Evidence of historical seismicity and volcanism in the Armenian Highland (from Armenian and other sources)

This work presents a summary on the development of studies of historical earthquakes in Armenia and adjacent parts of Turkey and Iran. Since ancient times, this region has been an arena where active geodynamic and seismic history intermingled with no less active and dynamic evolution of human cultures and societies. A long-term historical record in this region beginning as early as the 8th century B.C. provides abundant evidence that can make an inestimable contribution to studies of historical seismicity and volcanism in the area. We discuss the main research methodology and sources used, and dwell on the principal catalogues of historical earthquakes compiled to date

Epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection and sepsis in critically ill patients: "AbSeS", a multinational observational cohort study and ESICM Trials Group Project.

PURPOSE: To 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). METHODS: We 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. RESULTS: The 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. CONCLUSION: This 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

Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in critically ill cirrhotic patients: a post-hoc analysis of the EUROBACT-2 international cohort study.

BACKGROUND Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections are common in the intensive care unit (ICU) and have a high mortality rate. Patients with cirrhosis are especially susceptible to infections, yet there is a knowledge gap in the epidemiological distinctions in hospital-acquired bloodstream infections between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients in the ICU. It has been suggested that cirrhotic patients, present a trend towards more gram-positive infections, and especially enterococcal infections. This study aims to describe epidemiological differences in hospital-acquired bloodstream infections between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients hospitalized in the ICU regarding infection sources, microorganisms and mortality. METHODS Using prospective Eurobact-2 international cohort study data, we compared hospital-acquired bloodstream infections sources and microorganisms in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. The association between Enterococcus faecium and cirrhosis was studied using a multivariable mixed logistic regression. The association between cirrhosis and mortality was assessed by a multivariable frailty Cox model. RESULTS Among the 1059 hospital-acquired bloodstream infections patients included from 101 centers, 160 had cirrhosis. Hospital-acquired bloodstream infection source in cirrhotic patients was primarily abdominal (35.6%), while it was pulmonary (18.9%) for non-cirrhotic (p < 0.01). Gram-positive hospital-acquired bloodstream infections accounted for 42.3% in cirrhotic patients compared to 33.2% in non-cirrhotic patients (p = 0.02). Hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in cirrhotic patients were most frequently caused by Klebsiella spp (16.5%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (13.7%) and E. faecium (11.5%). E. faecium bacteremia was more frequent in cirrhotic patients (11.5% versus 4.5%, p < 0.01). After adjusting for possible confounding factors, cirrhosis was associated with higher E. faecium hospital-acquired bloodstream infections risk (Odds ratio 2.5, 95% CI 1.3-4.5, p < 0.01). Cirrhotic patients had increased mortality compared to non-cirrhotic patients (Hazard Ratio 1.3, 95% CI 1.01-1.7, p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS Critically ill cirrhotic patients with hospital-acquired bloodstream infections exhibit distinct epidemiology, with more Gram-positive infections and particularly Enterococcus faecium

Characteristics and risk factors for 28-day mortality of hospital acquired fungemias in ICUs: data from the EUROBACT study

Background: To characterize and identify prognostic factors for 28-day mortality among patients with hospital-acquired fungemia (HAF) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)

The Influence of Geography, Religion, Religiosity and Institutional Factors on Worldwide End-of-Life Care for the Critically Ill: The WELPICUS Study.

To evaluate the association between provider religion and religiosity and consensus about end-of-life care and explore if geographical and institutional factors contribute to variability in practice. Using a modified Delphi method 22 end-of-life issues consisting of 35 definitions and 46 statements were evaluated in 32 countries in North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. A multidisciplinary, expert group from specialties treating patients at the end-of-life within each participating institution assessed the association between 7 key statements and geography, religion, religiosity and institutional factors likely influencing the development of consensus. Of 3049 participants, 1366 (45%) responded. Mean age of respondents was 45 ± 9 years and 55% were females. Following 2 Delphi rounds, consensus was obtained for 77 (95%) of 81 definitions and statements. There was a significant difference in responses across geographical regions. South African and North American respondents were more likely to encourage patients to write advance directives. Fewer Eastern European and Asian respondents agreed with withdrawing life-sustaining treatments without consent of patients or surrogates. While respondent's religion, years in practice or institution did not affect their agreement, religiosity, physician specialty and responsibility for end-of-life decisions did. Variability in agreement with key consensus statements about end-of-life care is related primarily to differences among providers, with provider-level variations related to differences in religiosity and specialty. Geography also plays a role in influencing some end-of-life practices. This information may help understanding ethical dilemmas and developing culturally sensitive end-of-life care strategies

Characteristics and risk factors for 28-day mortality of hospital acquired fungemias in ICUs: data from the EUROBACT study

