Starch safety in resuscitation

The Western Cape Department of Health (WC DoH) has taken a decision to withdraw all intravenous fluids (IVFs) containing hydroxyethyl starch (HES) from hospitals in the Western Cape, with similar action contemplated in the Free State and Gauteng. This was in response to recommendations from: The European Medicines Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (EMA PRAC) that HES IVFs be withdrawn from clinical use. The United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which has issued a recall of all HES IVFs in the UK. The United States Food and Drug Administration which advises that HES IVFs be used with caution in ICU, cardiac surgery and patients with known kidney disease or coagulopathy. Further advice was that HES should be stopped if coagulopathy or renal dysfunction develops, as well as that renal function should be monitored for 90 days after HES administration.http://www.samj.org.zaam2013ay201

Four-oil intravenous lipid emulsion effect on plasma fatty acid composition, inflammatory markers and clinical outcomes in acutely ill patients: a randomised control trial (Foil fact)

Background and aims: Data in critically ill patients on the effect of intravenous lipid emulsions (LEs), containing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), in parenteral nutrition (PN) are scarce and conflicting. This study compared the effects of a four-oil LE (30% soybean oil, 30% medium-chain triglycerides, 25% olive oil and 15% fish oil (FO)) (SMOFlipid®) to those of a 100% soybean oil-based LE in critically ill adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients.Methods: In this double-blind, randomised study, patients (n = 75) predicted to need PN for more than 5 days were randomised to receive either a four-oil LE (Study Group (SG)) or a 100% soybean oil LE (Control Group (CG)). Isocaloric, isonitrogenous PN was administered continuously for 5 days. FO was provided at a dose of 0.09–0.22 g/kg body weight. Measurements included biochemical parameters and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score daily and plasma total phospholipid fatty acids (FAs) and cytokine levels on days 1, 3, 6. Days on mechanical ventilation, length of stay and mortality were also recorded. ANOVA was used to compare response variables between the two groups over the time and Pearson correlation was used to measure relationships between continuous variables.Results: 68 patients completed the study (n = 35 SG, n = 33 CG), with male predominance (66% SG, 56% CG). Average age was 60.8 ± 13.9 years (SG) versus 55.7 ± 14.8 (CG) (p = 0.143). The majority were surgical admissions (85% SG versus 91% CG) followed by medical. Plasma phospholipid oleic acid (p = 0.022) and alpha-linolenic acid (p&lt;0.0005) increased in both groups. In the SG, plasma phospholipid EPA and DHA increased (both p&lt;0.001), whereas the omega-6:omega-3 PUFA (n-6:n-3 PUFA) ratio decreased (p &lt; 0.001). Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and bilirubin decreased in both treatment groups. Considering only the change from day 1 to day 6 there was a bigger decrease in AST, ALT and bilirubin levels in the SG. Concentrations of TNF-α decreased from day 1 to day 6 in the SG, whereas they increased in the CG, but the change was not statistically significant (p = 0.112). A significant negative correlation was found between EPA provision on day 3 and the SOFA score (r = −0.4047, p = 0.018). Days on mechanical ventilation (1.24 ± 0.83 days in SG versus 0.88 ± 1.63 days in CG, p = 0.385) and ICU LOS (9.5 ± 7.09 days in SG versus 10.7 ± 7.6 days in CG, p = 0.490) were not different between groups.Conclusion: PN containing a four-oil LE increased plasma EPA and DHA, decreased n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio, and was safe and well tolerated. The negative relationship between day 3 EPA and SOFA score seems promising, but EPA intake and effects may have been diluted by enteral nutrition which was started in more than half of patients on day 4. There was no significant difference in terms of other biochemical measurements, SOFA score, length of ICU stay and mortality. More research is needed in this patient population, particularly regarding dose, duration and timing of FO and the effects on clinical outcomes.</p

Critical care admission of South African (SA) surgical patients: Results of the SA Surgical Outcomes Study

Background. Appropriate critical care admissions are an important component of surgical care. However, there are few data describing postoperative critical care admission in resource-limited low- and middle-income countries.Objective. To describe the demographics, organ failures, organ support and outcomes of non-cardiac surgical patients admitted to critical care units in South Africa (SA).Methods. The SA Surgical Outcomes Study (SASOS) was a 7-day national, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of all patients ≥16 years of age undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery between 19 and 26 May 2014 at 50 government-funded hospitals. All patients admitted to critical care units during this study were included for analysis.Results. Of the 3 927 SASOS patients, 255 (6.5%) were admitted to critical care units; of these admissions, 144 (56.5%) were planned, and 111 (43.5%) unplanned. The incidence of confirmed or strongly suspected infection at the time of admission was 35.4%, with a significantly higher incidence in unplanned admissions (49.1 v. 24.8%, p&lt;0.001). Unplanned admission cases were more frequently hypovolaemic, had septic shock, and required significantly more inotropic, ventilatory and renal support in the first 48 hours after admission. Overall mortality was 22.4%, with unplanned admissions having a significantly longer critical care length of stay and overall mortality (33.3 v. 13.9%, p&lt;0.001).Conclusion. The outcome of patients admitted to public sector critical care units in SA is strongly associated with unplanned admissions. Adequate ‘high care-dependency units’ for postoperative care of elective surgical patients could potentially decrease the burden on critical care resources in SA by 23%. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02141867)