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OBJECTIVEThe harmful effects of hyperoxemia have been reported in critically ill patients with various disorders, including those with brain injuries. However, the effect of hyperoxemia on aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients is unclear. In this study the authors aimed to determine whether hyperoxemia during the hyperacute or acute phase in patients with aSAH is associated with delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and poor neurological outcome.METHODSIn this single-center retrospective study, data from patients with aSAH treated between January 2011 and June 2017 were reviewed. The patients were classified into groups according to whether they experienced DCI (DCI group and non-DCI group) and whether they had a poor outcome at discharge (poor outcome group and favorable outcome group). The background characteristics and time-weighted average (TWA) PaO2 during the first 24 hours after arrival at the treatment facility (TWA24h-PaO2) and between the first 24 hours after arrival and day 6 (TWA6d-PaO2), the hyperacute and acute phases, respectively, were compared between the groups. Factors related to DCI and poor outcome were evaluated with logistic regression analyses.RESULTSOf 197 patients with aSAH, 42 patients experienced DCI and 82 patients had a poor outcome at discharge. TWA24h-PaO2 was significantly higher in the DCI group than in the non-DCI group (186 [141–213] vs 161 [138–192] mm Hg, p = 0.029) and in the poor outcome group than in the favorable outcome group (176 [154–205] vs 156 [136–188] mm Hg, p = 0.004). TWA6d-PaO2 did not differ significantly between the groups. Logistic regression analyses revealed that higher TWA24h-PaO2 was an independent risk factor for DCI (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.17, p = 0.037) and poor outcome (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.06–1.29, p = 0.002).CONCLUSIONSHyperoxemia during the first 24 hours was associated with DCI and a poor outcome in patients with aSAH. Excessive oxygen therapy might have an adverse effect in the hyperacute phase of aSAH.

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The objective of the study was to investigate the predictive factors for the hospitalization of patients who presented with mild to moderate heat illness at an emergency department. We conducted a retrospective survey of hospitals with an emergency department in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The survey questionnaire entries included patient age, sex, use of an ambulance, vital signs, blood examination conducted at the emergency department, the length of hospitalization, and outcome. We analyzed the predictive factors for hospitalization in patients with heat illness. A total of 127 patients were analyzed. Of these, 49 (37%) were admitted, with 59% discharged on the day following admission. In univariate analysis, the following inpatient characteristics were predictive for hospitalization: old age, low Glasgow Coma Scale score, elevated body temperature, increased serum C-reactive protein, and increased blood urea nitrogen. In logistic regression multivariate analysis, the following were predictive factors for hospitalization: age of ≥ 65 years (odds ratio (OR) 4.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.42–17.00), body temperature (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.14–3.41), Glasgow Coma Scale (OR 0.40; 95% CI 0.16–0.98), and creatinine (OR 2.92; 95% CI 1.23–6.94). The results suggest that the elderly with hyperthermia, disturbance of consciousness, and elevated serum creatinine have an increased risk for hospitalization with heat illness.

This study established the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships of the bispectral index (BIS) and Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (OAA/S) scale with effect site drug concentrations during and after brief etomidate infusion. Eighteen American Society of Anesthesiologists status I or II volunteers received etomidate (0.2%) infusion at 5 mg/min until the loss of eyelash reflexes, and spontaneous recovery was allowed. Data for plasma etomidate concentrations, BIS, and OAA/S were collected every minute and analyzed by NONMEM. A 2-compartment pharmacokinetic model and a pharmacodynamic sigmoid E(max) model fit the data best, with volumes of distribution at central and peripheral compartments of 4.45 and 74.90 L, respectively, and systemic and intercompartmental clearances of 0.63 and 3.16 L/min, respectively. t(1/2)k(e0) was 1.550 min. EC(50) values were 0.526 and 0.554 µg/mL, and gamma values were 2.25 and 6.24 for BIS and OAA/S, respectively. The prediction probability between OAA/S and BIS was 0.8. The slopes of the curves suggest that BIS is a better monitor of depth of sedation and hypnosis, whereas OAA/S may be more useful for monitoring sleep versus wakefulness. These results should be interpreted within the context of short-term etomidate infusion of less than 10 minutes.