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Background: Cardiac troponin I (TnI) is a specific marker of myocardial damage used in the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). TnI levels can also be elevated in patients without ACS, which is linked to a worse prognosis and mortality. We evaluated the clinical implications and prognostic significance of serum TnI levels in critically ill non-cardiac patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary-level hospital. Materials and Methods: A three-year retrospective study including the years 2017–2020 was conducted to evaluate in-hospital mortality during ICU stay and mortality rates at 28 and 90 days, as well as one and two years after admission, in 557 patients admitted to the medical ICU for non-cardiac causes. Results: TnI levels were elevated in 206 (36.9%) patients. Patients with elevated TnI levels were significantly older and had higher rates of comorbidities, including chronic heart failure, coronary heart disease, and chronic kidney disease (p < 0.05 for all). Patients with elevated TnI levels required more invasive mechanical ventilation, vasopressor infusion, and dialysis in the ICU and experienced more shock within the first 72 h (p = 0.001 for all). High TnI levels were associated with higher Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II (27.6 vs. 20.3, p = 0.001) and Sequential Organ Failure assessment (8.8 vs. 5.26, p = 0.001) scores. Elevated TnI levels were associated with higher mortality rates at 28 days (58.3% vs. 19.4%), 90 days (69.9% vs. 35.0%), one year (78.6% vs. 46.2%), and two years (82.5% vs. 55.6%) (p < 0.001 for all). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that high TnI levels were a strong independent predictor of mortality at all time points: 28 days (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.108–1.3, p < 0.001), 90 days (OR = 1.207, 95% CI: 1.095–1.33, p = 0.001), one year (OR = 1.164, 95% CI: 1.059–1.28, p = 0.002), and two year (OR = 1.119, 95% CI: 1.026–1.22, p = 0.011). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, albumin level, APACHE II score, and requirements for dialysis and vasopressor use in the ICU were important predictors of mortality across all timeframes, but elevated TnI levels were not. Conclusions: Elevated TnI levels in critically ill non-cardiac patients are markers of disease severity. While elevated TnI levels were significant predictors of mortality in the univariate analysis, they lost significance in the multivariate model when adjusted for other factors. Patients with elevated TnI levels had higher mortality rates across all timeframes, from 28 days to two years.

Sepsis is a severe clinical syndrome owing to its high mortality. Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score has been proposed for the prediction of fatal outcomes in sepsis syndrome in emergency departments. Due to the low predictive performance of the qSOFA score, we propose a modification to the score by adding age. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study among regional referral centers from various regions of the country. Participants recruited data of patients admitted to emergency departments and obtained a diagnosis of sepsis syndrome. Crude in-hospital mortality was the primary endpoint. A generalized mixed-effects model with random intercepts produced estimates for adverse outcomes. Model-based recursive partitioning demonstrated the effects and thresholds of significant covariates. Scores were internally validated. The H measure compared performances of scores. A total of 580 patients from 22 centers were included for further analysis. Stages of sepsis, age, time to antibiotics, and administration of carbapenem for empirical treatment were entered the final model. Among these, severe sepsis (OR, 4.40; CIs, 2.35-8.21), septic shock (OR, 8.78; CIs, 4.37-17.66), age (OR, 1.03; CIs, 1.02-1.05) and time to antibiotics (OR, 1.05; CIs, 1.01-1.10) were significantly associated with fatal outcomes. A decision tree demonstrated the thresholds for age. We modified the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (mod-qSOFA) score by adding age (> 50 years old = one point) and compared this to the conventional score. H-measures for qSOFA and mod-qSOFA were found to be 0.11 and 0.14, respectively, whereas AUCs of both scores were 0.64. We propose the use of the modified qSOFA score for early risk assessment among sepsis patients for improved triage and management of this fatal syndrome.

PurposeTo describe the epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection in an international cohort of ICU patients according to a new system that classifies cases according to setting of infection acquisition (community-acquired, early onset hospital-acquired, and late-onset hospital-acquired), anatomical disruption (absent or present with localized or diffuse peritonitis), and severity of disease expression (infection, sepsis, and septic shock).MethodsWe performed a multicenter (n = 309), observational, epidemiological study including adult ICU patients diagnosed with intra-abdominal infection. Risk factors for mortality were assessed by logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe cohort included 2621 patients. Setting of infection acquisition was community-acquired in 31.6%, early onset hospital-acquired in 25%, and late-onset hospital-acquired in 43.4% of patients. Overall prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was 26.3% and difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria 4.3%, with great variation according to geographic region. No difference in prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was observed according to setting of infection acquisition. Overall mortality was 29.1%. Independent risk factors for mortality included late-onset hospital-acquired infection, diffuse peritonitis, sepsis, septic shock, older age, malnutrition, liver failure, congestive heart failure, antimicrobial resistance (either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria, or carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria) and source control failure evidenced by either the need for surgical revision or persistent inflammation.ConclusionThis multinational, heterogeneous cohort of ICU patients with intra-abdominal infection revealed that setting of infection acquisition, anatomical disruption, and severity of disease expression are disease-specific phenotypic characteristics associated with outcome, irrespective of the type of infection. Antimicrobial resistance is equally common in community-acquired as in hospital-acquired infection.

