Injection pressure monitoring during peripheral nerve blocks: from bench to operating theatre

International audienceBackground: Nerve damage can occur after ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve block (PNB). Injection pressure monitoring could improve the safety of PNB. The aim was to analyse parameters affecting pressure measurements during PNB.Methods: The flow characteristics of needles connected to a pressure-sensing device were evaluated. Needles were placed under ultrasound guidance extra or epineurally in nerves/plexus of fresh cadavers. Using three flow rates, 4 mL of saline was injected and plateau pressure was measured. Finally, orthopaedic surgery patients receiving PNB were enrolled for an observational real-time pressure monitoring study. During PNB, periods with pressure > 50 mmHg were noted (high pressure ≥ 750 mmHg). A blinded investigator recorded injection pressure curves and peak pressure.Results: The needle diameter influenced the injection pressure (β = 66.8; P 750 mmHg during 13.80% of the procedural time.Conclusions: Needle diameter, needle tip location, type of nerve/plexus, flow rates, and the anaesthetist can have a significant effect on injection pressure values and monitoring

Long-term outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage requiring mechanical ventilation.

BackgroundPatients affected with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) often require intensive care, and then present distinctive outcome from less severe patients. We aimed to specify their long-term outcome and to identify factors associated with poor outcome.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study in a French university hospital intensive care unit. Patients with aSAH requiring mechanical ventilation hospitalized between 2010 and 2015 were included. At least one year after initial bleeding, survival and degree of disability were assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) via telephone interviews. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine independent factors associated with poor outcome defined as mRS≥3.ResultsTwo-hundred thirty-six patients were included. Among them, 7 were lost to follow-up, and 229 were analyzed: 73 patients (32%) had a good outcome (mRSConclusionAmong aSAH patients requiring assisted ventilation, two-third of them survived at one year, and one-third showed good long-term outcome. As it appears as an independant factor associated with poor outcome, DCI shoud retain particular attention in future studies beyond angiographic vasospasm

Transcranial sonographic assessment of the third ventricle in neuro-ICU patients to detect hydrocephalus: a diagnostic reliability pilot study

International audienceBackground: Transcranial sonography is a point-of-care tool recommended in intensive care units (ICU) to monitor brain injured patients. Objectives of the study was to assess feasibility and reliability of the third ventricle (V3) diameter measurement using transcranial sonography (TCS) compared to brain computed-tomography (CT), the gold standard measurement, and to measure the TCS learning curve. Design : prospective study, in a 16-bed neurological ICU in an academic hospital. Every consecutive brain injured adult patient, who required a brain CT and TCS monitoring were included. The V3 diameter was blindly measured by TCS and CT. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland–Altman plot were used to assess the reliability and agreement between TCS and CT V3 measurements. Diagnosis performance of the V3 diameter using TCS to detect hydrocephalus was measured. Absolute difference between V3 measurement by residents and experts was measured consecutively to assess the learning curve.Results: Among the 100 patients included in the study, V3 diameter could be assessed in 87 patients (87%) from at least one side of the skull. Both temporal windows were available in 70 patients (70%). The ICC between V3 diameter measured by TCS and CT was 0.90 [95% CI 0.84–0.93] on the right side, and 0.92 [0.88–0.95] on the left side. In Bland–Altman analysis, mean difference, standard deviation, 95% limits of agreement were 0.36, 1.52, − 2.7 to 3.3 mm, respectively, on the right side; 0.25, 1.47, − 2.7 to 3.1 mm, respectively, on the left side. Among the 35 patients with hydrocephalus, V3 diameters could be measured by TCS in 31 patients (89%) from at least one side. Hydrocephalus was, respectively, excluded, confirmed, or inconclusive using TCS in 35 (40%), 25 (29%) and 27 (31%) of the 87 assessable patients. After 5 measurements, every resident reached a satisfactory measurement compared to the expert operator.Conclusion: TCS allows rapid, simple and reliable V3 diameter measurement compared with the gold standard in neuro-ICU patients. Aside from sparing irradiating procedures and transfers to the radiology department, it may especially increase close patient monitoring to detect clinically occult hydrocephalus earlier. Further studies are needed to measure the potential clinical benefit of this method. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02830269

Epidemiology and outcomes of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections in intensive care unit patients: the EUROBACT-2 international cohort study

Purpose In the critically ill, hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (HA-BSI) are associated with significant mortality. Granular data are required for optimizing management, and developing guidelines and clinical trials. Methods We carried out a prospective international cohort study of adult patients (≥ 18 years of age) with HA-BSI treated in intensive care units (ICUs) between June 2019 and February 2021. Results 2600 patients from 333 ICUs in 52 countries were included. 78% HA-BSI were ICU-acquired. Median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8 [IQR 5; 11] at HA-BSI diagnosis. Most frequent sources of infection included pneumonia (26.7%) and intravascular catheters (26.4%). Most frequent pathogens were Gram-negative bacteria (59.0%), predominantly Klebsiella spp. (27.9%), Acinetobacter spp. (20.3%), Escherichia coli (15.8%), and Pseudomonas spp. (14.3%). Carbapenem resistance was present in 37.8%, 84.6%, 7.4%, and 33.2%, respectively. Difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR) was present in 23.5% and pan-drug resistance in 1.5%. Antimicrobial therapy was deemed adequate within 24 h for 51.5%. Antimicrobial resistance was associated with longer delays to adequate antimicrobial therapy. Source control was needed in 52.5% but not achieved in 18.2%. Mortality was 37.1%, and only 16.1% had been discharged alive from hospital by day-28. Conclusions HA-BSI was frequently caused by Gram-negative, carbapenem-resistant and DTR pathogens. Antimicrobial resistance led to delays in adequate antimicrobial therapy. Mortality was high, and at day-28 only a minority of the patients were discharged alive from the hospital. Prevention of antimicrobial resistance and focusing on adequate antimicrobial therapy and source control are important to optimize patient management and outcomes