scholarly journals Identifying Information Resources for Patients in the Intensive Care Unit and Their Families

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. e10-e16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumiko O. Schnock ◽  
Sucheta S. Ravindran ◽  
Anne Fladger ◽  
Kathleen Leone ◽  
Donna M. Williams ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Providing information to patients in intensive care units and their families is challenging. Patients often are admitted unexpectedly and experience stress and uncertainty. One source of stress has been identified as unclear, uncoordinated, or inconsistent communication and information. Despite the need for information, no centrally located, easily accessible, standardized intensive care unit education content exists. OBJECTIVE To identify educational content for patients in the intensive care unit and their families across 4 different hospitals, develop a general content database, and organize the general content into a framework for education of patients and their families. METHODS Educational content for patients in the intensive care units of 4 participating hospitals was collected and a gap analysis was performed. RESULTS Key content format and categories were identified. Educational content was organized into an information pathway divided into 3 phases: intensive care unit arrival; understanding the intensive care unit and partnering in care; and intensive care unit transitions. The gap analysis revealed substantial variation in content format and categories. CONCLUSIONS Structuring a digital learning center using different stages of the patient’s stay in the intensive care unit and placing resources in the context of an information pathway can help coordinate education for these patients and their families, and creates a consistent communication guide for clinicians as well. The optimal digital format should be considered in designing the learning center.

2011 ◽  
Vol 152 (24) ◽  
pp. 946-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miklós Gresz

According to the Semmelweis Plan for Saving Health Care, ”the capacity of the national network of intensive care units in Hungary is one but not the only bottleneck of emergency care at present”. Author shows on the basis of data reported to the health insurance that not on a single calendar day more than 75% of beds in intensive care units were occupied. There were about 15 to 20 thousand sick days which could be considered unnecessary because patients occupying these beds were discharged to their homes directly from the intensive care unit. The data indicate that on the whole bed capacity is not low, only in some institutions insufficient. Thus, in order to improve emergency care in Hungary, the rearrangement of existing beds, rather than an increase of bed capacity is needed. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 946–950.


Author(s):  
John Kay

AbstractBackground:Electroencephalography (EEG) is playing an increasingly important role in the management of comatose patients in the intensive care unit.Methods:The techniques of EEG monitoring are reviewed. Initially, standard, discontinuous recordings were performed in intensive care units (ICUs). Later, continuous displays of “raw EEG” (CEEG) were used. More recently, the addition of quantitative techniques allowed for more effective reading.Results and Conclusions:Applications of continuous EEG to clinical problems are discussed. The most useful role of CEEG appears to be the detection and management of nonconvulsive seizures. There is a need for controlled studies to assess the role for CEEG in neuro-ICUs and general ICUs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (S4) ◽  
pp. 116-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacie B. Peddy ◽  
Mary Fran Hazinski ◽  
Peter C. Laussen ◽  
Ravi R. Thiagarajan ◽  
George M. Hoffman ◽  
...  

AbstractPulseless cardiac arrest, defined as the cessation of cardiac mechanical activity, determined by unresponsiveness, apneoa, and the absence of a palpable central pulse, accounts for around one-twentieth of admissions to paediatric intensive care units, be they medical or exclusively cardiac. Such cardiac arrest is higher in children admitted to a cardiac as opposed to a paediatric intensive care unit, but the outcome of these patients is better, with just over two-fifths surviving when treated in the cardiac intensive care unit, versus between one-sixth and one-quarter of those admitted to paediatric intensive care units. Children who receive chest compressions for bradycardia with pulses have a significantly higher rate of survival to discharge, at 60%, than do those presenting with pulseless cardiac arrest, with only 27% surviving to discharge. This suggests that early resuscitation before the patient becomes pulseless, along with early recognition and intervention, are likely to improve outcomes. Recently published reports of in-hospital cardiac arrests in children can be derived from the multi-centric National Registry of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation provided by the American Heart Association. The population is heterogeneous, but most arrests occurred in children with progressive respiratory insufficiency, and/or progressive circulatory shock. During the past 4 years at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3.1% of the average 1000 annual admissions to the cardiac intensive care unit have received cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Overall survival of those receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation was 46%. Survival was better for those receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation after cardiac surgery, at 53%, compared with survival of 33% for pre-operative or non-surgical patients undergoing resuscitation. Clearly there is room for improvement in outcomes from cardiac resuscitation in children with cardiac disease. In this review, therefore, we summarize the newest developments in paediatric resuscitation, with an expanded focus upon the unique challenges and importance of anticipatory care in infants and children with cardiac disease.


