Patients In Critical Care Units Research Articles

D-dimer levels as an associated factor for pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 patients in Critical Care Unit: A case-control study

Objective: Establish the association between the D-Dimer levels and pulmonary embolism (PE) in CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) in patients with COVID 19 in critical care. Methodology: Case Control study in patients with diagnosis of COVID 19 in three critical care units during 2021 in Medellin. All patients had CTPA as a diagnostic method for PE. Results: There were 135 cases and 136 controls, mean age 60 years old (IQ 51-70), 74.2 % were men. 39% had high blood pressure. Segmentary PE was found in 65.2%, lobar PE in 19.3% and 15.6% in the right or left pulmonary artery. We found that it is more likely to have PE if the D-Dimer value is more than 5000 ng/mL (ORa 7.8; IC95% 4.09-14.92). Conclusion: D-Dimer is an independent factor that is associated with PE in patients with COVID - 19 in critical care, especially if the value is over 5000 ng/mL.

Coma Prevalence in Critical Care Units in Chile: Results of a Cross-Sectional Survey on World Coma Day.

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of coma among patients in critical care units in Chile. We also aimed to provide insight into the demographic characteristics, etiologies, and complications associated with coma. A single day cross-sectional study was conducted through a national survey of public and private hospitals with critical and intensive cardiac care units across Chile. Data were collected using an online questionnaire that contained questions regarding critically ill patients' information, demographic characteristics, etiology and duration of coma, medical complications, and support requirements. A total of 84% of all health facilities answered, accounting for a total of 2,708 patients. The overall coma prevalence was 2.9%. The median age of the comatose patients was 61 years (interquartile range 50-72) and 66.2% were male. The median coma duration was five days (interquartile range 2-9). Cerebral hemorrhage was the most common etiology, followed by severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, acute ischemic stroke, and traumatic brain injury. A total of 48.1% of coma patients experienced acute and ongoing treatment complications, with pneumonia being the most common complication, and 97.4% required support during comatose management. This study provides an overview of the prevalence of coma in Chilean critical and cardiac care units. Coma is a common condition. Comatose patients frequently experience medical complications during their hospitalization.

Revisiting the potential value of vital signs in the real-time prediction of mortality risk in intensive care unit patients

BackgroundPredicting patient mortality risk facilitates early intervention in intensive care unit (ICU) patients at greater risk of disease progression. This study applies machine learning methods to multidimensional clinical data to dynamically predict mortality risk in ICU patients.MethodsA total of 33,798 patients in the MIMIC-III database were collected. An integrated model NIMRF (Network Integrating Memory Module and Random Forest) based on multidimensional variables such as vital sign variables and laboratory variables was developed to predict the risk of death for ICU patients in four non overlapping time windows of 0–1 h, 1–3 h, 3–6 h, and 6–12 h. Mortality risk in four nonoverlapping time windows of 12 h was externally validated on data from 889 patients in the respiratory critical care unit of the Chinese PLA General Hospital and compared with LSTM, random forest and time-dependent cox regression model (survival analysis) methods. We also interpret the developed model to obtain important factors for predicting mortality risk across time windows. The code can be found in https://github.com/wyuexiao/NIMRF.ResultsThe NIMRF model developed in this study could predict the risk of death in four nonoverlapping time windows (0–1 h, 1–3 h, 3–6 h, 6–12 h) after any time point in ICU patients, and in internal data validation, it is suggested that the model is more accurate than LSTM, random forest prediction and time-dependent cox regression model (area under receiver operating characteristic curve, or AUC, 0–1 h: 0.8015 [95% CI 0.7725–0.8304] vs. 0.7144 [95%] CI 0.6824–0.7464] vs. 0.7606 [95% CI 0.7300–0.7913] vs 0.3867 [95% CI 0.3573–0.4161]; 1–3 h: 0.7100 [95% CI 0.6777–0.7423] vs. 0.6389 [95% CI 0.6055–0.6723] vs. 0.6992 [95% CI 0.6667–0.7318] vs 0.3854 [95% CI 0.3559–0.4150]; 3–6 h: 0.6760 [95% CI 0.6425–0.7097] vs. 0.5964 [95% CI 0.5622–0.6306] vs. 0.6760 [95% CI 0.6427–0.7099] vs 0.3967 [95% CI 0.3662–0.4271]; 6–12 h: 0.6380 [0.6031–0.6729] vs. 0.6032 [0.5705–0.6406] vs. 0.6055 [0.5682–0.6383] vs 0.4023 [95% CI 0.3709–0.4337]). External validation was performed on the data of patients in the respiratory critical care unit of the Chinese PLA General Hospital. Compared with LSTM, random forest and time-dependent cox regression model, the NIMRF model was still the best, with an AUC of 0.9366 [95% CI 0.9157–0.9575 for predicting death risk in 0–1 h]. The corresponding AUCs of LSTM, random forest and time-dependent cox regression model were 0.9263 [95% CI 0.9039–0.9486], 0.7437 [95% CI 0.7083–0.7791] and 0.2447 [95% CI 0.2202–0.2692], respectively. Interpretation of the model revealed that vital signs (systolic blood pressure, heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate, and body temperature) were highly correlated with events of death.ConclusionUsing the NIMRF model can integrate ICU multidimensional variable data, especially vital sign variable data, to accurately predict the death events of ICU patients. These predictions can assist clinicians in choosing more timely and precise treatment methods and interventions and, more importantly, can reduce invasive procedures and save medical costs.

