Predictive factors for secondary intensive care unit admission within 48 hours after hospitalization in a medical ward from the emergency room

International audienceBACKGROUND:Unplanned transfer to an ICU within 48 hours of admission from the emergency department (ED) can be considered an adverse event. Screening at risk for such an event is a challenge for ED staff. Our purpose was to identify the clinical and biological variables which may be identified in the ED setting and can predict short-term unplanned secondary transfer to the intensive care setting.METHODS:This was a three-year retrospective case controlled monocentric study. The cases were patients transferred to a medical ICU within 48 hours of admission to the general wards from the ED. Each case was matched to two controls (patients not transferred to the ICU) based on age, gender, year of admission, and hospital unit. A conditional logistic regression was performed.RESULTS:Three hundred nineteen patients, including 107 cases and 212 controls, were studied. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was the most frequent diagnosis (23% of cases) followed by sepsis (16%). We identified six predictive factors of an unplanned short-term transfer to the ICU. Former smoking status, fever between 38°C and 40°C, dyspnea as the chief complaint in the ED, a lower MEDS score, an elevated acute physiology age chronic health evaluation score, and the ordering of an arterial blood gas each correlate with secondary transfer to an intensive care setting.CONCLUSION:We report a higher risk of short-term unscheduled ICU transfer in patients meeting these criteria. These patients should be closely monitored and frequently re-evaluated before being transferred to a general ward

Peripheral Tissue Hypoperfusion Predicts Post Intubation Hemodynamic Instability

International audienceBackground Tracheal intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation initiation is a procedure at high risk for arterial hypotension in intensive care unit. However, little is known about the relationship between pre-existing peripheral microvascular alteration and post-intubation hemodynamic instability (PIHI). Methods Prospective observational monocenter study conducted in an 18-bed medical ICU. Consecutive patients requiring tracheal intubation were eligible for the study. Global hemodynamic parameters (blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac function) and tissue perfusion parameters (arterial lactate, mottling score, capillary refill time [CRT], toe-to-room gradient temperature) were recorded before, 5~min and 2~h after tracheal intubation (TI). Post intubation hemodynamic instability (PIHI) was defined as any hemodynamic event requiring therapeutic intervention. Results During 1 year, 120 patients were included, mainly male (59%) with a median age of 68 [57\textendash 77]. The median SOFA score and SAPS II were 6 [4\textendash 9] and 47 [37\textendash 63], respectively. The main indications for tracheal intubation were hypoxemia (51%), hypercapnia (13%), and coma (29%). In addition, 48% of patients had sepsis and 16% septic shock. Fifty-one (42%) patients develop PIHI. Univariate analysis identified several baseline factors associated with PIHI, including norepinephrine prior to TI, sepsis, tachycardia, fever, higher SOFA and high SAPSII score, mottling score\,≥q\,3, high lactate level and prolonged knee CRT. By contrast, mean arterial pressure, baseline cardiac index, and ejection fraction were not different between PIHI and No-PIHI groups. After adjustment on potential confounders, the mottling score was associated with a higher risk for PIHI (adjusted OR: 1.84 [1.21\textendash 2.82] per 1 point increased; p \,=\,0.005). Among both global haemodynamics and tissue perfusion parameters, baseline mottling score was the best predictor of PIHI (AUC: 0.72 (CI 95% [0.62\textendash 0.81]). Conclusions In non-selected critically ill patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation, tissue hypoperfusion parameters, especially the mottling score, could be helpful to predict PIHI