Type Of Intensive Care Unit Research Articles

281 - Post Intensive Care Syndrome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients: A prospective observational study

Over a third of critical illness survivors manifest significant psychocognitive impairments following discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). It is not known which patient populations are at highest risk or if assessment at ICU discharge can guide outpatient treatment prioritization.Prospective single center study in an academic medical center encompassing six types of ICUs assessed prevalence of psychocognitive morbidity based on ICU type and associations between initial and 3 month follow-up evaluation. Adult patients with >48 h ICU stays completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Blind (MoCA-blind).Of 299 patients who underwent initial assessment, 174 (58%) completed follow-up. Length of stay, MoCA-Blind, HADS-A/D and IES-R scores were similar across ICUs. Most commonly observed impairment in-hospital was cognitive (58%) followed by anxiety (45%), acute stress (39%) and depression (37%). There were significant correlations between in-hospital and follow-up psychocognitive outcomes.There was no significant difference in impairment by ICU type. Significant correlation between the initial assessment and follow-up scores suggests that early screening of high risk patients may identify those at greatest risk of sustained morbidity and facilitate timely intervention.

Relationship between "1-hour serum lactate" level and 30-day mortality in critical care patients in intensive care unit

To investigate the relationship between 1-hour lactate (1 h Lac) and 30-day mortality in critical care patients in intensive care unit (ICU). A retrospective, observational cohort study was performed with adult critical patients (age ≥ 16 years old) having lactate records within 1 hour after ICU admission from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III database (MIMIC-III). According to the 1 h Lac level, the patients were divided into three groups: < 2 mmol/L, 2-4 mmol/L, and > 4 mmol/L groups. The baseline characteristics were analyzed. Multivariable Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between 1 h Lac and 30-day mortality. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of 1 h Lac for 30-day mortality, and Kaplan-Meier survival curve was performed according to the best cut-off value. In addition, sensitivity analysis was carried out for each classification variable. A total of 3 969 ICU patients were included, with 673 died in 30 days, and the total mortality was 16.95%. There were 1 664, 1 588, 717 patients in Lac < 2 mmol/L, 2-4 mmol/L and > 4 mmol/L group, respectively. There were significant differences in age, ICU duration, ICU type, heart rate, leukocyte count, hemoglobin, creatinine, sequential organ failure score (SOFA), ventilator application, vasoactive drug use and main diagnosis among the three groups. Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that a 1 mmol/L increment in Lac was associated with 0.24 times higher risk of 30-day mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.19-1.29, P < 0.000 1]. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under ROC curve (AUC) of 1 h Lac for predicting 30-day mortality of severe patients was 0.694 (95%CI was 0.669-0.718). The cut-off value was 3.35 mmol/L with sensitivity of 0.499 and specificity of 0.779, whilst positive likelihood ratio was 2.260, and negative likelihood ratio was 0.643. According to the cut-off value of 1 h Lac, the patients were divided into high lactate group (≥ 3.35 mmol/L) and low lactate group (< 3.35 mmol/L). In the two subgroups, 30-day mortality was 31.58% (336/1 064) and 11.60% (337/2 905), respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the 30-day cumulative survival rate of high lactate group was significantly lower than that of low lactate group (Log-rank test: χ2 = 247.72, P < 0.000 1). Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that the 30-day mortality rate of high lactate group was 2.34 times that the level of low lactate group (OR = 2.34, 95%CI was 1.90-2.88, P < 0.000 1), after the adjustment of age, time of admission, type of ICU, hemoglobin, leukocyte count, use of vasopressor, use of ventilator and main diagnosis of patients. Stratified analysis showed that the relationship between 1 h Lac and 30-day mortality was stable. 1 h Lac is associated with 30-day mortality in critical care patients. The risk of death was significantly increased in critically ill patients with 1 h Lac higher than 3.35 mmol/L.

