scholarly journals Exploring perceptions regarding family-based delirium management in the intensive care unit

2021 ◽  
pp. 175114372110379
Author(s):  
Jasmin Kaur Pandhal ◽  
Veronika Van Der Wardt

Background Delirium is a common complication in patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). Family members can help alleviate patient anxiety and may be able to aid in the management of delirium. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of former ICU patients and their families together, regarding the involvement of family in delirium management. Method Nine audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews took place with former ICU patients together with a family member. Participants were interviewed after their intensive care follow-up clinic appointment in an East Midlands hospital in England. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes were identified: ‘understanding about delirium’; ‘influencers of delirium management: family and healthcare professionals’ and ‘family-based delirium care’. Participants expressed that family have a valuable role to play in the management of delirium in the ICU. However, education and guidance is needed to support the family in how delirium can be managed and the current treatment options available. It is important for ICU staff to gain an understanding of the patient’s life and personality to personalise delirium management to the needs of the patient and their family. Conclusion This study found that family presence and knowledge about the patient may be beneficial to delirium management in the ICU. Further research should investigate the effectiveness of the strategies and interventions to understand their influence on delirium management in ICU patients.

BJGP Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. bjgpopen20X101061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dries van Sleeuwen ◽  
Floris van de Laar ◽  
Wytske Geense ◽  
Mark van den Boogaard ◽  
Marieke Zegers

BackgroundFamily caregivers of former intensive care unit (ICU) patients may suffer from physical and mental problems owing to ICU hospitalisation of their loved ones. These problems can have a major impact on their daily lives. Little is known about experienced consequences of ICU hospitalisation on caregivers in general practice.AimTo explore health problems in family caregivers of former ICU patients and the consequences in their daily lives.Design & settingSemi-structured interviews with family caregivers of former critically ill patients treated in a Dutch ICU.MethodPurposively sampled relatives of former ICU patients were interviewed between April and May 2019. Interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. Interviews were then thematically analysed.ResultsIn total, 13 family caregivers were interviewed. The interviews took place 3 months to 3 years after ICU discharge. Expressed problems were categorised into six themes: (1) physical functioning (for example, tiredness, headache, and feeling sick more often); (2) mental health (for example, anxiety, more stress and difficulty in expressing emotions); (3) existential dimension and future (for example, uncertainty about the future); (4) quality of life (for example, losing freedom in life); (5) relationship and social participation (for example, experiencing a lack of understanding); and (6) daily functioning (for example, stopping working).ConclusionCaregivers experience several health problems, even years after their relative's ICU episode. Healthcare providers should be focused not only on former ICU patients’ health, but also on their caregivers’, and need to signal and identify caregivers' health problems earlier in order to give them the appropriate care and support they need.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Blair ◽  
Talha Mehmood ◽  
Mona Rudnick ◽  
Ware G. Kuschner ◽  
Juliana Barr

Delirium is a multifactorial entity, and its understanding continues to evolve. Delirium has been associated with increased morbidity, mortality, length of stay, and cost for hospitalized patients, especially for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Recent literature on delirium focuses on specific pharmacologic risk factors and pharmacologic interventions to minimize course and severity of delirium. While medication management clearly plays a role in delirium management, there are a variety of nonpharmacologic interventions, pharmacologic minimization strategies, and protocols that have been recently described. A PubMed search was performed to review the evidence for nonpharmacologic management, pharmacologic minimization strategies, and prevention of delirium for patients in the ICU. Recent approaches were condensed into 10 actionable steps to manage delirium and minimize medications for ICU patients and are presented in this review.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie-Susanne Stecher ◽  
Sofia Anton ◽  
Alessia Fraccaroli ◽  
Jeremias Götschke ◽  
Hans Joachim Stemmler ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Point-of-care lung ultrasound (LU) is an established tool in the first assessment of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of lung ultrasound in COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) patients in predicting clinical course and outcome. Methods We analyzed lung ultrasound score (LUS) of all COVID-19 patients admitted from March 2020 to December 2020 to the Internal Intensive Care Unit, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) of Munich. LU was performed according to a standardized protocol at ICU admission and in case of clinical deterioration with the need for intubation. A normal lung scores 0 points, the worst LUS has 24 points. Patients were stratified in a low (0–12 points) and a high (13–24 points) lung ultrasound score group. Results The study included 42 patients, 69% of them male. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (81%) and obesity (57%). The values of pH (7.42 ± 0.09 vs 7.35 ± 0.1; p = 0.047) and paO2 (107 [80–130] vs 80 [66–93] mmHg; p = 0.034) were significantly reduced in patients of the high LUS group. Furthermore, the duration of ventilation (12.5 [8.3–25] vs 36.5 [9.8–70] days; p = 0.029) was significantly prolonged in this group. Patchy subpleural thickening (n = 38; 90.5%) and subpleural consolidations (n = 23; 54.8%) were present in most patients. Pleural effusion was rare (n = 4; 9.5%). The median total LUS was 11.9 ± 3.9 points. In case of clinical deterioration with the need for intubation, LUS worsened significantly compared to baseline LU. Twelve patients died during the ICU stay (29%). There was no difference in survival in both LUS groups (75% vs 66.7%, p = 0.559). Conclusions LU can be a useful monitoring tool to predict clinical course but not outcome of COVID-19 ICU patients and can early recognize possible deteriorations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa L. Steel ◽  
Shewit P. Giovanni ◽  
Sarah C. Katsandres ◽  
Shawn M. Cohen ◽  
Kevin B. Stephenson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised (CIWA-Ar) is commonly used in hospitals to titrate medications for alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), but may be difficult to apply to intensive care unit (ICU) patients who are too sick or otherwise unable to communicate. Objectives To evaluate the frequency of CIWA-Ar monitoring among ICU patients with AWS and variation in CIWA-Ar monitoring across patient demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods The study included all adults admitted to an ICU in 2017 after treatment for AWS in the Emergency Department of an academic hospital that standardly uses the CIWA-Ar to assess AWS severity and response to treatment. Demographic and clinical data, including Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS) assessments (an alternative measure of agitation/sedation), were obtained via chart review. Associations between patient characteristics and CIWA-Ar monitoring were tested using logistic regression. Results After treatment for AWS, only 56% (n = 54/97) of ICU patients were evaluated using the CIWA-Ar; 94% of patients had a documented RASS assessment (n = 91/97). Patients were significantly less likely to receive CIWA-Ar monitoring if they were intubated or identified as Black. Conclusions CIWA-Ar monitoring was used inconsistently in ICU patients with AWS and completed less often in those who were intubated or identified as Black. These hypothesis-generating findings raise questions about the utility of the CIWA-Ar in ICU settings. Future studies should assess alternative measures for titrating AWS medications in the ICU that do not require verbal responses from patients and further explore the association of race with AWS monitoring.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1505
Author(s):  
Claire Roger ◽  
Benjamin Louart

