечно-сосудистой ангиографии и вмешательствам (SCAI). Результаты и обсуждение. Частота выявления КШ среди пациентов с ОИМ, которым проводилось ургентное ЧКВ, составила 4,2 % при уровне госпитальной летальности 59,3 %. Однофакторный анализ выявил, что возраст ≥ 65 лет, предшествующая фракция выброса левого желудочка &lt; 40 %, однососудистое поражение коронарных артерий, отсутствие сопутствующей хронической окклюзии, ухудшение состояния вследствие реперфузии и кардиальный арест являлись факторами риска госпитальной смерти больных с КШ вследствие ОИМ. Риск прогрессирования КШ был независимо связан с наличием анемического синдрома (гемоглобин крови &lt; 118 г/л), хронической тотальной окклюзией и многососудистым поражением коронарных артерий. При проведении многофакторного регрессионного анализа было установлено, что исходная фракция выброса левого желудочка менее 40 %, многососудистое поражение и хроническая тотальная окклюзия являлись независимыми предикторами госпитальной летальности при КШ, причем два последних фактора уменьшали шансы смерти.Выводы. КШ у пациентов с ОИМ остается серьезной проблемой даже после выполнения успешной ургентной ЧКВ, ассоциируясь с высокой госпитальной летальностью (59,3 %). Существует необходимость в разработке адаптированного национального протокола лечения КШ на основе единого регистра с целью улучшения выживаемости больных.

Early Active Irrigation-Suction Drainage among Enterocutaneous Fistulas Patients with Chronic Critical Illness: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Enterocutaneous fistulas (ECFs) requiring admission to ICU is a serious surgical complication. A growing number of patients survive ECFs but remain chronically critically ill. The aim of our study was to investigate the risk factors of hospital death in patients with chronic critical illness attributed to ECFs. A retrospective single-center study was conducted in 163 ECF patients between 2013 and 2017. Patient-specific baseline characteristics, outcomes, and process of care variables were collected. Risk factors for hospital mortality were determined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Patients were divided into the following two groups according to the hospital discharge outcome: group survivors (n = 106) and group nonsurvivors (n = 57). Patients who received active irrigation-suction drainage (AISD) within 24 hours after the diagnosis of ECFs had a significantly lower hospital mortality rate than those who received AISD after more than 24 hours (17.9% vs 46.9%, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that delayed AISD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 10.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.03-34.59; P < 0.001) and no rehabilitation therapy (AOR, 4.77; 95% CI, 1.43-15.98; P = 0.011) were independently associated with a greater risk of hospital mortality. The hospital mortality rate in patients with more than or equal to four risk factors was 92.6 per cent (n = 57), compared with a mortality rate of 9.4 per cent (n = 106) in patients who did not have these risk factors (P < 0.001). The risk of hospital death is exceptionally high among patients with chronic critical illness attributed to ECFs. Efforts aimed at early AISD and rehabilitation therapy are likely to be associated with improved clinical outcomes.