Surveillance of bloodstream infections in intensive care units in England, May 2016–April 2017: epidemiology and ecology

Bloodstream infections (BSIs) in patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and economic costs. Many BSIs are associated with central venous catheters (CVCs). The Infection in Critical Care Quality Improvement Programme (ICCQIP) was established to initiate surveillance of BSIs in English ICUs. A web-based data capture system was launched on 1st May 2016 to collect all positive blood cultures (PBCs), patient-days and CVC-days. National Health Service (NHS) trusts in England were invited to participate in the surveillance programme. Data were linked to the antimicrobial resistance dataset maintained by Public Health England and to mortality data. Between 1st May 2016 and 30th April 2017, 84 ICUs (72 adult ICUs, seven paediatric ICUs and five neonatal ICUs) based in 57 of 147 NHS trusts provided data. In total, 1474 PBCs were reported, with coagulase-negative staphylococci, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium being the most commonly reported organisms. The rates of BSI and ICU-associated CVC-BSI were 5.7, 1.5 and 1.3 per 1000 bed-days and 2.3, 1.0 and 1.5 per 1000 ICU-CVC-days in adult, paediatric and neonatal ICUs, respectively. There was wide variation in BSI and CVC-BSI rates within ICU types, particularly in adult ICUs (0-44.0 per 1000 bed-days and 0-18.3 per 1000 ICU-CVC-days). While the overall rates of ICU-associated CVC-BSIs were lower than 2.5 per 1000 ICU-CVC-days across all age ranges, large differences were observed between ICUs, highlighting the importance of a national standardized surveillance system to identify opportunities for improvement. Data linkage provided clinically important information on resistance patterns and patient outcomes at no extra cost to participating trusts.

Pharmacist‐driven discontinuation of antipsychotics for ICU delirium: A quasi‐experimental study

AbstractIntroductionThe use of antipsychotics reduces the duration of intensive care unit (ICU) delirium. Continuation of antipsychotics prescribed for ICU delirium at hospital discharge has been an increasingly reported phenomenon with risk factors for continuation upon discharge identified.ObjectiveTo evaluate a pharmacist‐driven discontinuation protocol on the rate of patients with an antipsychotic continued at hospital discharge for ICU delirium.MethodsThis was a single‐center, retrospective quasi‐experimental study of patients admitted to the medical, surgical, or cardiac ICU started on antipsychotics for delirium. A protocol was developed for pharmacists to discontinue scheduled antipsychotics once delirium had resolved. The pre‐ and post‐protocol groups included patients between November 2015 to April 2016 and November 2017 to April 2018, respectively. The primary outcome was the rate of antipsychotic continuation at hospital discharge in the pre‐ and postprotocol groups. Secondary outcomes were related to antipsychotic use and adverse events. Chi‐square, Fisher's exact test, Mann‐Whitney U test, and t‐test were used as appropriate.ResultsA total of 158 patients were included. There were no differences in baseline demographics including age, gender, ICU type, baseline QTc, ICU length of stay (LOS) or hospital LOS (25 [13, 34] vs 19 [13, 30] days; P &gt; .05). There was a significant reduction in the rate of antipsychotics continued at hospital discharge with 26 (32.9%) and 6 (7.6%) patients having therapy continued in the pre‐ and postprotocol groups, respectively (P &lt; .001). No differences were noted in antipsychotic continuation upon transfer to floor, QTc prolongation, or recurrence of delirium within 7 days of antipsychotic discontinuation.ConclusionsImplementation of a pharmacist‐driven antipsychotic discontinuation protocol for delirium was associated with a significant decrease in antipsychotic continuation at hospital discharge. The protocol did not result in a significantly higher incidence of QTc prolongation or recurrence of delirium. Future studies are needed to assess antipsychotic discontinuation in the ICU setting.

Mortality of Children Treated in A Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Versus Other Intensive Care Units

Background: Korean children are often treated in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) rather than in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs). However, pediatric critical care (PCC) in ICUs, other than in PICUs, may have effects on patient’s outcome. Objectives: To compare the PCC outcomes of pediatric patients in the PICU with the outcomes of pediatric patients in other ICUs. Methods: This is a retrospective study of pediatric patients treated in ICUs. The participants of this study were children aged < 18 years who were admitted to the ICUs from the Pediatric Department of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital from April 2009 to June 2017. Patients with hemato-oncologic diseases or those needing postoperative care were excluded. Results: Among the 429 ICU cases, 306 were PICU and 123 were ICU patients. The age (18 months vs. 26 months; P = 0.104) and male sex ratio (57% vs. 54%; P = 0.587) were not significantly different between PICU and other ICU patients. PICU patients (73%) were commonly admitted from another hospital compared with ICU patients (63%, P = 0.043). The pediatric index of mortality -3 score was not significantly different between the PICU and ICU patients (-4.3 vs -4.1; P = 0.128); the ICU and hospital length of stay were 5 days vs 5 days (P = 0.357) and 11 days vs 11 days (P = 0.317); and the mortality rate was 4% vs 11% (P = 0.008), respectively. Respiratory and neurologic complications were 5% vs 11% (P = 0.021) and 4% vs 2% (P = 0.282), respectively. The risk of mortality was higher for ICUs patients (odds ratio = 2.56; 95% CI = 1.11 - 5.87), adjusted for source of ICU admission, and type of ICU. Conclusions: Pediatric patients treated in a PICU had a lower mortality compared to those treated in other ICUs.

