Predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients:A cross-sectional study

Objective:To explore the predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)in in-hospital mortality in sepsis patients.Methods:A prospective observational cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients with septicemia.The data about the patient’s demography,medical history,general examination including pulse rate,blood pressure,etc,use of vasopressor support,need for renal replacement therapy,mechanical ventilation,outcome,and lab parameters including total lymphocyte count with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were recorded.And parameters between survivals and non-survivals were compared.Results:Out of 100 patients,80%were from rural backgrounds.Most patients were 50 to 59 years old.26 Patients were dead.The patients in the nonsurvivor group were older and more had a history of diabetes mellitus when compared with the survivor group.The non-survivor group had a higher NLR,APACHE栻,and SOFA score.Conclusions:NLR is a readily available parameter and can be used as a good prognostic indicator for mortality in sepsis patients.

Balthazar computed tomography severity index is superior to Ranson criteria and APACHE Ⅱ scoring system in predicting acute pancreatitis outcome

AIM： Acute pancreatitis （AP） is a process with variable involvement of regional tissues or organ systems. Multifactorial scales included the Ranson, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation （APACHE Ⅱ） systems and Balthazar computed tomography severity index （CTSI）. The purpose of this review study was to assess the accuracy of CTSI, Ranson score, and APACHE II score in course and outcome prediction of AP. METHODS： We reviewed 121 patients who underwent helical CT within 48 h after onset of symptoms of a first episode of AP between 1999 and 2003. Fourteen inappropriate subjects were excluded; we reviewed the 107 contrastenhanced CT images to calculate the CTSI. We also reviewed their Ranson and APACHE Ⅱ score. In addition, complications, duration of hospitalization, mortality rate, and other pathology history also were our comparison parameters. RESULTS： We classified 85 patients （79%） as having mild AP （CTSI 〈5） and 22 patients （21%） as having severe AP （CTSI ≥5）. In mild group, the mean APACHE II score and Ranson score was 8.6±1.9 and 2.4±1.2, and those of severe group was 10.2±2.1 and 3.1±0.8, respectively. The most common complication was pseudocyst and abscess and it presented in 21 （20%） patients and their CTSI was 5.9±1.4. A CTSI ≥5 significantly correlated with death, complication present, and prolonged length of stay. Patients with a CTSI ≥5 were 15 times to die than those CTSI 〈5, and the prolonged length of stay and complications present were 17 times and 8 times than that in CTSI 〈5, respectively. CONCLUSION： CTSI is a useful tool in assessing the severity and outcome of AP and the CTSI ≥5 is an index in our study. Although Ranson score and APACHE II score also are choices to be the predictors for complications, mortality and the length of stay of AP, the sensitivity of them are lower than CTSI.

Scoring systems in critically ill: Which one to use in cancer patients?

BACKGROUND Scoring systems have not been evaluated in oncology patients.We aimed to assess the performance of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation(APACHE)II,APACHE III,APACHE IV,Simplified Acute Physiology Score(SAPS)II,SAPS III,Mortality Probability Model(MPM)II0 and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment(SOFA)score in critically ill oncology patients.AIM To compare the efficacy of seven commonly employed scoring systems to predict outcomes of critically ill cancer patients.METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of 400 consecutive cancer patients admitted in the medical intensive care unit over a two-year period.Primary outcome was hospital mortality and the secondary outcome measure was comparison of various scoring systems in predicting hospital mortality.RESULTS In our study,the overall intensive care unit and hospital mortality was 43.5%and 57.8%,respectively.All of the seven tested scores underestimated mortality.The mortality as predicted by MPM II0 predicted death rate(PDR)was nearest to the actual mortality followed by that predicted by APACHE II,with a standardized mortality rate(SMR)of 1.305 and 1.547,respectively.The best calibration was shown by the APACHE III score(χ^(2)=4.704,P=0.788).On the other hand,SOFA score(χ^(2)=15.966,P=0.025)had the worst calibration,although the difference was not statistically significant.All of the seven scores had acceptable discrimination with good efficacy however,SAPS III PDR and MPM II0 PDR(AUROC=0.762),had a better performance as compared to others.The correlation between the different scoring systems was significant(P<0.001).CONCLUSION All the severity scores were tested under-predicted mortality in the present study.As the difference in efficacy and performance was not statistically significant,the choice of scoring system used may depend on the ease of use and local preferences.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of splenic abscess:A review of 67 cases in a single medical center of Taiwan

