Utilization of echocardiography in Intensive Care Units: results of an online survey in Germany

Resume. The issue of open visits to intensive care units is currently a topical, acute and ambiguous issue. In Ukraine, it is actively discussed in the media, social networks, the medical community. Appropriate working groups of the Ministry of Health are being set up to optimize the regulatory framework on this issue.The article reviews the literature on the problems of open visits of adult patients undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit. Opinions on this issue are quite contradictory. On the one hand, there is a position that the stay of relatives in the ICU 24/7 improves the results of treatment, creating a more comfortable psychological atmosphere for the patient. On the other hand, and this approach prevails, a number of studies indicate an increase in the number of bacterial complications in patients with unlimited visits, complication of working conditions of medical staff, which leads to a deterioration in treatment outcomes in general.Public organization «Association of Anesthesiologists of Ukraine» conducted an online survey among anesthesiologists - members of the association for find out the opinion of Ukrainian experts about open visits to ICU’s patients. Most of the anesthesiologists surveyed are inclined to a limited visitation regime.

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Description of physical rehabilitation in intensive care units in Argentina: usual practice and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online survey

Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva ◽

10.5935/0103-507x.20210026 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Matias Nicolás Bertozzi ◽

Sabrina Cagide ◽

Emiliano Navarro ◽

Matias Accoce

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Online Survey ◽

Physical Rehabilitation ◽

Usual Practice

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Family Presence Restrictions and Telemedicine Use in Neonatal Intensive Care Units during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

Children ◽

10.3390/children8070590 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 590

Author(s):

Mio Ozawa ◽

Haruyo Sakaki ◽

Xianwei Meng

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Online Survey ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Physical Contact ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care Units ◽

Parental Presence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Family Presence

We aimed to describe parental presence policy and telemedicine use in Japanese neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) before and during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This cross-sectional study was performed through an online survey in 110 level III units from 19 November 2020 to 18 December 2020. Nurses’ evaluation of the current situation (during COVID-19) was compared with their retrospective pre-COVID-19 (December 2019) evaluation. Responses were received from 52 NICUs distributed across all regions in Japan. The median allowed parental presence time decreased from 12 h to 1 h, and 29 NICUs allowed entry of parents simultaneously during COVID-19. There was an increase in the number of units providing telemedicine through telephone and online visits during COVID-19 compared to that before COVID-19 (from 2% to 19%). The hybrid design NICUs, with 11–89% of beds in single-patient rooms, allowed a longer parental presence time in the NICUs than those with ≥90% of beds in multi-bed rooms. The number of units implementing kangaroo care decreased during COVID-19 compared to that before COVID-19. The need for telemedicine increased among Japanese NICUs to mitigate the adverse effect of parental restriction and limited physical contact due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Survey of Ventilation Practices in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of the United States and Canada: Use of Volume-Targeted Ventilation and Barriers to Its Use

American Journal of Perinatology ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1669442 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (05) ◽

pp. 484-489 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ashish Gupta ◽

Martin Keszler

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Current Data ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care Units ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Clinical Scenarios

Objective To provide current data on ventilation practices and use of volume-targeted ventilation (VTV) in neonatal intensive care units of the United States and Canada, to identify the perceived barriers to the implementation of VTV, and to assess the knowledge base of appropriate initial tidal volume (VT ) settings for different hypothetical clinical scenarios. Study Design This was a cross-sectional online survey of individual neonatologists practicing in the United States and Canada. Results We received 387 responses (estimated response rate: ∼20%). Use of VTV was much higher in Canada (81%) compared with 39% in the United States. In the United States, VTV use is highest in the Northwest at 77% and lowest in the Northeast at 32.5%. The chief barrier to use of VTV was lack of knowledge about VTV and lack of appropriate equipment. The five clinical scenarios revealed that the majority of responders failed to select appropriate evidence-based VT for the specific scenario. Conclusion Pressure-controlled ventilation remains the predominant approach to neonatal ventilation in the United States, while VTV is the preferred mode in Canada. Despite available data and important pathophysiological differences between patients, there is insufficient understanding of how to choose an appropriate VT in a variety of common clinical scenarios among users of VTV.

