scholarly journals 1 Paediatric Transport Safety Collaborative (PTSIC): Critical Events with Family Presence During Paediatric Critical Care Transport

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. e1-e1
Author(s):  
Aaisham Ali ◽  
Michael Miller ◽  
Saoirse Cameron ◽  
Anna Gunz
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Critical Events ◽  
Family Presence ◽  
Paediatric Patients ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Transport Team ◽  
Paediatric Critical Care

Abstract Background Health care of children in Canada is regionalized; thus, critically ill paediatric patients require transfer to a tertiary care centre for definitive medical and surgical management. There are risks inherent to transporting critically ill patients, and there is a body of literature looking to mitigate risk, which includes tracking and benchmarking quality metrics. One accepted metric is family accompaniment of a child during transport, with some studies suggesting that family accompaniment could compromise care. Currently, there has been no research that examines patient safety and outcomes during paediatric critical care transport with family presence. Objectives The primary objective of this study was to compare the rate of critical events (CEs) during the transport of paediatric patients by a specialized paediatric critical care transport team on transports with parental/caregiver accompaniment (P/CA) to those without P/CA. Secondary objectives included whether peak heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and clinically relevant patient outcomes varied between groups. Design/Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all patients (<18 years old) who were admitted to a Paediatric Critical Care Unit and transported by the local neonatal paediatric transport team between April 1st, 2018 and June 1st, 2019, inclusive. The primary outcome was CE occurrence using the composite definition of CE that was previously identified and defined by a national consensus process, which included patient-, transport provider-, laboratory- and system/vehicle- related safety factors. Secondary outcomes included peak and trough HR/SBP, and clinically relevant outcomes (including length of stay, mechanical ventilation free days, and severity of illness and organ dysfunction scores). Results There were a total of 178 transports eligible for analysis, and of those, 55 were with P/CA and 123 were without P/CA. The occurrence of CE was not significantly different between transports with and without P/CA (66% vs. 65%, respectively). Similarly, patient HR, SBP, and all measured clinical patient outcomes did not vary significantly between groups. Conclusion This study is the first to objectively measure CEs and relate them to patient clinical outcomes with regard to presence of P/CA during paediatric critical care transport. There was no identified increased risk to the patient or crew if parents/caregivers accompanied their child during transport. Areas of future study include whether parental/caregiver presence during transport affects patient anxiety and well-being.

Cases in Paediatric Critical Care Transfer and Retrieval Medicine

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Transfer Process ◽  
The Past ◽  
Clinical Presentations ◽  
Paediatric Critical Care ◽  
Care Transfer ◽  
Case Based

Critically ill paediatric transfers have expanded rapidly over the past ten years and, as such, the need for transfer teams to recognise, understand and treat the various illnesses that they encounter is greater than ever. This highly illustrated book covers a multitude of clinical presentations in a case-based format to allow an authentic feel to the transfer process. Written by clinicians with experience in thousands of transfers, it brings together many years of experience from a world-renowned hospital. Following the case from initial presentation, to resuscitation and referral and finally with the transfer itself; the book explores the clinical stabilisation, human factors decisions and logistical challenges that are encountered every day by these teams. Following the entire journey, this is an ideal resource for all professionals who may be involved in critical care transfer and retrieval medicine, particularly those working in paediatrics, emergency medicine, anaesthesiology, intensive care, or pre-hospital settings.

Abstract 3418: Acute Care Nurse Practicioner Led Critical Care Transport Team Leads to Improved Door to Imaging Time in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Stroke ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M Winfield ◽  
Julie A McNeil ◽  
Stephanie L Steiner ◽  
Christopher F Manacci ◽  
Damon Kralovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Care Transitions ◽  
Cleveland Clinic ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Care Nurse ◽  
Transport Team