Socioeconomic position and use of healthcare in the last year of life: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundLow socioeconomic position (SEP) is recognized as a risk factor for worse health outcomes. How socioeconomic factors influence end-of-life care, and the magnitude of their effect, is not understood. This review aimed to synthesise and quantify the associations between measures of SEP and use of healthcare in the last year of life.Methods and findingsMEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ASSIA databases were searched without language restrictions from inception to 1 February 2019. We included empirical observational studies from high-income countries reporting an association between SEP (e.g., income, education, occupation, private medical insurance status, housing tenure, housing quality, or area-based deprivation) and place of death, plus use of acute care, specialist and nonspecialist end-of-life care, advance care planning, and quality of care in the last year of life. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS). The overall strength and direction of associations was summarised, and where sufficient comparable data were available, adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were pooled and dose-response meta-regression performed.A total of 209 studies were included (mean NOS quality score of 4.8); 112 high- to medium-quality observational studies were used in the meta-synthesis and meta-analysis (53.5% from North America, 31.0% from Europe, 8.5% from Australia, and 7.0% from Asia). Compared to people living in the least deprived neighbourhoods, people living in the most deprived neighbourhoods were more likely to die in hospital versus home (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.23–1.38, p < 0.001), to receive acute hospital-based care in the last 3 months of life (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.08–1.25, p < 0.001), and to not receive specialist palliative care (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07–1.19, p < 0.001). For every quintile increase in area deprivation, hospital versus home death was more likely (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.05–1.08, p < 0.001), and not receiving specialist palliative care was more likely (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.02–1.05, p < 0.001). Compared to the most educated (qualifications or years of education completed), the least educated people were more likely to not receive specialist palliative care (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.07–1.49, p = 0.005).The observational nature of the studies included and the focus on high-income countries limit the conclusions of this review.ConclusionsIn high-income countries, low SEP is a risk factor for hospital death as well as other indicators of potentially poor-quality end-of-life care, with evidence of a dose response indicating that inequality persists across the social stratum. These findings should stimulate widespread efforts to reduce socioeconomic inequality towards the end of life.

Clinical features and outcomes of patients with the cardio-renal syndrome admitting to a surgical intensive care unit

To investigate the clinical features and risk factors on outcomes of patients with cardio-renal syndrome (CRS) in surgical intensive care unit (SICU). The clinical data of the patients admitted to SICU of Peking University People's Hospital from January 1st 2017 to December 31st 2017 were analyzed retrospectively, including gender, age, severity of the disease, underlying diseases, type of CRS, precipitating factors of CRS, cardiac and renal function [cardiac troponin I (cTnI), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), serum creatinine (SCr), glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)], outcomes [secondary outcomes, duration of mechanical ventilation, the length of ICU stay, the length of hospital stay, 28-day mortality and hospital mortality]. Patients were grouped according to CRS classification or hospitalization prognosis, the clinical features within different CRS types were analyzed, and risk factors on outcomes of the CRS patients were analysed by Logistic regression. 86 (7.3%) of the 1 172 patients during the study period had CRS. (1) CRS clinical features: CRS 1-5 type patients accounted for 24.4% (21 cases), 1.2% (1 case), 20.9% (18 cases), 1.2% (1 case) and 52.3% (45 cases) respectively, CRS type 1, 3 and 5 were the main types (i.e. acute cardiac and renal dysfunction), while type 5 CRS was the highest (i.e. organ dysfunction caused by simultaneous involvement of cardiac and renal functions secondary to systemic diseases was the most common). Baseline BNP (Z = 11.365, P = 0.023), SCr peak (Z = 13.405, P = 0.009) and baseline eGFR (F = 2.648, P = 0.037) were significantly different within the CRS 5 types. The basic cardiac function of type 1 CRS patients was significantly worse than that of type 3 and type 5 CRS patients [baseline BNP (μg/L): 434.2 (187.0, 1 252.0) vs. 154.9 (66.4, 272.5), 268.5 (124.1, 486.6), both P < 0.05]. The basic renal function of type 3 CRS patients was significantly worse than that of type 5 CRS patients [baseline eGFR (mL/min): 71.0±30.3 vs. 88.3±29.0, P < 0.05]. The severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) in type 3 CRS patients was significantly higher than that in type 1 and type 5 CRS patients [SCr peak (μmol/L): 285.0 (171.5, 420.6) vs. 143.0 (99.5, 213.5), 189.0 (105.5, 280.5), both P < 0.01]. There were no significant differences in gender, age, department, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), intraoperative blood loss, basic cTnI and SCr levels, BNP peak, AKI staging and prognostic indicators among patients with various types of CRS. (2) Death risk analysis: 43 (50%) of the 86 CRS patients died during the hospital stay. Compared with the survival patients, CRS death patients were older [years old: 72 (57, 80) vs. 62 (50, 73)] and had higher APACHE II score [22 (17, 29) vs. 18 (15, 21)], with higher proportion of cerebrovascular disease (9.3% vs. 0). Regarding to precipitating factors of CRS, sepsis/septic shock (41.9% vs. 18.6%) and surgery stress (9.3% vs. 0) were remarkably increased in death patients. Death patients had higher cTnI and SCr peak [cTnI peak (μg/L): 1.155 (0.192, 5.125) vs. 0.122 (0.045, 0.610), SCr peak (μmol/L): 208 (143, 295) vs. 146 (101, 289)] and also high proportion of AKI stage 3 (41.9% vs. 20.9%), higher rate of secondary infection (67.4% vs. 30.2%), prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation and the length of ICU stay [hours: 179 (61, 470) vs. 37 (7, 134); days: 10 (4, 24) vs. 5 (2, 11)], with statistically significant differences (all P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the elderly [odds ratio (OR) = 1.053, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 1.003-1.094, P = 0.010], high APACHE II score (OR = 1.165, 95%CI = 1.057-1.285, P = 0.002), sepsis/septic shock (OR = 4.561, 95%CI = 1.351-15.391, P = 0.014) and AKI stage 3 (OR = 5.468, 95%CI = 1.457-20.530, P = 0.012) were independent risk factors for hospital death in CRS patients. Surgical ICU patients with CRS are characterized by acute cardiac and renal dysfunction. CRS type 5 is the most common and has a high fatality rate. Age, severity of illness, sepsis/septic shock and AKI stage 3 are independent risk factors of death.

