Do proton-pump inhibitors increase the risk for nosocomial pneumonia in a medical intensive care unit?

Purpose

The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of gastric acid-suppressive agents increases the risk of nosocomial pneumonia (NP) in a medical intensive care unit population.

Materials and Methods

Retrospective cohort study in a medical intensive care unit of a 554-bed, university-affiliated, academic medical center.

Results

A total of 924 medical records were included in the database during the study period of which 787 patients were included in the study. Out of this cohort,104 patients (13.2%) eventually developed a NP. The risk for patients who received proton-pump inhibitors (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 0.63; 95% CI 0.39-1.01) was not significantly different than in non exposed patients. Variables most strongly associated with NP were the administration of sedatives or neuromuscular blockers for at least 2 consecutive days (AHR 3.39;95% CI 1.99-5.75), an Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) severity score greater than 15 (AHR, 3.34; 95% CI 1.82-6.50), and presence of a central venous catheter (AHR, 1.76; 95% CI 1.12-2.76).

Conclusions

Prior use of a proton-pump inhibitor did not correlate with a significant increase in the risk of developing NP. This risk was higher with the administration of sedatives or neuromuscular blockers, increased disease severity, and placement of a central venous catheter.     

Clinical pulmonary infection score for ventilator-associated pneumonia: accuracy and inter-observer variability

Objective Although quantitative microbiological cultures of samples obtained by bronchoscopy are considered the most specific tool for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia, this labor-intensive invasive technique is not widely used. The Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS), a diagnostic algorithm that relies on easily available clinical, radiographic, and microbiological criteria, could be an attractive alternative for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia. Initially, the CPIS scoring system was validated upon 40 quantitative cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from 28 patients, and only few other studies have evaluated this scoring system since then. Therefore, little is known about the accuracy of this score.Design We compared the scores of a slightly adjusted CPIS with results from quantitative cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in 99 consecutive patients with suspicion of ventilator-associated pneumonia, using growth of 10⁴ cfu/ml in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as a cut-off for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia. In addition, the CPIS were calculated for 52 patients by two different intensivists to determine the inter-observer variability.Results Ventilator-associated pneumonia was diagnosed in 69 (69.6%) patients. When using a CPIS >5 as diagnostic cutoff, the sensitivity of the score was 83% and its specificity was 17%. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was 0.55. The level of agreement for prospectively measured Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (6 and >6) was poor (kappa =0.16).Conclusions When compared to quantitative cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, the CPIS has a low sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia with considerable inter-observer variability.     

A novel method of continuous measurement of head of bed elevation in ventilated patients

Objective We developed a novel pressure transducer-based method of continuous measurement of head of bed elevation. Following validation of the method we hypothesized that head of bed angles would be at or above 30 ° among mechanically ventilated patients throughout the day due to a hospital-wide initiative on ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention and standardized electronic order entry system to keep head of bed at an angle of 30 ° or greater. Design and setting Prospective observational study in university hospital intensive care units. Patients and participants Twenty-nine consecutive mechanically ventilated patients with no contraindications for semirecumbency. Measurements and results We acquired 113 pairs of measurements on unused beds for validation of the method at angles between 3 ° and 70 °. Correlation between transducer and protractor was fitted into a linear regression model (R ² = 0.98) with minimal variation of data along the line of equality. Bland–Altman analysis showed a mean difference of 1.6 ° ± 1.6 °. Ninety-six percent of differences were within 2 SD from the mean. This method was then used among 29 intubated patients to collect head of bed data over a 24-h period for 3 consecutive days. Contrary to our hypothesis, all patients had head of bed angles less than 30 °. Conclusions Our results suggest that this method could be used with high reliability and patients in our institution were not kept even at 30 °. The results are in accord with those of a recent study which found that continued maintenance of previously suggested head of bed angles was difficult to attain clinically. This may lead us to reevaluate methods studying the impact of head of bed elevation in VAP prevention.     

Preoperative fasting in children: review of existing guidelines and recent developments

The current guidelines for preoperative fasting recommend intervals of 6, 4, and 2 h (6–4–2) of fasting for solids, breast milk, and clear fluids, respectively. The objective is to minimize the risk of pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents, but also to prevent unnecessarily long fasting intervals. Pulmonary aspiration is rare and associated with nearly no mortality in paediatric anaesthesia. The incidence may have decreased during the last decades, judging from several audits published recently. However, several reports of very long fasting intervals have also been published, in spite of the implementation of the 6–4–2 fasting regimens. In this review, we examine the physiological basis for various fasting recommendations, the temporal relationship between fluid intake and residual gastric content, and the pathophysiological effects of preoperative fasting, and review recent publications of various attempts to reduce the incidence of prolonged fasting in children. The pros and cons of the current guidelines will be addressed, and possible strategies for a future revision will be suggested.     