Confirmation of correct placement of nasogastric / orogastric tube on Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in pediatric critical care unit patients.

Objective: To determine frequency of correct placement of nasogastric /orogastric tube on POCUS in pediatric critical care unit patients. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional. Setting: High Dependency Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Indus Hospital Health Network, Karachi, Pakistan. Period: November 2022 to April 2023. Methods: Patients of age 1 months to 15 years of age requiring NGT placement were enrolled into the study. Patients with nasal surgery, fracture of skull base/ face, bleeding, coagulopathy, esophageal varices, stricture, upper gastrointestinal surgery were excluded from this study. NG tube was passed by principal investigator after evaluating correct size and length measurement. After passing the NG tube, gastric aspiration and gastric auscultation were also performed by principal investigator. Results: In this study we enrolled 147children with median age of patient was 3 (IQR=0.75-07) years. Majority of patient in our study were male (63.9%). Gastric aspiration and gastric auscultation was seen in all of the study patients. Based on POCUS, frequency of correct placement of nasogastric tube in children admitted in PICU was 83%. Sensitivity of POCUS against gastric aspiration and gastric auscultation was 82.5% with 100% positive predictive value (PPV). Specificity was unable compute as there was no negative finding in reference standard and hence there was also no false positive case. Conclusion: POCUS seems to be helpful and could help with the placement of NGT in paediatric clinical settings. Nevertheless, NGT envision in the stomach was difficult, and if the operator is not skilled or there is abdominal distention, it may go unnoticed.

Pressure injury prevalence in critical care settings: An observational pre-post intervention study.

To explore pressure injury prevention practices and evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on PI prevalence before and after an educational intervention. A multi-centre observational study. Data were collected at two time points in May 2021 and April 2022 using a Qualtrics® online form. Two Registered Nurses at each site collected observational data at each time point by diagnosing and staging any identified pressure injuries as part of a prevalence study. Patients admitted to participating units were included. A total of 181 patients in critical care units were included at the two-time points. Pressure injury prevalence was 60.9% at the outset, with 52.9% hospital-acquired, 37.9% unit-acquired and 23.0% medical device-related. Post-intervention prevalence decreased significantly to 28.7%, including 21.3% hospital-acquired, 14.9% unit-acquired, and 8.5% medical device-related. Pressure injuries were prominent in the sacral region, head area, and heels. Stages I and II pressure injuries were the most common. Increased age and longer ICU stays are linked to a heightened risk of pressure injury development in critically ill patients, whereas higher haemoglobin levels show an inverse relationship with the development of both pressure injury and severe stages in the univariate analysis. The predictive models revealed that increased age and longer ICU stays are predictors for both pressure injury development and progression to severe stages, while Braden scores predict the likelihood of developing severe stages of pressure injuries. This study has identified a benchmark for pressure injury prevalence in critical care units in Saudi Arabia. The results demonstrate that pressure injuries can be prevented in critically ill patients when evidence-based education strategies are implemented. Pressure injuries are an important issue for critically ill patients and can be prevented with proper investments. Strategies to prevent pressure injuries from admission will result in fewer pressure injuries. Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines and the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist. No patient or public contribution.

