scholarly journals FUTURES: Forecasting the Unexpected Transfer to Upgraded Resources in Sepsis

Author(s):  
Alexa Profozich ◽  
Trevor Sytsma ◽  
Ryan Arnold ◽  
Kristen Miller ◽  
Muge Capan

Sepsis is one of the most deadly and costly diseases. The Emergency Department (ED) is the initial point of care for most patients who become hospitalized due to sepsis. Quantifying the accuracy of ED clinician forecasting regarding patients’ clinical trajectories and outcomes can provide insight into clinical decision making and inform sepsis management.

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. e0194774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri Ann Reynolds ◽  
Stas Amato ◽  
Irene Kulola ◽  
Chuan-Jay Jeffrey Chen ◽  
Juma Mfinanga ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Antonio Buño ◽  
Paloma Oliver

Abstract Point-of-care-testing (POCT) facilitates rapid availability of results that allows prompt clinical decision making. These results must be reliable and the whole process must not compromise its quality. Blood gas analyzers are one of the most used methods for POCT tests in Emergency Departments (ED) and in critical patients. Whole blood is the preferred sample, and we must be aware that hemolysis can occur. These devices cannot detect the presence of hemolysis in the sample, and because of the characteristics of the sample, we cannot visually detect it either. Hemolysis can alter the result of different parameters, including potassium with abnormal high results or masking low levels (hypokalemia) when reporting normal concentrations. Severe hyperkalemia is associated with the risk of potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia and demands emergency clinical intervention. Hemolysis can be considered the most frequent cause of pseudohyperkalemia (spurious hyperkalemia) or pseudonormokalemia and can be accompanied by a wrong diagnosis and an ensuing inappropriate clinical decision making. A complete review of the potential causes of falsely elevated potassium concentrations in blood is presented in this article. POCT programs properly led and organized by the clinical laboratory can help to prevent errors and their impact on patient care.


2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J Crispin ◽  
Bethany J Crowe ◽  
Anne M McDonald

This study aimed to determine the perspectives of a group of patients categorised as ?long-stay outliers? at a large South Australian metropolitan hospital about aspects of organisation of care and the perceived impact of long-term hospitalisation. Nineteen patients were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Eighty-nine percent of participants stated that they had no knowledge of how long they were to be in hospital. Forty-two percent indicated that they did not know when they would be discharged from hospital. This was of concern, especially considering the vulnerability of this patient group and the known benefits of patient involvement in decision making and the improvements this can make to health outcomes and early discharge. Participants indicated concern about sleep deprivation, diet, ability to return to paid employment, and missing their family as the main areas of impact of their long hospitalisation. Concerns about being discharged from hospital included: apprehension as to whether they were well enough to leave; the recurrence of infection; whether they would be able to sleep well when they got home; their recent loss of appetite and associated weight loss; mobility concerns; and what supports they would have when they were discharged home. All these issues require staff to be more patient and family-centred in their approach to preparing for discharge.


