scholarly journals Retrospective frailty determination in critical illness from a review of the intensive care unit clinical record

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jai N Darvall ◽  
Tristan Boonstra ◽  
Jen Norman ◽  
Donal Murphy ◽  
Michael Bailey ◽  
...  

Frailty is one of the major challenges for intensive care, affecting one-third of intensive care unit patients and being associated with a range of poor health outcomes. Determination of frailty in critical illness using the Clinical Frailty Scale has recently been adopted by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, but it is not known whether this is able to be measured from the clinical record without interviewing patients or their relatives. The aims of this retrospective cohort study were to test whether a Clinical Frailty Scale score could be assigned in an intensive care unit population from the clinical record, and to assess the inter-rater reliability of frailty measured in this manner. A total of 144 patients were enrolled. Of these, 137 (95%) were able to have a Clinical Frailty Scale score assigned, and 22 (15%) were scored as frail (Clinical Frailty Scale ≥5). Cohen’s kappa coefficient for inter-rater reliability between assessors was 0.67, confirming substantial agreement. Consistent with other critically ill cohorts, frailty was associated on multivariate analysis with age, Charlson comorbidity score, dependence with activities of daily living, and limitation of medical treatment, indicating validity of this approach to frailty measurement. Our results imply that frailty measurement is possible and feasible from the intensive care unit clinical record, which is of importance as routine measurement and reporting of frailty in intensive care units in our region increases. Future work should seek to validate an assigned Clinical Frailty Scale score with that obtained directly from patients or their next of kin.

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 496-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean M. Bagshaw ◽  
Neill K.J. Adhikari ◽  
Karen E.A. Burns ◽  
Jan O. Friedrich ◽  
Josée Bouchard ◽  
...  

Background and objectivesOlder patients in the intensive care unit are at greater risk of AKI; however, use of kidney replacement therapy in this population is poorly characterized. We describe the triggers and outcomes associated with kidney replacement therapy in older patients with AKI in the intensive care unit.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsOur study was a prospective cohort study in 16 Canadian hospitals from September 2013 to November 2015. Patients were ≥65 years old, were critically ill, and had severe AKI; exclusion criteria were urgent kidney replacement therapy for a toxin and ESKD. We recorded triggers for kidney replacement therapy (primary exposure), reasons for not receiving kidney replacement therapy, 90-day mortality (primary outcome), and kidney recovery.ResultsOf 499 patients, mean (SD) age was 75 (7) years old, Charlson comorbidity score was 3.0 (2.3), and median (interquartile range) Clinical Frailty Scale score was 4 (3–5). Most were receiving mechanical ventilation (64%; n=319) and vasoactive support (63%; n=314). Clinicians were willing to offer kidney replacement therapy to 361 (72%) patients, and 229 (46%) received kidney replacement therapy. Main triggers for kidney replacement therapy were oligoanuria, fluid overload, and acidemia, whereas main reasons for not receiving therapy were anticipated recovery (67%; n=181) and therapy not consistent with patient preferences for care (24%; n=66). Ninety-day mortality was similar in patients who did and did not receive kidney replacement therapy (50% versus 51%; adjusted hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 1.06); however, decisions to offer kidney replacement therapy varied significantly by patient mix, acuity, and perceived benefit. There were no differences in health-related quality of life or rehospitalization among survivors.ConclusionsMost older, critically ill patients with severe AKI were perceived as candidates for kidney replacement therapy, and approximately one half received therapy. Both willingness to offer kidney replacement therapy and reasons for not starting showed heterogeneity due to a range in patient-specific factors and clinician perceptions of benefit.


