Background: This study evaluated the association between the results of immediate brain computed tomography (CT) scans and outcome in patients who were treated with therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest. The evaluation was based on the changes in the ratio of gray matter to white matter. Methods: A total of 167 patients who were successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest from March 2009 to December 2011 were included in this study. We selected 51 patients who received a brain CT scan within 1 hour after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and who had been treated with therapeutic hypothermia. Circular regions of measurement (10 mm²) were placed over regions of interest (ROIs), and the average attenuations in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) were recorded in the basal ganglia, at the level of the centrum semiovale and in the high convexity area. Three GM-to-WM ratios (GWRs) were calculated: one for the basal ganglia, one for the cerebrum and the average of the two. The neurological outcomes were assessed using the Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scale at the time of hospital discharge, and a good neurological outcome was defined as a CPC score of 1 or 2. Results: The average GWR was the strongest predictor of poor neurological outcome as determined using receiver operating characteristic curves (basal ganglia area under the curve (AUC) = 0.716; cerebrum AUC = 0.685; average AUC = 0.747). An average GWR < 1.14 predicted a poor neurological outcome with a sensitivity of 13.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.8-30.7), a specificity of 100% (95% CI 83.9-100), a positive predictive value of 100% (95% CI 2.5-100), and a negative predictive value of 44.7% (CI 28.9-58.9). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that low GWRs in the immediate brain CT scans of patients treated with therapeutic hypothermia after ROSC were associated with poor neurological outcomes. Immediate brain CT scans could help predict outcome after cardiac arrest.

Background—Modern treatments have improved the survival rate following cardiac arrest, but prognostication remains a challenge. We examined the prognostic value of continuous electroencephalography according to time by performing amplitude-integrated electroencephalography on cardiac arrest patients receiving therapeutic hypothermia.

Background: We evaluated the validity of the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) in elderly emergency department (ED) patients. In particular, we examined the sensitivity and specificity of the CTAS for identifying elderly patients who received an immediate life-saving intervention in the ED. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of consecutive patients who were 65 years of age or older and presented to a single academic ED within a three-month period. The CTAS triage scores were compared to actual patient course, including disposition, discharge outcome and resource utilization. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the CTAS triage for identifying patients who received an immediate intervention. Results: Of the 1903 consecutive patients who were ≥ 65 years of age, 113 (5.9%) had a CTAS level of 1, 174 (9.1%) had a CTAS level of 2, 1154 (60.6%) had a CTAS level of 3, 347 (18.2%) had a CTAS level of 4, and 115 (6.0%) had a CTAS level of 5. As a patient's triage score increased, the severity (such as mortality and intensive care unit admission) and resource utilization increased significantly. Ninety-four of the patients received a life-saving intervention within an hour following their arrival to the ED. The CTAS scores for these patients were 1, 2 and 3 for 46, 46 and 2 patients, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of a CTAS score of ≤ 2 for identifying patients for receiving an immediate intervention were 97.9% and 89.2%, respectively. Conclusions: The CTAS is a triage tool with high validity for elderly patients, and it is an especially useful tool for categorizing severity and for recognizing elderly patients who require immediate life-saving intervention.

We evaluated the predictive value of serum biomarkers and various clinical risk scales for the 28-day mortality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Serum biomarkers including procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated in the emergency department. Scores for the pneumonia severity index (PSI); CURB65 (confusion, urea, respiration, blood pressure; age >65 years); Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines for severe CAP; Acute Physiology, Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II; Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA); and quick SOFA (qSOFA) were calculated. Receiver-operating characteristic curves for 28-day mortality were calculated for each predictor using cut-off values, and we applied logistic regression models and area under the curve (AUC) analysis to compare the performance of predictors. Of the 125 enrolled patients, 13 died within 28 days. The AUCs of the PCT and CRP were 0.83 and 0.77, respectively. Using a PCT level >5.6 μg/L as the cut-off, the sensitivity and specificity for mortality were 76.9% and 90.2%, respectively. The three pneumonia severity scales showed an AUC of 0.86 (PSI), 0.87 (IDSA/ATS) and 0.77 (CURB65). The AUCs of the APACHE II, SOFA and qSOFA scores were 0.85, 0.83 and 0.81, respectively. The models combining CRP and/or PCT with PSI or the IDSA/ATS guidelines demonstrated superior performance to those of either PSI or the IDAS/ATS guidelines alone. In conclusion, serum PCT is a reliable single predictor for short-term mortality. Inclusion of CRP and/or PCT could significantly improve the performance of the PSI and IDAS/ATS guidelines.