Faculty Bibliography

Ultrasound enhancing agents (UEAs) are medications that enable clear visualization of ultrasound images. While large studies have demonstrated the safety of these agents, case reports of life-threatening reactions temporally associated with their use have been published and reported to the Food and Drug Administration. Current literature describes the most serious adverse reactions due to UEAs to be allergic in nature; however, embolic phenomena may play a role as well. Here, we report a case of unexplained cardiac arrest following the administration of sulfur hexafluoride (Lumason^®) in an adult inpatient undergoing echocardiography where resuscitative efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and review possible mechanisms of cardiac arrest based on prior published literature.

BACKGROUND/UNASSIGNED:Corticosteroids and tocilizumab have been shown to improve survival in patients who require supplemental oxygen from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. The optimal dose of immunosuppression for the treatment of COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is still unknown. OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of high- versus low-dose corticosteroids with or without tocilizumab for the treatment of COVID-19 ARDS. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This was a retrospective study of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) requiring mechanical ventilation who received high- versus low-dose corticosteroids with or without tocilizumab. The primary outcome was survival to discharge. Safety outcomes included infections and incidence of hyperglycemia. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:= 0.01). The highest rate of a bacterial pneumonia was in patients who received high-dose corticosteroids with tocilizumab. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:In critically ill patients with COVID-19 ARDS requiring mechanical ventilation, we found no difference in high- versus low-dose corticosteroids with regard to survival to hospital discharge. However, patients receiving only low-dose corticosteroids without tocilizumab did worse than the other groups. Larger prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal immunosuppression dosing strategy in this patient population.

Nucleoside or nucleotide analogues (NAs) have the potential to cause lactic acidosis by inhibiting DNA polymerase-γ of human mitochondria and impairing aerobic metabolism. Patients may be asymptomatic, have mild non-specific symptoms, or present in multisystem organ failure. There is a paucity of data to guide management of life-threatening lactic acidosis due to NA therapy. Here we describe a case of a 60-year old critically ill male with decompensated cirrhosis secondary to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection who developed severe lactic acidosis (13.8 mmol/L) 2 days after initiation of tenofovir alafenamide (TAF). All other possible etiologies for the elevated lactate were ruled out. Lactic acidosis resolved rapidly with TAF discontinuation and supplementation with cofactors supporting mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, including coenzyme Q10, levocarnitine, riboflavin, and thiamine. This case highlights the ability of TAF to cause lactic acidosis early after therapy initiation, especially in susceptible hosts, and reviews the potential role for cofactor supplementation for drug-induced mitochondrial injury.

The oral factor Xa inhibitors (OFXAi) apixaban and rivaroxaban are increasingly utilized for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) with recommended initial higher dose 7- and 21-day lead-in regimens, respectively. In patients receiving initial parenteral anticoagulation, it remains unknown if the full recommended higher dose OFXAi lead-in regimens are warranted, or if days can be subtracted. We aimed to describe when clinicians may deviate from recommended lead-in durations and evaluate clinical outcomes in these scenarios. This is a retrospective, observational study of patients 18 years or older who were treated with rivaroxaban or apixaban for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) or symptomatic proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) that received parenteral anticoagulation for at least 24 h before transitioning to the OFXAi. Among our cohort of 171 patients with acute VTE who received parenteral anticoagulation for a median of 48 h, 134 (78%) were prescribed a full OFXAi lead-in and 37 (22%) were prescribed a reduced lead-in. Patients in the reduced lead-in group were older with more cardiac comorbidities and antiplatelet use. There were four recurrent thromboembolic events within 3 months, two in the reduced lead-in group and two in the full lead-in group (5% vs. 2%, p = 0.206). Bleeding within 3 months occurred in 9 (5%) patients, with 6 events occurring in the reduced lead-in group and 3 events in the full lead-in group (16% vs. 2%, p = 0.004). Prescribing patterns of OFXAi lead-in therapy duration are variable in patients receiving initial parenteral anticoagulation. Larger cohorts are needed to better define the safety and efficacy of lead-in reduction.