Objective: The study was aimed to describe red blood cell (RBC) transfusion practices in a medical intensive care unit (ICU). Material and Method: This retrospective study involved patients admitted to the ICU between September 2015 and February 2020. A restrictive transfusion strategy was applied during the study period, in which hemoglobin levels were kept between 7.0 and 9.0 g/dL, and the recommended threshold for RBC transfusion was <7 g/dL, except for patients with acute coronary disease, acute cerebrovascular event, heart failure, severe hypoxemia, or undergoing hip fracture surgery, for whom hemoglobin levels were kept at ≥8 g/dL. Results: Six hundred seventeen patients were included in the study (age 70±16 years, 51.7% male), with a mean hemoglobin level of 11.1±2.3 g/dL on admission. RBC transfusion was performed on 204 (33.1%) patients, and admission hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in the transfused than the non-transfused patients (9.4±1.9 vs. 11.9±2.1 g/dL; p<0.001). An average of 3.5 units per patient was transfused. Transfused patients had high disease severity scores, required high rates of invasive mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy and vasopressor use, and had longer ICU and hospital stays. ICU, in-hospital, 28-day, and 90-day mortality rates were significantly high among transfused patients. Logistic regression analysis identified RBC transfusion as an important predictor of 28-day (OR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.49-4.23, p=0.001) and 90-day (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.25-2.28; p=0.001) mortality. Conclusion: Patients receiving RBC transfusion have high disease severity scores, exhibit low admission hemoglobin levels, require more organ support therapies, and have high mortality rates. The presence of RBC transfusion is a significant predictor of mortality.

Objective This study aimed to evaluate epidemiology and outcome among critically ill patients under a restrictive transfusion practice. Methods One hundred sixty-nine patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) between March 2016 to December 2017 and remained in the ICU > 24 hours were retrospectively included. Results Hemoglobin levels on admission were <12 g/dL in 85% and <9 g/dL in 37.9% of patients. The median admission hemoglobin level was decreased on the last day of the ICU stay. Erythrocyte transfusion was required for 34% of patients. Transfused patients had high Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores, more requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, and dialysis, long ICU and hospital stays, low hemoglobin levels, and high hospital and ICU mortality rates. Multivariate analysis showed that the likelihood of transfusion increased from 6.6 to 25.8 fold when the ICU stay extended from ≥7 to ≥15 days. Age, vasopressor use, dialysis, and erythrocyte transfusion ≥5 units were predictors of mortality. Conclusion Patients receiving transfusion are severely ill and have more life support therapies. The number of erythrocyte units transfused, age, and organ support therapies are independent predictors of mortality.

Purpose To identify changes in anterior pituitary gland hormone levels in brain-dead patients and alterations in free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine, cortisol, testosterone, and estradiol levels. Methods Ten postmenopausal women and 22 men with brain death (BD) were included. The first blood sample for determination of hormones (pre-BD) was collected when the clinician observed the first signs of BD. The second blood sample (BD day) was drawn after BD certification. Results Female patients exhibited lower follicle-stimulating hormone and prolactin levels pre-BD and luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prolactin levels on BD day than the age-matched controls. Male patients’ sex hormone levels were similar to those of the age-matched controls, except for testosterone levels, which were low in both consecutive measurements. All gonadotropins and prolactin levels were above the tests’ lower detection limits (LDLs), except for one male patient with gonadotropin levels below the LDLs of the tests. Estradiol levels in both sexes ranged from normal to elevated. FT3 levels were significantly decreased in the two measurements. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were low in eight patients and all low TSH levels were above the test’s LDL. The remaining patients had normal or elevated TSH levels. The median adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels were within normal limits. All cortisol and ACTH levels were above the tests’ LDLs, except for one patient with ACTH levels below the LDL in both measurements. Conclusion This study supports the hypothesis that the anterior pituitary gland continues to function in the brain-dead state.

