Aim: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the predictors of clinical deterioration soon after emergency department (ED) discharge.Methods: We undertook a case–control study using the ED database of the Nagano Municipal Hospital (Nagano, Japan) from January 2012 to December 2013. We selected adult patients with medical conditions who revisited the ED with deterioration within 2 days of ED discharge (deterioration group). The deterioration group was compared with a control group.Results: During the study period, 15,724 adult medical patients were discharged from the ED. Of these, 170 patients revisited the ED because of clinical deterioration within 2 days. Among the initial vital signs, respiratory rate was less frequently recorded than other vital signs (P < 0.001 versus all other vital signs in each group). The frequency of recording each vital sign did not differ significantly between the groups. Overall, patients in the deterioration group had significantly higher respiratory rates than those in the control group (21 ± 5/min versus 18 ± 5/min, respectively; P = 0.002). A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that respiratory rate was an independent risk factor for clinical deterioration (unadjusted odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.04−1.26; adjusted odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.01−1.29).Conclusions: An increased respiratory rate is a predictor of early clinical deterioration after ED discharge. Vital signs, especially respiratory rate, should be carefully evaluated when making decisions about patient disposition in the ED.

Acute aortic dissection (AAD) classically presents as sudden, severe chest, back, or abdominal pain. However, there have been several documented cases presenting with atypical features. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with painless AAD were investigated. The study group comprised 98 patients (53 males, 45 females; 66 ± 12 years) with AAD admitted to hospital from 2002 to 2007: 16 patients (17%) had no pain (painless group) and 82 patients had pain (painful group). In 81% of the painless group and 70% of the painful group there was a type A dissection. The painless group more frequently had a persistent disturbance of consciousness (44% vs. 6%, P < 0.001), syncope (25% vs. 1%, P < 0.001) and a focal neurologic deficit (19% vs. 2%, P = 0.006) as presenting symptoms. Imaging study findings were not significantly different. Cerebral ischemia (50% vs. 1%, P < 0.001) and cardiac tamponade (38% vs. 13%, P = 0.01) were more frequent complications in the painless group. In-hospital mortality was not significantly different (19% vs. 15%). However, the painless group had a more unfavorable functional outcome on overall performance category (P < 0.001). Painless AAD may be more frequent than previously reported. Painless AAD patients often present with a disturbance of consciousness or a neurologic deficit, and have a higher morbidity than painful AAD patients.

Background: Ventilator weaning protocols have been shown to reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), intensive care unit length of stay, and resource use. However, weaning protocols have not significantly affected mortality or reintubation rates. The extubation process is a critical component of respiratory care in patients who receive MV. Post-extubation respiratory failure (PERF) is a common event associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that a comprehensive protocol for ventilator weaning and extubation would be effective for preventing PERF and reintubation and reducing mortality in critically ill patients. Methods: A ventilator weaning and extubation protocol was developed. The protocol consisted of checklists across four evaluations: spontaneous breathing trial, extubation, prophylactic non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV), and evaluation after extubation. Observational data were collected after implementing the protocol in patients admitted to the Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Center of Shinshu University Hospital. Not only outcomes of patients but also influences of each component of the protocol on the clinical decision-making process were investigated. Further, a comparison between PERF and non-PERF patients was performed. Results: A total of 464 consecutive patients received MV for more than 48 h, and 248 (77 women; mean age, 65 ± 17 years) were deemed eligible. The overall PERF and reintubation rates were 9.7% and 5.2%, respectively. Overall, 54.1% of patients with PERF received reintubation. Hospital stay and mortality were not significantly different between PERF and non-PERF patients (p = 0.16 and 0.057, respectively). As a result, the 28-day and hospital mortality were 1.2% and 6.9%, respectively. Conclusions: We found that the rates of PERF, reintubation, and hospital mortality were lower than those in previous reports even with nearly the same degree of severity at extubation. The comprehensive protocol for ventilator weaning and extubation may prevent PERF and reintubation and reduce mortality in critically ill patients.

The primary end point for sepsis trial is 28-day mortality. However, additional methods for determining the efficacy may have benefits. The purpose of this study was to search a useful indicator of anticoagulant therapy in patients with sepsis with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Data from 323 patients with sepsis with coagulopathy treated with antithrombin supplementation were analyzed. The changes in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (Δ SOFA) score, the overt-DIC (Δ overt-DIC) score, and the Japanese Society for Acute Medicine DIC (Δ JAAM DIC) score from baseline to day 7 were retrospectively analyzed in relation to the 28-day mortality. Significant correlations were found between the 28-day mortality and Δ SOFA, Δ overt-DIC score, and Δ JAAM DIC score. The accuracy of the prediction was higher for Δ SOFA (80.5%) than for Δ overt-DIC (66.7%, P < .001). The areas under the curve for mortality calculated using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were 0.812 for Δ SOFA, 0.655 for Δ overt-DIC, and 0.693 for Δ JAAM DIC. The mortality rate was significantly lower among cases with an improved SOFA score compared to those without an improvement. The Δ SOFA had the strongest association with the 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis and DIC.

Background Japanese Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) criteria were launched nearly 20 years ago. Following the revised conceptual definition of sepsis and subsequent omission of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score from the latest sepsis diagnostic criteria, we omitted the SIRS score and proposed a modified version of JAAM DIC criteria, the JAAM-2 DIC criteria. Objectives To validate and compare performance between new JAAM-2 DIC criteria and conventional JAAM DIC criteria for sepsis. Methods We used three datasets containing adult sepsis patients from a multicenter nationwide Japanese cohort study (J-septic DIC, FORECAST, and SPICE-ICU registries). JAAM-2 DIC criteria omitted the SIRS score and set the cutoff value at ≥3 points. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed between the two DIC criteria to evaluate prognostic value. Associations between in-hospital mortality and anticoagulant therapy according to DIC status were analyzed using propensity score weighting to compare significance of the criteria in determining introduction of anticoagulants against sepsis. Results Final study cohorts of the datasets included 2,154, 1,065, and 608 sepsis patients, respectively. ROC analysis revealed that curves for both JAAM and JAAM-2 DIC criteria as predictors of in-hospital mortality were almost consistent. Survival curves for the anticoagulant and control groups in the propensity score-weighted prediction model diagnosed using the two criteria were also almost entirely consistent. Conclusion JAAM-2 DIC criteria were equivalent to JAAM DIC criteria regarding prognostic and diagnostic values for initiating anticoagulation. The newly proposed JAAM-2 DIC criteria could be potentially alternative criteria for sepsis management.

Nafamostat mesylate (NM) is a synthetic serine protease inhibitor that can be used as an anticoagulant during blood purification in critically ill patients, as well as a treatment for disseminated intravascular coagulation. Although NM has been reported to reduce the risk of bleeding during blood purification, its effect on survival outcomes of patients who received blood purification treatments is unclear. We hypothesized that administration of NM during blood purification can reduce mortality in patients with sepsis. A post hoc analysis was conducted on a nationwide retrospective registry that included data from 3195 sepsis patients registered at 42 intensive care units throughout Japan. We evaluated the effect of NM on hospital mortality and bleeding complications using propensity score matching in 1216 sepsis patients who underwent blood purification in the intensive care unit (ICU). Two-hundred-and-sixty-eight pairs of propensity score-matched patients who received NM and conventional therapy were compared. Hospital and ICU mortality rates in the NM group were significantly lower than those in the conventional therapy group. However, rates of bleeding complications did not differ significantly between the two groups. These data suggest that administration of NM improved the survival outcomes of sepsis patients who underwent blood purification in the ICU.