Critical Care

Demand for critical care services is increasing. Unless the supply of intensivists increases, critically ill patients will not have access to intensivists. Recent critical care society recommendations include increased graduate medical education support and expansion of the J-1 visa waiver program for foreign medical graduates. This article proposes additional recommendations, based on strengthening the relationship between emergency medicine and critical care medicine. Critical care is a continuum that includes out-of-hospital, emergency department (ED), and ICU care teams. Both emergency medicine and critical care medicine require expertise in treating lifethreatening acute illness, with many critically ill patients often presenting first to the ED. Increased patient volumes and acuity have resulted in longer ED lengths of stay and more critical care delivery in the ED. However, the majority of critical care medicine fellowships do not accept emergency medicine residents, and those who do successfully complete a fellowship do not have access to a US certification examination in critical care medicine. Despite these barriers, interest in critical care medicine training among emergency physicians is increasing. Dual emergency medicine-and critical care medicine-trained physicians will not only help alleviate the intensivist shortage but also strengthen critical care delivery in the ED and facilitate coordination at the ED-ICU interface. We therefore propose that all accreditation bodies work cooperatively to create a route to critical care medicine certification for emergency physicians who complete a critical care fellowship.

Objective To examine the effects of short-term cyclic stretch on apoptosis in alveolar type II cells (A549). To study in vitro the direct influence of alveolar type II cells on mechanical stretch. Methods A549 were treated with different doses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 0 ng/ml, 1 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml, 1000 ng/ml, and then A549 were lengthened 5%, 15%, 30% using a FLEXCELL tension unit 4000, a vacuum-driven device that applies strain to cells, which were cultured in six-well plates coated with collagen-I, and 12 cycles/min for 4 hours. Apoptosis was measured using the flow cytometry method that measures annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) staining. The morphological changes of apoptotic cells were observed by transmission electron microscope. Results Apoptosis could be induced in alveolar type II cells (A549) by mechanical stretch. The percentage of annexin V + PI cells increased after being treated with cyclic stretch for 4 hours by 5%, 15%, 30% in all groups. The morphological features of apoptotic cells demonstrated by transmission electron microscope were as follows: shrinkage of the cell, chromatin condensation and aggregation under the nuclear membrane as a crescent or lump, membrane-encapsulated nuclear fragment or cell organ formed by invagination of the cell membrane, and apoptotic body formation followed by vacuolization. Conclusion Apoptosis induced by mechanical stretch and LPS is dose dependent. Mechanical stretch aggravates apoptosis especially in cells treated with LPS. Annexin V and PI double staining is a specific, sensitive, and quantitative method for analyzing apoptotic cells. It is also helpful to clarify the protective mechanism of low-volume ventilation in ARDS. PaO 2 /FiO 2 430 [421; 440] # 380 [349; 397] 165 [68; 289] # C (ml/cmH 2 O) 28 [24; 32]* 18 [16; 21]* 12 [8; 17]* R i (cmH 2 O/l/s) 4.1 [3.9; 4.5] 4.5 [4.3; 5.1] 5.1 [3.7; 7.9] # P < 0.05 control vs 24-hour peritonitis, *P < 0.05 control vs 12-hour and 24-hour peritonitis.

As healthcare delivery changes in critical care, nursing continues to extend its practice base. Nursing practice is expanding to incorporate skills once seen as the remit of the medical profession. Critical care nurses are equipping themselves with evidence-based knowledge and skills that can enhance the care they provide to their patients. Assessment of patients is a major role in nursing and, by expanding assessment techniques, nurses can ensure patients receive the care most appropriate to their needs. Nurses in critical care are well placed to perform a more detailed assessment which can help to focus nursing care. This article describes the step-by-step process of undertaking a full and comprehensive respiratory assessment in critical care settings. It identifies many of the problems that patients may have and the signs and symptoms that a nurse may note whilst undertaking the assessment and preparing to prescribe care.