Acute respiratory failure due to Pneumocystis pneumonia in connective tissue disease patients: clinical manifestation and prognostic factors related to hospital mortality

Objective: To investigate the clinical manifestations and prognostic factors of hospital death in connective tissue disease patients with acute respiratory failure caused by pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) admitted to two medical intensive care units(MICU). Methods: A retrospective review was conducted for all connective tissue disease (CTD) patients with acute respiratory failure from PCP in MICU of 2 academic medical centers between 2010 and 2015. The patients were divided into survivors and non-survivors. Demographic and clinical data, including laboratory, radiological and microbiological findings, as well as therapy, clinical course, mortality and prognostic factors of hospital mortality were included in the analysis. Logistic regression models were used to determine the effect of prognostic factors on hospital death after adjusting for covariates of which the p values were less than 0.1. Results: A total of 41 patients with connective tissue disease were identified. The PaO(2)/FiO(2) ratio (PFR) on ICU admission was 120 mmHg(55-180 mmHg, 1 mmHg=0.133 kPa). Common clinical features included dyspnea (90.2%, 37/41), fever (87.8%, 36/41) and dry cough(65.9%, 30/41). 58.5%(24/41) and 17.1%(7/41) patients were co-infected by CMV and aspergillus, respectively. The overall mortality rate was 75.6%(31/41). Compared with survivors, the age, APACHEⅡ score and incidence of barotrauma in non-survivors were higher (39±17 vs 58±15, t=3.018, P=0.002), (15±6 vs 19±5, t=2.528, P=0.019), (0/10 vs 12/31, χ(2)=5.473, P=0.021), while PFR on ICU admission was lower in non-survivors (172±68 vs 116±49, t=-1.893, P=0.007). Logistic analysis showed that PFR on ICU admission was the independent risk factor for hospital death (OR=1.004, 95%CI: 1.002-1.006, P=0.048). Conclusions: Mortality rate among patients with acute respiratory failure secondary to CTD related PCP is still high, and the poor prognostic factors of hospital mortality included PFR on ICU admission and barotrauma.

