ABSTRACT-Supplemental doses of antithrombin (AT) are widely used to treat sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in Japan. However, evidence on the benefits of ATsupplementation for DIC is insufficient. This multicenter retrospective observational study aimed to clarify the effect of AT supplementation on sepsis-induced DIC using propensity score analyses. Data from 3,195 consecutive adult patients admitted to 42 intensive care units for severe sepsis treatment were retrospectively analyzed; 1,784 patients were diagnosed with DIC (n ¼ 715, AT group; n ¼ 1,069, control group). Inverse probability of treatment-weighted propensity score analysis indicated a statistically significant association between AT supplementation and lower in-hospital all-cause mortality (n ¼ 1,784, odds ratio [95% confidence intervals]: 0.748 [0.572-0.978], P ¼ 0.034). However, quintile-stratified propensity score analysis (n ¼ 1,784, odds ratio: 0.823 [0.646-1.050], P ¼ 0.117) and propensity score matching analysis (461 matching pairs, odds ratio: 0.855 [0.649-1.125], P ¼ 0.263) did not show this association. In the early days after intensive care unit admission, the survival rate was statistically higher in the propensity score-matched AT group than in the propensity score-matched control group (P ¼ 0.007). In DIC patients without concomitant heparin administration, similar results were observed. In conclusion, AT supplementation may be associated with reduced in-hospital all-cause mortality in patients with sepsis-induced DIC. However, the statistical robustness of this connection was not strong. In addition, although the number of transfusions needed in patients with AT supplementation increased, severe bleeding complications did not.

Severe sepsis is a major concern in the intensive care unit (ICU), although there is very little epidemiological information regarding severe sepsis in Japan. This study evaluated 3195 patients with severe sepsis in 42 ICUs throughout Japan. The patients with severe sepsis had a mean age of 70 ± 15 years and a mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score of 23 ± 9. The estimated survival rates at 28 and 90 days after ICU admission were 73.6 and 56.3 %, respectively.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40560-016-0169-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Injury to the inferior phrenic artery after blunt trauma is an extremely rare event, and it may occur under unanticipated conditions. This case report describes an injury to the left inferior phrenic artery caused by blunt trauma, which was complicated by massive hemothorax, and treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE).An 81 year-old female hit by a car while walking at the traffic intersection was transferred to the emergency department, computed tomography scanning revealed active extravasations of the contrast medium within the retrocrural space and from branches of the internal iliac artery. The patient underwent repeated angiography, and active extravasation of contrast medium was observed between the retrocrural space and the right pleural space originating from the left inferior phrenic artery. The injured left inferior phrenic artery was successfully embolized with N-butyl cyanoacrylate, resulting in stabilization of the patient’s clinical condition.Inferior phrenic artery injury should be recognized as a rare phenomenon and causative factor for hemothorax. TAE represents a safe and effective treatment for this complication and obviates the need for a thoracotomy.