Grand Rounds Recap - 10/22/14

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Grand Rounds Recap - 10/22/14

Acetaminophen can be one of the most dangerous drugs in overdose, as the toxic dose of acetaminophen is 250 mg/kg

There are 4 stages of acetaminophen overdose:

  • Stage 1 from 0-24 hours when labs may be normal but the patient has nonspecific symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and fatigue
  • Stage 2 from 24-72 hours when labs may be normal or be trending upward but the patient is asymptomatic
  • Stage 3 from 72-96 hours when significant metabolic derangement can occur such as profound metabolic acidosis, florid liver failure, and AKI.
  • Stage 4 takes place only if you are able to get them through the acute illness precipitated in Stage 3 when hopefully recovery takes place, though there is no guarantee of liver recovery
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Water Cooler Breakdown: The ProCESS Trial

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Water Cooler Breakdown: The ProCESS Trial

In March of 2014, Derek Angus and colleagues published the ProCESS trail in the NEJM (1)(N Engl J Med 2014;370:1683-93. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1401602). In ProCESS, they explore the time-honored theory in EM-resuscitation that EGDT as described by Rivers (NEJM 2001) is the dominant strategy to improve survival in severe sepsis and septic shock. Despite the marked reduction in mortality that is reported in Rivers’ study, the study itself has not been successfully reproduced in a multicenter trial.

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