Determining the Cost and Length of Stay at Intensive Care Units and the Factors Influencing Them in a Teaching Hospital in Malaysia

ObjectivesEscalating healthcare costs calls for the efficiency of health services, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU) where the bulk of resources are used. This study aims to identify the length of stay (LOS) and cost of care at ICUs, which are proxy indicators of efficiency and the factors determining them. MethodsA cross-sectional study of patients requiring ICU admissions in a teaching hospital in Malaysia from 2013 to 2015 was conducted. The cost at the ICU was estimated using the step down approach. Factors that determined the cost and LOS at the ICU were also explored by using multivariate regression analysis. ResultsEach day of stay cost $427 (USD) at the pediatric intensive care unit and $1324 at the general intensive care unit. The mean LOS at the ICU was 5.7 days (standard deviation [SD]: 8.4) with a median of 4 days (95% confidence interval [CI] 1-16.7 days). Average cost of care at the ICU per episode of care was $5473 (SD $6499), and the median was $3463. ICU patients spent 29.3% of the total stay and 47.2% of the cost at ICU units. Upon multivariate regression analysis, severity, case base-group, and type of ICU that the patient was admitted to were associated with the cost and LOS at ICU. ConclusionsCompared with critical care practices in hospitals from more developed nations, a Malaysian teaching hospital required a longer length of ICU stay. Hence, implementations of strategies that can reduce the length of stay and hospital costs without compromising healthcare quality are required.

Deep Natural Language Processing Identifies Variation in Care Preference Documentation

ContextDocumentation of care preferences within 48 hours of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is a National Quality Forum-endorsed quality metric for older adults. Care preferences are poorly captured by administrative data. ObjectivesUsing deep natural language processing, our aim was to determine the rate of care preference documentation in free-text notes and to assess associated patient factors. MethodsRetrospective review of notes by clinicians using a deep natural language processing to identify care preference documentation, including goals-of-care and treatment limitations, within 48 hours of ICU admission within five ICUs (medical, cardiac, surgery, trauma surgery, and cardiac surgery) for adults 75 years and older. Covariates included demographics, ICU type, sequential organ failure assessment score, and need for mechanical ventilation. ResultsDeep natural language processing reviewed 11,575 clinician notes for 1350 ICU admissions. Median patient age was 84.0 years (interquartile range 78.0–88.4). Overall, 64.7% had documentation of care preferences. Patients with documentation were older (85 vs. 83 years; P < 0.001) and more often female (53.8% vs. 43.4%; P < 0.001). In adjusted analysis, rates of care preference documentation were higher for older patients, females, nonelective admissions, and admissions to the medical vs. the cardiac or surgical ICUs (all P ≤ 0.01). ConclusionCare preference documentation within 48 hours was absent in more than one-third of ICU admissions among patients aged 75 years and older and was more likely to occur in medical vs. cardiac or surgical ICUs.

The effect of different intensivist staffing patterns on the rate of potential drug-drug interactions in adult trauma intensive care units.