Introduction: There is growing evidence to suggest that transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) should be used to identify the cardiac origin of respiratory weaning failure. The aims of our study were: first, to evaluate the ability of transthoracic echocardiography, with mitral Doppler inflow E velocity to annular tissue Doppler Ea wave velocity (E/Ea) ratio measurement, to predict weaning failure from mechanical ventilation in patients, including those with atrial fibrillation; and second, to determine whether the depressed left ejection fraction and/or diastolic dysfunction participate in weaning outcome.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in young people. Despite encouraging animal studies, human trials assessing the use of pharmacological agents after TBI have all failed to show efficacy. Current management strategies are therefore directed towards providing an optimal physiological environment in order to minimize secondary insults and maximize the body's own regenerative processes. Modern neurocritical care management utilizes a host of monitoring techniques to identify or predict the occurrence of secondary insults and guide subsequent therapeutic interventions in an attempt to minimize the resulting secondary injury. Recent data suggest that the use of protocolized management strategies, informed by multimodality monitoring, can improve patient outcome after TBI. Developments in multimodality monitoring have allowed a movement away from rigid physiological target setting towards an individually tailored, patient-specific, approach. The wealth of monitoring information available provides a challenge in terms of data integration and accessibility and modern software applications may aid this process. 2007; 99: 61-7

services can be found online on the World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and ISSN:0012-3692 ) http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml Objective: To define competence in critical care ultrasonography (CCUS). Design: The statement is sponsored by the Critical Care NetWork of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in partnership with La Socié té de Ré animation de Langue Française (SRLF). The ACCP and the SRLF selected a panel of experts to review the field of CCUS and to develop a consensus statement on competence in CCUS. Results: CCUS may be divided into general CCUS (thoracic, abdominal, and vascular), and echocardiography (basic and advanced). For each component part, the panel defined the specific skills that the intensivist should have to be competent in that aspect of CCUS. Conclusion: In defining a reasonable minimum standard for CCUS, the statement serves as a guide for the intensivist to follow in achieving proficiency in the field. (CHEST 2009; 135:1050 -1060) Abbreviations: ACCP ϭ American College of Chest Physicians; CCE ϭ critical care echocardiography; CCUS ϭ critical care ultrasonography; GCCUS ϭ general critical care ultrasonography; IVC ϭ inferior vena cava; LV ϭ left ventricle, ventricular; RV ϭ right ventricle, ventricular; SRLF ϭ La Société de Ré animation de Langue Française; TEE ϭ transesophageal echocardiography; TTE ϭ transthoracic echocardiography; 2D ϭ two-dimensional

Recommendations for making and implementing decisions to forgo life-sustaining therapy in intensive care units have been developed in the United States, but the extent that they are realized in practice has yet to be measured. Prospective, multicenter, 4-wk study. For each patient with an implemented decision to forgo life-sustaining therapy, the deliberation and decision implementation procedures were recorded. French intensive care units. All consecutive patients admitted to 26 French intensive care units. None. Of 1,009 patients admitted, 208 died in the intensive care unit. A decision to forgo life-sustaining therapy was implemented in 105 patients. The number of supportive treatments forgone was 2.3 +/- 1.7 per patient. Decisions to forgo sustaining therapy were preceded by 3.5 +/- 2.5 deliberation sessions. Proxies were informed of the deliberations in 62 (59.1%) cases but participated in only 18 (17.1%) decisions. The patient&amp;amp;amp;#39;s perception of his or her quality of life was rarely evaluated (11.5%), and only rarely did the decision involve evaluating the patient&amp;amp;amp;#39;s wishes (7.6%), the patient&amp;amp;amp;#39;s religious values (7.6%), or the cost of treatment (7.6%). Factors most frequently evaluated were medical team advice (95.3%), predicted reversibility of acute disease (90.5%), underlying disease severity (83.9%), and the patient&amp;amp;amp;#39;s quality of life as evaluated by caregivers (80.1%). A decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining therapy was implemented for half the patients who died in the French intensive care units studied. In many cases, the decision was taken without regard for one or more factors identified as relevant in U.S. guidelines.

