scholarly journals Chlorhexidine Gluconate Bathing Program to Reduce Health Care–Associated Infections in Both Critically Ill and Non–Critically Ill Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. e1-e8
Author(s):  
Leigh Chapman ◽  
Lisa Hargett ◽  
Theresa Anderson ◽  
Jacqueline Galluzzo ◽  
Paul Zimand
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Chlorhexidine Gluconate ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
Telemetry Unit ◽  
Health Care Associated Infections ◽  
The Impact

Background Critical care nurses take care of patients with complicated, comorbid, and compromised conditions. These patients are at risk for health care–associated infections, which affect patients’ lives and health care systems in various ways. Objective To gauge the impact of routinely bathing patients with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate solution on the incidence of health care–associated infections in a medical-surgical intensive care unit and a postoperative telemetry unit; to outline the framework for a hospital-wide presurgical chlorhexidine gluconate bathing program and share the results. Methods A standard bathing protocol using a 4% chlorhexidine gluconate solution was developed. The protocol included time studies, training, monitoring, and surveillance of health care–associated infections. Results Consistent patient bathing with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate was associated with a 52% reduction in health care–associated infections in a medical-surgical intensive care unit. The same program in a postoperative telemetry unit yielded a 45% reduction in health care–associated infections. Conclusion A comprehensive daily 4% chlorhexidine gluconate bathing program can be implemented with standardized protocols and detailed instructions and can significantly reduce the incidence of health care–associated infections in intensive care unit and non–intensive care unit hospital settings.

Implementing Volume-Based Feeding to Optimize Delivery of Enteral Nutrition

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Angela Bonomo ◽  
Diane Lynn Blume ◽  
Katie Davis ◽  
Hee Jun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Enteral Nutrition ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Lecture Demonstration

Background At least 80% of ordered enteral nutrition should be delivered to improve outcomes in critical care patients. However, these patients typically receive 60% to 70% of ordered enteral nutrition volume. In a practice review within a 28-bed medical-surgical adult intensive care unit, patients received a median of 67.5% of ordered enteral nutrition with standard rate-based feeding. Volume-based feeding is recommended to deliver adequate enteral nutrition to critically ill patients. Objective To use a quality improvement project to increase the volume of enteral nutrition delivered in the medical-surgical intensive care unit. Methods Percentages of target volume achieved were monitored in 73 patients. Comparisons between the rate-based and volume-based feeding groups used nonparametric quality of medians test or the χ2 test. A customized volume-based feeding protocol and order set were created according to published protocols and then implemented. Standardized education included lecture, demonstration, written material, and active personal involvement, followed by a scenario-based test to apply learning. Results Immediately after implementation of this practice change, delivered enteral nutrition volume increased, resulting in a median delivery of 99.8% of ordered volume (P = .003). Delivery of a mean of 98% ordered volume was sustained over the 15 months following implementation. Conclusions Implementation of volume-based feeding optimized enteral nutrition delivery to critically ill patients in this medical-surgical intensive care unit. This success can be attributed to a comprehensive, individualized, and proactive process design and educational approach. The process can be adapted to quality improvement initiatives with other patient populations and units.

scholarly journals Nosocomial infections in a pediatric surgical intensive care unit: An unicentric cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 112-116
Author(s):  
Marina Pandurov ◽  
Izabella Fabri-Galambos ◽  
Andjela Opancina ◽  
Anna Uram-Benka ◽  
Goran Rakic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Nosocomial Infections ◽  
Hospital Length Of Stay ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
Acinetobacter Baumanii ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact

Introduction. Nosocomial infections are a common complication in patients hospitalized in intensive care units. The aims of this research were to examine the incidence of nosocomial infections in patients admitted to the pediatric surgical intensive care unit, the impact of hospital length of stay and type of surgical disease on the incidence of nosocomial infections, the frequency of microorganisms causing nosocomial infections and their antibiotic susceptibility profile. Material and Methods. Data on 50 subjects were extracted from the database. The following data were taken from the medical histories of the examinees: age, sex, diagnosis, number of days at the hospital before admission to the intensive care unit, number of days in the intensive care unit, levels of C-reactive protein, applied antimicrobial drugs, isolated microorganisms and their susceptibility to antibiotics. Results. The incidence of nosocomial infections in the study period was 52%. Patients who developed nosocomial infection remained longer in the intensive care unit than those who did not develop it (p = 0.003). Patients with the diagnosis of acute abdomen had a statistically significantly higher incidence of nosocomial infections compared to other patients (p = 0.001). Gram-negative bacteria were the most commonly isolated pathogens (46.8%). Acinetobacter baumanii proved to be the most resistant species in this study, since 80% of the strains did not show sensitivity to any of the tested antibiotics. Conclusion. Nosocomial infections are present in slightly more than half of the patients treated at the pediatric surgical intensive care unit. Patients who developed nosocomial infections stayed longer in the pediatric surgical intensive care unit, which had negative consequences for their health and treatment costs.

