scholarly journals A survey of antibiotic administration practices involving patients with sepsis in UK critical care units

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Barton ◽  
Charles W. Morecroft ◽  
Neil C. Henney

AbstractBackground Alternative administration methods are emerging as a key area of research to improve clinical efficacy of antibiotics and address concerns regarding multi-drug resistance. Extended intermittent infusions or continuous infusions of antibiotics exhibiting time-dependent kill characteristics may be favourable in critically ill septic patients, but more evidence is needed to determine best practice. Objective To find out whether any common practice exists for intravenous antibiotic administration in critical care units across UK NHS Trusts, and identify factors influencing the adoption of extended or continuous infusions. Setting UK hospitals. Method UK critical care pharmacists were invited to participate in a survey on behalf of all 240 critical care units via a UK Clinical Pharmacy Association message board. The survey focused on administration practices for 22 antibacterial agents. Main outcome measure Antibiotic administration method. Results Responses were received covering 64 units, a response rate of 26.2%. Common, but not uniform administration methods were apparent for 17/22 antibiotics. Four antibiotics (piperacillin/tazobactam, doripenem, meropenem and vancomycin) were more likely to be administered as continuous or extended-intermittent infusions. Choice of administration method was especially influenced by altered pk/pd properties in sepsis or severe burns patients, or by the presence of organisms requiring high minimal inhibitory concentrations. Conclusion Unlicensed alternative practices of antibiotic administration are widespread but only weak evidence exists of any patient benefit, such as reduced length of stay in critical care, and none showing improvement in mortality. Further research is needed to determine whether extended infusion methods offer clinically meaningful advantages over shorter licenced administration methods in patients in critical care units.

2020 ◽  
pp. 175114372091270
Author(s):  
Jessica Davis ◽  
Karen Berry ◽  
Rebecca McIntyre ◽  
Daniel Conway ◽  
Anthony Thomas ◽  
...  

Background Delirium is a common complication of critical illness with a significant impact on patient morbidity and mortality. The Greater Manchester Critical Care Network established the Delirium Reduction Working Group in 2015. This article describes a region-wide delirium improvement project launched by that group. Methods Multiple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were undertaken. Cycle 1: April 2015 demonstrated only 48% of patients had a formal delirium screen. Following this a network-wide event took place and the Delirium Standards for the Greater Manchester Critical Care Network were produced. Cycle 2: May 2016 quarterly audits across the network monitored compliance against the agreed standards. Group events involved implementation of a delirium care bundle, sharing best practice, educating staff and providing guidance on the management of delirium. Cycle 3: November 2016 quarterly audit continued and a regional delirium study day was rolled out across the region. Results We have 14 different units across our network, all of which have participated in the audit. The first audit showed a delirium point prevalence of 28%, subsequent point prevalence audits demonstrated rates as low as 13%. There has also been an improvement in the use of delirium screening tools. In the first audit 37% of patients had two delirium screens in 24 h, this has increased to 60% in the latest audit. Improvements were also made in availability of sensory aids and pain assessments. Conclusion The project has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering a coordinated delirium improvement project across multiple critical care units.


Author(s):  
Vidya M.

FAST HUG is a checklist which helps to implement best practice at ICU and to decrease mortality, morbity and length of hospital stay at ICU2. Research methodology: Quantitative research approach Research design: Randomised control trial/Quasi experimental design Population: In this study population consists of nursing officers working at selected government and private hospital’s critical care units of Mysore Sampling technique: Simple Random sampling technique. Sample size: 30 nursing officers working at selected government and private hospital’s Critical care units of Mysore Conclusion: FAST HUG is an effective checklist which reduces the complications in ICU patients. It gives guidelines for nurses to follow proper technique in providing essential care to patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s2-s4
Author(s):  
Michael Yarrington ◽  
Rebekah Moehring ◽  
Deverick John Anderson ◽  
Rebekah Wrenn ◽  
Christina Sarubbi ◽  
...  