AIM： To analyze 67 cases of splenic abscess in a medica center of Taiwan during a period of 19 years. METHODS： From January 1986 to December 2004, a total of 67 patients with splenic abscess were enrolled for the retrospective study. The clinical characteristics, underlying diseases, organism spectra, therapeutic methods, APACHE Ⅱ scores, and mortality rates were analyzed. RESULTS： There were 41 males and 26 females with the mean age of 54.14-14.1 years. Multiple splenic abscesses （MSA） account for 28.4% and solitary splenic abscess in 71.6% of the patients. Twenty-six of sixtyseven patients （35.8%） had extrasplenic abscesses, with leading site of liver （34.6%）, Microbiological cultures were positive in 58 patients （86.6%）, with 71.8% in blood culture and 93.5% in abscess culture. Gram negative bacillus （GNB） infection predominated （55.2%）, with leading pathogen of Klebslella pneumoniae （22.4%）, followed by gram positive coccus （GPC） infection （31%）. Splenectomy was performed in 26 patients （38.8%）, percutaneous drainage or aspiration in 21 （31.3%）, and antibiotic therapy alone in 20 patients （29.9%）. Eventually, 12 of 67 patients expired （17.9 %）. By statistics, spleen infected with GNB was likely to develop multiple abscesses compared with infection with GPC （P=0.036）. Patients with GNB infection （P=0.009） and multiple abscesses （P=0.011） experienced a higher mortality rate than patients with GPC infection and solitary abscess. The mean APACHE Ⅱ score of 12 ex- pired patients （16.3±3.2） was significantly higher than that of the 55 survivals （7.2 ± 3.8） （P〈 0.001）. CONCLUSION： MSA, GNB infection, and high APACHE Ⅱ scores are poor prognostic factors. Early surgical intervention should be encouraged when these risk factors are present.

Procalcitionin as a diagnostic marker to distinguish upper and lower gastrointestinal perforation

AIM To assess the accuracy of serum procalcitionin(PCT)as a diagnostic marker in verifying upper and lower gastrointestinal perforation(GIP).METHODS This retrospective study included 46 patients from the surgical intensive care unit(ICU)of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University who were confirmed to have GIP between June 2013 and December 2016.Demographic and clinical patient data were recorded on admission to ICU.Patients were divided into upper(n=19)and lower(n=27)GIP groups according to the perforation site(above or below Treitz ligament).PCT and WBC count was obtained before laparotomy and then compared between groups.Meanwhile,the diagnostic accuracy of PCT was analyzed.RESULTS Patients with lower GIP exhibited significantly higher APACHE II score,SOFA score and serum PCT level than patients with upper GIP(P=0.017,0.004,and0.001,respectively).There was a significant positive correlation between serum PCT level and APACHE II score or SOFA score(r=0.715 and r=0.611,respectively),while there was a significant negative correlation between serum PCT level and prognosis(r=-0.414).WBC count was not significantly different between the two groups,and WBC count showed no significant correlation with serum PCT level,APACHE II score,SOFA score or prognosis.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of PCT level to distinguish upper or lower GIP was 0.778.Patients with a serum PCT level above 17.94 ng/d L had a high likelihood of lower GIP,with a sensitivity of 100%and a specificity of 42.1%.CONCLUSION Serum PCT level is a reliable and accurate diagnostic marker in identifying upper or lower GIP before laparotomy.

Intra-abdominal pressure monitoring in predicting outcome of patients with severe acute pancreatitis