The use of acute mechanical circulatory support (MCS) has increased over the last decade. For patients with left-ventricular failure, an Impella^® (Abiomed, Danvers, MA) may be used to improve cardiac output. The purpose of this study is to describe Impella^® anticoagulation patterns and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of our protocol. This is a retrospective review of all adult patients who required at least 24 h of Impella^® support and received a heparin-based purge solution. In total, 109 patients were included in the final analysis. The most common indication for Impella^® device insertion was cardiogenic shock (76%) with the remaining patients receiving a device for a high-risk procedures; typically coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention. A total of 9 thrombotic events occurred among 8 (7%) patients and 50 bleeding events occurred among 43 (39%) patients, with the most common classification being BARC 3a (60%). A univariate analysis revealed that patients were more likely to bleed if they were less than 65 years old, had an indication of cardiogenic shock for Impella^®, inserted the device peripherally, were on dual antiplatelet therapy, or had an intra-aortic balloon pump prior to Impella^® insertion, the latter of which was confirmed with a multivariate analysis (OR 2.5 [1.072-5.830]; p = 0.034). For those monitored by anti-Xa, the presence of two or more values greater than 0.40 IU/mL was a risk factor for bleeding (p = 0.037). Our study identifies risk factors for bleeding in patients receiving temporary MCS with an Impella^®.

INTRODUCTION: Vasodilatory shock may arise after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and can require salvage therapy with either hydroxocobalamin (HCB) or methylene blue (MB). Data is limited regarding the optimal agent and dosing strategy for each situation.
METHOD(S): This is a retrospective review of patients who received HCB or MB at NYU Langone Health for refractory vasodilatory shock that occurred within 48 hr after CPB or ECMO cannulation. The primary endpoint was the change in vasopressor requirement at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hr after intervention, characterized as both norepinephrine equivalents (NEE) and vasoactive inotropic score (VIS).
RESULT(S): Thirty patients were identified, of which 15 received HCB and 15 received MB. Patients were primarily male (70%) with a median age of 67 and SOFA score of 10. Indications for salvage therapy included postcardiotomy shock (70%) and ECMO cannulation (30%). Dosing strategies included bolus only (9 HCB; 6 MB) or bolus plus infusion (6 HCB; 9 MB), with infusions continuing for a median of 6 hr (5, 6) for HCB and 11 hr (6, 24) for MB. The median cumulative dose was 5000 mg (5000, 10000) for HCB and 5 mg/kg (1.75, 6.8) for MB. Baseline NEE prior to drug administration was 0.42 mcg/kg/min for HCB vs 0.5 mcg/kg/min for MB (p=0.98), and baseline VIS was 28 for HCB vs 23 for MB (p=0.44). Patients who received HCB had a greater percentage change in NEE compared to MB at 6 hr (-72% [-84, -40] vs 0% [-16, +29], p< 0.01) and 12 hr (-73% [-88, -55] vs -39% [-59, +8]; p< 0.01), as well as VIS at 6 hr (-42% [-56, -30] vs 0% [-10, +32]; p< 0.01) and 12 hr (-50% [-78, -32] vs -15% [-41, +17]; p< 0.01). No differences in NEE or VIS were observed at 24 or 48 hr. The bolus plus infusion dosing strategy led to a faster resolution of shock than bolus alone for HCB (27 hr [20, 37] vs 140 hr [98, 436]; p< 0.01) but not for MB (136 hr [30, 251] vs 233 hr [206, 260]; p=0.55). There were no differences in adverse drug events between groups.
CONCLUSION(S): We observed greater differences in change in NEE and VIS favoring the use of HCB over MB at 6 and 12 hr, but not at 24 or 48 hr. A HCB dosing strategy of bolus followed by infusion demonstrated a faster resolution of shock in comparison to bolus alone. Further research is required to confirm these results