The Rate of Success of CPR in Patients Suffering from Cardiac Arrest in Patients Admitted in CCU in Cardiology Department Ayub Medical Teaching Institute

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an essential procedure used to treat patients who are in cardiac arrest, particularly in the Critical Care Unit (CCU). Objective: To assess the success rate of CPR admitted to the CCU, revealing insight on the effectiveness of current resuscitation techniques. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Department of Cardiology Ayub Medical Teaching Institute, Abbottabad, between 13th April 2023 to 30th November 2023, 110 patients had cardiac arrest while in the intensive care unit. Data were gathered and examined on patient demographics, pre-existing comorbidities, time to start CPR, duration of CPR, and results. CPR success was defined as a sustained restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) for at least 20 minutes. Results: This study included 110 cardiac patients. Most patients (68.18%) were male. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity at 72.7%. CPR started on average 4.8 minutes late, with a 1.2-minute standard deviation. The average CPR time was 18.2 minutes, with a 5.6-minute SD. After cardiac arrest, 60 (54.5%) patients began CPR within 5 minutes. Another subgroup found 96.0% CPR success in 25 (22.7%) ventricular fibrillation patients. Then occurred ventricular tachycardia (80.0%), pulseless electrical activity (76.0%), and asystole (68.9%). These data suggest that CPR works better in ventricular fibrillation patients. Conclusions: This research sheds light on cardiac arrest CCU patients' demographics, care, and outcomes. The data show that early CPR and ventricular fibrillation detection and treatment improve outcomes for these individuals.

Shedding new light for nurses: Enhancing pressure injury prevention across skin tones with sub-epidermal moisture assessment technology.

To assess the effectiveness of sub-epidermal moisture (SEM) assessment technology in the detection of early-stage pressure damage in a critical care unit (CCU) and dark skin tone patients and its impact on hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) incidence. Quality improvement study employing Kurt Lewin's change model emphasizing planning, implementation, evaluation and sustainable change. The study evaluated 140 adult patients admitted to the CCU over a 24-week period, from July to December 2022. Retrospective analysis of standard PI care pathways was performed in 90 patients admitted during a 12-week pre-implementation period. Fifty patients were admitted through the subsequent 12-week implementation period. SEM assessments were performed daily at the sacrum and heels and interventions were applied based on SEM assessments; SEM delta ≥0.6 indicating localized oedema or persistent focal oedema. Statistical analyses were performed on anonymized data. Pre-implementation HAPI incidence was 8.9% (N = 8/90). All eight patients were African American with varying skin tones. A 100% reduction in HAPI incidence was achieved in the implementation period which included 35 African American patients. The relative risk of HAPI incidence was 1.6 times higher in the pre-implementation group. Implementing SEM assessment technology enabled equitable PI care for all population types and resulted in a 100% reduction of PIs in our CCU. Objective SEM assessments detected early-stage PIs, regardless of skin tone and enabled providing interventions to specific anatomies developing tissue damage as opposed to universal preventive interventions. PI care pathways relying on visual and tactile skin assessments are inherently biased in providing equitable care for dark skin tone patients. Implementing SEM assessments empowers healthcare practitioners in driving objective clinical interventions, eliminates bias and enables positive PI health outcomes. Implementing SEM assessment technology had three main effects: it detected early tissue damage regardless of skin tone (detection effect), enabled anatomy-specific interventions (treatment effect) and prevented PIs across all population types (prevention effect). The authors have adhered to the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) 2.0 guidelines. No patient or public contribution. What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community? Addressing health inequities in pressure injury prevention; Demonstrated effectiveness across patient populations; Resource optimization and enhanced patient safety.

