Previous investigations have presumed a potential therapeutic effect of statin therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Statins are expected to attenuate inflammation in the lungs of patients with ARDS due to their anti-inflammatory effects. Clinical investigations of the role of statin therapy have revealed contradictory results. This study aimed to investigate whether pretreatment and continuous therapy with statins in patients with sepsis-associated ARDS are associated with 28-day survival according to disease severity (mild, moderate, or severe). Patients with sepsis-associated ARDS from the surgical intensive care were enrolled in this prospective observational investigation. ARDS was classified into three groups (mild, moderate, and severe); 28-day mortality was recorded as the primary outcome variable and organ failure was recorded as secondary outcome variable. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores and the requirements for organ support were evaluated throughout the observational period to assess organ failure. 404 patients with sepsis-associated ARDS were enrolled in this investigation. The distribution of the ARDS subgroups was 13 %, 59 %, and 28 % for mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively. Statin therapy improved 28-day survival exclusively in the patients with severe ARDS compared with patients without statin therapy (88.5 % and 62.5 %, respectively; P = 0.0193). To exclude the effects of several confounders, we performed multivariate Cox regression analysis, which showed that statin therapy remained a significant covariate for mortality (hazard ratio, 5.46; 95 % CI, 1.38–21.70; P = 0.0156). Moreover, after carrying a propensity score-matching in the severe ARDS cohort, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis confirmed the improved 28-day survival among patients with statin therapy (P = 0.0205). Patients with severe ARDS who received statin therapy had significantly more vasopressor-free days compared with those without statin therapy (13 ± 7 and 9 ± 7, respectively; P = 0.0034), and they also required less extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy and had more ECMO-free days (18 ± 9 and 15 ± 9, respectively; P = 0.0873). This investigation suggests a beneficial effect of continuous statin therapy in patients with severe sepsis-associated ARDS and a history of prior statin therapy. Further study is warranted to elucidate this potential effect.

According to previous studies, the clinical course of sepsis could be affected by preexisting medical conditions, which are very common among patients with sepsis. This observational study aimed at investigating whether common chronic medical conditions affect the 90-day mortality risk in adult Caucasian patients with sepsis. A total of 482 patients with sepsis were enrolled in this study. The ninety-day mortality was the primary outcome; organ failure was the secondary outcome. Sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores and the requirements for organ support were evaluated to assess organ failure. A multivariate Cox regression model for the association between the 90-day mortality risk and chronic preexisting medical conditions adjusted for all relevant confounders and mortality predictors revealed the highest hazard ratio for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) (hazard ratio, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.46-3.46; p = 0.0002). Patients with CKD had higher SOFA scores than patients without CKD (8.9 ± 4.0 and 6.5 ± 3.4, respectively; p < 0.0001). Additionally, an analysis of organ-specific SOFA scores revealed higher scores in three organ systems (kidney, cardiovascular and coagulation). Patients with CKD have the highest 90-day mortality risk compared with patients without CKD or with other chronic medical conditions.

Out-of-hospital analgosedation in trauma patients is challenging for emergency physicians due to associated complications. We compared peripheral nerve block (PNB) with analgosedation (AS) as an analgetic approach for patients with isolated extremity injury, assuming that prehospital required medical interventions (e.g. reduction, splinting of dislocation injury) using PNB are less painful and more feasible compared to AS. Thirty patients (aged 18 or older) were randomized to receive either ultrasound-guided PNB (10 mL prilocaine 1%, 10 mL ropivacaine 0.2%) or analgosedation (midazolam combined with s-ketamine or with fentanyl). Reduction-feasibility was classified (easy, intermediate, impossible) and pain scores were assessed using numeric rating scales (NRS 0–10). Eighteen patients were included in the PNB-group and twelve in the AS-group; 15 and 9 patients, respectively, suffered dislocation injury. In the PNB-group, reduction was more feasible (easy: 80.0%, impossible: 20.0%) compared to the AS-group (easy: 22.2%, intermediate: 22.2%, impossible: 55.6%; p = 0.01). During medical interventions, 5.6% [1/18] of the PNB-patients and 58.3% [7/12] of the AS-patients experienced pain (p<0.01). Recorded pain scores were significantly lower in the PNB-group during prehospital medical intervention (median[IQR] NRS PNB: 0[0–0]) compared to the AS-group (6[0–8]; p<0.001) as well as on first day post presentation (NRS PNB: 1[0–5], AS: 5[5–7]; p = 0.050). All patients of the PNB-group would recommend their analgesic technique (AS: 50.0%, p<0.01). Prehospital ultrasound-guided PNB is rapidly performed in extremity injuries with high success. Compared to the commonly used AS in trauma patients, PNB significantly reduces pain intensity and severity.

