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Biomedical subjects

R C Bone

Publications and source records attributed to R C Bone.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Pulmonary extraction and pharmacokinetics of prostaglandin E1 during continuous intravenous infusion in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) is currently being evaluated in clinical trials to determine its usefulness in the treatment of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The drug is administered to ARDS patients by continuous intravenous infusion at dosage rates of up to 30 ng/kg/min for 7 days. The present study was conducted to determine the pulmonary extraction efficiency and pharmacokinetics of PGE1 under these conditions. Plasma levels of PGE1 were determined by high performance liquid chromatography in 14 patients who either had ARDS or were considered to be at risk of developing ARDS following trauma or sepsis. Predose plasma levels of PGE1 were below the detection limit of the assay (50 pg/ml). At a dosage rate of 30 ng/kg/min, pulmonary arterial and systemic arterial plasma levels ranged from 265 to 1,009 pg/ml and 50 to 796 pg/ml, respectively. The pulmonary extraction ratio (Ep) of PGE1 varied from 0.11 to 0.90 and was independent of dose but dependent on cardiac output. The data were adequately described by first-order pharmacokinetic equations which assumed that the lung was the only site of PGE1 clearance. Nine of 10 patients with AaPO2/FlO2 below 510 mm Hg had Ep greater than 0.7 and high pulmonary intrinsic clearance for PGE1 (ca. 250 L/min), but all 4 patients with AaPO2/FlO2 above 510 mm Hg had Ep less than 0.6 and low intrinsic clearance (ca. 37 L/min or less). The intrinsic clearance of the lung for PGE1 in ARDS patients therefore appears to decrease abruptly once a threshold of severe respiratory failure is achieved.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

DRG payment for long-term ventilator patients--revisited.

This article provides a follow-up to an evaluation originally presented in Chest of the financial impact of diagnosis related group (DRG) payment for long-term ventilator-dependent Medicare patients at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. Since the results of our original study were presented, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has created two new DRGs for patients who have respiratory principal diagnoses to help recognize the resource intensiveness associated with mechanical ventilator support. The original 95 patients' payment, which was originally calculated to be $2.2 million below costs, was recalculated to be $1.9 million below costs, representing a 13 percent reduction in the loss. We conclude that although HCFA's recent remedial action is a step in the right direction, it provides little relief from the DRG system's financial bias against long-term ventilator-dependent patients, because the new ventilator DRGs encompass only a small segment of these patients. As an alternative approach, we recommend a single DRG for patients who, regardless of their principal diagnoses, experience chronic respiratory failure requiring a minimum of three days of continuous ventilator treatment.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗
PubMed1988

Economics of mechanical ventilation.

Mechanical ventilation is a life-saving medical advance. It has allowed many patients who previously would have died as a result of acute respiratory failure to survive. It has also created a population of patients who are unable to recover completely from their acute illness and who require prolonged mechanical ventilator support. The care for these patients raises many ethical, legal, social, economic, and medical issues. Data are needed to adequately meet the challenges of the ventilator-dependent patients in the future.

Home Care Services↗
PubMed1987

A controlled clinical trial of high-dose methylprednisolone in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock.

The use of high-dose corticosteroids in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock remains controversial. Our study was designed as a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of high-dose methylprednisolone sodium succinate for severe sepsis and septic shock. Diagnosis was based on the clinical suspicion of infection plus the presence of fever or hypothermia (rectal temperature greater than 38.3 degrees C [101 degrees F] or less than 35.6 degrees C [96 degrees F]), tachypnea (greater than 20 breaths per minute), tachycardia (greater than 90 beats per minute), and the presence of one of the following indications of organ dysfunction: a change in mental status, hypoxemia, elevated lactate levels, or oliguria. Three hundred eighty-two patients were enrolled. Treatment--either methylprednisolone sodium succinate (30 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo--was given in four infusions, starting within two hours of diagnosis. No significant differences were found in the prevention of shock, the reversal of shock, or overall mortality. In the subgroup of patients with elevated serum creatinine levels (greater than 2 mg per deciliter) at enrollment, mortality at 14 days was significantly increased among those receiving methylprednisolone (46 of 78 [59 percent] vs. 17 of 58 [29 percent] among those receiving placebo; P less than 0.01). Among patients treated with methylprednisolone, significantly more deaths were related to secondary infection. We conclude that the use of high-dose corticosteroids provides no benefit in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

DRG payment for long-term ventilator patients. Implications and recommendations.

Much concern has been expressed about the Medicare Prospective Payment System's impact on access to care. In this study, we examine the financial impact of diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment for chronic ventilator-dependent Medicare patients. During a one-year period, payment for 95 Medicare patients who received a minimum of three days of continuous ventilator treatment and who spent no time in surgical intensive care at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, was calculated to be $2.2 million below costs, representing an average loss per discharge of $23,129. Patients stayed an average of 26.6 days, of which 14.2 days were spent on a ventilator. We conclude that the results suggest a financial bias against chronic ventilator-dependent patients exists in the DRG system which could present access problems. We recommend three approaches to recognizing the cost of care for such patients in the DRG payment system and encourage those in public policy-making positions to use our results as the basis for a larger scale analysis of the impact of Medicare DRG payment on chronic ventilator-dependent patients.

Diagnosis-Related Groups↗
PubMed1987

Long-term ventilator care. A Chicago problem and a national problem.

