Intensive use of general ultrasound in the intensive care unit

Objective To assess the impact of systematic ultrasound (US) examination in patients admitted to the ICUDesign An observational study of 150 consecutive patientsSetting A medical ICU of a University-affiliated hospitalPatients All consecutively admitted patients were examined, but patients discharged within <48 h were excluded from the analysisInterventions A systematic examination of the abdomen, pleural space, cervical and femoral vein, was performed at the bedside by the same investigatorMeasurements Results of US examinations were compared to findings from CT-scan, surgery, endoscopic procedures, autopsy, or other diagnostic tests. The impact of U.S. findings on immediate patients management was evaluatedmResults In 33 of 150 patients (22%), U.S. findings influenced the diagnosis, work up of the patients, and had a direct impact on the therapeutic plan. In 30/33 cases, confirmation of diagnosis was obtained by another diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedureConclusions Routine US examination may alter therapeutic plans in up to 1/4 of critically ill patients admitted to the ICU. US examination should be liberally performed on such patients.     

The “sinusogram”, a real-time ultrasound sign of maxillary sinusitis

Objective: To describe a real-time ultrasound sign, the visualization of the cavity and the walls of the maxillary sinus (“sinusogram”), and to assess its correlation with total opacity of the sinus. Design: Prospective clinical study. Setting: The medical ICU of a university-affiliated hospital. Patients: The significance of this sign was assessed in 50 critically ill supine patients (100 maxillary sinuses) who underwent paranasal CT. Measurements and results: The “sinusogram” was defined as complete when the internal, external and posterior walls were frankly visible, and incomplete in the case of partial visualization of the walls. The “sinusogram” was present in all 21 cases of total opacity, in 2 of 12 cases of air-fluid level, in 8 of 14 cases of mucosal thickening, in one giant polyp, and in none of 52 normal sinuses. The “sinusogram” was complete in 10 of 21 cases of total opacity. It was incomplete in 11 of 21 cases of total opacity and in all 8 cases of mucosal thickening with positive ultrasound. For the diagnosis of radiologic maxillary sinusitis (total opacity or air-fluid level within the maxillary cavity), the sensitivity was 67 % and the specificity 87 %. For the diagnosis of total opacity (versus absence of total opacity, which includes fluid level), the sensitivity was 100 % and the specificity 86 %. When the “sinusogram” was complete, the specificity was 100 % for the diagnosis of total opacity. Conclusions: Ultrasound may be proposed in first-line diagnosis of radiologic maxillary sinusitis. Received: 30 December 1997 Accepted: 8 July 1998     

超声造影在重症监护病房中的应用现状

常规超声监测在危重症患者中已广泛应用,但在某些特殊情况如器官血流灌注下易出现误诊和漏诊。超声造影可以反映器官组织的血流灌注情况,特别是微灌注情况,在监测危重症患者时可弥补常规超声血流灌注的不足。本文初步总结超声造影在重症监护病房中的应用现状及进展。     

重症监护病房患者镇痛镇静的研究进展

镇痛镇静治疗已经成为重症监护病房中综合治疗的重要组成部分,可以消除或减轻患者的疼痛及不适,控制焦虑、躁动和谵妄,减轻应激反应,改善患者睡眠、诱导遗忘,提高机械通气的协调性,减轻医疗护理操作对患者造成的伤害性刺激,使危重患者处于舒适和安全的理想水平。本文对重症监护病房患者镇痛镇静的研究进展进行综述。     

Costs and cost-effectiveness of a telemedicine intensive care unit program in 6 intensive care units in a large health care system

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to estimate the costs and cost-effectiveness of a telemedicine intensive care unit (ICU) (tele-ICU) program.

Materials and Methods

We used an observational study with ICU patients cared for during the pre-tele-ICU period and ICU patients cared for during the post-tele-ICU period in 6 ICUs at 5 hospitals that are part of a large nonprofit health care system in the Gulf Coast region. We obtained data on a sample of 4142 ICU patients: 2034 in the pre-tele-ICU period and 2108 in the post-tele-ICU period. Economic outcomes were hospital costs, ICU costs and floor costs, measured for average daily costs, costs per case, and costs per patient.

Results

After the implementation of the tele-ICU, the hospital daily cost increased from $4302 to $5340 (24%); the hospital cost per case, from $21 967 to $31 318 (43%); and the cost per patient, from $20 231 to $25 846 (28%). Although the tele-ICU intervention was not cost-effective in patients with Simplified Acute Physiology Score II 50 or less, it was cost-effective in the sickest patients with Simplified Acute Physiology Score II more than 50 (17% of patients) because it decreased hospital mortality without increasing costs significantly.

