Background and objectives AKI is a risk factor for development or worsening of CKD. However, diagnosis of renal dysfunction by serum creatinine could be confounded by loss of muscle mass and creatinine generation after critical illness.Design, setting, participants, & measurements A retrospective, single center analysis of serum in patients surviving to hospital discharge with an intensive care unit admission of 5 or more days between 2009 and 2011 was performed.Results In total, 700 cases were identified, with a 66% incidence of AKI. In 241 patients without AKI, creatinine was significantly lower (P,0.001) at hospital discharge than admission (median, 0.61 versus 0.88 mg/dl; median decrease, 33%). In 160 patients with known baseline, discharge creatinine was significantly lower than baseline in all patients except those patients with severe AKI (Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes category 3), who had no significant difference. In a multivariable regression model, median duration of hospitalization was associated with a predicted 30% decrease (95% confidence interval, 8% to 45%) in creatinine from baseline in the absence of AKI; after allowing for this effect, AKI was associated with a 29% (95% confidence interval, 10% to 51%) increase in predicted hospital discharge creatinine. Using a similar model to exclude the confounding effect of prolonged major illness on creatinine, 148 of 700 patients (95% confidence interval, 143 to 161) would have eGFR,60 ml/min per 1.73 m 2 at hospital discharge compared with only 63 of 700 patients using eGFR based on unadjusted hospital creatinine (a 135% increase in potential CKD diagnoses; P,0.001).Conclusion Critical illness is associated with significant falls in serum creatinine that persist to hospital discharge, potentially causing inaccurate assessment of renal function at discharge, particularly in survivors of AKI. Prospective measurements of GFR and creatinine generation are required to confirm the significance of these findings.

Introduction:Prehospital physicians balance the need to stabilize patients prior to transport, minimizing the delay to transport patients to the appropriate level of care. Literature has focused on which interventions should be performed in the prehospital environment, with airway management, specifically prehospital intubation (PHI), being a commonly discussed topic. However, few studies have sought additional factors which influence scene time or quantify the impact of mission characteristics or therapeutic interventions on scene time.Hypothesis/Problem:The goal of this study was to identify specific interventions, patient demographics, or mission characteristics that increase scene time and quantify their impact on scene time.Methods:A retrospective, database model-building study was performed using the prehospital mission database of South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS; Adelaide, South Australia) MedSTAR retrieval service from January 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. Mission variables, including patient age, weight, gender, retrieval platform, physician type, PHI, arterial line placement, central line placement, and finger thoracostomy, were assessed for predictors of scene time.Results:A total of 506 missions were included in this study. Average prehospital scene time was 34 (SD = 21) minutes. Four mission variables significantly increased scene time: patient age, rotary wing transport, PHI, and arterial line placement increased scene time by 0.09 (SD = 0.08) minutes, 13.6 (SD = 3.2) minutes, 11.6 (SD = 3.8) minutes, and 34.4 (SD = 8.4) minutes, respectively.Conclusion:This study identifies two mission characteristics, patient age and rotary wing transport, and two interventions, PHI and arterial line placement, which significantly increase scene time. Elderly patients are medically complex and more severely injured than younger patients, thus, may require more time to stabilize on-scene. Inherent in rotary wing operations is the time to prepare for the flight, which is shorter during ground transport. The time required to safely execute a PHI is similar to that in the literature and has remained constant over the past two years; arterial line placement took longer than envisioned. The SAAS MedSTAR has changed its clinical practice guidelines for prehospital interventions based on this study’s results. Retrieval services should similarly assess the necessity and efficiency of interventions to optimize scene time, knowing that the time required to safely execute an intervention may reach a minimum duration. Defining the scene time enables mission planning, team training, and audit review with the aim of improved patient care.

Scott DJA, Ajjan RA. Aspirin therapy is associated with less compact fibrin networks and enhanced fibrinolysis in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm. J Thromb Haemost 2015; 13: 795-801.Summary. Objective: Thrombotic changes in fibrin networks contribute to increased cardiovascular risk in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Given that aspirin modulates the fibrin network, we aimed to determine if aspirin therapy is associated with changes in ex-vivo fibrin clot characteristics in AAA patients and also conducted an exploratory analysis of 5-year mortality in these individuals. Methods: We recruited 145 male patients, divided into controls (aortic diameter < 3 cm, n = 49), AAA not taking aspirin (AAAÀAsp, n = 50) and AAA on 75 mg day À1 aspirin (AAA+Asp, n = 46), matched for aneurysm size. Characteristics of clots made from plasma and plasma-purified fibrinogen were investigated using turbidimetric analysis, permeation studies, and confocal and electron microscopy. Plasma fibrinogen, D-dimer and inflammatory marker levels were also measured. Results: Maximum absorbance (MA) of plasma clots from controls was lower than that of AAA patients not on aspirin (AAAÀAsp) at 0.30 AE 0.01 and 0.38 AE 0.02 au, respectively (P = 0.002), whereas aspirintreated subjects had MA similar to controls (0.31 AE 0.02 P = 0.9). Plasma clot lysis time displayed an identical pattern at 482 AE 15, 597 AE 24 and 517 AE 27 s for control, AAAÀAsp and AAA+Asp (P = 0.001 and P = 0.8). The lysis time of clots made from purified fibrinogen of AAAÀAsp was longer than that of AAA+Asp patients (756 AE 47 and 592 AE 52 s, respectively; P = 0.041). Permeation studies and confocal and electron microscopy showed increased clot density in AAAÀAsp compared with the AAA+Asp group. Mortality in AAAÀAsp and AAA+Asp was similar, despite increased cardiovascular risk in the latter group, and both exhibited higher mortality than controls. Conclusion: Aspirin improves fibrin clot characteristics in patients with AAA, which may have important clinical implications.

Physicians presented with a patient envenomed by O. microlepidotus should remain cognizant of the possible variability of medically important venom toxins in some populations of this species. Some patients seriously envenomed by this species may develop persistent cranial nerve palsies. When clinically indicated, prompt provision of adequate antivenom is the cornerstone of managing O. microlepidotus envenoming. Rapid application of pressure-bandage immobilization and efficient retrieval of victims envenomed in remote locales, preferably by medically well-equipped aircraft, probably improves the likelihood of a positive outcome.