Background:Drug–drug interactions (DDIs) have created alarming challenges for public health, especially in those admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Many studies have shown that involvement of intensivists in the ICUs improves the outcome and decreases the treatment costs. The effect of academic versus non-academic (therapeutic) intensivist as well as hours of coverage and attendance of intensivist on potential DDIs (pDDIs) was evaluated in six adult trauma ICUs of a level one trauma center.Methods:In this 6-month cross-sectional study, 200 patients were included. The DDIs were classified into five groups, including type A, B, C, D, and X. pDDIs were defined as interactions belonged to C, D and X categories. Patients in six adult ICUs with three different patterns of intensivist staffing models including type A (once-daily therapeutic intensivist visit followed by 24 h on-call), B (twice-daily academic intensivist visit, 8 h of attendance in ICU and 16 h on-call) and C (all criteria just like ICU type B, except for the presence of therapeutic instead of academic intensivist) were screened for pDDIs.Results:In total, 3735 drug orders and 3869 drugs (193 different types) were screened and 1826 pDDIs were identified. Type C, D and X interactions accounted for 60.6%, 35.5%, and 3.9% of all pDDIs, respectively. The mean of pDDI per patient was significantly higher (p-value < 0.001) in the ICU type A than ICU types C and B. The frequency of pDDIs was the highest in the type A ICUs. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the number of prescribed drugs and ICU length of stay (p-value < 0.001 and p = 0.009, respectively).Conclusion:Different patterns of intensivist staffing affect pDDIs to varying degrees. In the studied ICUs academic versus therapeutic intensivist, twice versus once-daily visit, and 8 h attendance with16 h on-call versus 24 h on-call were associated with more reductions in pDDIs.Plain language summaryThe impact of different intensivist staffing patterns in ICUs on the rate of potential drug-drug interactionsDrug-drug interactions (DDIs) have created alarming challenges for public health, especially in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Many studies have shown that involvement of intensivists in the ICUs improves the outcome and limits the costs. Considering the high incidence of potential DDIs (pDDIs) occurring for critically ill patients and the importance of ADRs caused by pDDIs in ICUs, the effect of the presence of an academic versus therapeutic intensivist, as well as the hour of coverage of intensivist on prevalence of pDDIs was evaluated in six adult trauma ICUs of a level one trauma center in Shiraz, Iran. We also determined the prevalence of pDDIs and their associated risk factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has assessed the effect of various ICU physician staffing models on the incidence and pattern of pDDIs.

Intensivists' Direct Management without Residents May Improve the Survival Rate Compared to High-Intensity Intensivist Staffing in Academic Intensive Care Units: Retrospective and Crossover Study Design.

BackgroundMedical staff members are concentrated in the intensive care unit (ICU), and medical residents are essentially needed to operate the ICU. However, the recent trend has been to restrict resident working hours. This restriction may lead to a shortage of ICU staff, and there is a chance that regional academic hospitals will face running ICUs without residents in the near future.MethodsWe performed a retrospective observational study (intensivist crossover design) of medical patients who were transferred to two ICUs from general wards between September 2017 and February 2019 at one academic hospital. We compared the ICU outcomes according to the ICU type (ICU with resident management under high-intensity intensivist staffing vs. ICU with direct management by intensivists without residents).ResultsOf 314 enrolled patients, 70 were primarily managed by residents, and 244 were directly managed by intensivists. The latter patients showed better ICU mortality (29.9% vs. 42.9%, P = 0.042), lower cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (10.2% vs. 21.4%, P = 0.013), lower continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) (24.2% vs. 40.0%, P = 0.009), and more advanced care planning decisions before death (87.3% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.013) than the former patients. The better ICU mortality (hazard ratio, 1.641; P = 0.035), lower CPR (odds ratio [OR], 2.891; P = 0.009), lower CRRT (OR, 2.602; P = 0.005), and more advanced care planning decisions before death (OR, 4.978; P = 0.007) were also associated with intensivist direct management in the multivariate cox and logistic regression analysis.ConclusionIntensivist direct management might be associated with better ICU outcomes than resident management under the supervision of an intensivist. Further large-scale prospective randomized trials are required to draw a definitive conclusion.

1878. Title: Impact of Antibiotic Stewardship Rounds in the Intensive Care Setting: A Prospective Cluster-Randomized Crossover Study