The anaesthetist plays a key role in the management of high-risk pregnancies, and must be a member of the multidisciplinary team that is required to care for the critically ill obstetric patient. Anaesthetists are trained in advanced life support and resuscitation. They are experienced in the management of the critically ill, and provide anaesthesia, sedation and pain management. The obstetric anaesthetist should undertake education of medical and midwifery staff in the early recognition, monitoring and treatment of the sick mother, resuscitation training, running 'skills drills' for emergency simulations, risk management and audit of maternal morbidity on the labour ward. To date, there is little evidence to inform the anaesthetic management of the critically ill obstetric patient; most recommendations and guidelines are based on the management of non-obstetric, critically ill patients. Management must be adapted to encompass the physiological changes of pregnancy. Evidence-based guidelines on management of the critically ill woman with specific obstetric conditions are also lacking.

Introduction Community-acquired pneumonia remains a common condition worldwide. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate conditions that could predict a poor outcome. Design Retrospective analyse of 69 patients admitted to the ICU from 1996 to 2003. Demographic data included age, sex and medical history. Etiologic agents, multiorgan dysfunction, nosocomial infections, SAPS II and PORT scores were recorded for each patient. For statistical analysis we used a t test, chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test on SPSS ®. A value of P less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results Forty-seven patients were male and 22 patients were female. Mean age was 52 years. Sixty-seven percent had serious pre-morbid conditions including pulmonary disease (34.8%), cardiac problems (36.2%), diabetes (13%) and chronic liver disease (5.8%); 40.6% were smokers, drug abusers or alcohol dependents. Sixtyeight patients required invasive mechanical ventilation. The average length of ventilation was 13.5 days, median 8 days. The mean SAPS II score was 40.14 and the mean PORT score was 141. The mortality rate was 27.5% (SAPS II estimated mortality, 35%). Complications reported were ARDS (40.6%), septic shock (34.8%), acute renal failure (2.9%), cardiac arrest (8.7%) and nosocomial infeccions (46.4%). Mortality rates were higher for previous hepatic (75%) and metabolic (33%) diseases. We found a close association between crude mortality and SAPS II score (P = 0.003) and development of complications (P = 0.0028). Respiratory dysfunction (P = 0.006) and septic shock (P = 0.022) were most significantly related to mortality. No significant differences were founded regarding age, comorbidities, PORT score, etiologic agents, nosocomial infections and length of invasive mechanical ventilation. Conclusions Previous hepatic chronic disease was strictly related to higher mortality as well as isolation of MRSA. ARDS and septic shock predicted a poor outcome. SAPS II score was the best severity indicator of mortality. P2 Closed endotracheal suction system without periodic change versus open endotracheal system

Set temperature, 35°C AH (mgH 2 O/l) 26.7 ± 0.3* 37.4 ± 0.6 38.0 ± 0.9 RH (%) 83.7 ± 1.0* 97.7 ± 1.4 93.2 ± 1.5 Set temperature, 37°C AH (mgH 2 O/l) 34.5 ± 1.6* 38.7 ± 2.2 † 43.1 ± 1.1 RH (%) 91.8 ± 3.2 87.7 ± 7.4 † 94.6 ± 0.9 *P < 0.05 vs DAR HC and MR 730, † P < 0.05 vs MR 730.

Objective: For adults, 150-J fixed-energy, impedance-compensating biphasic truncated exponential (ICBTE) shocks are now effectively used in automated defibrillators. However, the high energy levels delivered by adult automated defibrillators preclude their use for pediatric patients. Accordingly, we investigated a method by which adult automated defibrillators may be adapted to deliver a 50-J ICBTE shock for pediatric defibrillation.