Early reperfusion strategy improves the outcomes of surgery for type A acute aortic dissection with malperfusion

ObjectiveThe control of malperfusion is the key to improving the outcomes of surgery for type A acute aortic dissection. We revised our treatment strategy to reperfuse each ischemic organ before central repair. MethodsOur current early reperfusion strategy consists of percutaneous coronary artery intervention for coronary malperfusion, direct surgical fenestration for carotid artery occlusion, active perfusion of the superior mesenteric artery for visceral malperfusion, and external shunting from the brachial artery to the femoral artery for lower limb ischemia. Central repair is performed without delay after reperfusion therapy, but if irreversible organ damage is recognized, further aggressive treatment is discontinued. ResultsAmong 438 patients who underwent initial treatment for type A acute aortic dissection, malperfusion in one or more organs was diagnosed in 108 patients (24%). We applied an early reperfusion strategy in 33 patients, (coronary, 14 patients; carotid, 4; visceral, 7; lower extremity, 8). Central repair was then performed in 28 patients. One patient (3.6%) died of pneumonia; 27 patients overcame the ischemic organ damage and survived. Among the 108 patients with malperfusion, 10 patients (9.3%) were treated medically without early reperfusion and central repair. During the same period, mortality from central repair procedures in patients with malperfusion who had not received early reperfusion therapy was 12 of 65 (18%), and the mortality of patients without malperfusion was 9 of 262 (3.4%). Malperfusion was a serious risk factor for hospital death, but the mortality rate of the patients with an early reperfusion strategy was significantly (P < .01) lower than the patients without early reperfusion. ConclusionsOur strategy might improve the outcomes of surgery for type A acute aortic dissection with malperfusion. This strategy enables us to avoid unproductive central repair procedures in irreversibly damaged patients.

Short- and long-term outcomes following redo valvular surgery.

We reviewed our experience in redo valvular surgery to evaluate trends in short- and long-term outcomes. We reviewed 414 patients (mean age, 62.8 ± 13.6 years) who underwent redo valvular surgery in the past 25 years. A total of 301 patients (54.2%) underwent first-time redo valvular surgeries; 178 (32.1%) were second redos, 60 (10.8%) were third redos, and 16 were fourth redos (2.9%). The mean follow-up period was 6.8 ± 6.3 years. Hospital mortality was 5.8%. New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV (P = 0.0007, odds ratio = 4.403) and hemodialysis (P = 0.0383, odds ratio = 7.196) were risk factors for hospital death. Long-term survival rates at 15 and 20 years were 64.7% ± 4.3% and 59.1% ± 5.0%, respectively. Predictors of late death were first time redo (P = 0.0076, hazard ratio = 0.422) and age younger than 61 years (P = 0.0005, hazard ratio = 0.229). There were significant differences in long-term survival between NYHA classes I/II and III/IV (log-rank test, P = 0.0419) and between the time from redo surgery (log-rank test, P = 0.0189) and age (log-rank test, P = 0.0001). The hospital mortality rate for redo valve surgery has improved. Early referral for redo surgery can contribute to improving early and late outcomes.

Risk factors for hospital death in conditions needing palliative care: Nationwide population-based death certificate study

Background: Most people would prefer to die at home as opposed to hospital; therefore, understanding mortality patterns by place of death is essential for health resources allocation. Aim: We examined trends and risk factors for hospital death in conditions needing palliative care in a country without integrated palliative care. Design: This is a death certificate study. We examined factors associated with hospital death using logistic regression. Setting/participants: All adults (1,045,381) who died between 2003 and 2012 in Portugal were included. We identified conditions needing palliative care from main causes of death: cancer, heart/cerebrovascular, renal, liver, respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases, dementia/Alzheimer’s/senility and HIV/AIDS. Results: Conditions needing palliative care were responsible for 70.7% deaths (N = 738,566, median age 80); heart and cerebrovascular diseases (43.9%) and cancer (32.2%) accounted for most. There was a trend towards hospital death (standardised percentage: 56.3% in 2003, 66.7% in 2012; adjusted odds ratio: 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.04–1.04). Hospital death risk was higher for those aged 18–39 years (3.46, 3.25–3.69 vs aged 90+), decreasing linearly with age; lower in dementia/Alzheimer’s/senility versus cancer (0.13, 0.13–0.13); and higher for the married and in HIV/AIDS (3.31, 3.00–3.66). Effects of gender, working status, weekday and month of death, hospital beds availability, urbanisation level and deprivation were small. Conclusion: The upward hospital death trend and fact that being married are risk factors for hospital death suggest that a reliance on hospitals may coexist with a tradition of extended family support. The sustainability of this model needs to be assessed within the global transition pattern in where people die.

