Hip disorders in childhood

Disorders of the hip are encountered frequently in paediatric orthopaedic practice. They present initially to paediatricians, general practitioners and accident departments, and it is therefore important for both surgeons and generalists to have a good working knowledge of the common presentations. The challenge is to distinguish between disease processes that are benign and self-limiting (e.g. transient synovitis), acute and joint threatening (e.g. septic arthritis) or chronic and disabling (e.g. Perthes disease). This article primarily considers the epidemiology and aetiology of childhood hip diseases and provides a diagnostic framework, based upon age and risk factors. The important investigations and treatment options for each of the key differential diagnoses are also considered.     

Time to Administration of Antibiotics among Inpatients with Severe Sepsis or Septic Shock

Background

Current evidence suggests that administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy within 1 h after the onset of hypotension significantly improves mortality rates among patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

Objectives:

To determine the interval from recognition of severe sepsis or septic shock in inpatients to initial administration of antibiotic and to assess institutional compliance with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign’s recommendation for early antibiotic therapy.

Methods:

A 6-month retrospective chart analysis was conducted to determine the interval from documented onset of hypotension to initial administration of antibiotic for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. Patients who were admitted to a general medicine ward, a surgery ward, or the intensive care unit (ICU) of a 475-bed university-affiliated hospital and who met the criteria for severe sepsis or septic shock were eligible for inclusion. Patients who received antibiotics before meeting the criteria for severe sepsis or septic shock were excluded.

Results:

Charts for 100 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock were reviewed. The mean age was 69.0 years (standard deviation 18.7 years), and 56% were men. The median interval from onset of severe sepsis or septic shock to administration of antibiotic was 4.00 h (interquartile range [IQR] 1.80–6.45 h). The median interval from the time a physician ordered an antibiotic to administration of the drug was 1.28 h (IQR 0.57–3.05 h). The interval between ordering and administration differed significantly for patients on the wards (5.67 h), those with onset in the ICU (4.00 h), and those with onset in the emergency department (3.28 h) (p = 0.039). The overall survival rate was 56%.

Conclusion:

At the study hospital, the interval from onset of severe sepsis or septic shock to initial administration of antibiotic to inpatients exceeded the 1-h period recommended by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign. These results will be used as a baseline for future quality assurance and improvement initiatives aimed at minimizing the time to antibiotic administration for this group of patients, who are at high risk of death.     

β1受体阻滞剂对早期脓毒性休克病人心肌损伤及预后的影响

目的 观察β₁受体阻滞剂对早期脓毒性休克病人心肌损伤及预后的影响,评价治疗的安全性及探讨其影响病人预后的可能机制。方法 采用回顾性对照研究方法,选择2013年1月至2015年12月芜湖市第二人民医院重症医学科(ICU)54例确诊为脓毒性休克且临床资料完整的病人。根据是否使用β₁受体阻滞剂美托洛尔分为治疗组28例和对照组26例,记录两组病人治疗后72 h循环指标、血清降钙素原(PCT)、肌钙蛋白I(CTnI)、血乳酸(Lac)水平的变化及机械通气时间、住ICU时间和28 d病死率等。所有病人再根据28 d的生存结局分为存活组和死亡组,logistic回归分析影响病人预后的危险因素。结果72 h后治疗组心室率(HR)(90.6±8.9)次/分低于对照组(118.4±23.1)次/分(t=5.916,P＜0.001),两组病人心指数(CI)、平均动脉压(MAP)、血管活性药物的用量、72 h液体平衡量以及血清降钙素原(PCT)、血乳酸(Lac)水平、机械通气时间和病死率均差异无统计学意义(均P＞0.05),治疗组住ICU时间、肌钙蛋白I(CTnI)水平低于对照组(均P＜0.05);死亡组急性生理和慢性健康评分(APACHEⅡ评分)、CTnI、Lac水平高于存活组(P＜0.05),死亡组β₁受体阻滞剂使用率(31.6%)低于存活组(62.9%)(P＜0.05);logistic回归分析显示,CTnI＞1.21 μg/L、APACHEⅡ评分＞19.5分是早期脓毒性休克病人预后的危险因素,β₁受体阻滞剂是影响病人预后的保护性因素(P＜0.05)。结论 β₁受体阻滞剂可降低脓毒性休克早期病人的心率和心肌氧耗,减轻心肌损伤,且对血流动力学影响小,可以缩短住ICU时间,可能是此类病人预后的潜在保护因素。     

Compliance with severe sepsis bundles and its effect on patient outcomes of severe community-acquired pneumonia in a limited resources country

Introduction

Validation of compliance with severe sepsis bundles is still needed. The purpose of this study was to determine compliance and its outcomes in severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in a limited resources country.

Material and methods

A prospective cohort study of 212 severe CAP patients was carried out. The implementation programme was organized into two continuous phases. The primary outcomes were compliance and hospital mortality.

Results

Compliance with administration of antibiotics and vasopressors as well as plateau pressure on average < 30 cm H₂O was high in both groups. In the bundles group, patients received more serum lactate monitoring (62.3% vs. 11.3%), more blood cultures (47.1% vs. 24.5%), more fluid resuscitation (63.2% vs. 26.4%) and volumes infused (1319.8 ±1107.4 ml vs. 461.9 ±799.3 ml), more inotropic dobutamine and/or packed red blood cells (21.7% vs. 10.0%), more low-dose steroids (56.5% vs. 15.0%), and more glucose control (51.9% vs. 6.6%) compared with such patients in the control group. The rates of total compliance with 6-hour, 24-hour, and 6/24-hour bundles in the prospective period were 47.1%, 51.9%, and 42.5%, respectively. Hospital mortality was reduced from 44.3% to 29.2% (p = 0.023) in the bundles group, and the compliant subgroup had a more than twofold decrease in mortality (17.8% vs. 37.7%, p = 0.003). Serum lactate measured, blood cultures, and fluid resuscitation showed independent relationships with decreased mortality.

Conclusions

Total compliance was relatively low, but the implementation of severe sepsis bundles could clearly reduce mortality from severe CAP.     

Needle Embolization: Suspecting Needle Migration in Intravenous Drug Abusers

BackgroundThirteen million people inject drugs globally, making intravenous drug abuse a substantial concern worldwide. While intravenous drug users occasionally report the breaking of a needle into the skin or subcutaneous tissue, central needle migration remains a rare but potentially devastating complication.Case ReportA 27-year-old man with a history of intravenous drug abuse presented to the emergency department with the sudden onset of left-sided neck pain, chills, and subjective fever with a history of needle breaking in his left neck 3 weeks earlier while using heroin. A computed tomography scan of his chest revealed a needle lodged in the right ventricle with associated mediastinitis and mass effect on the left brachiocephalic vein, and a left internal jugular thrombus. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were initiated. This patient was managed nonsurgically for several reasons and was discharged on hospital day 12 with oral antibiotics.Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?Intravenous drug abusers commonly use cervical veins when their peripheral vasculature has become sclerosed. This puts intravenous drug users at increased risk for intravascular embolization. Due to varied symptomology—chest pain, dyspnea, fever, or asymptomatic—and timelines—days, weeks, or months—after reported needle fragmentation, this remains a complex and likely underdiagnosed condition. Case reports describe serious complications of intracardiac needle embolization, such as cardiac perforation, constrictive pericarditis, septic endocarditis, dysrhythmias, granulomas, venous thrombosis, empyema, acute or delayed spontaneous pneumothorax, osteomyelitis, and valvular damage. In this complicated patient population, clinicians should consider needle retention and relocation in patients who report needle breaking or in those who present with chest pain, dyspnea, or fever among other complaints.