BackgroundGuidelines and textbooks assert that tachycardia is an early and reliable sign of hypotension, and an increased heart rate (HR) is believed to be an early warning sign for the development... Show moreBackgroundGuidelines and textbooks assert that tachycardia is an early and reliable sign of hypotension, and an increased heart rate (HR) is believed to be an early warning sign for the development of shock, although this response may change by aging, pain, and stress.ObjectiveTo assess the unadjusted and adjusted associations between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and HR in emergency department (ED) patients of different age categories (18–50 years; 50–80 years; > 80 years).MethodsA multicenter cohort study using the Netherlands Emergency department Evaluation Database (NEED) including all ED patients ≥ 18 years from three hospitals in whom HR and SBP were registered at arrival to the ED. Findings were validated in a Danish cohort including ED patients. In addition, a separate cohort was used including ED patients with a suspected infection who were hospitalized from whom measurement of SBP and HR were available prior to, during, and after ED treatment. Associations between SBP and HR were visualized and quantified with scatterplots and regression coefficients (95% confidence interval [CI]).ResultsA total of 81,750 ED patients were included from the NEED, and a total of 2358 patients with a suspected infection. No associations were found between SBP and HR in any age category (18–50 years: −0.03 beats/min/10 mm Hg, 95% CI −0.13–0.07, 51–80 years: −0.43 beats/min/10 mm Hg, 95% CI −0.38 to −0.50, > 80 years: −0.61 beats/min/10 mm Hg, 95% CI −0.53 to −0.71), nor in different subgroups of ED patient. No increase in HR existed with a decreasing SBP during ED treatment in ED patients with a suspected infection.ConclusionNo association between SBP and HR existed in ED patients of any age category, nor in ED patients who were hospitalized with a suspected infection, even during and after ED treatment. Emergency physicians may be misled by traditional concepts about HR disturbances because tachycardia may be absent in hypotension. Show less
In the last docade ultrasound has found its place in the intensive care unit. Initially, ultrasound was used primarily to increase safety and efficacy of line insertions but now many intensivists... Show moreIn the last docade ultrasound has found its place in the intensive care unit. Initially, ultrasound was used primarily to increase safety and efficacy of line insertions but now many intensivists use point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to aid in diagnosis, assessment of therapy and to guide therapeutic interventions. In this series we aim to highlight one specific POCUS technique at a time, which we believe will prove to be useful in clinical practice. Our aim is to provide the reader with a short and practical description of the technique as well as its merits and pitfalls. In this issue we describe the use of the rapid ultrasound in shock (RUSH) protocol to quickly investigate shock in the ICU. Show less