Impact of anemia on short-term survival in severe COPD exacerbations: a cohort study

PurposeAnemia is reported to be an independent predictor of hospitalizations and survival in COPD. However, little is known of its impact on short-term survival during severe COPD exacerbations. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether the presence of anemia increases the risk of death in acute respiratory failure due to severe COPD exacerbations.Patients and methodsConsecutive patients with COPD exacerbation who were admitted to the intensive care unit with the diagnosis of acute respiratory failure and required either invasive or noninvasive ventilation (NIV) were analyzed.ResultsA total of 106 patients (78.3% male; median age 71 years) were included in the study; of them 22 (20.8%) needed invasive ventilation immediately and 84 (79.2%) were treated with NIV. NIV failure was observed in 38 patients. Anemia was present in 50% of patients, and 39 patients (36.8%) died during hospital stay. When compared to nonanemic patients, hospital mortality was significantly higher in the anemic group (20.8% vs 52.8%, respectively; P=0.001). Stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that presence of anemia and NIV failure were independent predictors of hospital mortality with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 3.99 ([1.39–11.40]; P=0.010) and 2.56 ([1.60–4.09]; P<0.001), respectively. Anemia was not associated with long-term survival in this cohort.ConclusionAnemia may be a risk factor for hospital death in severe COPD exacerbations requiring mechanical ventilatory support.

Optimal timing of surgery for active infective endocarditis with cerebral complications: a Japanese multicentre study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the timing of valve surgery on the clinical outcomes of patients with active infective endocarditis (IE) accompanied by cerebral complications. We retrospectively analysed a cohort of 568 patients, comprising 118 with non-haemorrhagic cerebral infarction (CI), 54 with intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) and 396 without cerebral events (C; control), who underwent surgery for left-sided active IE in 15 Japanese institutes from 2000 to 2011. The mean age was 58.4 ± 16.9 years in the CI group; 54.5 ± 17.4 years in the ICH group and 56.9 ± 16.0 years in the C group. Clinical outcomes were analysed according to the timing of surgery after the diagnosis of CI or ICH was made. In the CI group, there were 9 (7.6%) hospital deaths, 13 (11%) new cerebral events and 1 (0.8%) redo valve surgery. In the ICH group, there were 3 (5.6%) hospital deaths, 8 (14.8%) new cerebral events and 2 (3.7%) redo valve surgeries. In the C group, there were 36 (9.1%) hospital deaths, 23 (5.8%) new cerebral events and 9 (2.3%) redo valve surgeries. Risk factors for hospital death were prosthetic valve endocarditis (P = 0.045), high C-reactive protein (CRP; P < 0.001) and the elderly (P < 0.001) in the CI group. Delayed surgery (2 weeks after CI) seemed result in a higher incidence of hospital death in the CI group. Patients who had surgery between 15 and 28 days or after 29 days from the onset of CI had higher incidences of hospital death [odds ratio 5.90 (P = 0.107) and 4.92 (P = 0.137), respectively] compared with those who had surgery within 7 days. In the ICH group, risk factors for hospital death were high CRP (P = 0.002) and elderly (P < 0.001). Contrary to CI patients, patients who had surgery between 8 and 21 days or after 22 days after the onset of ICH had lower incidences of hospital death [odds ratio 0.79 (P = 0.843) and 0.12 (P = 0.200), respectively] compared with those who had surgery within 7 days. Although statistically insignificant, early surgery in active IE patients with CI is safe, but very early surgery (within 7 days) should be avoided in patients with ICH.

Is Conventional Open Repair Still a Good Option for Aortic Arch Aneurysm in Patients of Advanced Age?