2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1823-1827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L Kane-Gill ◽  
Levent Kirisci ◽  
Dev S Pathak

BACKGROUND The Naranjo criteria are frequently used for determination of causality for suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs); however, the psychometric properties have not been studied in the critically ill. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Naranjo criteria for ADR determination in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS All patients admitted to a surgical ICU during a 3-month period were enrolled. Four raters independently reviewed 142 suspected ADRs using the Naranjo criteria (review 1). Raters evaluated the 142 suspected ADRs 3–4 weeks later, again using the Naranjo criteria (review 2). Inter-rater reliability was tested using the kappa statistic. The weighted kappa statistic was calculated between reviews 1 and 2 for the intra-rater reliability of each rater. Cronbach alpha was computed to assess the inter-item consistency correlation. The Naranjo criteria were compared with expert opinion for criterion validity for each rater and reported as a Spearman rank (rs) coefficient. RESULTS The kappa statistic ranged from 0.14 to 0.33, reflecting poor inter-rater agreement. The weighted kappa within raters was 0.5402–0.9371. The Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.443 to 0.660, which is considered moderate to good. The rs coefficient range was 0.385–0.545; all rs coefficients were statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Inter-rater reliability is marginal; however, within-rater evaluation appears to be consistent. The inter-item correlation is expected to be higher since all questions pertain to ADRs. Overall, the Naranjo criteria need modification for use in the ICU to improve reliability, validity, and clinical usefulness.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1104-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
George L. Anesi ◽  
Nicole B. Gabler ◽  
Nikki L. Allorto ◽  
Carel Cairns ◽  
Gary E. Weissman ◽  
...  

Objective: To measure the association of intensive care unit (ICU) capacity strain with processes of care and outcomes of critical illness in a resource-limited setting. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 5332 patients referred to the ICUs at 2 public hospitals in South Africa using the country’s first published multicenter electronic critical care database. We assessed the association between multiple ICU capacity strain metrics (ICU occupancy, turnover, census acuity, and referral burden) at different exposure time points (ICU referral, admission, and/or discharge) with clinical and process of care outcomes. The association of ICU capacity strain at the time of ICU admission with ICU length of stay (LOS), the primary outcome, was analyzed with a multivariable Cox proportional hazard model. Secondary outcomes of ICU triage decision (with strain at ICU referral), ICU mortality (with strain at ICU admission), and ICU LOS (with strain at ICU discharge), were analyzed with linear and logistic multivariable regression. Results: No measure of ICU capacity strain at the time of ICU admission was associated with ICU LOS, the primary outcome. The ICU occupancy at the time of ICU admission was associated with increased odds of ICU mortality (odds ratio = 1.07, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.11; P = .004), a secondary outcome, such that a 10% increase in ICU occupancy would be associated with a 7% increase in the odds of ICU mortality. Conclusions: In a resource-limited setting in South Africa, ICU capacity strain at the time of ICU admission was not associated with ICU LOS. In secondary analyses, higher ICU occupancy at the time of ICU admission, but not other measures of capacity strain, was associated with increased odds of ICU mortality.


Author(s):  
Didar Arslan ◽  
Rıza Dinçer Yıldızdaş ◽  
Özden Özgür Horoz ◽  
Nagehan Aslan ◽  
Yasemin Çoban ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Alison H. Miles ◽  
Cynda H. Rushton ◽  
Brian M. Wise ◽  
Aka Moore ◽  
Renee D. Boss

AbstractTo gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) clinicians caring for children with chronic critical illness (CCI), we conducted, audiotaped, and transcribed in-person interviews with PICU clinicians. We used purposive sampling to identify five PICU patients who died following long admissions, whose care generated substantial staff distress. We recruited four to six interdisciplinary clinicians per patient who had frequent clinical interactions with the patient/family for interviews. Conventional content analysis was applied to the transcripts resulting in the emergence of five themes: nonbeneficial treatment; who is driving care? Elusive goals of care, compromised personhood, and suffering. Interventions directed at increasing consensus, clarifying goals of care, developing systems allowing children with CCI to be cared for outside of the ICU, and improving communication may help to ameliorate this distress.


Author(s):  
Priya S. Dhawan ◽  
Jennifer A. Tracy

Acquired weakness in critically ill patients is common, affecting between one-third to one-half of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Exposure to simultaneous stressors such as metabolic derangements, fluid and electrolyte shifts, infection, catabolic stress, and medications put patients in the ICU at risk for damage to both nerve and skeletal muscle with substantial and often lasting morbidity. Critical illness polyneuropathy is a length-dependent, axonal peripheral neuropathy occurring in patients in the ICU and unrelated to the primary illness. Critical illness myopathy is an ICU-associated muscle disorder occurring independently of denervation and uniquely identified by electrophysiologic and histologic characteristics.


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