Objective: Intrathoracic pressure changes are of particular importance under hypovolemic conditions, especially when central venous blood pressure is critically low. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of transcutaneous phrenic nerve stimulation, used in conjunction with an inspiratory impedance threshold, on hemodynamic variables during hemorrhagic shock.

Background: Critically ill patients usually experience muscle wasting, inadequate energy intake and hypoalbuminemia, all of which were associated with poor outcomes. Adductor pollicis muscle thickness (APMT) can be used to assess nutritional status. Assessment of nutritional status cannot ignore the importance of inflammatory process. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was recently introduced as an inflammatory biomarker. Aims: To analyze the relationship between APMT, energy intake, serum albumin, and NLR with 28-day mortality. Methods: A prospective study was conducted in intensive care unit (ICU)'s of a tertiary care hospital, Indonesia, from February to March 2020. APMT was measured at admission with a caliper. Energy intake was calculated based on the number of calories received by the patient. Albumin serum and leukocyte differential count were checked at ICU admission. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Results: This study involved 49 patients with mortality rate of 20.4%. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean APMT between non-survivor and survivor groups (24.25±4.65 vs. 24.97±3.59 mm, p=0.596). Mean energy intake at first day was 552.2±235.6 kcal or 47.0% of the target. There was no statistically significant relationship between energy intake and mortality (less energy intake category as a comparison). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean serum albumin between non-survivor and survivor groups (2.67±0.54 vs. 2.64±0.80 g/dl, p=0.928). Median value of NLR of all subjects was 13.28 (minimum 3.50-maximum 59.56). There was statistically significant relationship between the subject group with high NLR (≥13.28) and low NLR group (<13.28) for mortality (p=0.031). Multivariate analysis to assess combined ability of independent variables to predict mortality obtained a satisfactory area under curve (AUC) value of 78.7%. Conclusions: The combination of APMT, energy intake, serum albumin, and NLR can be considered as predictors of mortality in critically ill patients.

Demand for intensive care unit (ICU) resources often exceeds supply, and shortages of ICU beds and staff are likely to persist. Triage requires careful weighing of the benefits and risks involved in ICU admission while striving to guarantee fair distribution of available resources. We must ensure that the patients who occupy ICU beds are those most likely to benefit from the ICU&#39;s specialized technology and professionals. Although prognosticating is not an exact science, preference should be given to patients who are more likely to survive if admitted to the ICU but unlikely to survive or likely to have more significant morbidity if not admitted. To provide general guidance for intensivists in ICU triage decisions, a task force of the World Federation of Societies of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine addressed 4 basic questions regarding this process. The team made recommendations and concluded that triage should be led by intensivists considering input from nurses, emergency...

We studied symptom burden and associated factors in a cohort of 1582 seriously ill patients admitted at five tertiary care academic centers in the U.S. between June 1989 and June 1991 in the SUPPORT Study. Logistic regression was used to test the independent association of symptoms with demographic, psychological, chronic, and acute illness measures. Pain, dyspnea, anxiety, and depression caused the greatest symptom burden. The following symptoms accounted for 67.3% of all symptoms that were at least moderately severe at least half of the time: dyspnea (19.2%), pain (17.6%), pain/dyspnea (7.6%), anxiety (5.9%), depression (5.0%), anxiety/depression (4.4%), anxiety/depression/pain/dyspnea (3.9%), and nausea (3.7%). Hospital, male gender, disease category, more comorbidities, more dependencies in activities of daily living prior to illness, and poorer quality of life were associated with greater symptom burden. Seriously ill patients have a high symptom burden. Better strategies will be needed to control symptoms in these patients.