Beta-lactams are the most commonly prescribed antimicrobials in intensive care unit (ICU) settings and remain one of the safest antimicrobials prescribed. However, the misdiagnosis of beta-lactam-related adverse events may alter ICU patient management and impact clinical outcomes. To describe the clinical manifestations, risk factors and beta-lactam-induced neurological and renal adverse effects in the ICU setting, we performed a comprehensive literature review via an electronic search on PubMed up to April 2021 to provide updated clinical data. Beta-lactam neurotoxicity occurs in 10–15% of ICU patients and may be responsible for a large panel of clinical manifestations, ranging from confusion, encephalopathy and hallucinations to myoclonus, convulsions and non-convulsive status epilepticus. Renal impairment, underlying brain abnormalities and advanced age have been recognized as the main risk factors for neurotoxicity. In ICU patients, trough concentrations above 22 mg/L for cefepime, 64 mg/L for meropenem, 125 mg/L for flucloxacillin and 360 mg/L for piperacillin (used without tazobactam) are associated with neurotoxicity in 50% of patients. Even though renal complications (especially severe complications, such as acute interstitial nephritis, renal damage associated with drug induced hemolytic anemia and renal obstruction by crystallization) remain rare, there is compelling evidence of increased nephrotoxicity using well-known nephrotoxic drugs such as vancomycin combined with beta-lactams. Treatment mainly relies on the discontinuation of the offending drug but in the near future, antimicrobial optimal dosing regimens should be defined, not only based on pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) targets associated with clinical and microbiological efficacy, but also on PK/toxicodynamic targets. The use of dosing software may help to achieve these goals.


1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. R. Webb ◽  
B. Roberts ◽  
F. X. Breheny ◽  
C. L. Golledge ◽  
P. D. Cameron ◽  
...  

Epidemics of bacteraemia and wound infection have been associated with the infusion of bacterially contaminated propofol administered during anaesthesia. We conducted an observational study to determine the incidence and clinical significance of administration of potentially contaminated propofol to patients in an ICU setting. One hundred patients received a total of 302 infusions of propofol. Eighteen episodes of possible contamination of propofol syringes were identified, but in all cases contamination was by a low-grade virulence pathogen. There were no episodes of clinical infection or colonization which could be attributed to the administration of contaminated propofol. During the routine use of propofol to provide sedation in ICU patients the risk of nosocomial infection secondary to contamination of propofol is extremely low.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 714-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Babamohamadi ◽  
Monir Nobahar ◽  
Jalaladin Razi ◽  
Raheb Ghorbani

The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of vitamin A eye ointment (VAEO) and moist chamber (MC) in preventing ocular surface disorders (OSD) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. A total of 38 eligible patients were selected for participation in the present clinical trial. All the patients were randomly administered VAEO in one eye every 6 hr for 5 days and had a polyethylene cover (PC) placed on their other eye to create an MC that was replaced every 12 hr as well. The results of Schirmer’s test also increased by 2.06 mm in the VAEO group ( p < .001), while they showed a slight reduction by 0.15 mm in the MC group ( p = .669). VAEO was more effective in preventing OSD in ICU patients than MC and is, therefore, recommended to be used as a method of preventing OSD.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 744-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah S. Lewis ◽  
Lauren P. Knelson ◽  
Rebekah W. Moehring ◽  
Luke F. Chen ◽  
Daniel J. Sexton ◽  
...  

We describe and compare the epidemiology of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) occurring in non-intensive care unit (ICU) versus ICU wards in a network of community hospitals over a 2-year period. Overall, 72% of cases of CAUTI occurred in non-ICU patients, which indicates that this population is an important target for dedicated surveillance and prevention efforts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237437352110073
Author(s):  
Reza Norouzadeh ◽  
Mohammad Abbasinia ◽  
Zahra Tayebi ◽  
Ehsan Sharifipour ◽  
Alireza Koohpaei ◽  
...  

This study aimed to describe the experiences of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care units (ICU). The data were analyzed by content analysis on 16 ICU patients with COVID-19. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Three categories were identified: (a) captured by a challenging incident with subcategories: perceived sudden and challenging death, fear of carelessness in overcrowding, worry about the family, and frustration with stigmatizing; (b) the flourishing of life with subcategories: spiritual-awakening, resilience in the face of life challenges, promoting health behaviors, and striving for recovery; and (c) honoring the blessings with subcategories: understanding the importance of nurses, realizing the value of family, and realizing the value of altruism. COVID-19 survivors experienced both positive and negative experiences. The results of this study could help health care providers identify the needs of ICU patients with COVID-19, including psychological, social, and spiritual support and design care models.


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