BACKGROUND: Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a serious disease with many complications, high mortality and poor prognosis. It is characterized by rapid deterioration and poses one of the most difficult challenges in clinical practice. Previous investigations suggest that SAP is one of the main causes of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) increase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of IAP-monitoring in predicting the severity and prognosis of SAP. METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with SAP who had been treated from February 2001 to December 2005 were studied. Since bladder pressure accurately reflects IAP, we measured it instead of IAP. Bladder pressure was measured at the time of admission and every 12 hours in the course of the disease, 9 consecutive times in all. The APACHE II scores of all patients were obtained within 24 hours after admission. According to a maximum bladder pressure <10 cmH(2)O, all patients were divided into two groups, mildly-elevated and severely-elevated. Mortality and mean APACHE II scores in the two groups were calculated. In addition, the mean bladder pressure and APACHE II scores in survivors were compared with those in deaths. RESULTS: Sixty-eight of the 89 patients were in the severely-elevated group. Mortality and mean APACHE II scores in this group were much higher than those in the mildly-elevated group (mortality, 39.71% vs. 9.52%; mean APACHE II score, 23.15 +/- 7.42 vs. 15.95 +/- 5.35, P<0.01). The mean bladder pressures and APACHE II scores in deaths were significantly greater than those in survivors (mean bladder pressure, 14.1 +/- 3.8 vs. 9.2 +/- 2.3 cmH(2)O, P<0.01; mean APACHE II score, 27.83 +/- 4.87 vs. 18.37 +/- 6.74, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that IAP may be used as a marker of the severity and prognosis of SAP.

Effects of early rehabilitation therapy on patients with mechanical ventilation

BACKGROUND: For patients in intensive care unit(ICU), mechanical ventilation is an effective treatment to survive from acute illness and improve survival rates. However, long periods of bed rest and restricted physical activity can result in side effects. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of early rehabilitation therapy in patients with mechanical ventilation.METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out. Sixty patients, with tracheal intubation or tracheostomy more than 48 hours and less than 72 hours, were admitted to the ICU of the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University, from May 2010 to May 2012. These patients were randomly divided into a rehabilitation group and a control group. In the rehabilitation group, rehabilitation therapy was performed twice daily, and the training time and intensity were adjusted according to the condition of the patients. Early rehabilitation therapy included heading up actively, transferring from the supine position to sitting position, sitting at the edge of the bed, sitting in chair, transferring from sitting to standing, and ambulating bedside. The patient's body mass index, days to first out of bed, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, APACHE II score, highest FiO2, lowest PaO2/FiO2 and hospital mortality of patients were all compared between the rehabilitation group and the control group. The differences between the two groups were compared using Student's t test.RESULTS: There was no significant difference in body mass index, APACHE II score, highest FiO2, lowest PaO2/FiO2 and hospital mortality between the rehabilitation group and the control group(P>0.05). Patients in the rehabilitation group had shorter days to first out of bed(3.8±1.2 d vs. 7.3±2.8 d; P=0.00), duration of mechanical ventilation(5.6±2.1 d vs. 12.7±4.1 d; P=0.005) and length of ICU stay(12.7±4.1 d vs. 15.2±4.5 d; P=0.01) compared with the control group.CONCLUSION: Early rehabilitation therapy was feasible and effective in improving the outcomes of patients with mechanical ventilation.

Significance of blood pressure variability in patients with sepsis

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to observe the characteristics of blood pressure variability(BPV) and sepsis and to investigate changes in blood pressure and its value on the severity of illness in patients with sepsis.METHODS: Blood parameters, APACHE II score, and 24-hour ambulatory BP were analyzed in 89 patients with sepsis.RESULTS: In patients with APACHE II score>19, the values of systolic blood pressure(SBPV), diasystolic blood pressure(DBPV), non-dipper percentage, cortisol(COR), lactate(LAC), platelet count(PLT) and glucose(GLU) were significantly higher than in those with APACHE II score ≤19(P<0.05), whereas the values of procalcitonin(PCT), white blood cell(WBC), creatinine(Cr), PaO2, C-reactive protein(CRP), adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH) and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α) were not statistically significant(P>0.05). Correlation analysis showed that APACHE II scores correlated significantly with SBPV and DBPV(P<0.01, r=0.732 and P<0.01, r=0.762). SBPV and DBPV were correlated with COR(P=0.018 and r=0.318; P=0.008 and r=0.353 respectively). However, SBPV and DBPV were not correlated with TNF-α, IL-10, and PCT(P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis of SBPV, DBPV, APACHE II score, and LAC was used to predict prognosis in terms of survival and non-survival rates. Receiver operating characteristics curve(ROC) showed that DBPV was a better predictor of survival rate with an AUC value of 0.890. However, AUC of SBPV, APACHE II score, and LAC was 0.746, 0.831 and 0.915, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: The values of SBPV, DBPV and non-dipper percentage are higher in patients with sepsis. DBPV and SBPV can be used to predict the survival rate of patients with sepsis.