Nurses' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Enteral Feeding of Critically ill Patients at Kenyatta National Hospital Critical Care Unit

Enteral feeding/nutrition is the most efficient nutritional support strategy used by critical care nurses to feed patients in critical care units (CCUs) who are unable to meet their dietary demands orally. In developing countries, most critically ill patients continue to receive low amounts of their dietary needs in the CCUs. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out investigations on the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of critical care nurses attending to extremely ill patients. This study's objective was to determine the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of critical care nurses on enteral feeding of critically ill patients at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) CCUs. The study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative study design. Using a stratified sampling design and proportionate sampling technique, a sample size of 135 critical care nurses was recruited. Data was collected using a standardised questionnaire. Inferential statistics, Pearson Chi-square (χ2) or Fisher's exact tests were used to analyse the relationship between independent and dependent variables. A p-value of <0.05 was set as the significance criterion. Approximately 65.9% of the study participants noted adequate level of knowledge on enteral nutrition, followed by moderate (23.0%) and inadequate (11.1%) levels of knowledge. Most of the respondents (96.3%.) had positive attitudes toward enteral feeding. About 54.7% of the study subjects had competent enteral feeding practices. The gender, age group, terms of service, level of qualification and work experience were not significantly associated with the levels of knowledge, attitudes, and practices on enteral feeding among critical care nurses. This study concluded that the critical care nurses had adequate knowledge, positive attitudes, and competent practices on enteral nutrition. The study recommends that critical care nurses must be provided with regular, continuous medical training on enteral nutrition to maintain a high level of knowledge, positive attitudes, and competent practices on enteral nutrition

Barriers to Pain Management among Cancer Patients in Critical Care Units from Patients' Perspectives

Barriers to Pain Management among Cancer Patients in Critical Care Units from Patients' Perspectives

Evaluation of Anesthesia Care Team Knowledge Regarding Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation in Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: One of the most popular therapies for hospitalized patients in critical care units (ICUs) is mechanical ventilation through an endotracheal tube. Delaying weaning is linked to increased difficulty rates, more time in the hospital, and reduced ICU survival rates. Methodology: This study aims to evaluate the anesthesia care team's knowledge regarding weaning from MV in the ICU. The cross-sectional study of this type was conducted at Imam Khomeini Hospital and Sharieti Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from May 2023 until November 2023. During data collection, anesthetic care team members with various educational backgrounds were employed in the ICU at a public hospital. The final sample size was 101 Iranian anesthesia care teams in an Iranian hospital. Inclusion criteria include those who had an educational certificate and agreed to participate in this study during the study period. Anyone with a duration of 1 year or more in the ICU has an associate degree (nursing, anesthesia care team anesthesiology) and above. Exclusion criteria include a pilot study sample and all those not fulfilling the above inclusion criteria and not completing questionnaires. Results: The results showed that (77.2%) of the anesthesia care team was female, and (74.3%) were married. (50.5%) worked in the Imam khomaini hospital; furthermore, the anesthesia care team age was (50.5%) of (31--40) years old, and the mean SD was (2.14 0.69). (2%)the anesthesia care team possessed plenty of knowledge. (35.6%) The anesthesia care group possessed a middling degree of knowledge, and (62.4%) possessed little knowledge. The relationship between the total knowledge of the anesthesia care team regarding weaning criteria from mechanical ventilation and the educational degree is significant (P = 0.005). The Conclusion: The knowledge and procedures of the anesthesia care team about weaning patients off of artificial ventilation were deemed inadequate based on the results of the current study. They need better knowledge about weaning criteria from MV in the ICU.

Moral distress among critical care nurses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review.

Moral distress has emerged as a significant concern for critical care nurses, particularly due to the complex and demanding care provided to critically ill patients in critical care units. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new ethical challenges and changes in clinical practice, further exacerbating the experience of moral distress among these nurses. This systematic review compares the factors influencing moral distress among critical care nurses before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the pandemic on moral distress. For this systematic review, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, medRxiv, bioRxiv, Embase, and Google Scholar were all utilized in the search. The search covered articles published from 2012 to December 2022, encompassing a 10-year timeframe to capture relevant research on moral distress among critical care nurses. In total, 52 articles were included in this systematic review. The findings indicate that personal, caring-related, and organizational factors can influence nurses' moral distress. Before the pandemic, factors including futile and end-of-life care, conflicts with physicians, nurse performance and authority, poor teamwork, decision-making regarding treatment processes and patient care, limited human resources and equipment, medical errors, patient restraints, and nurses' age and work experience affect critical care nurses' moral distress. Similarly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, factors contributing to moral distress include futile and end-of-life care, fear of contracting and spreading COVID-19, decision-making about treatment processes, poor teamwork, and being female. This study revealed that the factors contributing to moral distress were approximately similar in both periods. Futile care and end-of-life issues were critical care nurses' primary causes of moral distress. Implementing prevention strategies and reducing these underlying factors could decrease this major issue and improve the quality of care.