Conclusions

Hospital administrators may conclude that a tele-ICU program aimed at the sickest patients is cost-effective.     

Data science in the intensive care unit

In this editorial, we comment on the current development and deployment of data science in intensive care units (ICUs). Data in ICUs can be classified into qualitative and quantitative data with different technologies needed to translate and interpret them. Data science, in the form of artificial intelligence (AI), should find the right interaction between physicians, data and algorithm. For individual patients and physicians, sepsis and mechanical ventilation have been two important aspects where AI has been extensively studied. However, major risks of bias, lack of generalizability and poor clinical values remain. AI deployment in the ICUs should be emphasized more to facilitate AI development. For ICU management, AI has a huge potential in transforming resource allocation. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has given opportunities to establish such systems which should be investigated further. Ethical concerns must be addressed when designing such AI.     

Person-centred care among intensive care unit nurses: A cross-sectional study

ObjectivePractising person-centred care is crucial for nurses in the intensive care unit, as patients have high physical and psychological care needs. We aimed to identify the predictors of person-centred care among nurses working in intensive care settings.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 188 intensive care unit nurses at four tertiary hospitals in two cities of South Korea were included. They completed self-reported questionnaires on emotional intelligence, compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and person-centred care. Emotional intelligence was measured using the Korean version of the Wong and Law’s emotional intelligence scale. Compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout were measured by the Professional Quality of Life questionnaire (version 5). Person-centred care was measured using the person-centred critical care nursing scale.ResultsMultiple regression identified compassion satisfaction (β = 0.49, p <.001) as the most powerful predictor of person-centred care, followed by emotional intelligence (β = 0.21, p =.004) and intensive care unit career length (β = 0.17, p =.021). These three variables accounted for 31.0 % of the variance in person-centred care.ConclusionsThis study highlights the importance of career length, emotional intelligence, and compassion satisfaction in the promotion of person-centred care among intensive care unit nurses. Nursing management should contemplate specific measures to reduce turnover among experienced intensive care unit nurses and to enhance the factors that promote person-centred care, such as compassion satisfaction and emotional intelligence.     

重症监护病房内上消化道出血的临床分析

目的探讨重症监护患者上消化道出血的主要因素,以及并发上消化道出血与病死率的关系。方法回顾分析重症监护病房(ICU)并发上消化道出血(急性非静脉曲张性上消化道出血)急危重病患者252例,按发病后上消化道出血发生时间与病死率的关系进行比较分析,并根据治疗超过3 d后继发感染和上消化道出血与病死率的关系进行比较分析。结果发生上消化道出血的主要疾病为脑血管意外和重度颅脑损伤;上消化道出血出现时间愈早(分别为<1 d、1~3 d、>3 d)死亡率愈高(P<0.05);治疗超过3 d后出现继发感染者上消化道出血发生率增加(P<0.05),其中呼吸机相关性肺炎35例,占83.33%,且继发感染伴上消化道出血患者病死率增加(P<0.05)。结论ICU患者出现上消化道出血提示预后不良;及时发现上消化道出血,防治感染尤其是呼吸机相关性肺炎等对ICU患者预后有重要意义。     

Bowel management in the intensive care unit

The area of bowel care in the intensive care unit (ICU) is often overlooked in the holistic care of the critically ill individual. With the primary concern of optimising patients to preserve life the problem of bowel care has been given less priority. The guidelines included within this service improvement paper offer a simple approach to bowel care management with the use of an algorithm and visual display score to be used in conjunction with the algorithm. This was developed in the intensive care unit of the Royal Free Hospital, London and is presently in use.     

Economies of scale in British intensive care units and combined intensive care/high dependency units

Objective To estimate the relationship between size of intensive care unit and combined intensive care/high dependency units and average costs per patient day.Design Retrospective data analysis. Multiple regression of average costs on critical care unit size, controlling for teaching status, type of unit, occupancy rate and average length of stay.Setting Seventy-two United Kingdom adult intensive care and combined intensive care/high dependency units submitting expenditure data for the financial year 2000–2001 as part of the Critical Care National Cost Block Programme.Interventions None.Measurements and results The main outcome measures were total cost per patient day and the following components: staffing cost, consumables cost and clinical support services costs. Nursing Whole Time Equivalents per patient day were recorded. The unit size variable has a negative and statistically significant (p<0.05) coefficient in regressions for total, staffing and consumables cost. The predicted average cost for a seven-bed unit is about 96% of that predicted for a six-bed critical care unit.Conclusion Policy makers should consider the possibility of economies of scale in planning intensive care and combined intensive care/high dependency units.     

