49 research outputs found

    Association between the National Health Insurance coverage benefit extension policy and clinical outcomes of ventilated patients: a retrospective study

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    Background This study aimed to investigate the association between the Korean National Health Insurance coverage benefit extension policy and clinical outcomes of patients who were ventilated owing to various respiratory diseases. Methods Data from 515 patients (male, 69.7%; mean age, 69.8±12.1 years; in-hospital mortality rate, 28.3%) who were hospitalized in a respiratory intensive care unit were retrospectively analyzed over 5 years. Results Of total enrolled patients, 356 (69.1%) had one benefit items under this policy during their hospital stay. They had significantly higher medical expenditure (total: median, 23,683 vs. 12,742 U.S. dollars [USD], P<0.001), out-of-pocket (median, 5,932 vs. 4,081 USD; P<0.001), and a lower percentage of out-of-pocket medical expenditure relative to total medical expenditure (median, 26.0% vs. 32.2%; P<0.001). Patients without benefit items associated with higher in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 2.794; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.980–3.941; P<0.001). In analysis of patients with benefit items, patients with three items (“cancer,” “tuberculosis,” and “disability”) had significantly lower out-of-pocket medical expenditure (3,441 vs. 6,517 USD, P<0.001), and a lower percentage of out-of-pocket medical expenditure relative to total medical expenditure (17.2% vs. 27.7%, P<0.001). They were associated with higher in-hospital mortality (HR, 3.904; 95% CI, 2.533–6.039; P<0.001). Conclusions Our study showed patients with benefit items had more medical resources and associated improved in-hospital survival. Patients with the aforementioned three benefit items had lower out-of-pocket medical expenditure due to the implementation of this policy, but higher in-hospital mortality

    Current Status and Survival Impact of Infectious Disease Consultation for Multidrug-Resistant Bacteremia in Ventilated Patients: A Single-Center Experience in Korea

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    Background We evaluated the current status and survival impact of infectious disease consultation (IDC) in ventilated patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteremia. Methods One hundred sixty-one consecutive patients from a single tertiary care hospital were enrolled over a 5-year period. Patients with at least one of the following six MDR bacteremias were included: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia), carbapenem-resistant gram-negative rods (Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. Results Median patient age was 66 years (range, 18 to 95), and 57.8% of subjects were male. The 28-day mortality after the day of blood culture was 52.2%. An IDC was requested for 96 patients based on a positive blood culture (59.6%). Patients without IDC had significantly higher rate of hemato-oncologic diseases as a comorbidity (36.9% vs. 11.5%, P < 0.001). Patients without an IDC had higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (median, 20; range, 8 to 38 vs. median, 16; range, 5 to 34, P < 0.001) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (median, 9; range, 2 to 17 vs. median, 7; range, 2 to 20; P = 0.020) on the day of blood culture and a higher 28-day mortality rate (72.3% vs. 38.5%, P < 0.001). In patients with SOFA ≥9 (cut-off level based on Youden’s index) on the day of blood culture and gram-negative bacteremia, IDC was also significantly associated with lower 28-day mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.298; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.167 to 0.532 and HR, 0.180; 95% CI, 0.097 to 0.333; all P < 0.001) based on multivariate Cox regression analysis. Conclusions An IDC for MDR bacteremia was requested less often for ventilated patients with greater disease severity and higher 28-day mortality after blood was drawn. In patients with SOFA ≥9 on the day of blood culture and gram-negative bacteremia, IDC was associated with improved 28-day survival after blood draw for culture

    A Pulmonary Paragonimiasis Case Mimicking Metastatic Pulmonary Tumor

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    Pulmonary paragonimiasis is a relatively rare cause of lung disease revealing a wide variety of radiologic findings, such as air-space consolidation, nodules, and cysts. We describe here a case of pulmonary paragonimiasis in a 27-year-old woman who presented with a 2-month history of cough and sputum. Based on chest computed tomography (CT) scans and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) findings, the patient was suspected to have a metastatic lung tumor. However, she was diagnosed as having Paragonimus westermani infection by an immunoserological examination using ELISA. Follow-up chest X-ray and CT scans after chemotherapy with praziquantel showed an obvious improvement. There have been several reported cases of pulmonary paragonimiasis mimicking lung tumors on FDG-PET. However, all of them were suspected as primary lung tumors. To our knowledge, this patient represents the first case of paragonimiasis mimicking metastatic lung disease on FDG-PET CT imaging