Delirium in critical care unit patients: prevalence and associated risk factors

A large number of critically ill patients experience physical and mental distress, resulting from systemic illness, multiple interventions, and environmental factors, during their stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Delirium is a common medical problem related to prolonged critical care. ICU delirium is linked to higher mortality as well as morbidity. The majority of patients suffering from delirium in the ICU experience hypoactive delirium, which remains relatively undiagnosed. Multiple tools have been devised for ICU delirium screening and early diagnosis. This short report aimed to assess the prevalence of delirium using a validated screening tool in medical ICU patients and determine the associated modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. Keywords: Psychomotor agitation, Anxiety, Delirium, critical illness.

Anticholinergic Burden and Xerostomia in Critical Care Settings.

Although previous studies have established the association of medications with anticholinergic adverse effects and xerostomia, anticholinergic burden and xerostomia in critical care settings are poorly characterized. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of medication burdens associated with anticholinergic adverse effects, particularly the occurrence of xerostomia (dry mouth) in a critical care setting. In addition, this study explored the correlation between the timing of the first instance of xerostomia and the administration timing of medication known to have anticholinergic adverse effects. A retrospective case-control study was used with the MIMIC (Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care) III database. The MIMIC-III clinical database is a publicly available, deidentified, health-related database with more than 40 000 patients in critical care units from 2001 to 2012. Cases of xerostomia (n = 1344) were selected from clinical notes reporting "dry mouth," "xerostomia," or evidence of pharmacological treatment for xerostomia; control (n = 4032) was selected using the propensity analysis with 1:3 matching on covariates (eg, age, sex, race, ethnicity, and length of stay). The anticholinergic burden was quantified as the cumulative effect of anticholinergic activities using the Anticholinergic Burden Scale. Anticholinergic burden significantly differed between xerostomia patients and control subjects (P = .04). The length of stay was a statistically significant factor in xerostomia. The probability of developing the symptom of xerostomia within 24 hours was .95 (95%) for patients of xerostomia. Anticholinergic Burden Scale is associated with xerostomia in the critical care setting, particularly within 24 hours after admission. It is crucial to carefully evaluate alternative options for medications that may have potential anticholinergic adverse effects. This evaluation should include assessing the balance between the benefits and harms, considering the probability of withdrawal reactions, and prioritizing deprescribing whenever feasible within the initial 24-hour period.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Intentions of Critical Care Units Patients’ Families regarding Organ Donation

Up-to-date, no country in the world has enough donated organs. This study aimed to assess the levels and predictors of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of critical care unit patients’ families regarding organ donation. This is a cross-sectional study that used a questionnaire to collect data from 250 families having patients hospitalized in critical care units from three medical sectors in Jordan. Results revealed that 97.6% of the participants had heard about organ donation. Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs (3 types), and intentions levels were 67%, 49.6%, (14.9%, 77.1%, −12.9%), and 81.8%, respectively. Participants who were educated, employed, health insured, with higher income, and lived in urban areas had higher levels of knowledge. Participants who live in urban areas have favorable attitudes toward organ donation. Higher-educated females reported higher behavioral beliefs. Policymakers can design ways to deal with obstacles facing organ donation by taking into account these variables. Improving these factors will provide a huge social service to community health by increasing organ transplantation rates and improving the quality of life of chronic illnesses patients. Future interventional studies are needed in the world that focuses on improving community knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and intentions toward organs donation.

Professional competence required in advanced practice nursing in critical care: An exploratory qualitative study.

To identify the required competencies of advanced practice nurses (APNs) working with patients in critical care units in Norway. An exploratory qualitative design. Four focus group interviews were performed with 18 nurses who worked in critical care units. The data were examined by inductive content analysis following Graneheim and Lundman's approach. Our study found that APNs in critical care require the following professional competencies to meet the needs of patients characterised by greater age, comorbidities and increased complexity: (1) intrapersonal skills as revealed in the subthemes of self-awareness; motivation and commitment; strong mental health and upholding ethical standards, (2) advanced clinical decision-making skills as identified in the subthemes of integration of theory and practice; complex practical and technical skills; dealing with increased delegated responsibility and taking the lead in managing increased practice complexity and (3) interpersonal skills, including peer guidance, practising collaboratively and the ability to position oneself.

