Abstract
Good hand hygiene (HH) is critical to infection control in the ICU. Electronic HH surveillance systems are purported to improve HH practices. Such a system was recently trialed in our ICU. The system is based on radiofrequency transponders in three locations: bracelets worn by ICU personnel; on all HH product dispensers; and above each patient's bed. By correlating input from these three sources the system detects whether HH was performed before and after each patient contact. In the event that HH is not performed, the bracelet alerts the user (by vibration) in real time. This study represents a clinical validation of the system.
Highlights
To assess cerebral hemodynamics in an experimental sepsis model
Healthy bowel function is an important factor when judging the advisability of early enteral nutrition in critically ill patients
Since the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) in 2002, the Health Service Ombudsman for England published recommendations for improving recognition and treatment of sepsis [2], the Royal College of Physicians issued a toolkit for the management of sepsis in the acute medical unit [3], and NHS England released a patient safety alert to support prompt recognition and treatment of sepsis [4]
Summary
We evaluated platelet activation markers as potential predictive markers of sepsis and of mortality among four commonly encountered populations of patients admitted to ICUs. Methods Ninety-nine non-infected ICU patients were prospectively screened at day 1 (T1) and day 3 (T2) of admission after elective cardiac surgery, trauma, acute neurologic dysfunction or prolonged ventilation (>48 hours). The present study was performed with the aim of assessing whether nursing and physician staff were able to identify patients in need of critical care using only clinical judgment and to compare this with the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) Methods This was a prospective cohort study of all adult patients with a first-time admission to a medical admission unit at a 450-bed regional teaching hospital over a 3-month period in 2010.
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