Although thoracic endovascular aortic repair has advantages in elderly patients, it is not always applicable, and some elderly patients require open surgical repair. Between 2008 and 2014, 157 patients (11 men) older then 75 years (mean age, 79.3 ± 3.3 years) underwent conventional total arch replacement, of which 39 were emergency operations. Coexisting diseases included remote stroke in 54 patients, coronary artery disease in 64, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 25, and chronic kidney disease in 112. Concomitant procedures were performed in 46 patients. Mean follow-up time was 2.9 ± 1.8 years. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 251.1 ± 68.4 minutes. Mean lowest nasopharyngeal temperature was 23.2° ± 3.4 °C. The hospital mortality rate was 7.6% (12 of 157) overall, 5.1% in elective cases, and 15.4% in emergency cases. Postoperative complications included permanent neurologic dysfunction in 5.7% of patients and prolonged ventilation time exceeding 72 hours in 13.4%. No spinal cord complications occurred. The 1-year and 5-year survival rates were 88.2% and 69.2% in all cases and 91.3% and 77.0% in elective cases, respectively. Univariate analysis demonstrated that risk factors for hospital death in elective cases were chronic kidney disease (odds ratio, 4.00; p = 0.028) and ventilation time exceeding 72 hours (odds ratio, 13.3; p = 0.001). Even in patients older than 75 years, recent surgical results of conventional open arch repair were acceptable, especially in elective cases. Thus, conventional open surgical aortic arch replacement remains a good option, especially in patients with preserved renal function.

Total arterial off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting was not associated with inferior outcomes for diabetic when compared with non-diabetic patients.

Diabetes mellitus is a strong risk factor that worsens the clinical outcome of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). With the development of the off-pump CABG technique, there is a current trend in revascularization strategies towards in situ all-arterial grafting. We were interested in whether total arterial off-pump CABG could improve the outcome for diabetic patients. From January 2002 to December 2013, a total of 1064 patients underwent off-pump CABG at our institution, with total arterial reconstruction carried out in 775 cases. Of the 775 patients, 436 had diabetes (DM) and 339 did not (nDM). After propensity score matching, 301 cases from each group were successfully matched. All procedures were performed via the off-pump technique without conversion to on-pump. Four patients in the DM group and 1 in the nDM group died in hospital. Multivariate analysis revealed that chronic pulmonary disease [odds ratio (OR) 7.04, P = 0.036] and low (<40%) ejection fraction (OR 11.3, P = 0.009) are independent risk factors for hospital death, and advanced age for deep sternal infection (OR 1.07, P = 0.04). Follow-up was completed in 97.7% of the patients to a maximum of 11.9 years. The rate of 10-year freedom from all-cause mortality was 84.2% in the DM and 74.3% in the nDM group (P = 0.45). The corresponding rates for major adverse cardiac event were 93.3 and 86.9% (P = 0.09). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed chronic renal failure, older age, cerebrovascular accident, low ejection fraction and urgency as significant predictors of late death. Diabetes was not associated with any long- or short-term outcome. Total arterial off-pump CABG using skeletonization technique can provide similar clinical outcome for diabetic patients in the long as well as in the short term as that for non-diabetic patients.

Patterns of early resuscitation associated with mortality after penetrating injuries.

Penetrating injuries are rare in European populations so their management represents a particular challenge. The aim was to assess early therapeutic aspects that are associated with favourable outcomes in patients with penetrating trauma. Patients with penetrating injuries documented from 2009 to 2013 in the TraumaRegister DGU® were analysed. Patients with a primary admission and an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of at least 9 were included. The Revised Injury Severity Classification (RISC) II score was used for mortality prediction, and a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) calculated per hospital. Hospitals with favourable outcome (SMR below 1) were compared with those with poor outcome (SMR 1 or more). A total of 50 centres had favourable outcome (1242 patients; observed mortality rate 15.7 per cent) and 34 centres had poor outcome (918 patients; observed mortality rate 24.4 per cent). Predicted mortality rates according to RISC-II were 20.4 and 20.5 per cent respectively. Mean(s.d.) ISS values were 22(14) versus 21(14) (P = 0.121). Patients in the favourable outcome group had a significantly shorter time before admission to hospital and a lower intubation rate. They received smaller quantities of intravenous fluids on admission to the emergency room, but larger amounts of fresh frozen plasma, and were more likely to receive haemostatic agents. A higher proportion of patients in the favourable outcome group were treated in a level I trauma centre. Independent risk factors for hospital death following penetrating trauma identified by multivariable analysis included gunshot injury mechanism and treatment in non-level I centres. Among penetrating traumas, gunshot injuries pose an independent risk of death. Treatment of penetrating trauma in a level I trauma centre was significantly and independently associated with lower hospital mortality.

