Don’t touch – from colon to screen.

Am J Infect Control. 2016 Mar 1;44(3):358-60.

Gerba et al. compared the occurrence of opportunistic bacterial pathogens on the surfaces of computer touch screens used in hospitals and grocery stores. Clostridium difficile and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus were isolated on touch screens in hospitals and in MRSA in grocery stores. Enteric bacteria were more common on grocery store touch screens than on hospital computer touch screens. So don’t snack while you shop over the holidays. The keywords say everything…

Clostridium difficile; Coliforms; Computer touch screen; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus

It hurts, it’s tender, but it’s not appy!

J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2016 Mar;62(3):399-402.

Siawash at al. remind us about anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES), a frequently overlooked condition causing abdominal pain. They carried out a cross-sectional cohort in a population 10 to 18 years of age consulting a pediatric outpatient department with new-onset AP during a 2 years’ time period. History, physical examination, diagnosis, and success of treatment were obtained in patients who were diagnosed as having ACNES. Twelve of 95 adolescents were found to be experiencing ACNES. Carnett sign was positive at the lateral border of the rectus abdominus muscle in all 12. Altered skin sensation was present in 11 of 12 patients with ACNES. Six weeks after treatment (1-3 injections, n = 5; neurectomy, n = 7), pain was absent in 11 patients.

BUT WHAT IS CARNETT’S SIGN? Have them tense the abdominal wall (by pulling their legs or head off the bed) and if the pain gets worse or stays the same- it is not intra abdominal.

Is there a good REASON to stop CPR?

Gaspari R, Weekes A, Adhikari S, Noble VE, Nomura JT, Theodoro D, Woo M, Atkinson P, Blehar D, Brown SM, Caffery T, et al. Resuscitation. 2016;109:33-9.

Some clinicians use a lack of cardiac activity on ultrasound as a reason to terminate resuscitation efforts. We at the Saint John Regional Hospital Emergency Department (ED) participated in this prospective observational study at 20 EDs across North America. We assessed the association between cardiac activity on point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) during advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) and survival to hospital discharge in patients with pulseless electrical activity (PEA) or asystole. Of 793 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest enrolled, 26% had ROSC, 14% survived to hospital admission, and 1.6% survived to discharge. Among 530 patients without cardiac activity on PoCUS, only 0.6% survived to discharge (compared with 3.8% of those with cardiac activity).

There is always an argument that the association between dismal survival and lack of cardiac activity is just a self-fulfilling prophecy, if absence of cardiac activity led to early termination of salvageable resuscitations. In this study, resuscitation had to continue until at least 2 scans were completed. So, unless there are very special circumstances, such as significant hypothermia, or post defibrillation, it seems safe to terminate resuscitation for most patients with asystole on ECG and without cardiac activity on ultrasound.

SIRS, I’m not sure what you mean? The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3)

JAMA. 2016;315(8):801-810.

Singer et al. lay out the new definitions for sepsis and septic shock. SIRS is out. Sepsis should be defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Quantify as a SOFA score of 2 points or more, which is associated with an in-hospital mortality greater than 10%. Patients with septic shock can be clinically identified by a vasopressor requirement to maintain a mean arterial pressure of 65 mm Hg or greater and serum lactate level greater than 2 mmol/L  in the absence of hypovolemia. This combination is associated with hospital mortality rates greater than 40%. In emergency department, adult patients with suspected infection can be rapidly identified as being more likely to have poor outcomes typical of sepsis if they have at least 2 of the following: quickSOFA (qSOFA): respiratory rate of 22/min or greater, altered mentation, or systolic blood pressure of 100 mm Hg or less. These updated definitions and clinical criteria should replace previous definitions, and facilitate earlier recognition and more timely management of patients with sepsis or at risk of developing sepsis.

NSAIDs and Lasix – best of friends.

Eur J Intern Med. 2015 Nov;26(9):685-90.

Ungprasert and co. look at the association between exacerbation of heart failure (HF) and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Their systematic review and meta-analysis looked at six studies where the use of conventional NSAIDs was associated with a significantly higher risk of development of exacerbation of HF. The excess risk was approximately 40% for conventional NSAIDs and celecoxib.

Dispelling the nice or naughty myth: retrospective observational study of Santa Claus

BMJ 2016; 355

Park et al. report their attempt to determine which factors influence whether Santa Claus will visit children in hospital on Christmas Day. They carried out an observational study in paediatric wards in the UK. They discovered that Santa Claus visited most of the paediatric wards in all four countries: 89% in England, 100% in Northern Ireland, 93% in Scotland, and 92% in Wales. The odds of him not visiting, however, were significantly higher for paediatric wards in areas of higher socioeconomic deprivation in England (odds ratio 1.31 (95% confidence interval 1.04 to 1.71) in England, 1.23 (1.00 to 1.54) in the UK). In contrast, there was no correlation with school absenteeism, conviction rates, or distance to the North Pole. The results of this study dispel the traditional belief that Santa Claus rewards children based on how nice or naughty they have been in the previous year. Santa Claus is less likely to visit children in hospitals in the most deprived areas. Potential solutions include a review of Santa’s contract or employment of local Santas in poorly represented regions. Clearly Santa likes everyone in Northern Ireland too! Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

PA Dec 2016