Residents' and nurses' perceptions of team function in the medical intensive care unit

Background

Team-based care is integral to modern intensive care units (ICUs). Trainee physicians (“residents”) serve as core team members who provide direct patient care in academic ICUs. However, little is known about how resident perceptions of ICU team function differ from those of other disciplines. Therefore, we compared residents' perceptions to those of nurses', the other predominant direct caregiver group, in the medical ICU.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was performed with validated team function scales including presence of a real team, communication quality, collaboration, and coordination. The survey was administered to nurses and residents in medical ICUs in an urban academic medical center. We analyzed differences between nurses and residents both in their responses and in their perceptions of how constructs were interrelated.

Results

Residents felt that the team was more bounded, was more collaborative, and planned its work to a greater degree, but they were less satisfied with communication, compared with nurses. Residents and nurses perceived relationships between team function constructs in very similar ways. Both groups felt that communication openness and collaboration were positively associated but that communication accuracy and timeliness were negatively correlated, revealing an opportunity to improve overall team performance.

Conclusions

We found important differences in the way that ICU nurses and medical trainee physicians, the predominant types of providers caring for the critically ill in academic medical center ICUs, perceive key aspects of team function. These results may be useful to those responsible for administering academic ICUs as well as to residency program directors developing communication- and team-based curricula.     

慢性上颌窦炎影响因素的CT分析

目的探讨窦口鼻道复合体病变及解剖变异与慢性上颌窦炎的关系.方法对CT诊断的52例单侧慢性上颌窦炎进行两侧对比分析.结果患侧与健侧筛泡截面分别为(77.75±33.51) mm2和(34±20.27) mm2(P<0.01).两侧分别有19个及10个大筛泡.患侧伴有32组筛窦炎,对侧21组.鼻息肉11例,单发于上颌窦炎侧9例,对侧仅1例,双侧1例.结论大筛泡、前中组筛窦炎症、鼻息肉与慢性上颌窦炎有关.     

Antimicrobial residual drug error in the intensive care unit; a single blinded prospective observational study

ObjectiveTo determine the percentage of drug remaining in discarded antibiotic vials after use.DesignBlinded prospective observational trial.Setting26-bed Australian metropolitan tertiary referral intensive care unit.Main outcome measuresPercentage of labelled dose remaining in the vial after discard.MethodDiscarded antibiotic vials collected over a 7-day period in an adult intensive care unit were analysed. Each collected vial had any drug remnant washed out and made up to a known volume. A 1 ml aliquot of each vials washings was analysed using high performance liquid chromatography. From this concentration, the percentage of the drug remaining in the vial after discard was calculated. Additionally, each vial was weighed before and after washing to determine the weight of the remnant in each vial.ResultsA total of 311 vials comprising of 11 different drugs and 14 individual vial types were collected. The median residual drug error across all vials was 3.7 %. The drug with the highest median was piperacillin at 6.1 % (IQR 4.3) and the lowest was amoxicillin 0.2 % (IQR 0.1). The single highest value for a given vial was vancomycin (500 mg) with 33.2 % and the lowest for a given vial was 0.1 % amoxicillin (1 g). These two drugs also exhibited the greatest range between the maximum and minimum value for any drug being 32 % and 0.9 % respectively.ConclusionsOur study shows that up to a third of the intended dose may fail to reach the patient, highlighting a significant factor in the administration of antibiotics to the critically ill population.Implications for clinical practiceResidual drug often remains in antibiotic vials meaning that drug is not reaching the patient. There is considerable variation in the method by which medications are reconstituted in clinical settings. Two person checks should be completed after reconstitution in order to ensure that the medication is fully reconstituted and extracted from the vial.     

Risk prediction models for intensive care unit readmission: A systematic review of methodology and applicability

ObjectiveWe conducted a systematic review of primary models to predict intensive care unit (ICU) readmission.Review methodsWe searched MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase for studies on the development of ICU readmission prediction models that are published until January 2017. Data were extracted on the source of data, participants, outcomes, candidate predictors, sample size, missing data, methods for model development, and measures of model performance and model evaluation. The quality and applicability of the included studies were assessed using the CHecklist for critical Appraisal and data extraction for systematic Reviews of prediction Modelling Studies.ResultsWe identified five studies describing the development of the primary prediction models of ICU readmission. Studies ranged in size from 343 to 704,963 patients with the mean age of 58.0–68.9 years. The proportion of readmission ranged from 2.5% to 9.6%. The discriminative ability of prediction models measured by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.66–0.81. None of the studies performed external validations. The quality scores ranged from 42 to 54 out of 62, and the applicability scores from 24 to 32 out of 38.ConclusionWe identified five prediction models for ICU readmission. However, owing to the numerous methodological and reporting deficiencies in the included studies, physicians using these models should interpret the predictions with precautions until an external validation study shows the acceptable level of calibration and accuracy of these models.