Anaesthesia
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Comparative Study
A comparison of ventilator-associated pneumonia rates determined by different scoring systems in four intensive care units in the North West of England.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a common healthcare-associated infection with significant mortality, morbidity and healthcare cost, and rates have been proposed as a potential quality indicator. We examined ventilator-associated pneumonia rates as determined by different diagnostic scoring systems across four adult intensive care units in the North West of England. We also collected clinical opinions as to whether patients had ventilator-associated pneumonia, and whether patients were receiving antibiotics as treatment. ⋯ There was significant within-unit heterogeneity for ventilator-associated pneumonia rates calculated by the various scoring systems (all p < 0.001). Clinical opinion and antibiotic use did not correlate well with the scoring systems (k = 0.23 and k = 0.17, respectively). We therefore question whether the ventilator-associated pneumonia rate as measured by existing tools is either useful or desirable as a quality indicator.
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We report 13 cases of presumed rocuronium-induced anaphylaxis in which sugammadex was administered with the intention of reversing the immunological reaction. Of these 13 cases, eight (62%) were later confirmed to be type-1 hypersensitivity reactions to rocuronium, three (23%) were triggered by an antibiotic and two (15%) were non-immunologically mediated. ⋯ Of the three cases in which the treating anaesthetist thought that sugammadex had been beneficial, one was not caused by rocuronium, one had no improvement in blood pressure and one required 8.5 times as much adrenaline in boluses after, compared with the period before, sugammadex administration. These data suggest that sugammadex does not modify the clinical course of a suspected hypersensitivity reaction.