According to the recommendations of stroke organizations, every stroke patient should be treated in a specialized stroke unit (SU). We aimed to evaluate the development of the SU network in Poland during the past decade. In Poland, stroke is treated mainly by neurologists. A questionnaire evaluating structure and staff of neurological departments was sent to all neurological departments in 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2010, we collected data based on information from the National Health Fund. We divided departments into categories: with a comprehensive SU, with a primary SU unit, and departments without an SU. Primary SUs were further divided into class A SUs (fulfilling criteria of the National Programme of Prevention and Treatment of Stroke Experts - eligible for thrombolysis), class B (conditionally fulfilling criteria), and class C (not fulfilling criteria). Final analyses included 87.4% of departments (194/222) in 2003, 85.5% of departments (188/220) in 2005, and 83.1% of department...

Objective: Children admitted to hospital commonly require peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs) for treatment. This study sought to address a gap in the literature about current practice in the securement and dressing of PIVCs in paediatric acute care, and to ascertain the duration and failure of these devices. Methods: A prospective cohort study conducted at the Royal Children's Hospital in Queensland, Australia. All patients aged 0-15 years, who presented to the ED between 16 July and 16 October 2012, and had a PIVC inserted prior to emergent admission to the hospital were included. Results: Of 458 participants, median device duration was 29 h (IQR 13-58 h), and ranged from less than 1 h to 16 days. One quarter (113/456, 24.8%) of PIVCs were removed due to device failure, presenting as: infiltration (65/456, 14.3%); accidental dislodgement (23/456, 5.0%); blockage (12/456, 2.6%); phlebitis (7/456, 1.5%); or 'other' (6/456, 1.3%). PIVC securement and dressings were predominantly bordered polyurethane dressings and splints (n = 457/458, 99.8%). PIVC placement in the antecubital fossa, in comparison to the hand, was significantly associated with an increased risk for failure (P = 0.03). No other patient and device characteristics had a significant association with device failure (P > 0.05). The median dwell time of PIVCs that failed was significantly longer than the PIVCs that did not fail (44.0 vs 25.5 h; P = 0.002). Less than half (53/113, 46.9%) of failed catheters were replaced with a new PIVC. Conclusions: Observed failure rates were high for a clinically essential device; however, there is no established rate of acceptability against which the results can be benchmarked against to facilitate effectiveness of practice. Many PIVCs appeared to remain in place longer than needed. Dressing and securement practice was homogenous. PIVC placement in the antecubital fossa should be minimised to reduce the risk of paediatric PIVC failure.

Objective-It is routine in intensive care medicine (ICM) to measure hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) function, commonly utilizing the ACTH stimulation test to diagnose absolute or relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI). It is therefore important to determine whether ICM therapies and testing themselves influence HPA test results. Design-Prospective, 96 h animal study. Setting-Research laboratory. Subjects-24 healthy canines. Interventions-Animals were randomized into two groups-awake and unrestrained or treated with intensive care medicine therapies including sedation, intubation and mechanical ventilation (SIM). Animals were further randomized to receive dexamethasone (or placebo) or undergo either a total of 4 or 7 ACTH stimulation tests over 96 h. Measurements and Main Results-SIM transiently increased both basal and post-ACTH total and free cortisol concentrations greater than twofold as compared to baseline for the first 24 h (p ≤ 0.05 for both). Performance of 7 stimulation tests increased both basal and post-ACTH total and free cortisol concentrations from baseline by greater than 1.5 fold for the duration of the 96 h study (p ≤ 0.05). Neither SIM nor the performance of more stimulation tests affected delta cortisol measurements (total or free cortisol, p=NS). In contrast, dexamethasone suppressed basal total cortisol concentrations by greater than twofold (p ≤ 0.005) at all time points and transiently increased delta total cortisol by approximately 35% during the first 24 h of the study (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions-total and free cortisol measurements-whether pre-or post-ACTH or as a calculated delta-were altered by intensive care therapies or frequent ACTH stimulation testing with one exception. Delta free cortisol was the only HPA measurement unaffected by SIM, completion of more ACTH stimulation tests or dexamethasone therapy. These findings support the need to determine normal ranges for HPA testing in subjects receiving ICM before establishing laboratory criteria for the diagnosis of RAI.