Background: In evaluating the acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patient, targeting time intervals for imaging and treatment times are paramount in optimizing outcomes. Initial evaluation by skilled providers who can facilitate the extension of a tertiary care facility can positively influence patient outcomes. A collaborative approach with a hospital based Critical Care Transport (CCT) Team can extend primary stroke program care out to a referring facility’s bedside. In the Cleveland Clinic Health System, the suspicion of a large vessel occlusion causing AIS in patients at an outside hospital triggers an “Auto Launch” process, bypassing typical transfer processes to expedite care transitions for patients with time sensitive emergencies. Referring facilities contact a CCT Coordinator, with immediate launching of the transport team that consists of an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) who evaluates the patient at outside facility, performs NIHSS and transitions the patient directly to CT/MRI upon return to Cleveland Clinic facility. Patient is met by the Stroke Neurology Team at CT scanner for definitive care. A CCT Team with an ACNP on board can augment not only door to CT and MRI times, but also time to evaluation by a stroke neurologist and time to intervention, bypassing the Emergency Department upon their arrival and proceeding directly to studies and/or time sensitive intervention as appropriate. Objective: To describe a stroke program with a coordinated approach with a CCT Team to facilitate rapid care transitions as well as decreased time to imaging in patients with AIS by having an ACNP on board during transport and throughout the continuum of care. Methods: A retrospective audit of a database of patients undergoing hyperacute evaluation of acute ischemic stroke symptoms from April 30, 2010 to July 31, 2011 was performed. Demographic information, types of imaging performed, hyperacute therapies administered and time intervals to imaging modalities and treatment were collected and analyzed. Results: 107 patients total, 28 males, and 36 females with a mean age of 70 were included in the analysis. 60% [64] of patients transferred via the CCT Team over 26.42 average nautical miles. The mean time of call to arrival was 1 hr and 19 min. The CCT Team monitored tPA infusion in 27 patients and initiated tPA infusion in 2 patients. 64 patients had CT imaging performed and 64 had MRI performed following the CT. [The average door to CT completion was 22 min, the average door to MRI completion was 1 hr and 29 min, compared to 1 hr and 8 min and 2 hr and 36 min, respectively, in patients not arriving by CCT Team], p<0.05. Conclusion: Collaboration between the Stroke Neurology Team and CCT Team has allowed acute ischemic stroke patients to be taken directly to CT/MRI scanner, allowing for rapid evaluation, definitive treatment decisions, and the potential for improved patient outcomes by decreasing the door to imaging time.

scholarly journals Inflammation Cytokine Expression and Association With Clinical Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients After Major Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yamin Yan ◽  
Xiaorong Wang ◽  
Yan Hu ◽  
Zhenghong Yu ◽  
Yingjia Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Major Surgery ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Tnf Α

Abstract Background The associations of serum cytokine levels and critically ill patient outcomes after major surgery remain unclear. The use of cytokine markers to predict outcomes in critically ill patients is controversial.Objective To determine the levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and procalcitonin in critical surgical ICU(SICU) patients and evaluate their associations with patient outcome and clinical significance.Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients admitted to the SICU in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University. The program ran from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. The levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and procalcitonin were detected, and their relationship with patient outcomes was investigated.The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, compared by a multivariable logistic regression analysis among the survivors and nonsurvivors.Results Overall, 5,257 patients were included in this study for their first SICU admission; 5,099 patients survived, 158 patients died, and the mortality rate was 3.0%(158/5,257). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that nonsurvivors had increased levels of IL-1(OR=1.855, P=0.000) and IL-2(OR=1.51, P=0.000) compared with survivors. In addition, 196 patients(3.7%) were readmitted to the SICU, and data from 187 patients were collected. Of these, 161 patients survived, and 26 patients died; the mortality rate was 13.9%(26/187), which was much higher than that of the first round of patients. The level of IL-2 significantly influenced SICU readmission(OR=3.921, P=0.000).For the third round of SICU admission, 10 patients were included, 7 patients survived, and 3 patients died; the mortality rate was 30.0%(3/10). Furthermore, older age, longer time of SICU stay, and higher rate of mechanical ventilation and CRRT were associated with patient death.Conclusions High levels of cytokines may be risk factors for mortality and SICU readmission in critically ill patients who receive major surgery. Further work is still needed to determine which unmeasured characteristics and therapies may contribute to the increased risk observed.

