The objective of the study was to assess the association between care quality of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate (RAR) for patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 603 discharges from a tertiary care hospital to 17 SNFs after hospitalization for ADHF. SNF quality was assessed based on the CMS 5-star quality rating and a survey of SNF characteristics and processes of care. In all, 20% of cases were readmitted within 30-days; 9.4% were for ADHF. The all-cause RARs for higher- and lower-quality SNFs were 18% (95% confidence interval [CI]=14%-23%) and 22% (95% CI=17%-26%), respectively, and the ADHF RARs were 8.8% (95% CI=6.0%-11.6%) and 10.2% (95% CI=7.0%-12.9%), respectively. There were no significant associations between ADHF RARs and individual processes of care or structural characteristics. Quality ratings of SNF or processes of care did not correlate with RAR.

Sivalingam et al. ventricular arrhythmias include phase two re-entry as well as triggered automaticity following intracellular calcium accumulation in epicardial cells (5). Cardiac arrhythmias seen with hypothermia usually resolve spontaneously with rewarming (6). It has been noted that hypothermic myocardium is less responsive to antiarrhythmic drugs and defi brillation at temperatures below 28 ° C/82.4 ° F (6), as noted in our patient. When cardiac instability with loss of circulation is noted, the best available care includes extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or CPB (7). Th e neurologically intact survival rate in cardiac arrest patients treated with these modalities is approximately 50% (8). In patients with return of spontaneous circulation, the rates of multi-organ failure are high and pulmonary edema is encountered frequently (8). Th is is probably why ECMO has slightly better outcomes than traditional CPB as it is capable of providing pulmonary support (7).Remarkably, the patient walked home, neurologically intact aft er a prolonged hospital stay complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome, prolonged delirium, clostridium diffi cile colitis and acute tubular necrosis due to rhabdomyolysis.In summary, it is important to anticipate life-threatening arrhythmias when managing a severely hypothermic patient and recognize that usual resuscitative measures may fail. Early activation of surgical/trauma protocols to institute appropriate re-warming including CPB/ECMO is vital.

Toxoplasma encephalitis (TE) is usually diagnosed in advanced stages of HIV infection when the CD4+ count is <100-200 cells/µl. A 55-year-old woman with HIV/AIDS, well controlled on antiretroviral therapy (ART), CD4+ count in the 300 cells/μl range for >1 year presented with acute onset of headache, nausea and vomiting. She had been on her current ART regimen consisting of raltegravir, co-formulated emtricitabine/tenofovir and etravirine for three years and had been off Pneumocystis prophylaxis for 10 months (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole). Brain MRI showed multiple ring-enhancing, supratentorial and infra-tentorial parenchymal lesions suspicious for metastases. She had no other evidence of metastatic disease in her body. The possibilities of TE and primary CNS lymphoma were considered but deemed unlikely given the high CD4+ count. A brain biopsy demonstrated Toxoplasma tachyzoites. There was no evidence of lymphoma or carcinoma. Anti-toxoplasma treatment yielded good initial clinical and radiographic responses. While on TE maintenance therapy, she developed similar symptoms. Repeat MRI showed progression of lesions. Further work-up including CSF Epstein-Barr virus PCR and SPECT Th 201 imaging was not conclusive for CNS lymphoma. The patient's clinical condition deteriorated and she died. We postulate that functional immunological dysfunction is a possible mechanism by which our patient developed TE despite demonstrating sustained immune response on ART.