Although there has been an improved management of Invasive Candidiasis in the last decade, still controversial issues remain, especially in different therapeutic critical care scenarios. We sought to identify the core clinical knowledge and to achieve high agreement recommendations required to care for critically ill adult patients with Invasive Candidiasis for antifungal treatment in special situations and different scenarios. Second Prospective Spanish survey reaching consensus by the Delphi technique, conducted anonymously by electronic e-mail in the first phase to 23 national multidisciplinary experts in invasive fungal infections from five national scientific societies including Intensivists, Anesthesiologists, Microbiologists, Pharmacologists and Infectious disease specialists, answering 30 questions prepared by a coordination group after a strict review of literature in the last five years. The educational objectives spanned four categories, including peritoneal candidiasis, ...

Oxygenation measurements are widely used in patient care. However, most clinically available instruments currently consist of contact probes that only provide global monitoring of the patient (e.g., pulse oximetry probes) or local monitoring of small areas (e.g., spectroscopy-based probes). Visualization of oxygenation over large areas of tissue, without a priori knowledge of the location of defects, has the potential to improve patient management in many surgical and critical care applications. In this study, we present a clinically compatible multispectral spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) system optimized for surgical oxygenation imaging. This system was used to image tissue oxygenation over a large area (16×12 cm) and was validated during preclinical studies by comparing results obtained with an FDA-approved clinical oxygenation probe. Skin flap, bowel, and liver vascular occlusion experiments were performed on Yorkshire pigs and demonstrated that over the course of the experiment, relative changes in oxygen saturation measured using SFDI had an accuracy within 10% of those made using the FDA-approved device. Finally, the new SFDI system was translated to the clinic in a first-in-human pilot study that imaged skin flap oxygenation during reconstructive breast surgery. Overall, this study lays the foundation for clinical translation of endogenous contrast imaging using SFDI.

Natural disasters, industrial accidents , terrorism attacks, and pandemics all have the capacity to result in large numbers of critically ill or injured patients. This supplement provides suggestions for all of those involved in a disaster or pandemic with multiple critically ill patients, including front-line clinicians, hospital administrators, professional societies, and public health or government offi cials. The current Task Force included a total of 100 participants from nine countries, comprised of clinicians and experts from a wide variety of disciplines. Comprehensive literature searches were conducted to identify studies upon which evidence-based recommendations could be made. No studies of suffi cient quality were identifi ed. Therefore, the panel developed expert-opinion-based suggestions that are presented in this supplement using a modifi ed Delphi process. The ultimate aim of the supplement is to expand the focus beyond the walls of ICUs to provide recommendations for the management of all critically ill or injured adults and children resulting from a pandemic or disaster wherever that care may be provided. Considerations for the management of critically ill patients include clinical priorities and logistics (supplies, evacuation, and triage) as well as the key enablers (systems planning, business continuity, legal framework, and ethical considerations) that facilitate the provision of this care. The supplement also aims to illustrate how the concepts of mass critical care are integrated across the spectrum of surge events from conventional through contingency to crisis standards of care.

BACKGROUND: Intensivists must provide enough analgesia and sedation to ensure dying patients receive good palliative care. However, if it is perceived that too much is given, they risk prosecution for committing euthanasia. The goal of this study is to develop consensus guidelines on analgesia and sedation in dying intensive care unit patients that help distinguish palliative care from euthanasia. METHODS:

The reported actual compliance for severe sepsis bundles was very low, suggesting the presence of barriers to their implementation. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of full-time intensivist and nurse-to-patient ratio in Korean intensive care units (ICUs) on the implementation of the severe sepsis bundles and clinical outcome. A total of 251 patients with severe sepsis were enrolled from 28 adult ICUs during the July, 2009. We recorded the organizational characteristics of ICUs, patients&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39; characteristics and clinical outcomes, and the compliance for severe sepsis bundles. Complete compliance with the resuscitation bundle and totally complete compliance with all element targets for resuscitation and management bundles were significantly higher in the ICU with full-time intensivist and a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:2 (P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; .05). The hazard ratio (HR) for hospital mortality was independently reduced by the presence of full-time intensivist (HR, 0.456; 95% confidence interval, 0.223-0.932), and a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:2 was independently associated with a lower 28-day mortality (HR, 0.459; 95% confidence interval, 0.211-0.998). The full-time intensivist and the nurse-to-patient ratio had a substantial influence on the implementation of severe sepsis bundles and the mortalities of patients with severe sepsis.

To determine the incidence, cost, and outcome of severe sepsis in the United States. Observational cohort study. All nonfederal hospitals (n = 847) in seven U.S. states. All patients (n = 192,980) meeting criteria for severe sepsis based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification. None. We linked all 1995 state hospital discharge records (n = 6,621,559) from seven large states with population and hospital data from the U.S. Census, the Centers for Disease Control, the Health Care Financing Administration, and the American Hospital Association. We defined severe sepsis as documented infection and acute organ dysfunction using criteria based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification. We validated these criteria against prospective clinical and physiologic criteria in a subset of five hospitals. We generated national age- and gender-adjusted estimates of incidence, cost, and outcome. We identified 192,980 cases, yielding national estimates of 751,000 cases (3.0 cases per 1,000 population and 2.26 cases per 100 hospital discharges), of whom 383,000 (51.1%) received intensive care and an additional 130,000 (17.3%) were ventilated in an intermediate care unit or cared for in a coronary care unit. Incidence increased &amp;gt;100-fold with age (0.2/1,000 in children to 26.2/1,000 in those &amp;gt;85 yrs old). Mortality was 28.6%, or 215,000 deaths nationally, and also increased with age, from 10% in children to 38.4% in those &amp;gt;85 yrs old. Women had lower age-specific incidence and mortality, but the difference in mortality was explained by differences in underlying disease and the site of infection. The average costs per case were $22,100, with annual total costs of $16.7 billion nationally. Costs were higher in infants, nonsurvivors, intensive care unit patients, surgical patients, and patients with more organ failure. The incidence was projected to increase by 1.5% per annum. Severe sepsis is a common, expensive, and frequently fatal condition, with as many deaths annually as those from acute myocardial infarction. It is especially common in the elderly and is likely to increase substantially as the U.S. population ages.

acute and residential care settings Objectives. The objective of this review was to investigate physical restraint minimization in acute and residential care settings. The first aim was to determine the effectiveness of attempts to minimize the use of physical restraint, and the second was to generate a description of the characteristics of restraint minimization programmes. Method. A comprehensive search was undertaken involving all major databases and the reference lists of all relevant papers. To be included in the review studies had to be an evaluation of restraint minimization in an acute or residential care setting. As only a single randomized controlled trial (RCT) was identified, it was not possible statistically to pool the findings of different studies on the effectiveness of restraint minimization. To generate a description of the characteristics of restraint minimization programmes, the reported components of these programmes were identified and categorized. Results. A total of 16 studies evaluating restraint minimization were identified: three in acute care and 13 in residential care. Of these, only one was an RCT, with the most common approach being the before and after study design. Based on the findings of the single RCT, education supported by expert consultation effectively reduced the use of restraint in residential care. There has been little evaluation of restraint minimization in acute care settings. The common approach to restraint minimization has involved a programme of multiple activities, with restraint education being the characteristic common to most programmes. Discussion. Evidence suggests that physical restraint can be safely reduced in residential care settings through a combination of education and expert clinical consultation. There is little information on restraint minimization in acute care settings. The major finding of this review is the need for further investigation into all aspects of restraint minimization.