Serum neurofilament light chain as an early diagnostic biomarker for critical illness polyneuropathy.

Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) commonly occurs in critical care unit (CCU) patients, but timely diagnosis can be challenging. Therefore, new biomarkers, such as serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL), could help to improve early identification of patients with this condition. CIP was diagnosed or excluded with neurological assessment and nerve conduction measurement in a prospective study of CCU patients. sNfL and secondary predictors for neuropathy (neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S100, folic acid, and vitamin B<inf>12</inf>) were measured at admission. Cases and controls were compared regarding the predictors. Nineteen patients met the inclusion criteria. CIP was considered definitely or most likely present in seven (37%, cases) and definitely or most likely absent in 12 individuals (63%, controls). At admission, sNfL levels were significantly higher in the cases than in the controls: 405 (IQR 77 to 835) vs. 27 (IQR 12 to 90) pg/mL; difference of medians 375, 95% confidence interval [14, 736], pg/mL; P=0.04. We found no significant differences regarding the secondary predictors at baseline. Cases had longer durations of CCU stay (median 19 (IQR 11 to 44) vs. 8 (IQR five to ten) and increased mortality (57% vs. 33% deceased) compared to controls. Levels of serum neurofilament light chain are higher in patients who develop CIP soon after CCU admission and might be helpful in identifying those individuals early.

Comorbidity network analysis using graphical models for electronic health records.

The comorbidity network represents multiple diseases and their relationships in a graph. Understanding comorbidity networks among critical care unit (CCU) patients can help doctors diagnose patients faster, minimize missed diagnoses, and potentially decrease morbidity and mortality. The main objective of this study was to identify the comorbidity network among CCU patients using a novel application of a machine learning method (graphical modeling method). The second objective was to compare the machine learning method with a traditional pairwise method in simulation. This cross-sectional study used CCU patients' data from Medical Information Mart for the Intensive Care-3 (MIMIC-3) dataset, an electronic health record (EHR) of patients with CCU hospitalizations within Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital from 2001 to 2012. A machine learning method (graphical modeling method) was applied to identify the comorbidity network of 654 diagnosis categories among 46,511 patients. Out of the 654 diagnosis categories, the graphical modeling method identified a comorbidity network of 2,806 associations in 510 diagnosis categories. Two medical professionals reviewed the comorbidity network and confirmed that the associations were consistent with current medical understanding. Moreover, the strongest association in our network was between "poisoning by psychotropic agents" and "accidental poisoning by tranquilizers" (logOR 8.16), and the most connected diagnosis was "disorders of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance" (63 associated diagnosis categories). Our method outperformed traditional pairwise comorbidity network methods in simulation studies. Some strongest associations between diagnosis categories were also identified, for example, "diagnoses of mitral and aortic valve" and "other rheumatic heart disease" (logOR: 5.15). Furthermore, our method identified diagnosis categories that were connected with most other diagnosis categories, for example, "disorders of fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base balance" was associated with 63 other diagnosis categories. Additionally, using a data-driven approach, our method partitioned the diagnosis categories into 14 modularity classes. Our graphical modeling method inferred a logical comorbidity network whose associations were consistent with current medical understanding and outperformed traditional network methods in simulation. Our comorbidity network method can potentially assist CCU doctors in diagnosing patients faster and minimizing missed diagnoses.