2018 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 42-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen T. Hansen ◽  
Johanna Moore ◽  
Emily Herding ◽  
Tami Gooch ◽  
Diane Hirigoyen ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (03) ◽  
pp. 308-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eckhart Fröhlich ◽  
Katharina Beller ◽  
Reinhold Muller ◽  
Maria Herrmann ◽  
Ines Debove ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The aim of the current study was to evaluate point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in geriatric patients by echoscopy using a handheld ultrasound device (HHUSD, VScan) at bedside in comparison to a high-end ultrasound system (HEUS) as the gold standard. Materials and Methods Prospective observational study with a total of 112 geriatric patients. The ultrasound examinations were independently performed by two experienced blinded examiners with a portable handheld device and a high-end ultrasound device. The findings were compared with respect to diagnostic findings and therapeutic implications. Results The main indications for the ultrasound examinations were dyspnea (44.6 %), fall (frailty) (24.1 %) and fever (21.4 %). The most frequently found diagnoses were cystic lesions 32.1 % (35/109), hepatic vein congestion 19.3 % (21/109) and ascites 13.6 % (15/110). HHUSD delivered 13 false-negative findings in the abdomen resulting in an “overall sensitivity” of 89.5 %. The respective “overall specificity” was 99.6 % (7 false-positive diagnoses). HHUSD (versus HEUS data) resulted in 13.6 % (17.3 %) diagnostically relevant procedures in the abdomen and 0.9 % (0.9 %) in the thorax. Without HHUSD (HEUS) 95.7 % (100 %) of important pathological findings would have been missed. Conclusion The small HHUSD tool improves clinical decision-making in immobile geriatric patients at the point of care (geriatric ward). In most cases, HHUSD allows sufficiently accurate yes/no diagnoses already at the bedside, thereby clarifying the leading symptoms for early clinical decision-making.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 1756283X1774473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick Derwa ◽  
Christopher J.M. Williams ◽  
Ruchit Sood ◽  
Saqib Mumtaz ◽  
M. Hassan Bholah ◽  
...  

Objectives: Patient-reported symptoms correlate poorly with mucosal inflammation. Clinical decision-making may, therefore, not be based on objective evidence of disease activity. We conducted a study to determine factors associated with clinical decision-making in a secondary care inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) population, using a cross-sectional design. Methods: Decisions to request investigations or escalate medical therapy were recorded from outpatient clinic encounters in a cohort of 276 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD). Disease activity was assessed using clinical indices, self-reported flare and faecal calprotectin ≥ 250 µg/g. Demographic, disease-related and psychological factors were assessed using validated questionnaires. Logistic regression was performed to determine the association between clinical decision-making and symptoms, mucosal inflammation and psychological comorbidity. Results: Self-reported flare was associated with requesting investigations in CD [odds ratio (OR) 5.57; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.84–17.0] and UC (OR 10.8; 95% CI 1.8–64.3), but mucosal inflammation was not (OR 1.62; 95% CI 0.49–5.39; and OR 0.21; 95% CI 0.21–1.05, respectively). Self-reported flare (OR 7.96; 95% CI 1.84–34.4), but not mucosal inflammation (OR 1.67; 95% CI 0.46–6.13) in CD, and clinical disease activity (OR 10.36; 95% CI 2.47–43.5) and mucosal inflammation (OR 4.26; 95% CI 1.28–14.2) in UC were associated with escalation of medical therapy. Almost 60% of patients referred for investigation had no evidence of mucosal inflammation. Conclusions: Apart from escalation of medical therapy in UC, clinical decision-making was not associated with mucosal inflammation in IBD. The use of point-of-care calprotectin testing may aid clinical decision-making, improve resource allocation and reduce costs in IBD.


Author(s):  
Susan Simpson ◽  
Joshua Storrar ◽  
James Ritchie ◽  
Khalid Alshawy ◽  
Leonard Ebah ◽  
...  

Diagnosis ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Allan Watters ◽  
Spencer Wynyard Beasley ◽  
Wendy Crebbin

AbstractProceduralists who fail to review their decision making are unlikely to learn from their experiences, irrespective of whether the operative outcome is successful or not. Teaching junior surgeons to develop ‘insight’ into their own decision making has long been a challenge. Surgeons and staff of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons worked together to develop a model to help explain the processes around clinical decision making and incorporated this model into a Clinical Decision Making (CDM) training course. In this course, faculty apply the model to specific surgical cases, within the model’s framework of how clinical decisions are made; thus providing an opportunity to identify specific decision making processes as they occur and to highlight some of the learning opportunities they provide. The conversation in this paper illustrates the kinds of case-based interactions which typically occur in the development and teaching of the CDM course.The focus in this, the second of two papers, is on reviewing post-operative clinical decisions made in relation to one case, to improve the quality of subsequent decision making.


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