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Variations in Antibiotic Use and Sepsis Management in Neonatal Intensive Care Units: A European Survey

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10091046 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1046

Author(s):

Felipe Garrido ◽

Karel Allegaert ◽

Cristina Arribas ◽

Eduardo Villamor ◽

Genny Raffaeli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Neonatal Sepsis ◽

Clinical Guidelines ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Online Survey ◽

Late Onset ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care Units ◽

Sepsis Management

Management of neonatal sepsis and the use of antimicrobials have an important impact on morbidity and mortality. However, there is no recent background on which antibiotic regimens are used in different European neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Our study aimed to describe the use of antibiotics and other aspects of early- and late-onset sepsis (EOS and LOS, respectively) management by European NICUs. We conducted an online survey among NICUs throughout Europe to collect information about antibiotic stewardship, antibiotic regimens, and general aspects of managing neonatal infections. NICUs from up to 38 European countries responded, with 271 valid responses. Most units had written clinical guidelines for EOS (92.2%) and LOS (81.1%) management. For EOS, ampicillin, penicillin, gentamicin, and amikacin were the most commonly used antibiotics. Analysis of the combinations of EOS regimens showed that the most frequently used was ampicillin plus gentamicin (54.6%). For LOS, the most frequently used antibiotics were vancomycin (52.4%), gentamicin (33.9%), cefotaxime (28%), and meropenem (15.5%). Other aspects of the general management of sepsis have also been analyzed. The management of neonatal sepsis in European NICUs is diverse. There was high self-reported adherence to the local clinical guidelines. There was homogeneity in the combination of antibiotics in EOS but less in LOS.

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Prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care units: an international online survey

Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control ◽

10.1186/2047-2994-2-9 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 9 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Marie-Laurence Lambert ◽

Mercedes Palomar ◽

Antonella Agodi ◽

Michael Hiesmayr ◽

Alain Lepape ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Online Survey ◽

Ventilator Associated Pneumonia

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Olfactory Dysfunction in Frontline Health Care Professionals During COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

Frontiers in Physiology ◽

10.3389/fphys.2021.622987 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Mariana Ferreira Sbrana ◽

Marco Aurélio Fornazieri ◽

Alexandre Bruni-Cardoso ◽

Vivian I. Avelino-Silva ◽

Deborah Schechtman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Online Survey ◽

Olfactory Dysfunction ◽

Outpatient Clinics ◽

Emergency Rooms ◽

Cross Sectional

Upper respiratory viral infections can decrease the sense of smell either by inflammatory restriction of nasal airflow that carries the odorant molecules or through interference in olfactory sensory neuron function. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), worldwide reports of severe smell loss (anosmia/hyposmia) revealed a different type of olfactory dysfunction associated with respiratory virus infection. Since self-reported perception of smell is subjective and SARS-CoV-2 exposure is variable in the general population, we aimed to study a population that would be more homogeneously exposed to the virus. Here, we investigated the prevalence of olfactory loss in frontline health professionals diagnosed with COVID-19 in Brazil, one of the major epicenters of the disease. We also analyzed the rate of olfactory function recovery and the particular characteristics of olfactory deficit in this population. A widely disclosed cross-sectional online survey directed to health care workers was developed by a group of researchers to collect data concerning demographic information, general symptoms, otolaryngological symptoms, comorbidities, and COVID-19 test results. Of the 1,376 health professionals who completed the questionnaire, 795 (57.8%) were working directly with COVID-19 patients, either in intensive care units, emergency rooms, wards, outpatient clinics, or other areas. Five-hundred forty-one (39.3%) participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and 509 (37%) were not tested. Prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19-positive subjects was 83.9% (454 of 541) compared to 12.9% (42 of 326) of those who tested negative and to 14.9% (76 of 509) of those not tested. Olfactory dysfunction incidence was higher in those working in wards, emergency rooms, and intensive care units compared to professionals in outpatient clinics. In general, remission from olfactory symptoms was frequent by the time of responses. Taste disturbances were present in 74.1% of infected participants and were significantly associated with hyposmia. In conclusion, olfactory dysfunction is highly correlated with exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in health care professionals, and remission rates up to 2 weeks are high.

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