The predictive value of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in hospitalised patients with fever and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia

Aim: To demonstrate whether serum Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a relevant parameter to select hospitalised patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenic fever with low or high probability of infection. Results: 90 assessable febrile episodes in 73 patients were evaluated; 46% of the febrile episodes were microbiologically documented infection (MDI), 8% clinical documented infection (CDI), and 47% fever of unknown origin (FUO). Median IL-8 level was lower in the FUO group compared to CDI and MDI (p = 60 ng/l while in 18 of 21 episodes (86%) with IL-8 level = 60 ng/l and responsive on antibiotic treatment showed a decline of IL-8 levels within days in contrast to non-responding patients. Conclusions: Serum IL-8 level can be a useful marker to identify hospitalised FUO patients with low probability of infection. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Delirium detection using relative delta power based on 1 minute single-channel EEG : a multicentre study

Background: Delirium is frequently unrecognised. EEG shows slower frequencies (i.e. below 4 Hz) during delirium, which might be useful in improving delirium recognition. We studied the discriminative performance of a brief single-channel EEG recording for delirium detection in an independent cohort of patients. Methods: In this prospective, multicentre study, postoperative patients aged ≥60 yr were included (n=159). Before operation and during the first 3 postoperative days, patients underwent a 5-min EEG recording, followed by a video-recorded standardised cognitive assessment. Two or, in case of disagreement, three delirium experts classified each postoperative day based on the video and chart review. Relative delta power (1–4 Hz) was based on 1-min artifact-free EEG. The diagnostic value of the relative delta power was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), using the expert classification as the gold standard. Results: Experts classified 84 (23.3%) postoperative days as either delirium or possible delirium, and 276 (76.7%) non-delirium days. The AUROC of the relative EEG delta power was 0.75 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69–0.82]. Exploratory analysis showed that relative power from 1 to 6 Hz had significantly higher AUROC (0.78, 95% CI 0.72–0.84, P=0.014). Conclusions: Delirium/possible delirium can be detected in older postoperative patients based on a single-channel EEG recording that can be automatically analysed. This objective detection method with a continuous scale instead of a dichotomised outcome is a promising approach for routine detection of delirium. Clinical trial registration: NCT02404181

Delirium detection using relative delta power based on 1 minute single-channel EEG : a multicentre study

Background: Delirium is frequently unrecognised. EEG shows slower frequencies (i.e. below 4 Hz) during delirium, which might be useful in improving delirium recognition. We studied the discriminative performance of a brief single-channel EEG recording for delirium detection in an independent cohort of patients. Methods: In this prospective, multicentre study, postoperative patients aged ≥60 yr were included (n=159). Before operation and during the first 3 postoperative days, patients underwent a 5-min EEG recording, followed by a video-recorded standardised cognitive assessment. Two or, in case of disagreement, three delirium experts classified each postoperative day based on the video and chart review. Relative delta power (1–4 Hz) was based on 1-min artifact-free EEG. The diagnostic value of the relative delta power was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), using the expert classification as the gold standard. Results: Experts classified 84 (23.3%) postoperative days as either delirium or possible delirium, and 276 (76.7%) non-delirium days. The AUROC of the relative EEG delta power was 0.75 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69–0.82]. Exploratory analysis showed that relative power from 1 to 6 Hz had significantly higher AUROC (0.78, 95% CI 0.72–0.84, P=0.014). Conclusions: Delirium/possible delirium can be detected in older postoperative patients based on a single-channel EEG recording that can be automatically analysed. This objective detection method with a continuous scale instead of a dichotomised outcome is a promising approach for routine detection of delirium. Clinical trial registration: NCT02404181