Medicina ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Dalia Adukauskienė ◽  
Aida Kinderytė ◽  
Asta Dambrauskienė ◽  
Astra Vitkauskienė

Candidemia is becoming more actual because of better survival of even critically ill patients, wide use of antimicrobials, and increased numbers of invasive procedures and manipulations. Diagnosis of candidemia remains complicated, and costs of treatment and mortality rates are increasing. Objective. To evaluate the pathogens of candidemia, risk factors and their influence on outcome. Material and methods. Data of 41 patients with positive blood culture for Candida spp., who were treated in the intensive care units at the Hospital of Kaunas University of Medicine, were analyzed retrospectively. Results. Candidemia was caused by Candida albicans (C. albicans) in 48.8% (n=20) of patients and by non-albicans Candida in 51.2% (n=21) of patients. The main cause of candidemia was C. albicans in 2004 (83.3%, n=5), but in 2005 (63.6%, n=7), in 2006 (57.1%, n=4), and in 2007 (52.9%, n=9), the main cause was non-albicans Candida spp. The number of candidemia cases caused by C. albicans was decreased in 2005, 2006, and 2007 as compared with 2004, and the number of candidemia caused by non-albicans Candida spp. was decreased, respectively (P<0.05). More than 65% (n=34) of patients had severe disease (P<0.05). Lethal outcome was recorded in 58.5% of patients with candidemia. Mechanical ventilation was used in 76.9% (n=20) and urinary bladder catheter in 72.1% (n=19) of non-survivors and in 23.1% (n=6) and 26.9% (n=7) of survivors, respectively (P<0.05). Conclusions. There is an increase in the prevalence of candidemia in the intensive care units during the 4-year period; half of candidemia cases were caused by non-albicans Candida spp., and patients with candidemia caused by non-albicans Candida spp. are at higher risk of mortality. Therefore, for the empirical treatment of septic conditions in an intensive care unit, when invasive fungal infection is suspected, we recommend using an antifungal agent of non-azole class until a pathogen of candidemia is determined. Severe disease is evaluated as a risk factor for candidemia. Patients with oncological diseases are at significantly higher risk for candidemia caused by non-albicans Candida spp. Use of mechanical ventilation and urinary bladder catheter is a risk factor for lethal outcome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Ong ◽  
Albert Lui ◽  
John A Dodson ◽  
Jordan B Strom ◽  
Carlos Alviar

Background: The number of older adults admitted to cardiac intensive care units (CICU) have been increasing over the past decade, but it is not known if outcomes vary between CICU and medical intensive care units (MICU). We aimed to describe survival and length of stay (LOS) in older adults admitted to CICU and MICU. Methods: All patients admitted to the CICU or MICU at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from 2001-2012 were identified from MIMIC-III, a large single-center critical care database containing deidentified clinical data for 38,597 patients. Our primary outcomes were ICU mortality and ICU LOS. Regression analyses were performed adjusting for age, gender, ICU setting and Oxford Acute Severity of Illness Score (OASIS), a severity score developed and validated in critically ill patients for ICU mortality. Results: We included 21,088 MICU patients (48.3% female) and 7,726 CICU patients (42% female). Unadjusted mortality was 13.7% in MICU and 12.5% in CICU (p=0.11). When adjusted for age, gender and OASIS, there was no difference in mortality between MICU and CICU (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.34-1.13, p=0.15). However, we found a significant interaction between older age and type of ICU with mortality (p=0.03) but not with ICU LOS (p=0.15). In patients >75 years (6,837 in MICU and 3,161 in CICU), each 5-year interval of older age was associated with higher mortality when adjusted for gender and OASIS in the CICU (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.08 p=0.002), but not in the MICU (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99-1.03, p=0.15, Figure). Conclusion: Older adults admitted to the CICU had higher adjusted mortality by age group after age 75, as opposed to older MICU patients in whom mortality was high but remained unchanged after age 75.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freda DeKeyser Ganz ◽  
Gilat Yihye ◽  
Nicole Beckman

Background Intensive care unit stays can be stressful for patients’ family members. Family-centered communication has 6 components: fostering relationships, exchanging information, responding to emotions, managing uncertainty, making decisions, and enabling patient self-management. Whether these communication components decrease family members’ stress is unknown. Objective To describe levels of family-centered communication and associations with acute stress while patients are in the intensive care unit. Methods A convenience sample of 130 family members of patients in 2 intensive care units in a Jerusalem, Israel, tertiary medical center received a family-centered communication questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, and a personal characteristics questionnaire. Results Most respondents were women (n = 79, 60.8%), children of the patient (n = 67, 51.9%), and familiar with the patient’s diagnosis (n = 111, 85.4%). Mean (SD) participant age was 45.7 (13.6) years. Most considered the patient medically stable (n = 75, 57.7%). Mean (SD) intensive care unit stay was 7.45 (5.8) days. Mean (SD) total and item scores for family-centered communication were 98.75 (18.21) and 3.80 (0.70), respectively; for the Perceived Stress Scale, 19.63 (5.92) and 1.96 (0.59), respectively. Relationship building (r = −0.31, P = .002), participation in care management (r = −0.32, P = .001), and emotional support (r = −0.29, P = .003), and were significantly related to stress. Conclusions Stress levels were mild to moderate and communication scores were moderate to high. Better nurse communication with family members was associated with decreased acute stress, irrespective of personal characteristics or perceptions of the patient’s medical status.


2019 ◽  
pp. 003022281986391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Şevval Peker ◽  
Sinem Yıldırım ◽  
Hacer Ceren Arıkan ◽  
Vildan Kocatepe ◽  
Vesile Ünver

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the emotional state of the nurses working in intensive care unit on their attitudes toward death. The study was conducted with the participation of 100 nurses working in intensive care units between July and December 2017. A positive statistically significant correlation was found between the nurses’ status of approaching emotions and subscales of Death Attitude Profile ( p < .05). It was observed that there was a positive significant correlation between the emotional avoidance scores and neutral acceptance and approach acceptance ( r = .281), escape acceptance ( r = .335), and fear of death and death avoidance ( r = .490) scores ( p < .05).


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