Impact of Total Arterial Reconstruction on Long-Term Mortality and Morbidity: Off-Pump Total Arterial Reconstruction Versus Non-Total Arterial Reconstruction

We were interested in how favorable an influence total arterial reconstruction has on the clinical outcome of patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery. From January 2002 to December 2013, a total of 1,064 patients underwent isolated off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery at our institution. Of these 1,064 patients, 763 underwent total arterial revascularization (AR) and 301 underwent a combination of artery and vein revascularization (AVR). We compared the clinical results between the two groups using the propensity score matching technique. In all, 260 cases from the AVR group and 520 from the AR group were successfully matched. All procedures were performed using the off-pump technique without conversion to on-pump. Eight patients in the AVR group (3.1%) and 5 in the AR group (1.0%) died in hospital. Multivariate analysis revealed that chronic kidney disease (odds ratio 6.9, p < 0.001), urgency (odds ratio 7.3, p < 0.001), and body mass index (odds ratio 1.3, p = 0.02) were independent risk factors for hospital death. Follow-up was complete for 97.6% of the patients to a maximum of 13 years. According to the Kaplan-Meier method, the rate of 12-year freedom from all causes of death was 69.7% for the AVR group and 72.6% for the AR group (p = 0.002), and the corresponding rates for major adverse cardiac events were 83.9% and 87.7% (p = 0.009). By multivariate Cox regression analysis, total arterial reconstruction was identified as a preventive factor for late cardiac events. Total arterial revascularization has some degree of favorable effect on the long-term clinical outcome of patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Prosthetic vascular graft infection through a median sternotomy: a multicentre review †.

The aim of this study is to analyse the treatment outcomes of thoracic prosthetic graft infection. A retrospective chart review was conducted at six hospitals and included the records of 68 patients treated for postoperative prosthetic vascular graft infection (mean age: 62.3 ± 15.1, male 51) from January 2000 to December 2013. The number of patients and the locations of the treated infections were as follows: 13 for aortic root, 16 for ascending aorta, 35 for aortic arch and 4 for aortic root to arch. In-hospital infection occurred in 43 patients and after discharge in 25. The mean follow-up time was 2.0 ± 2.3 years. The follow-up rate was 94.1%. The most commonly isolated micro-organism was Staphylococcus aureus (72.1%). Rereplacement of infectious graft was performed in 18 patients (Dacron graft in 12, homograft in 4 and rifampicin-bonded Dacron graft in 2). The overall hospital mortality rate was 35.3% (24/68). The mortality rate among the patients with graft rereplacement was 33.3% (6/18), with pedicled muscle flaps or pedicled omental flaps to cover the graft 25.9% (7/27), with irrigation 55.0% (11/20) and on antibiotic therapy only 0% (0/3). Our multivariate analysis demonstrated that the risk factors of hospital death increased in the absence of pedicled flaps (muscle or omentum) to cover the graft (P = 0.001), age over 55 (P = 0.003), time from onset of initial operation <1 week (P = 0.031) and period before 2008 (P = 0.001). The overall 1-year survival rate was 58.6%. The treatment outcomes of thoracic prosthetic vascular graft infection have not been satisfactory. However, the use of pedicled muscle or omental flaps to cover the graft could improve the outcomes.