Comparison of Full Outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in Determining Outcome among Patients in Critical Care Units – A Prospective Study

Accurate assessment and monitoring of level of consciousness is fundamental for prompt management and recognising warning signs of deterioration in the patient. The Glasgow coma scale (GCS), a widely used tool was compared with full outline of unresponsiveness (FOUR) score as an alternate tool for assessment and prognostication of the outcome. The purpose of this study aimed to compare and evaluate the accuracy between GCS and FOUR score (FS) tool in the neurological assessment and predicting the functional outcome. Materials and Methods: For this observational study, 131 patients were recruited from two major teaching hospitals in Middle Eastern countries. Data was collected on admission from emergency department and reassessed on day two &amp; four. Patient was followed on discharge and outcome evaluated using the Glasgow outcome scale (GOS). Results: The mean age was 56.39±17.29 (18- 87years) with 83(63.4%) male patients. 93 (71%) patients admitted with neurological problems. In terms of predicting the outcome using the GOS, the area under the ROC curve was 92% (CI- 95%, 0.870-0.975) for FS and 74.73 % (CI-95%, 0.825-0.951) for GCS. The sensitivity and specificity for FS on admission (0.976 &amp; 0.543), day two (0.971 &amp; 0.495) &amp; day four (0.971 &amp; 0.340) and for GCS is (0.918 &amp; 0.370) (0.941 &amp; 0.433) (0.971 &amp; 0.330). Conclusions: The FS tool is precise in predicting power of mortality and is an ideal complementary or substitute tool for GCS.

Forecasting Caseload of Critically Ill Patients Who Are Alert and Without Delirium for at Least Two Consecutive Days for the Assessment of Their Psychological Distress.

One-quarter of alert, non-delirious patients in critical care units report significant psychological distress. Treatment of this distress depends upon identifying these high-risk patients. Our aim was to characterize how many critical care patients remain alert and without delirium for at least two consecutive days and could thus predictably undergo evaluation for distress. This retrospective cohort study used data from a large teaching hospital in the United States of America, from October 2014 to March 2022. Patients were included ifthey were admitted to one of three intensive care units, and for >48 hours all delirium and sedation screenings were negative (Riker sedation-agitation scalefour, calm and cooperative, and no delirium based on all Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit scores negative and all Delirium Observation Screening Scale less than three).Means and standard deviations of means for counts and percentages are reported among the most recent six quarters. Means and standard deviations ofmeans for lengths of stay were calculated among all N=30 quarters.The Clopper-Pearson method was used to calculate the lower 99% confidence limit for the percentages of patients who would have had atmost one assessment ofdignity-related distress before intensive care unit discharge orchange in mental status. An average of 3.6 (standard deviation 0.2) new patients met the criteria daily. The percentages of all critical care patients (20%, standard deviation 2%) and hours (18%, standard deviation 2%) meeting criteria decreased slightly over the 7.5 years. Patients spent a mean of 3.8(standard deviation 0.1) days awake incritical care before their condition or site changed. In the context of assessing distress and potentially treating it before the date ofchange ofcondition (e.g., transfer), 66% (6818/10314) ofpatients would have zero or one assessment, lower 99% confidence limit of 65%. Approximately one-fifth of critically ill patients are alert and without delirium and thus could be evaluated for distress during their intensive care unit stay, mostly during a single visit. These estimates can be used to guide workforce planning.

Evaluation of Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Measurement in the Management of Patients Admitted to the Emergency Department with Head Trauma

Objective: Ultrasonographic measurements of optic nerve sheath diameter is associated with increased intracranial pressure. Intracranial pressure measurements are usually performed on critical areas or intensive care unit patients. The effect of ultrasonographic measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter in predicting pathology or the need for surgery in mild or moderate head trauma has not been evaluated. In our study, we compared ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter measurements with cranial computed tomography (CT) findings and clinical outcomes of patients with head trauma. Materials and methods: Patients with head trauma admitted to the emergency department who were diagnosed with mild, moderate, and severe brain injury were selected for this retrospective study. The optic nerve sheath diameters were measured by ultrasonography. The findings were compared with the outcome and cranial tomography characteristics of the patients. Results: Of the 58 patients admitted to the emergency department with head trauma, mild traumatic brain injury was most common. Hospitalization or operation was required in 51.7% of the patients (30 patients). The mean optic nerve sheath diameter was 4.96 ± 1.02 mm (3.1–7.3 mm) on the right and 4.92 ± 1.02 mm (3.3–7.8) on the left. Optic nerve sheath diameter of 5 mm or more were statistically significant in predicting hospitalization, the presence of pathology, and increased intracranial pressure on cranial CT (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Optic nerve sheath diameters of patients with moderate and mild head trauma may provide information about the need for hospitalization or surgery and can be used as a triage criterion in determining the need for monitoring and follow-up and imaging priorities.