BackgroundThe impact of formalized, interdisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) rounds in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting has not been well described.MethodsWe performed a two-arm, cluster-randomized, crossover quality improvement study over 8 months to compare the impact of weekly ICU rounds with an ASP team vs. usual care. The primary outcome was antibiotic use (AU) in days of therapy (DOT) per 1,000 days present during and following ICU exposure. Our cohort consisted of ICU patients in 5 ICUs in Duke University Hospital. The unit of randomization was rounding team, which corresponded to half of the ICU beds in each unit. Each team was randomized to the intervention for 4 months followed by usual care for 4 months (or vice versa). The intervention involved multidisciplinary review of eligible patients to discuss antibiotic optimization. Patients not on antibiotics, followed by infectious diseases, post-transplant, on ECMO, or with a ventricular assist device were excluded from review. Intervention impact was assessed with multivariable negative binomial regression rate ratios (RR). AU was assessed over time before and after the study period to assess global and unit-level trends.ResultsWe had 4,683 ICU-exposed patients. Intervention effect was not significant for the primary outcome (table). The intervention order was not significant in the model. Eligible patients were lower in the cardiothoracic ICU (CTICU) compared with other units (table); the intervention led to a significant decrease in AU when the CTICU was removed (RR = 0.93 [0.89–0.98], P = 0.0025). Intervention impact was differential among ICUs, with the greatest effect in surgical and least in CTICU (table). nit-level AU decreased in all ICUs, driven by 4 of the 5 ICUs (table, figure).ConclusionThe effect of ASP rounds on AU was mixed for different types of ICUs. The direct effect on AU (intervention vs. control) was small because the analysis addressed the whole ICU population and thus was subject to biases from exposures after an ICU stay, ineligible patients, and lack of blinding. However, we observed an overall decline in AU during the study period, which we believe represents indirect effects of increased ASP activity and awareness. Additional ASP resources to round more than weekly may result in greater effect. Disclosures All Authors: No reported Disclosures.

749. Wide Variation in the Use of External Cooling Blankets Among Adult Intensive Care Unit Nurses for Fever

BackgroundThere are limited data on whether external cooling blankets (ECBs) are beneficial in the treatment of fever that is not related to malignant hyperthermia (MH). There are no established national guidelines for the use of ECBs for fevers other than for MH. Thus, there may be a wide variation in nursing practice related to their use.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional survey of adult intensive care unit (ICU) nurses at our hospital, using SurveyMonkeyTM, to evaluate nursing practices related to the use of ECBs in febrile patients other than MH. Data collected from the survey included years of experience as an ICU nurse, type of ICU, when ECBs are used and temperature of initiation and discontinuation. Continuous variables were compared using Student’s t-test and categorical variables were described as frequency distributions. Data were analyzed using SPSS v. 25.0 and a P-value of 0.05 or less was considered to indicate statistical significance.ResultsWe invited 150 nurses to participate in the survey, 61 responded (40.7%). The mean number of years worked in an ICU was 8.6 ± 9.4 years (range: 1–34), 14 (23%) worked in a cardiovascular ICU (CVICU), 22 (36%) worked in a medical ICU (MICU), and 25 (41%) in a surgical ICU (SICU). A total of 58 (95.1%) of nurses reported using ECBs for fever, with 50 (82%) of nurses using ECBs only when other methods failed. MICU nurses (31.8%) were more likely to report using ECBs prior to failed attempt of other anti-pyrexia methods than SICU (16%) and CVICU (0.0%) nurses. There was no association between initiation and termination of ECB use by ICU type, years of nursing experience or a given range of temperature values.ConclusionThere was a wide variation of practice among ICU nurses as it relates to the use of ECBs in patients with fevers. Medical ICU nurses tended to use ECBs before failure of other methods compared with other ICU nurses. Standardized protocols should be developed for their use based on existing medical literature. Further studies should be performed to confirm our findings.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Evaluation of the Intensive Care Unit Resources and Utilization in Two Governmental Hospitals in Tripoli, Libya