Background: Quantitative evaluation of antibiotic spectrum is an important, underutilized metric in measuring antibiotic use (AU) and may assist antimicrobial stewards in identifying targets and strategy for intervention. We evaluated the spectrum of initial antibiotic choices by hospital location, day of the week, and time of day to determine whether these factors may be associated with broad-spectrum antibiotic choices. Methods: We identified all admissions with antibiotic exposure in medical and surgical wards and critical care units in a tertiary academic medical center between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2019. The antibiotic spectrum index (ASI), proposed by Gerber et al, is a numeric score based on the number of pathogens covered by a particular agent. We defined ASI for initial antibiotic choice as follows: ASI for each unique antibiotic administered within 24 hours of the first antibiotic administration was summed and assigned to the administration time of the first dose. We categorized time into 4 distinct categories: weekday days (Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m.), weekday nights, weekend days, and weekend nights. Weekend time began 7 p.m. Friday and ended 7 a.m. Monday. We constructed heatmaps stratified by hospital location. Mann-Whitney U tests were applied to evaluate differences in the distributions of ASI using weekday days as a reference. Results: Data included 90,455 unique antibiotic admissions with initial antibiotic starts in medical and surgical wards and critical care units. Patterns of ASI for initial antibiotic choice varied between unit locations and time (Figs. 1 and 2). Mean and median ASIs for initial antibiotic choices were higher for medical ward and medical ICUs than for surgical wards and surgical ICUs. Initial antibiotic choices had higher ASIs during overnight hours for all units except the surgical ICU. Notable differences in ASIs were identified between weekday and weekend prescribing for surgical units, whereas medical units demonstrated less extreme differences. Conclusion: We observed a “weekend effect” across hospital units; the most extreme occurred in surgical wards. This observation may be due to differences in patient volume and rounding patterns. For example, hospitalist and critical care units have 7-day schedules, whereas surgical wards are highly influenced by operating room schedules. Antimicrobial stewardship teams may use these data to identify strategies targeting the most opportune time and place to intervene on the spectrum of initial antibiotic choice.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirhossein Meisami ◽  
Jivan Deglise-Hawkinson ◽  
Mark Cowen ◽  
Mark P. Van Oyen

Author(s):  
Elise Paradis ◽  
Warren Mark Liew ◽  
Myles Leslie

Drawing on an ethnographic study of teamwork in critical care units (CCUs), this chapter applies Henri Lefebvre’s ([1974] 1991) theoretical insights to an analysis of clinicians’ and patients’ embodied spatial practices. Lefebvre’s triadic framework of conceived, lived, and perceived spaces draws attention to the role of bodies in the production and negotiation of power relations among nurses, physicians, and patients within the CCU. Three ethnographic vignettes—“The Fight,” “The Parade,” and “The Plan”—explore how embodied spatial practices underlie the complexities of health care delivery, making visible the hidden narratives of conformity and resistance that characterize interprofessional care hierarchies. The social orderings of bodies in space are consequential: seeing them is the first step in redressing them.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2149
Author(s):  
Ji Yeon Chung ◽  
Seung Jae Lee ◽  
Hyuck Jin Lee ◽  
Jeong Bin Bong ◽  
Chan-Hyuk Lee ◽  
...  

We evaluated the toxic effects of aconitine on the human nervous system and its associated factors, and the general clinical characteristics of patients who visited the emergency room due to aconitine intoxication between 2008 and 2017. We also analyzed the differences related to aconitine processing and administration methods (oral pill, boiled in water, and alcohol-soaked), and the clinical characteristics of consciousness deterioration and neurological symptoms. Of the 41 patients who visited the hospital due to aconitine intoxication, 23 (56.1%) were female, and most were older. Aconitine was mainly used for pain control (28 patients, 68.3%) and taken as oral pills (19 patients, 46%). The patients showed a single symptom or a combination of symptoms; neurological symptoms were the most common (21 patients). All patients who took aconitine after processing with alcohol showed neurological symptoms and a higher prevalence of consciousness deterioration. Neurological symptoms occurred most frequently in patients with aconitine intoxication. Although aconitine intoxication presents with various symptoms, its prognosis may vary with the processing method and prevalence of consciousness deterioration during the early stages. Therefore, the administration method and accompanying symptoms should be comprehensively investigated in patients who have taken aconitine to facilitate prompt and effective treatment and better prognoses.


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