Patients who require long-term ventilator care in an acute care setting may have a problem because diagnosis-related group (DRG) payments are less than the cost of their medical care. An alternative for quality medical care at lower cost includes admission to a long-term ventilator facility. In Chicago, only two dedicated long-term ventilator programs exist, with only 33 beds. Within 50 to 150 miles of the immediate Chicago area are three more units, with only 42 operational beds. All of the long-term care beds are full, and over 50 patients await transfer. Since acute care is reimbursed on a DRG designation and long-term ventilator care has no DRG category, there is a bias in acute care settings against these patients. Medicare patients are reimbursed up to 100 days, after which patients become eligible for public aid. Unfortunately, long-term ventilator patients often wait in acute care settings for this 100 days to elapse, even though medical care may be superior in a long-term ventilator unit. In addition to not providing the best care, this situation is economically wasteful. Solutions to these problems will require a coordinated national, state, and local plan. National medical societies should be consulted regarding solutions to health care problems that provide the best medical care at a reasonable cost for patients on long-term ventilation.

Chicago↗
PubMed1987

Early methylprednisolone treatment for septic syndrome and the adult respiratory distress syndrome.

From November 1, 1982 through December 31, 1985, there were 19 centers and 382 patients that evaluated the effect of methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) on the septic syndrome. Seventeen of these centers enrolled 304 patients in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to determine if early treatment with MPSS would decrease the incidence of severity of the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients at risk of ARDS from sepsis. To ensure early institution of the MPSS or placebo therapy (PLA), patients with the presumptive diagnosis of sepsis were identified. That diagnosis was based on the presence of fever or hypothermia (temperature greater than 38.3 degrees C or less than 35.5 degrees C, rectal), tachypnea (greater than 20 bpm), tachycardia (greater than 90 bpm) and the presence of one of the following indices of organ dysfunction: a change in mental status, hypoxemia, elevated lactate levels or oliguria. The treatment, either MPSS 30 mg/kg or PLA, was given in four 20-minute infusions six hours apart and was initiated within two hours of the presumptive diagnosis of sepsis. The development and reversal of the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was followed and resulted in data on 304 of the 382 randomized patients. A trend toward increased incidence of ARDS was seen in the MPSS group 50/152 (32 percent) compared to the placebo group 38/152(25 percent) p = 0.10. Significantly fewer MPSS patients reversed their ARDS 15/50 (31 percent) compared to placebo 23/38 (61 percent) p = 0.005. The 14-day mortality in patients with ARDS treated with MPSS was 26/50 (52 percent) compared to placebo 8/22 (22 percent) p = 0.004. We conclude that early treatment of septic syndrome with MPSS does not prevent the development of ARDS. Additionally, MPSS treatment impedes the reversal of ARDS and increases the mortality rate in patients with ARDS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Overwhelming pneumonia.

Overwhelming pneumonias remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality. These illnesses may be rapidly fatal; thus, many patients are treated empirically. Although the various etiologic agents cannot be differentiated on the basis of radiographic appearance, epidemiologic information may give a clue to the cause. Community-acquired overwhelming pneumonias are usually due to pyogenic bacteria (especially Streptococcus pneumoniae), mycoplasma, mycobacteria, and fungi. Hospital-acquired pneumonias are usually due to aerobic gram-negative bacilli. If the patient is immunocompromised, Pneumocystis carinii, Candida, and Aspergillus must be considered. Choice of optimal antimicrobial therapy requires that a specific etiology be identified. Gram's stain of sputum is often helpful in the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. Invasive diagnostic techniques such as bronchoscopy and open lung biopsy are often required in nosocomial pneumonias and pneumonias in immunocompromised patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

Clinical indicators in sepsis and septic adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Sepsis and septic ARDS remain clinical problems of great significance because of the numbers of patients affected each year and the high mortality associated with development of the syndrome. The standard therapies for these conditions, judicious antibiotic administration and supportive care, continue to be the mainstays of treatment for these patients, but mortality even with optimal conventional therapy is between 50% and 90% for septic ARDS. The mortality for an individual patient may be anticipated to be substantially higher or lower than these average reported values, based on the presence or absence of several clearly identified risk factors, such as advanced age, shock, evidence of multiorgan system failure, and others discussed above. Similarly, the likelihood that the septic patient will develop ARDS is increased by the appearance of shock and thrombocytopenia. Two therapies that are used extensively in the intensive care unit today--corticosteroid administration and PEEP--have not been shown to reduce the overall mortality of sepsis or septic ARDS. Newer therapeutic modalities, designed to protect against or reverse cardiovascular consequences of sepsis, reduce the incidence of multiorgan system failure, and diminish the high incidence of uncontrolled infections in these patients, are needed; investigations of these interventions are in progress.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1986

Acute respiratory failure. Pathophysiology, causes, and clinical manifestations.

Acute respiratory failure is a common life-threatening process with myriad causes. It is characterized by a failure of oxygenation or ventilation, or both. Hypoxemia is common to all causes of respiratory failure, whereas PaCO2 may be normal, decreased, or elevated. These abnormalities result from several pathophysiologic processes, including intrapulmonary venoarterial shunt, alveolar hypoventilation, diffusion impairment, and ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Type I failure results from processes that lead to hypocapnia or normocapnia; type II failure is distinguished by the presence of hypercapnia. The clinical manifestations of acute respiratory failure are nonspecific; for this reason, a high index of suspicion and early examination of arterial blood gases are essential to successful management.

Acidosis, Respiratory↗