The growing population in Tripoli is projected to have a sustained increase in the demand for health services, especially in-service areas with limited resources such as intensive care units (ICUs). Currently, ICUs in the city of Tripoli routinely operate at or near full capacity and have a limited ability to accommodate the next critically ill patient. This disparity in demand and supply makes a substantial strain on our health care system. In response to this rising problem, the current study aimed to investigate the ICU capacity in the two largest hospitals in Tripoli, Libya. This is a retrospective observational study that conducted to compare ICU capacities and admission in the Medical intensive care unit (MICU) and surgical intensive care unit (SICU) of Tripoli Medical center (TMC) and Alkhadra hospital (AH) in Tripoli city of Libya. ICUs capacity and admissions were assessed and recorded in data collection sheet that includes; type of ICU, number of available ICU beds, number of available functional monitors, number of available functional mechanical ventilators, number of patients admitted to the ICU, and number of ICU nurse. In TMC, MICU occupied with 4 beds, 4 monitors, 3 mechanical ventilators (MV), 5 patients admitted, and 13 nurses. Whereas SICU engaged with 4 beds, 5 monitors, 5 MV, 13 patients admitted and 15 nurses. While MICU at AHT was occupied with 4 beds, 4 monitors, 1 MV, and 4 admitted patients with 1 nurse care, SICU at CHT was comprised of 3 beds, 3 monitors, 0 MV, and 3 patients with 1 nurse stuff. We concluded that facilities at both MICU and SICU at Alkhadra hospital of Tripoli were less efficient than MICU and SICU at Tripoli Medical centre. Both ICUs at AHT had not enough beds, observation equipment, and nursing staff to take care of patients. However, facilities of both ICUs at TMC were also not sufficient.

Variability in catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria rates among individual nurses in intensive care units: An observational cross-sectional study.

Catheter-associated asymptomatic bacteriuria (CAABU) is frequent in intensive care units (ICUs) and contributes to the routine use of antibiotics and to antibiotic-resistant infections. While nurses are responsible for the implementation of CAABU-prevention guidelines, variability in how individual nurses contribute to CAABU-free rates in ICUs has not been previously explored. This study’s objective was to examine the variability in CAABU-free outcomes of individual ICU nurses. This observational cross-sectional study used shift-level nurse-patient data from the electronic health records from two ICUs in a tertiary medical center in the US between July 2015 and June 2016. We included all adult (18+) catheterized patients with no prior CAABU during the hospital encounter and nurses who provided their care. The CAABU-free outcome was defined as a 0/1 indicator identifying shifts where a previously CAABU-free patient remained CAABU-free (absence of a confirmed urine sample) 24–48 hours following end of shift. The analytical approach used Value-Added Modeling and a split-sample design to estimate and validate nurse-level CAABU-free rates while adjusting for patient characteristics, shift, and ICU type. The sample included 94 nurses, 2,150 patients with 256 confirmed CAABU cases, and 21,729 patient shifts. Patients were 55% male, average age was 60 years. CAABU-free rates of individual nurses varied between 94 and 100 per 100 shifts (Wald test: 227.88, P<0.001) and were robust in cross-validation analyses (correlation coefficient: 0.66, P<0.001). Learning and disseminating effective CAABU-avoidance strategies from top-performers throughout the nursing teams could improve quality of care in ICUs.

Patterns of diuretic use in the intensive care unit.

PurposeTo inform future outcomes research on diuretics, we sought to describe modern patterns of diuretic use in the intensive care unit (ICU), including diuretic type, combination, and dosing. We also investigated two possible quality improvement targets: furosemide dosing in renal impairment and inclusion of an initial bolus with continuous furosemide infusions.Materials and methodsIn this descriptive study, we retrospectively studied 46,037 adult ICU admissions from a publicly available database of patients in an urban, academic medical center.ResultsDiuretics were employed in nearly half (49%, 22,569/46,037) of ICU admissions. Mechanical ventilation, a history of heart failure, and admission to the post-cardiac surgery unit were associated with a higher frequency of diuretic use. Combination use of different diuretic classes was uncommon. Patients with severely impaired kidney function were less likely to receive diuretics. Furosemide was by far the most common diuretic given and the initial intravenous dose was only 20 mg in more than half of ICU admissions. Among patients treated with a continuous infusion, 30% did not receive a bolus on the day of infusion initiation.ConclusionsPatterns of diuretic use varied by patient-specific factors and by ICU type. Diuretic dosing strategies may be suboptimal.

Psychocognitive sequelae of critical illness and correlation with 3 months follow up

PurposeOver a third of critical illness survivors manifest significant psychocognitive impairments following discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). It is not known which patient populations are at highest risk or if assessment at ICU discharge can guide outpatient treatment prioritization. Materials and methodsProspective single center study in an academic medical center encompassing six types of ICUs assessed prevalence of psychocognitive morbidity based on ICU type and associations between initial and 3 month follow-up evaluation. Adult patients with >48 h ICU stays completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Blind (MoCA-blind). ResultsOf 299 patients who underwent initial assessment, 174 (58%) completed follow-up. Length of stay, MoCA-Blind, HADS-A/D and IES-R scores were similar across ICUs. Most commonly observed impairment in-hospital was cognitive (58%) followed by anxiety (45%), acute stress (39%) and depression (37%). There were significant correlations between in-hospital and follow-up psychocognitive outcomes. ConclusionsThere was no significant difference in impairment by ICU type. Significant correlation between the initial assessment and follow-up scores suggests that early screening of high risk patients may identify those at greatest risk of sustained morbidity and facilitate timely intervention.