Background: To characterize and identify prognostic factors for 28-day mortality among patients with hospital-acquired fungemia (HAF) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methods: A sub-analysis of a prospective, multicenter non-representative cohort study conducted in 162 ICUs in 24 countries. Results: Of the 1156 patients with hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSI) included in the EUROBACT study, 96 patients had a HAF. Median time to its diagnosis was 20 days (IQR 10.5-30.5) and 9 days (IQR 3-15.5) after hospital and ICU admission, respectively. Median time to positivity of blood culture was longer in fungemia than in bacteremia (48.7 h vs. 38.1 h; p = 0.0004). Candida albicans was the most frequent fungus isolated (57.1 %), followed by Candida glabrata (15.3 %) and Candida parapsilosis (10.2 %). No clear source of HAF was detected in 33.3 % of the episodes and it was catheter-related in 21.9 % of them. Compared to patients with bacteremia, HAF patients had a higher rate of septic shock (39.6 % vs. 21.6 %; p = 0.0003) and renal dysfunction (25 % vs. 12.4 %; p = 0.0023) on admission and a higher rate of renal failure (26 % vs. 16.2 %; p = 0.0273) at diagnosis. Adequate treatment started within 24 h after blood culture collection was less frequent in HAF patients (22.9 % vs. 55.3 %; p &lt; 0.001). The 28-day all cause fatality was 40.6 %. According to multivariate analysis, only liver failure (OR 14.35; 95 % CI 1.17-175.6; p = 0.037), need for mechanical ventilation (OR 8.86; 95 % CI 1.2-65.24; p = 0.032) and ICU admission for medical reason (OR 3.87; 95 % CI 1.25-11.99; p = 0.020) were independent predictors of 28-day mortality in HAF patients. Conclusions: Fungi are an important cause of hospital-acquired BSI in the ICU. Patients with HAF present more frequently with septic shock and renal dysfunction on ICU admission and have a higher rate of renal failure at diagnosis. HAF are associated with a significant 28-day mortality rate (40 %), but delayed adequate antifungal therapy was not an independent risk factor for death. Liver failure, need for mechanical ventilation and ICU admission for medical reason were the only independent predictors of 28-day mortality

Characteristics and risk factors for 28-day mortality of hospital acquired fungemias in ICUs : data from the EUROBACT study

The EUROBACT study was designed by the infection section of the ESICM.The study was endorsed by the European Critical Care Research Network(ECCRN) in May 2009 and received the Clinical Research Award with aresearch grant of€20,000 from the ECCRN in November 2011.To characterize and identify prognostic factors for 28-day mortality among patients with hospital-acquired fungemia (HAF) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A sub-analysis of a prospective, multicenter non-representative cohort study conducted in 162 ICUs in 24 countries. Of the 1156 patients with hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSI) included in the EUROBACT study, 96 patients had a HAF. Median time to its diagnosis was 20 days (IQR 10.5-30.5) and 9 days (IQR 3-15.5) after hospital and ICU admission, respectively. Median time to positivity of blood culture was longer in fungemia than in bacteremia (48.7 h vs. 38.1 h; p = 0.0004). Candida albicans was the most frequent fungus isolated (57.1 %), followed by Candida glabrata (15.3 %) and Candida parapsilosis (10.2 %). No clear source of HAF was detected in 33.3 % of the episodes and it was catheter-related in 21.9 % of them. Compared to patients with bacteremia, HAF patients had a higher rate of septic shock (39.6 % vs. 21.6 %; p = 0.0003) and renal dysfunction (25 % vs. 12.4 %; p = 0.0023) on admission and a higher rate of renal failure (26 % vs. 16.2 %; p = 0.0273) at diagnosis. Adequate treatment started within 24 h after blood culture collection was less frequent in HAF patients (22.9 % vs. 55.3 %; p < 0.001). The 28-day all cause fatality was 40.6 %. According to multivariate analysis, only liver failure (OR 14.35; 95 % CI 1.17-175.6; p = 0.037), need for mechanical ventilation (OR 8.86; 95 % CI 1.2-65.24; p = 0.032) and ICU admission for medical reason (OR 3.87; 95 % CI 1.25-11.99; p = 0.020) were independent predictors of 28-day mortality in HAF patients. Fungi are an important cause of hospital-acquired BSI in the ICU. Patients with HAF present more frequently with septic shock and renal dysfunction on ICU admission and have a higher rate of renal failure at diagnosis. HAF are associated with a significant 28-day mortality rate (40 %), but delayed adequate antifungal therapy was not an independent risk factor for death. Liver failure, need for mechanical ventilation and ICU admission for medical reason were the only independent predictors of 28-day mortality. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-016-1229-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users