Thiamine plays a pivotal role in energy metabolism. The aim of the study was to determine serial whole blood TPP concentrations in critically ill patients receiving chronic diuretic treatment before ICU admission and to correlate TPP levels with clinically determined serum phosphorus concentrations. This observational study was performed in 15 medical ICUs. Serial whole blood TPP concentrations were measured by HPLC at baseline and at days 2, 5 and 10 after ICU admission. A total of 221 participants were included. Of these, 18% demonstrated low TPP concentrations upon admission to the ICU, while 26% of participants demonstrated low levels at some point during the 10-day study period. Hypophosphatemia was detected in 30% of participants at some point during the 10-day period of observation. TPP levels were significantly and positively correlated with serum phosphorus levels at each time point (P < 0.05 for all). Our results show that 18% of these critically ill patients exhibited low whole blood TPP concentrations on ICU admission and 26% had low levels during the initial 10 ICU days, respectively. The modest correlation between TPP and phosphorus concentrations suggests a possible association due to a refeeding effect in ICU patients requiring chronic diuretic therapy. •In adult critically ill patients receiving diuretics prior to ICU admission, we demonstrated low thiamine levels in 18% of 221 participants on ICU admission and in 26% during the initial 10 ICU days, respectively.•The correlation pattern between TPP and phosphorus levels suggests a possible association with refeeding in adult medical ICU patients requiring chronic diuretic therapy.

Objective: Helicobacter pyloriis responsible for a wide spectrum of diseases. Due to ease of use and access, the standard triple therapy is being used as first-line eradication in many areas. Intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a precancerous lesion that requires eradication therapy. Our aim is to investigate the effect of IM on the standard triple therapy success in H. pylori-positive patients. Subjects and Methods: The patients who were referred to Düzce University Hospital and Avrasya Hospital Gastroenterohepatology clinic between January 2014 and December 2016 and diagnosed with H. pylori-positive gastritis and underwent first-line eradication were evaluated retrospectively. Biopsy specimens were evaluated according to the updated Sydney system. All patients diagnosed with H. pylori started treatment with pantoprazole 40 mg b.i.d., amoxicillin 1 g b.i.d. and clarithromycin 500 mg b.i.d. for 14 days. Results: The mean age of 181 patients included in the study was 55.5 ± 7.8. The success rate of H. pylori eradication was found to be low in severe chronic inflammation (p = 0.001). The success rate was found to be high among patients with no neutrophil activity (p = 0.009). As the intensity of IM increased, density of H. pylori was found to be decreased (p = 0.019). There was no correlation between glandular atrophy, IM, and H. pylori eradication success rate (p = 0.390 and p = 0.812). Conclusion: The severity of chronic inflammation is the most effective Sydney criteria for success of eradication, while the presence on IM does not have any effect.

Summary Background The goal of this study is to study clinical features and outcomes of the patients who had renal replacement therapy (RRT) in the intensive care unit (ICU) between 2000 and 2007. Methods We retrospectively studied 222 patients. Results Overall ICU mortality and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) rates were 58.1 and 61.3 %. The mean APACHE II score was 27.6 ± 8.3. Chronic dialysis (CD) patients formed 45.5 % of the study population. Acute kidney injury (AKI) patients had higher rates of IMV (73 vs. 51.5 %, p  = 0.002), cancer (27.8 vs. 7.9 %, p  ≤ 0.001) and mortality (67.8 vs. 50.5 %, p  = 0.010) than CD patients. AKI patients with normal kidney function (NKF) before ICU admission had poorer prognosis than acute-on-chronic kidney disease (CKD) and CD patients (78.6, 51 and 50.5 %, respectively, p  ≤ 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that IMV (OR, 14.8; 95 % CI, 5.47–40.05; p  ≤ 0.001) and having NKF before hospitalization (OR, 2.8; 95 % CI, 1.04–7.37; p  = 0.041) were predictors of overall ICU mortality. Additionally, IMV is found as a prognostic factor for both AKI (OR, 18.7; 95 % CI, 4.48–77.72; p  ≤ 0.001) and CD patients (OR, 8.14; 95 % CI, 2.01–33.04; p  = 0.003), but APACHE II score is meaningful only for CD patients (OR, 1.13; 95 % CI, 1.02–1.26; p  = 0.024). The areas under the ROC curves for APACHE II score were 0.52 (95 % CI, 0.39–0.66) for AKI and 0.78 (95 % CI, 0.55–0.89) for CD patients. Conclusion The observed ICU mortality among patients requiring RRT is high and IMV is associated with mortality. AKI patients have increased mortality compared to CD patients. AKI patients with past NKF have poorer prognosis than acute-on-CKD and CD patients.