IntroductionAs the population ages, the number of injured elderly is increasing. We sought to determine if low skeletal muscle mass adversely affected outcome in elderly patients following trauma.MethodsPatients ≥ 65 years of age with an admission abdominal computed tomography scan and requiring intensive care unit (ICU) stay at a Level I trauma center in 2009–2010 were reviewed. Muscle cross-sectional area at the 3rd lumbar vertebra was quantified and muscle index, a normalized measure of muscle mass, was calculated and related to clinical parameters including ventilator-free days, ICU-free days, and mortality. Using previously established sex-specific, muscle index cut-points, patients were then categorized as sarcopenic or non-sarcopenic and differences in clinical outcomes between these two groups were also compared. We also examined muscle index as a continuous variable relative to the same clinical outcomes.ResultsThere were 149 severely injured elderly patients (median age 79 years) enrolled in this study of which 71% were sarcopenic. Of the patients who were sarcopenic, 9% were underweight, 44% normal weight, and 47% overweight/obese as per body mass index (BMI) classifications. The overall mortality rate was 27% and univariate analysis demonstrated higher mortality among those who were sarcopenic (32% vs. 14%, P = 0.018). After controlling for age, sex, and injury severity, multiple logistic regression demonstrated that increased muscle index was significantly associated with decreased mortality (OR per unit muscle index = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.875-0.997, P = 0.025). In addition, multivariate linear regression showed that sarcopenia, but not muscle index, was associated with decreased ventilator-free (P = 0.004) and ICU-free days (P = 0.002). Neither BMI, serum albumin nor total adipose tissue on admission were indicative of survival, ventilator-free or ICU-free days.ConclusionsSarcopenia is highly prevalent in the elderly population with traumatic injuries. Traditional measures of nutritional assessment, such as BMI and serum albumin, do not accurately predict outcome in the injured elderly. Sarcopenia, however, represents a potential new predictor for mortality, discharge disposition, and ICU utilization. Measurement of muscularity allows for the early identification of at-risk patients who may benefit from aggressive and multidisciplinary nutritional and rehabilitative strategies.

Perioperative malnutrition has proven to be challenging to define, diagnose, and treat. Despite these challenges, it is well known that suboptimal nutritional status is a strong independent predictor of poor postoperative outcomes. Although perioperative caregivers consistently express recognition of the importance of nutrition screening and optimization in the perioperative period, implementation of evidence-based perioperative nutrition guidelines and pathways in the United States has been quite limited and needs to be addressed in surgery-focused recommendations. The second Perioperative Quality Initiative brought together a group of international experts with the objective of providing consensus recommendations on this important topic with the goal of (1) developing guidelines for screening of nutritional status to identify patients at risk for adverse outcomes due to malnutrition; (2) address optimal methods of providing nutritional support and optimizing nutrition status preoperatively; and (3) identifying when and how to optimize nutrition delivery in the postoperative period. Discussion led to strong recommendations for implementation of routine preoperative nutrition screening to identify patients in need of preoperative nutrition optimization. Postoperatively, nutrition delivery should be restarted immediately after surgery. The key role of oral nutrition supplements, enteral nutrition, and parenteral nutrition (implemented in that order) in most perioperative patients was advocated for with protein delivery being more important than total calorie delivery. Finally, the role of often-inadequate nutrition intake in the posthospital setting was discussed, and the role of postdischarge oral nutrition supplements was emphasized.

These data indicate acidosis and hypothermia to be well managed. Coagulopathy was not corrected in the ICU despite adherence to pre-ICU MT and ICU protocols, likely because of inadequate pre-ICU intervention. More aggressive pre-ICU intervention to correct coagulopathy may be effective in decreasing PRBC requirement during ICU resuscitation, and, because of the association with increased mortality, could improve outcome. We have revised our pre-ICU MT protocol to emphasize early FFP in a FFP:PRBC ratio of 1:1. We think that treatment of coagulopathy can be improved with the development of standardized protocols, both empiric and data driven.

BACKGROUND The use of plasma-based resuscitation for trauma patients in hemorrhagic shock has been associated with a decrease in mortality. While some have proposed a beneficial effect through replacement of coagulation proteins, the putative mechanisms of protection afforded by plasma are unknown. We have previously shown in a cell culture model that plasma decreases endothelial cell permeability compared to crystalloid. The endothelial glycocalyx consists of proteoglycans and glycoproteins attached to a syndecan backbone, which together protect the underlying endothelium. We hypothesize that endothelial cell protection by plasma is due, in part, to its restoration of the endothelial glycocalyx and preservation of syndecan-1 after hemorrhagic shock. METHODS Rats were subjected to hemorrhagic shock to a mean arterial blood pressure of 30 mmHg for 90 minutes followed by resuscitation with either lactated Ringer’s solution (LR) or fresh plasma to a mean arterial blood pressure of 80 mm Hg and compared to shams or shock alone. After two hours, lungs were harvested for syndecan mRNA, immunostained with anti-syndecan-1, or stained with hematoxylin and eosin. To specifically examine the effect of plasma on the endothelium, small bowel mesentery was infused with a lanthanum-based solution, venules identified, and the glycocalyx visualized by electron microscopy. All data are presented as mean ±SEM. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc tests. RESULTS Electron microscopy revealed degradation of the glycocalyx after hemorrhagic shock which was partially restored by plasma but not LR. Pulmonary syndecan-1 mRNA expression was higher in animals resuscitated with plasma (2.76 ± 0.03) compared to shock alone (1.39 ± 0.22) or LR (0.82 ± 0.03) and correlated with cell surface syndecan-1 immunostaining. Shock also resulted in significant lung injury by histopathology scoring (1.63 ± 0.26) which was mitigated by resuscitation with plasma (0.67 ± 0.17) but not LR (2.0 ± 0.25). CONCLUSION The protective effects of plasma may be due in part to its ability to restore the endothelial glycocalyx and preserve syndecan-1 after hemorrhagic shock.

The r-TEG data was clinically superior to results from 5 CCTs. In addition, r-TEG identified patients with an increased risk of early RBC, plasma and platelet transfusions, and fibrinolysis. Admission CCTs can be replaced with r-TEG.

Critical illness may be associated with the loss of normal, “health promoting” bacteria, allowing overgrowth of disease-promoting pathogenic bacteria (dysbiosis), which, in turn, makes patients susceptible to hospital-acquired infections, sepsis, and organ failure. This has significant world health implications, because sepsis is becoming a leading cause of death worldwide, and hospital-acquired infections contribute to significant illness and increased costs. Thus, a trial that monitors the ICU patient microbiome to confirm and characterize this hypothesis is urgently needed. Our study analyzed the microbiomes of 115 critically ill subjects and demonstrated rapid dysbiosis from unexpected environmental sources after ICU admission. These data may provide the first steps toward defining targeted therapies that correct potentially “illness-promoting” dysbiosis with probiotics or with targeted, multimicrobe synthetic “stool pills” that restore a healthy microbiome in the ICU setting to improve patient outcomes.

Primary and secondary ACS have similar demographics, injury severity, time to decompression from hospital admit, and bad outcome. 2 degrees ACS is an earlier ICU event preceded by more crystalloid administration. With appropriate monitoring both could be accurately predicted upon ICU admission.

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