Sleep Well to Be Well: Importance of Healthy Sleep during Medical Training

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilia Kritikou ◽  
Ilene Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Circadian Misalignment ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
Resident Physicians ◽  
Increased Risk

Sleep is vital for our survival and wellness; lack of sleep is associated with significant cognitive, behavioral and physical health consequences, including increased mortality. In resident physicians and other health care providers, scheduled in-house calls, frequent pager/phone calls, and work required during nights are the norm. These phenomena along with the normal pull for work/life balance lead to acute and chronic partial sleep restriction, sleep disruption and circadian misalignment. As is true for the general population, residents are not immune to sleepiness and performance deficits associated with curtailed sleep. Residents are also at risk for metabolic dysregulation, including increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and mood disturbances that accompany disrupted sleep and circadian misalignment. Initial data suggesting worse patient outcomes when residents work >80 hours weekly, pushed Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to limit resident duty-hours to 80 weekly, 30 per shift; newer data fail to show improved patient outcomes under the new limited work schedule. Nevertheless, recent studies suggest extended work schedules and circadian misalignment negatively affect well-being of resident physicians, increase risk of motor vehicle accidents. Long-term effects are yet to be determined.Implementing educational programs that foster programmatic, individual responsibility for fatigue management, GME programs and their leadership may mitigate negative consequences on safety and wellness. This review contains 2 figures, 3 tables, and 36 references. Keywords: sleep, sleep deprivation, sleepiness, circadian rhythms, residency, health care, patient outcomes, ACGME, wellness

Pressure Ulcer Prevention in Critical Care: State of the Art

1990 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 602-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connie Glavis ◽  
Susan Barbour
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Pressure Ulcer ◽  
Pressure Ulcers ◽  
Critically Ill Patient ◽  
Predictive Tool ◽  
Pressure Relief ◽  
Pressure Ulcer Prevention ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Ulcer Prevention

Prevention of pressure ulcers in the critically ill patient is a major responsibility of the critical care nurse. The authors review the causes of pressure ulcer development and the methods of identifying the patient at increased risk. Pressure relief strategies for use in critical care are presented, and currently available pressure reduction and relief devices are discussed. Because few research studies address pressure ulcer prevention in the critical care setting, future research in this area is needed to develop a reliable predictive tool for use with the critically ill patient. Level of risk needs to be linked with intervention to assist the nurse in managing the pressure relief options available in today’s market. In the meantime, prevention of pressure ulcers in critical care patients requires vigilance and the best use of available knowledge in the field

scholarly journals Epidemiology of Bleeding in Critically Ill Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake Sequeira ◽  
Marianne E. Nellis ◽  
Oliver Karam
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Critically Ill Children ◽  
Pediatric Critical Care ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Duration Of Surgery ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bleeding Severity

Objective: Bleeding can be a severe complication of critical illness, but its true epidemiologic impact on children has seldom been studied. Our objective is to describe the epidemiology of bleeding in critically ill children, using a validated clinical tool, as well as the hemostatic interventions and clinical outcomes associated with bleeding.Design: Prospective observational cohort study.Setting: Tertiary pediatric critical care unitPatients: All consecutive patients (1 month to 18 years of age) admitted to a tertiary pediatric critical care unitMeasurements and Main Results: Bleeding events were categorized as minimal, moderate, severe, or fatal, according to the Bleeding Assessment Scale in Critically Ill Children. We collected demographics and severity at admission, as evaluated by the Pediatric Index of Mortality. We used regression models to compare the severity of bleeding with outcomes adjusting for age, surgery, and severity. Over 12 months, 902 critically ill patients were enrolled. The median age was 64 months (IQR 17; 159), the median admission predicted risk of mortality was 0.5% (IQR 0.2; 1.4), and 24% were post-surgical. Eighteen percent of patients experienced at least one bleeding event. The highest severity of bleeding was minimal for 7.9% of patients, moderate for 5.8%, severe for 3.8%, and fatal for 0.1%. Adjusting for age, severity at admission, medical diagnosis, type of surgery, and duration of surgery, bleeding severity was independently associated with fewer ventilator-free days (p &lt; 0.001) and fewer PICU-free days (p &lt; 0.001). Adjusting for the same variables, bleeding severity was independently associated with an increased risk of mortality (adjusted odds ratio for each bleeding category 2.4, 95% CI 1.5; 3.7, p &lt; 0.001).Conclusion: Our data indicate bleeding occurs in nearly one-fifth of all critically ill children, and that higher severity of bleeding was independently associated with worse clinical outcome. Further multicenter studies are required to better understand the impact of bleeding in critically ill children.

