Introduction: Patients with distributive shock who require high dose vasopressors have a high mortality. Angiotensin II (ATII) may prove useful in patients who remain hypotensive despite catecholamine and vasopressin therapy. The appropriate dose of parenteral angiotensin II for shock is unknown. Methods: In total, 20 patients with distributive shock and a cardiovascular Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score of 4 were randomized to either ATII infusion (N =10) or placebo (N =10) plus standard of care. ATII was started at a dose of 20 ng/kg/min, and titrated for a goal of maintaining a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 65 mmHg. The infusion (either ATII or placebo) was continued for 6 hours then titrated off. The primary endpoint was the effect of ATII on the standing dose of norepinephrine required to maintain a MAP of 65 mmHg. Results: ATII resulted in marked reduction in norepinephrine dosing in all patients. The mean hour 1 norepinephrine dose for the placebo cohort was 27.6 ± 29.3 mcg/min versus 7.4 ± 12.4 mcg/min for the ATII cohort (P =0.06). The most common adverse event attributable to ATII was hypertension, which occurred in 20% of patients receiving ATII. 30-day mortality for the ATII cohort and the placebo cohort was similar (50% versus 60%, P =1.00). Conclusion: Angiotensin II is an effective rescue vasopressor agent in patients with distributive shock requiring multiple vasopressors. The initial dose range of ATII that appears to be appropriate for patients with distributive shock is 2 to 10 ng/kg/min. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01393782. Registered 12 July 2011.
Introduction: Hyperglycemia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients and strict glycemic control has become standard care for adults. Recent studies have questioned the optimal targets for such management and reported increased rates of iatrogenic hypoglycemia in both critically ill children and adults. The ability to provide accurate, real-time continuous glucose monitoring would improve the efficacy and safety of this practice in critically ill patients. The aim of our study is to determine if a continuous, interstitial glucose monitor will correlate with blood glucose values in critically ill children.Methods: We evaluated 50 critically ill children age 6 weeks to 16 years old with a commercially available continuous glucose monitor (CGM; Medtronic Guardian®). CGM values and standard blood glucose (BG) values were compared. During the study, no changes in patient management were made based on CGM readings alone.Results: Forty-seven patients had analyzable CGM data. A total of 1,555 CGM and routine BG measurements were compared using Clarke error grid and Bland-Altman analysis. For all readings, 97.9% were within clinically acceptable agreement. The mean absolute relative difference between CGM and BG readings was 15.3%. For the 1,555 paired CGM and BG measurements, there is a statistically significant linear relationship between CGM values and BG (P <.0001). A high degree of clinical agreement existed in three subpopulation analyses based on age, illness severity, and support measures. This included some of our smallest patients (that is, <12 months old), those who required vasopressors, and those who were treated for critical illness hyperglycemia.Conclusions: In one of the largest studies to date, in a highly vulnerable ICU population, CGM values have a clinically acceptable correlation with the BG values now used diagnostically and therapeutically. Our data contest the theoretical concerns posed by some regarding CGM use in the ICU. The existing medical evidence may now support a role for CGM devices in the identification and management of hyperglycemia in diverse ICU settings.
This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2018. Other selected articles can be found online at https://www.biomedcentral.com/collections/annualupdate2018. Further information about the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from http://www.springer.com/series/8901.
Many studies have demonstrated that closed intensive care units (ICUs), staffed by trained intensivists, are associated with improved patient outcomes. However, the mechanisms by which ICU organizational factors, such as physician staffing, influence patient outcomes are unclear. One potential mechanism is the increased utilization of evidence-based practices in closed ICUs. Cooke and colleagues investigated this hypothesis in a cohort of 759 acute lung injury patients in 23 ICUs in King County, Washington, USA. Although closed ICUs were independently associated with a modestly lower mean tidal volume, this finding did not explain the mortality benefit associated with a closed ICU model in this patient cohort. Future studies should evaluate other potential mechanisms by which closed ICUs improve patient outcomes. An improved understanding of these mechanisms may yield new targets for improving the quality of medical care for all ICU patients.
by
Jocelyn Grunwell;
Scott L. Weiss;
Natalie Z. Cvijanovich;
Geoffrey L. Allen;
Neal J. Thomas;
Robert J. Freishtat;
Nick Anas;
Keith Meyer;
Paul A. Checchia;
Thomas P. Shanley;
Michael T. Bigham;
Julie Fitzgerald;
Kelli Howard;
Erin Frank;
Kelli Harmon;
Hector R. Wong
Introduction
Experimental data from animal models of sepsis support a role for a transcription factor, nuclear erythroid-related factor 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2), as a master regulator of antioxidant and detoxifying genes and intermediary metabolism during stress. Prior analysis of a pediatric septic shock transcriptomic database showed that the Nrf2 response is a top 5 upregulated signaling pathway in early pediatric septic shock.
Methods
We conducted a focused analysis of 267 Nrf2-linked genes using a multicenter, genome-wide expression database of 180 children with septic shock 10 years of age or younger and 53 healthy controls. The analysis involved RNA isolated from whole blood within 24 h of pediatric intensive care unit admission for septic shock and a false discovery rate of 5 %. We compared differentially expressed genes from (1) patients with septic shock and healthy controls and (2) across validated gene expression–based subclasses of pediatric septic shock (endotypes A and B) using several bioinformatic methods.
Results
We found upregulation of 123 Nrf2-linked genes in children with septic shock. The top gene network represented by these genes contained primarily enzymes with oxidoreductase activity involved in cellular lipid metabolism that were highly connected to the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor and the retinoic acid receptor families. Endotype A, which had higher organ failure burden and mortality, exhibited a greater downregulation of Nrf2-linked genes than endotype B, with 92 genes differentially regulated between endotypes.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that Nrf2-linked genes may contribute to alterations in oxidative signaling and intermediary metabolism in pediatric septic shock.