    Association between Participation in a Rehabilitation Program and 1-Year Survival in Patients Requiring Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation

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    Background The present study evaluated the association between participation in a rehabilitation program during a hospital stay and 1-year survival of patients requiring at least 21 days of mechanical ventilation (prolonged mechanical ventilation [PMV]) with various respiratory diseases as their main diagnoses that led to mechanical ventilation. Methods Retrospective data of 105 patients (71.4% male, mean age 70.1±11.3 years) who received PMV in the past 5 years were analyzed. Rehabilitation included physiotherapy, physical rehabilitation, and dysphagia treatment program that was individually provided by physiatrists. Results The main diagnosis leading to mechanical ventilation was pneumonia (n=101, 96.2%) and the 1-year survival rate was 33.3% (n=35). One-year survivors had lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (20.2±5.8 vs. 24.2±7.5, p=0.006) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (6.7±5.6 vs. 8.5±2.7, p=0.001) on the day of intubation than non-survivors. More survivors participated in a rehabilitation program during their hospital stays (88.6% vs. 57.1%, p=0.001). The rehabilitation program was an independent factor for 1-year survival based on the Cox proportional hazard model (hazard ratio, 3.513; 95% confidence interval, 1.785 to 6.930; p<0.001) in patients with APACHE II scores ≤23 (a cutoff value based on Youden’s index). Conclusion Our study showed that participation in a rehabilitation program during hospital stay was associated with an improvement of 1-year survival of PMV patients who had less severe illness on the day of intubation

    Critical Care Research Using “Big Data”: A Reality in the Near Future

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    Sepsis in Immunocompromised Patients: Current Status in Korea

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    Clinical Application of Modified Burns Wean Assessment Program Scores at First Spontaneous Breathing Trial in Weaning Patients from Mechanical Ventilation

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    Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical application of modified Burns Wean Assessment Program (m-BWAP) scoring at first spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) as a predictor of successful liberation from mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with endotracheal intubation. Methods: Patients requiring MV for more than 72 hours and undergoing more than one SBT in a medical intensive care unit (ICU) were prospectively enrolled over a 3-year period. The m-BWAP score at first SBT was obtained by a critical care nursing practitioner. Results: A total of 103 subjects were included in this study. Their median age was 69 years (range, 22 to 87 years) and 72 subjects (69.9%) were male. The median duration from admission to first SBT was 5 days (range, 3 to 26 days), and the rate of final successful liberation from MV was 84.5% (n=87). In the total group of patients, the successful liberation from MV group at first SBT (n=65) had significantly higher m-BWAP scores than did the unsuccessful group (median, 60; range, 43 to 80 vs. median, 53; range, 33 to 70; P<0.001). Also, the area under the m-BWAP curve for predicting successful liberation of MV was 0.748 (95% confidence interval, 0.650 to 0.847), while the cutoff value based on Youden’s index was 53 (sensitivity, 76%; specificity, 64%). Conclusions: The present data show that the m-BWAP score represents a good predictor of weaning success in patients with an endotracheal tube in place at first SBT

    Clinical Utility of Rapid Pathogen Identification for Detecting the Causative Organisms in Sepsis: A Single-Center Study in Korea

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    Purpose. The aim of this pre- and postintervention cohort study was evaluating how effectively rapid pathogen identification with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) detected the causative organisms in sepsis. Methods. All consecutive adult patients who had bacteremia within 72 h of intensive care unit admission and met ≥2 quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment criteria at intensive care unit admission were analyzed. The patients whose microorganisms were identified via MALDI-TOF MS between March 2014 and February 2016 formed the postintervention group. The patients whose microorganisms were identified by using conventional methods between March 2011 and February 2013 formed the preintervention group. Results. The postintervention group (n=58) had a shorter mean time from blood draw to receiving the antimicrobial susceptibility results than the preintervention group (n=40) (90.2 ± 32.1 vs. 108.7 ± 43.1 h; p=0.02). The postintervention group was also more likely to have received active antimicrobial therapy by the time the susceptibility report became available (77% vs. 47%; p=0.005). Its 28-day mortality was also lower (40% vs. 70%; p=0.003). Univariate analysis showed that identification via MALDI-TOF MS (odds ratio, 0.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.12–0.66; p=0.004) and active therapy (odds ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.16–0.95; p=0.04) were associated with lower 28-day mortality. Conclusion. Rapid microorganism identification via MALDI-TOF MS followed by appropriate antimicrobial therapy may improve the clinical outcomes of patients with sepsis
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