scholarly journals Learning lessons from the paediatric critical care response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in England and Wales: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2020-320662
Author(s):  
Emma Roche ◽  
Chun Lim ◽  
Meelad Sayma ◽  
Annakan Navaratnam ◽  
Peter J Davis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Infection Prevention And Control ◽  
Collaborative Management ◽  
Virtual Technology ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Paediatric Critical Care

ObjectivesTo explore the experiences of clinical leads in paediatric critical care units (PCCUs) in England and Wales during the reorganisation of services in the initial surge of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and to learn lessons for future surges and service planning.MethodsA qualitative study design using semistructured interviews via virtual conferencing was conducted with consultant clinical leads and lead nurses covering 21 PCCUs. Interviews were conducted over a period of 2 weeks, 2 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 surge. Interview notes underwent thematic analysis.ResultsThematic analysis revealed six themes: leadership, management and planning; communication; workforce development and training; innovation; workforce experience; and infection prevention and control. Leadership was facilitated through clinician-led local autonomy for decision-making and services were better delivered when the workforce was empowered to be flexible in their response. Communication was preferred through collaborative management structures. Further lessons include recognising workforce competencies in surge preparations, the use of virtual technology in facilitating training and meetings, the importance of supporting the well-being of the workforce and the secondary consequences of personal protective equipment use.ConclusionsDuring the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, an agile response to a rapidly changing situation was enabled through effective clinical leadership and an adaptive workforce. Open systems of communication across senior clinical and management teams facilitated service planning. Support for all members of the workforce through implementation of appropriate and innovative education and well-being solutions was vital in sustaining resilience. This learning supports planning for future surge capacity across paediatric critical care locally and nationally.

Assessment of a novel marker of ICU strain, the ICU Activity Index, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-307
Author(s):  
David V Pilcher ◽  
◽  
Graeme Duke ◽  
Melissa Rosenow ◽  
Nicholas Coatsworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Activity Index ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Resource Information ◽  
Interhospital Transfer ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Activity Index Score

OBJECTIVES: To validate a real-time Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Activity Index as a marker of ICU strain from daily data available from the Critical Health Resource Information System (CHRIS), and to investigate the association between this Index and the need to transfer critically ill patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study. SETTING: All 45 hospitals with an ICU in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Patients in all Victorian ICUs and all critically ill patients transferred between Victorian hospitals from 27 June to 6 September 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Acute interhospital transfer of one or more critically ill patients per day from one site to an ICU in another hospital. RESULTS: 150 patients were transported over 61 days from 29 hospitals (64%). ICU Activity Index scores were higher on days when critical care transfers occurred (median, 1.0 [IQR, 0.4–1.7] v 0.6 [IQR, 0.3–1.2]; P < 0.001). Transfers were more common on days of higher ICU occupancy, higher numbers of ventilated or COVID-19 patients, and when more critical care staff were unavailable. The highest ICU Activity Index scores were observed at hospitals in north-western Melbourne, where the COVID-19 disease burden was greatest. After adjusting for confounding factors, including occupancy and lack of available ICU staff, a rising ICU Activity Index score was associated with an increased risk of a critical care transfer (odds ratio, 4.10; 95% CI, 2.34–7.18; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The ICU Activity Index appeared to be a valid marker of ICU strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. It may be useful as a real-time clinical indicator of ICU activity and predict the need for redistribution of critical ill patients.

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