Comparison of clinical characteristics and outcomes between homeless and non-homeless patients admitted to intensive care units: An observational propensity-matched cohort study in Korea

PurposeTo compare clinical characteristics and outcomes between critically ill homeless and non-homeless patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in a Korea. Materials and methodsWe retrospectively analyzed the medical charts of homeless and non-homeless patients admitted to ICU at Seoul Boramae Medical Center between January 2012 and December 2017. Patients were selected using 1: 2 propensity score matching including age, sex, and type of ICU and multivariate analyses were performed to determine risk factors for hospital and ICU mortality. Results56 homeless and 112 non-homeless matched patients were analyzed. The homeless patients were younger, included more men, and exhibited significantly higher readmission and ER admission rates. Although hospital and ICU mortality rates were similar between two groups, the homeless patients were significantly less likely to have family or substitute decision-makers and generally died after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Adjusted multivariate analysis showed that homelessness was not an independent predictor of ICU or hospital mortality. The length of ICU stay was comparable between groups. ConclusionsIn Korea, ICU-admitted homeless patients are well managed without differences in terms of organ support quality and exhibit the same prognosis as non-homeless patients. However, the quality of end-of-life care for homeless patients remains poor.

Limitation of Life-Sustaining Care in the Critically Ill: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

When life-sustaining treatments (LST) are no longer effective or consistent with patient preferences, limitations may be set so that LSTs are withdrawn or withheld from the patient. Many studies have examined the frequency of limitations of LST in intensive care unit (ICU) settings in the past 30 years. This systematic review describes variation and patient characteristics associated with limitations of LST in critically ill patients in all types of ICUs in the United States. A comprehensive search of the literature was performed by a medical librarian between December 2014 and April 2017. A total of 1,882 unique titles and abstracts were reviewed, 113 were selected for article review, and 36 studies were fully reviewed. Patient factors associated with an increased likelihood of limiting LST included white race, older age, female sex, poor preadmission functional status, multiple comorbidities, and worse illness severity score. Based on several large, multicenter studies, there was a trend toward a higher frequency of limitation of LST over time. However, there is large variability between ICUs in the proportion of patients with limitations and on the proportion of deaths preceded by a limitation. Increases in the frequency of limitations of LST over time suggests changing attitudes about aggressive end-of-life-care. Limitations are more common for patients with worse premorbid health and greater ICU illness severity. While some differences in the frequency of limitations of LST may be explained by personal factors such as race, there is unexplained wide variability between units.

Development and validation of a dynamic delirium prediction rule in patients admitted to the Intensive Care Units (DYNAMIC-ICU): A prospective cohort study

BackgroundDelirium is one of the most common cognitive complications among patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICU). ObjectiveTo develop and validate a DYNAmic deliriuM predICtion rule for ICU patients (DYNAMIC-ICU) and to stratify patients into different risk levels among patients in various types of ICUs. DesignProspective cohort study. Setting and participantsA total of 560 (median age of 66 years, 62.5% male) consecutively enrolled patients from four ICUs were included in the study. The patients were randomly assigned into either the derivation (n = 336, 60%) or the validation (n = 224, 40%) cohort by stratified randomization based on delirium/non-delirium and types of ICU. MethodsThe simplified Chinese version of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) was used to assess delirium until patients were discharged from the ICUs. Potential predisposing, disease-related, and iatrogenic and environmental risk factors as well as data on patients’ outcomes were collected prospectively. ResultsOf the enrolled patients, 20.2% and 20.5% developed delirium in the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. Predisposing factors (history of chronic diseases, hearing deficits), disease-related factors (infection, higher APACHE II scores at admission), and iatrogenic and environmental factors (the use of sedatives and analgesics, indwelling catheter, and sleep disturbance) were identified as independent predictors of delirium. Points were assigned to each predictor according to their odds ratio to create a prediction rule which was internally validated based on total scores and by bootstrapping (AUCs of 0.907 [95% CI 0. 871 -0.944], 0.888 [95% CI 0.845-0.932], and 0.874 [95% CI 0.828-0.920]), respectively. The total score of the DYNAMIC-ICU ranged from 0 to 33 and patients were divided into low risk (0–9), moderate risk (10–17), high risk (18–33) groups in developing delirium according to their total score with incidence of delirium at 2.8%, 16.8% and 75.9% in the derivation group, respectively. The DYNAMIC-ICU and its performance of risk level stratification were further validated in the validation cohort (AUC = 0.900 [95% CI 0.858-0.941]). The all-cause mortality was increased and the length of hospital stay was prolonged dramatically with the increase of delirium risk levels in both derivation (p = 0.034, p < 0.001) and validation cohorts (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). ConclusionsSeven predictors for ICU delirium were identified to create DYNAMIC-ICU, which could well stratify ICU patients into three different delirium risk levels, tailor risk level changes, and predict in-hospital outcomes by a dynamic assessment approach.