Non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is a common manifestation of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but delayed diagnosis can increase mortality. In this proof of principle study, the emergency physician performed transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) on scene to determine whether NSTEMI could be correctly diagnosed pre-hospitalization. This could expedite admission to the appropriate facility and reduce the delay until initiation of correct therapy. Pre-hospital TTE was performed on scene by the emergency physician in patients presenting with ACS but without ST-elevation in the initial 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) (NSTE-ACS). A presumptive NSTEMI diagnosis was made if regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA) were detected. These patients were admitted directly to a specialist cardiac facility. Patient characteristics and pre-admission and post-admission clinical, pre-hospital TTE data, and therapeutic measures were recorded. Patients with NSTE-ACS (n = 53; 72.5 ± 13.4 years of age; 23 female) were studied. The 20 patients with pre-hospital RWMA and presumptive NSTEMI, and two without RWMA were conclusively diagnosed with NSTEMI in hospital. Percutaneous coronary intervention was performed in 50% of the patients presumed to have NSTEMI immediately after admission. The RWMA seen before hospital TTE corresponded with the in-hospital ECG findings and/or the supply regions of the occluded coronary vessels seen during PCI in 85% of the cases. The diagnostic sensitivity of pre-hospital TTE for NSTEMI was 90.9% with 100% specificity. Pre-hospital transthoracic echocardiography by the emergency physician can correctly diagnose NSTEMI in more than 90% of cases. This can expedite the initiation of appropriate therapy and could thereby conceivably reduce morbidity and mortality. Deutsche Register klinischer Studien, DRKS00004919 . Registered on 29 April 2013.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor complex signal-transducing molecule, plays a crucial role in sensing LPS from gram-negative bacteria. TLR4 signaling pathway activation by LPS plays a major role in sepsis pathogenesis. A single nucleotide polymorphism, rs11536889, in the 3’-untranslated region of the TLR4 gene is thought to affect TLR4 translation. This study aimed to investigate whether organ failure in sepsis patients is related to the TLR4 rs11536889 genotype.

Objective To investigate whether common infection foci (pulmonary, intra-abdominal and primary bacteraemia) are associated with variations in mortality risk in patients with sepsis. Design Prospective, observational cohort study. Setting Three surgical intensive care units (ICUs) at a university medical centre. Participants A total of 327 adult Caucasian patients with sepsis originating from pulmonary, intra-abdominal and primary bacteraemia participated in this study. Primary and secondary outcome measures The patients were followed for 90 days and mortality risk was recorded as the primary outcome variable. To monitor organ failure, sepsis-related organ failure assessment (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, SOFA) scores were evaluated at the onset of sepsis and throughout the observational period as secondary outcome variables. Results A total of 327 critically ill patients with sepsis were enrolled in this study. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 90-day mortality risk was significantly higher among patients with primary bacteraemia than among those with pulmonary and intra-abdominal foci (58%, 35% and 32%, respectively; p=0.0208). To exclude the effects of several baseline variables, we performed multivariate Cox regression analysis. Primary bacteraemia remained a significant covariate for mortality in the multivariate analysis (HR 2.10; 95% CI 1.14 to 3.86; p=0.0166). During their stay in the ICU, the patients with primary bacteraemia presented significantly higher SOFA scores than those of the patients with pulmonary and intra-abdominal infection foci (8.5±4.7, 7.3±3.4 and 5.8±3.5, respectively). Patients with primary bacteraemia presented higher SOFA-renal score compared with the patients with other infection foci (1.6±1.4, 0.8±1.1 and 0.7±1.0, respectively); the patients with primary bacteraemia required significantly more renal replacement therapy than the patients in the other groups (29%, 11% and 12%, respectively). Conclusions These results indicate that patients with sepsis with primary bacteraemia present a higher mortality risk compared with patients with sepsis of pulmonary or intra-abdominal origins. These results should be assessed in patients with sepsis in larger, independent cohorts.