1.
Pupillary Light Reflex Is Not Abolished by Epinephrine and Atropine Given During Advanced Cardiac Life Support in Patients Who Achieve Return of Spontaneous Circulation.
Achamallah, N, Fried, J, Love, R, Matusov, Y, Sharma, R
Journal of intensive care medicine. 2021;(4):459-465
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Absence of pupillary light reflex (PLR) is a well-studied indicator of poor neurologic recovery after cardiac arrest. Interpretation of absent PLR is difficult in patients with hypothermia or hypotension, or who have electrolyte or acid-base disturbances. Additionally, many studies exclude patients who receive epinephrine or atropine from their analysis on the basis that these drugs are thought to abolish the PLR. This observational cohort study assessed for presence or absence of PLR in in-hospital cardiac arrest patients who received epinephrine with or without atropine during advanced cardiac life support and achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). METHODS Pupil size and reactivity were assessed in adult patients who had an in-hospital cardiac arrest, received epinephrine with or without atropine, and achieved ROSC. Measurements were taken using a NeurOptics NPi-200 infrared pupillometer. RESULTS Forty patients had pupillometry performed within 1 hour (median: 6 minutes) after ROSC. Of these only 1 (2.5%) patient had nonreactive pupils at first measurement after ROSC. The remaining 39 (97.5%) had reactive pupils. Of the 19 patients who had pupils checked within 3 minutes of ROSC, 100% had reactive pupils. Degree of pupil responsiveness was not correlated with cumulative dose of epinephrine. Ten patients received atropine in addition to epinephrine, including the sole patient with nonreactive pupils. The remaining 9 (90%) had reactive pupils. CONCLUSION Epinephrine and atropine do not abolish the PLR in patients who achieve ROSC after in-hospital cardiac arrest. Lack of pupillary response in the post-arrest patient should not be attributed to these drugs.
2.
Epinephrine Dose Has a Preventive Effect on the Occurrence of Stress Ulcer-Induced Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Critically Ill Patients.
Becq, A, Urien, S, Barret, M, Faisy, C
Digestive diseases and sciences. 2018;(10):2687-2694
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epinephrine may impair splanchnic blood flow, but the impact of epinephrine dose on the occurrence of clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding (CSGB) caused by stress ulcer remains unclear. We investigated the effect of epinephrine dose on the occurrence of stress ulcer-related CSGB in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS In this prospective, observational, cohort study conducted in a French teaching hospital, 40 consecutive ICU patients receiving epinephrine infusion in whom a stress ulcer was diagnosed by an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were included, from February 2010 to July 2015. The effects of epinephrine dose, and other covariates, on the occurrence of stress ulcer-related CSGB were analyzed using a multiple logistic regression model for repeated measures: At each observation, each patient serves as his own control. RESULTS A total of 1484 time-dependent epinephrine dose modifications were available for analysis. The median epinephrine dose rate was 0.8 (0-9.5) mg/h, and the median epinephrine cumulative dose was 44.8 (2.6-2343) mg. Epinephrine, expressed as the average dose per day at time t, had a significant protective effect on the occurrence of stress ulcer (odds ratio 0.22; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.12-0.38; p < 0.0001, for a log10 increase of epinephrine dose). Enteral feeding had also a protective effect (odds ratio 0.55; 95% CI 0.41-0.72; p < 0.0001, for a log10 increase of kcal/day). Only renal replacement therapy increased the occurrence of stress ulcer in the model. CONCLUSIONS An increase in the average dose of epinephrine per day increased the time to occurrence of stress ulcer in critically ill patients.
3.
Biphasic and protracted anaphylaxis to iodinated contrast media.
Kim, TH, Yoon, SH, Lee, SY, Choi, YH, Park, CM, Kang, HR, Cho, SH
European radiology. 2018;(3):1242-1252
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the prevalence of biphasic and protracted anaphylaxis to iodinated contrast media (ICM), their risk factors and practical observation duration for detecting biphasic reaction. METHODS 145 patients with ICM anaphylaxis from January 2005-February 2016 were retrospectively categorised into uniphasic, biphasic (anaphylaxis recurrence within 72 h after resolution of initial anaphylaxis) and protracted (anaphylaxis >5 h) reaction groups. Multivariate regression analyses of potential risk factors were performed. We calculated negative predictive value (NPV) for biphasic reactions and additional person-hours required to detect one case during post-anaphylaxis observation. RESULTS Fifteen patients had biphasic reactions with secondary reactions with similar or milder severity and six had protracted reactions. Most significant risk factors were anaphylaxis duration >40 min for biphasic reactions (odds ratio (OR), 8.65 [95 % CI, 1.05-70.71]; P=0.044), and additional epinephrine administration within 1 h of initial dosing for protracted reactions (OR, 102.0 [95 % CI, 3.40-3057.25]; P=0.008). A 6-h post-anaphylaxis observation produced NPV of 96.4 %, while requiring a minimum of 65.5 additional person-hours to detect one additional case. CONCLUSION Biphasic and protracted ICM anaphylaxis developed in 10.3 % and 4.1 %, respectively, with revealing risk factors. Six hours could be practical for post-anaphylaxis observation to detect biphasic reaction. KEY POINTS • Incidence of biphasic anaphylaxis in iodinated contrast media anaphylaxis is 10.3 %. • Incidence of protracted anaphylaxis in iodinated contrast media anaphylaxis is 4.1 %. • Initial anaphylaxis >40 min can predict for biphasic anaphylaxis development. • A 6-h post-anaphylactic observation in ICM-related anaphylaxis seems practical.