Echocardiographic parameters of patients in the intensive care unit undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy.

Main objectivesEchocardiographic parameters have been used to predict outcomes for specific intensive care unit (ICU) populations. We sought to define echocardiographic parameters for ICU patients receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT).Design, setting, participants, and measurementsThis is a historical cohort study of consecutive ICU patients at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) who received CRRT from December 9, 2006, through November 13, 2015. Only patients with an echocardiographic examination within 7 days of CRRT initiation were considered.ResultsThe study included 1,276 patients. Decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF; ≤45%) was noted in 361/1,120 (32%) and increased right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP; ≥40 mm Hg) was noted in 529/798 (66%). Right ventricular systolic dysfunction was observed in 320/820 (39%). The most common valvular abnormality was tricuspid regurgitation (244/1,276 [19%]). Stratification of these parameters by ICU type (medical, surgical, cardiothoracic, cardiac) showed that most echocardiographic abnormalities were significantly more prevalent among cardiac ICU patients: LVEF ≤45% (67/105 [64%]), RVSP ≥40 mm Hg (63/79 [80%]) and tricuspid regurgitation (50/130 [38%]). We compared patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) vs end-stage renal disease and showed that decreased LVEF (284/921 [31%] vs 78/201 [39%]), was significantly less prevalent among patients with AKI, but increased RVSP was more prevalent (445/651 [68%] vs 84/147 [57%]) with AKI.ConclusionsICU patients who required CRRT had increased prevalence of pulmonary hypertension and right and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Prediction of adverse outcomes with echocardiographic parameters in this patient population can lead to identification of modifiable risk factors.

Can we predict patients that will not benefit from invasive mechanical ventilation? A novel scoring system in intensive care: the IMV Mortality Prediction Score (IMPRES)

Background/aimThe present study aimed to define the clinical and laboratory criteria for predicting patients that will not benefit from invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) treatment and determine the prediction of mortality and prognosis of these critical ill patients. Materials and methods The study was designed as an observational, multicenter, prospective, and cross-sectional clinical study. It was conducted by 75 researchers at 41 centers in intensive care units (ICUs) located in various geographical areas of Turkey. It included a total of 1463 ICU patients who were receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) treatment. A total of 158 parameters were examined via logistic regression analysis to identify independent risk factors for mortality; using these data, the IMV Mortality Prediction Score (IMPRES) scoring system was developed. Results The following cut-off scores were used to indicate mortality risk: <2, low risk; 2–5, moderate risk; 5.1–8, high risk; >8, very high risk. There was a 26.8% mortality rate among the 254 patients who had a total IMPRES score of lower than 2. The mortality rate was 93.3% for patients with total IMPRES scores of greater than 8 (P < 0.001). ConclusionThe present study included a large number of patients from various geographical areas of the country who were admitted to various types of ICUs, had diverse diagnoses and comorbidities, were intubated with various indications in either urgent or elective settings, and were followed by physicians from various specialties. Therefore, our data are more general and can be applied to a broader population. This study devised a new scoring system for decision-making for critically ill patients as to whether they need to be intubated or not and presents a rapid and accurate prediction of mortality and prognosis prior to ICU admission using simple clinical data.