The backbone induction therapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is high dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) and rituximab, which can be combined with other chemotherapeutic agents. The optimal dose of HD-MTX remains unclear, as doses between 3 and 8 g/m² have been shown to be effective. In this retrospective study, HD-MTX dosed at 3-5 g/m² demonstrated an overall response of 81.8%, with 11 (50%) complete responses. The median overall survival was not met at 29 months and median progression free survival was 12.5 months.There were two discontinuations due to nephrotoxicity. The most common adverse event was hepatotoxicity (18.5%), with no treatment-related mortality events observed.Overall, HD-MTX dosed at 3-5 g/m² demonstrated similar efficacy and lower toxicity compared to higher doses in PCNSL patients. Reducing the initial HD-MTX dose may help ensure tolerability and completion of induction therapy, especially in patients with co-morbidities or older age who have poorer outcomes.

Background/UNASSIGNED:Limited data support use of pneumococcal urinary antigen testing (PUAT) for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) as an antimicrobial stewardship tool. At our institution, CAP guidelines and admission order set were standardized to include universal PUAT. Methods/UNASSIGNED:This was a retrospective study of adults hospitalized in 2019 who had PUAT performed. We compared incidence and timing of de-escalation in PUAT- positive vs -negative groups and described patients' outcomes. Results/UNASSIGNED:, in-hospital mortality, or 30-day infection-related readmission. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:We observed earlier de-escalation in the PUAT-positive group. This seems to be due to discontinuation of atypical rather than anti-MRSA or antipseudomonal coverage. Further antimicrobial stewardship interventions are warranted.

Cardiac arrest has many implications for morbidity and mortality. Few interventions have been shown to improve return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and long-term outcomes after cardiac arrest. Ischemic-reperfusion injury upon achieving ROSC creates an imbalance between oxygen supply and demand. Multiple events occur in the postcardiac arrest period, including excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress and inflammation, all of which contribute to ongoing brain injury and cellular death. Given that complex pathophysiology underlies global brain hypoxic ischemia, neuroprotective strategies targeting multiple stages of the neuropathologic cascade should be considered as a means of mitigating secondary neuronal injury and improving neurologic outcomes and survival in cardiac arrest victims. In this review article, we discuss a number of different pharmacologic agents that may have a potential role in targeting these injurious pathways following cardiac arrest. Pharmacologic therapies most relevant for discussion currently include memantine, perampanel, magnesium, propofol, thiamine, methylene blue, vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q₁₀ , minocycline, steroids, and aspirin.

Background : The activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa) test are often used as surrogate markers of heparin's effects, though anti-Xa may be preferred due to less variability and closer relation to heparin's activity in the body. The antithrombotic and hemostatic therapy oversight group at NYU Langone Health (NYULH) implemented a nurse-titrated protocol, utilizing anti-Xa to titrate and monitor time in therapeutic range with heparin. Aims : To evaluate adherence to the nurse-driven continuous infusion unfractionated heparin protocol and assess time to therapeutic anti-Xa, median time in therapeutic range, and clinical outcomes including bleeding and thrombotic events. Methods : This was a retrospective chart review. Adult patients (>18 years old) who received heparin based on nurse-driven titration protocol between March 2019 and June 2019 at NYULH were included. Patients that received heparin for less than 24 hours, had an interruption in heparin for more than 12 hours, or received a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) prior to heparin initiation were excluded. Data collection included baseline characteristics, relevant concomitant medications, heparin administration including bolus dose, infusion rate, length of therapy, time within therapeutic range, bleeding events, and thrombotic events. The primary outcome was adherence to the protocol. Secondary outcomes included time within therapeutic range, thrombotic or bleeding events. Results : Adherence to the protocol, defined as deviation of not more than 25% of protocol elements, including but not limited to adequate bolus dose, correct body weight used, time to first anti-Xa, and correct adjustment (units/kg) in heparin dose based on anti-Xa was observed 85% of the time, with the majority of dose titrations occurring by nursing, per protocol in 82% of patients. Therapeutic anti-Xa levels were achieved at a median of 30 hours into IV UFH therapy. Conclusions : It remains a challenge to achieve a stable goal anti-Xa level within 24 hours of heparin initiation