Legionella and Legionnaires’ Disease: Time to Explore in India

Legionella pneumophila was first recognised as a fatal cause of pneumonia more than four decades ago, during the 1976-American Legion convention in Philadelphia, USA. Legionella spp. continue to cause disease outbreaks of public health significance, and at present, Legionnaires’ disease (LD) has emerged as an important cause of community and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Parallel to this, the understanding of LD has also increased exponentially. However, the disease is likely to be underreported in many countries because of the dearth of common definitions, diagnostic tests and active surveillance systems. In this review, we outline the basic concepts of Legionella including clinical presentations, epidemiology, laboratory diagnosis and the status of LD in India. This article also summarises the progress of research related to Legionella in this country, identifying the research gaps and discussing priorities to explore this unexplored pathogen in India.     

早产儿宫内感染性肺炎和支气管肺发育不良发生的高危因素

目的探讨早产儿宫内感染性肺炎和支气管肺发育不良（BPD）发生的危险因素。 方法收集2013年1月至2018年11月惠州市第六人民医院收治的宫内感染性肺炎早产儿600例为宫内感染性肺炎组,另选取同期无宫内感染性肺炎的早产儿600例为单纯早产组;比较两组早产儿的性别、宫内窘迫、胎膜早破> 24 h、羊水污染、第2产程延长、母孕晚期发热史、剖宫产、胎龄、出生体质量以及1 min阿氏评分（Apgar）,并行多因素Logistic回归分析。收集2016年1月至2018年12月本院收治的BPD早产儿60例为BPD组,另取同期无BPD早产儿60例为非BPD组;比较两组早产儿的性别、宫内窘迫、肺出血、巨细胞病毒感染、有创机械通气治疗、出生2周内输注红细胞、宫内感染、胎龄、出生体质量以及1 min Apgar评分,并行多因素Logistic回归分析。 结果宫内感染性肺炎组早产儿宫内窘迫[224（37.33%） vs. 78（13.00%）]、胎膜早破> 24 h [308（51.33%） vs. 99（16.50%）]、母孕晚期发热史[117（19.50%） vs. 54（9.00%）]和BPD [133（22.17%） vs. 35（5.83%）]比例均显著高于单纯早产儿组,差异均有统计学意义（χ² = 94.320、162.408、27.068、66.473,P均< 0.001）;而1 min Apgar评分[（7.08 ± 1.32）分]显著低于单纯早产组[（8.65 ± 1.41）分],差异有统计学意义（t = 19.911、P < 0.001）。多因素Logistic回归分析显示：宫内窘迫、胎膜早破> 24 h、母孕晚期发热史均为早产儿宫内感染性肺炎的独立危险因素（OR = 3.824、4.017、3.492,P = 0.001、0.008、0.015）。BPD组早产儿宫内窘迫[12（20.00%） vs. 3（5.00%）]、肺出血[10（16.67%） vs. 0（0.00%）]、巨细胞病毒感染[5（8.33%） vs. 0（0.00%）]、有创机械通气治疗[46（76.67%） vs. 2（3.33%）]、出生2周内输注红细胞[51（85.00%） vs. 2（3.33%）]、宫内感染[23（38.33%） vs. 6（10.00%）]比例均显著高于非BPD组,差异均有统计学意义（χ² = 6.171、10.909、5.217、67.222、81.138、13.141,P = 0.013、0.001、0.022、< 0.001、< 0.001、< 0.001）;而胎龄[（32.14 ± 1.20）周vs. （34.35 ± 2.74）周]、出生体质量[（1 352.39 ± 209.57）g vs. （2 285.56 ± 356.82）g]、1 min Apgar评分[（7.23 ± 1.36）分vs. （8.68 ± 1.75）分]显著低于非BPD组,差异均有统计学意义（t = 5.723、17.468、5.068,P均< 0.001）。多因素Logistic回归分析显示：巨细胞病毒感染、有创机械通气治疗、出生2周内输注红细胞、胎龄、出生体质量均为早产儿发生BPD的独立危险因素（OR = 44.357、3.082、3.290、4.738、3.409,P < 0.001、0.003、0.002、< 0.001、0.009）。 结论宫内窘迫、胎膜早破> 24 h、母孕晚期发热史可能增加早产儿宫内感染性肺炎发生的风险,而巨细胞病毒感染、有创机械通气治疗、出生2周内输注红细胞、胎龄、出生体质量可能影响BPD发生率。     

过敏所致急性纤维素性机化性肺炎的诊治经验及文献复习

急性纤维素性机化性肺炎是一种罕见类型的间质性肺疾病,其病因及相关发病机制尚不明确,国内外关于此项疾病的研究及报道较少,亦无明确的诊断标准与规范的治疗方案。报道多为感染或药物不良反应相关,对过敏所致的此类疾病报道罕见,本文总结了成功诊治的一例此类患者相关诊疗经过,并做相关文献复习,以提高对该疾病的认识,避免误诊漏诊,同时提供一治疗方案供临床参考。