Serratia marcescans Contamination of Antiseptic Soap Containing Triclosan: Implications for Nosocomial Infection

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 427-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Anita Barry ◽  
Donald E. Craven ◽  
Theresa A. Goularte ◽  
Deborah A. Lichtenberg
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Nosocomial Infection ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Minimal Bactericidal Concentration ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
Time Kill ◽  
The Impact

Abstract During a recent investigation in our surgical intensive care unit, we found that several bottles of the antiseptic handwashing soap, OR Scrub®, were contaminated with Serratia marcescens. OR Scrub® contains 1% triclosan, lanolin, and detergents. The antimicrobial efficacy of OR Scrub® was examined in vitro using serial two-fold dilutions of soap inoculated with various concentrations of different nosocomial pathogens. The minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of OR Scrub® against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and several strains of S. marcescens was ≤1:2 By comparison, a non-antiseptic soap from the same manufacturer (Wash®) and 4% chlorhexidine (Hibiclens®) had MBCs for all strains tested of at least 1:64. Time-kill curves confirmed the findings of the initial experiments.This is the first report of extrinsic contamination of antiseptic soap containing triclosan. No infections could be attributed to the contaminated soap, but sporadic outbreaks of Serratia have occurred in the intensive care unit with no identifiable source. Although there have been few studies on the impact of antiseptic soap in reducing nosocomial infection, we question whether a soap with the limitations of OR Scrub® should be used in intensive care units or operating rooms.

Survey of Physiotherapy Practice in Ontario Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Units

2021 ◽  
pp. e20200069
Author(s):  
Anastasia N.L. Newman ◽  
Michelle E. Kho ◽  
Jocelyn E. Harris ◽  
Alison Fox-Robichaud ◽  
Patricia Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Cardiac Surgery ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
Physiotherapy Practice

Purpose: This article describes current physiotherapy practice for critically ill adult patients requiring prolonged stays in critical care (> 3 d) after complicated cardiac surgery in Ontario. Method: We distributed an electronic, self-administered 52-item survey to 35 critical care physiotherapists who treat adult cardiac surgery patients at 11 cardiac surgical sites. Pilot testing and clinical sensibility testing were conducted beforehand. Participants were sent four email reminders. Results: The response rate was 80% (28/35). The median (inter-quartile range) reported number of cardiac surgeries performed per week was 30 (10), with a median number of 14.5 (4) cardiac surgery beds per site. Typical reported caseloads ranged from 6 to 10 patients per day pe therapist, and 93% reported that they had initiated physiotherapy with patients once they were clinically stable in the intensive care unit. Of 28 treatments, range of motion exercises (27; 96.4%), airway clearance techniques (26; 92.9%), and sitting at the edge of the bed (25; 89.3%) were the most common. Intra-aortic balloon pump and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation appeared to limit physiotherapy practice. Use of outcome measures was limited. Conclusions: Physiotherapists provide a variety of interventions with critically ill cardiac surgery patients. Further evaluation of the limited use of outcome measures in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit is warranted.

The Benefits of Parenteral Nutrition (PN) Versus Enteral Nutrition (EN) Among Adult Critically Ill Patients: What is the Evidence? A Literature Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 615-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Joel Cadena ◽  
Sara Habib ◽  
Fred Rincon ◽  
Stephanie Dobak
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Enteral Nutrition ◽  
Parenteral Nutrition ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Nutrition Support ◽  
Mechanical Ventilation Duration ◽  
The Impact

Malnutrition is frequently seen among patients in the intensive care unit. Evidence shows that optimal nutritional support can lead to better clinical outcomes. Recent clinical trials debate over the efficacy of enteral nutrition (EN) over parenteral nutrition (PN). Multiple trials have studied the impact of EN versus PN in terms of health-care cost and clinical outcomes (including functional status, cost, infectious complications, mortality risk, length of hospital and intensive care unit stay, and mechanical ventilation duration). The aim of this review is to address the question: In critically ill adult patients requiring nutrition support, does EN compared to PN favorably impact clinical outcomes and health-care costs?

scholarly journals A Diagnostic Stewardship Intervention To Improve Blood Culture Use among Adult Nonneutropenic Inpatients: the DISTRIBUTE Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Fabre ◽  
Eili Klein ◽  
Alejandra B. Salinas ◽  
George Jones ◽  
Karen C. Carroll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Blood Culture ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
Control Units ◽  
Stewardship Program ◽  
Academic Center ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Interventions to optimize blood culture (BCx) practices in adult inpatients are limited. We conducted a before-after study evaluating the impact of a diagnostic stewardship program that aimed to optimize BCx use in a medical intensive care unit (MICU) and five medicine units at a large academic center. The program included implementation of an evidence-based algorithm detailing indications for BCx use and education and feedback to providers about BCx rates and indication inappropriateness. Neutropenic patients were excluded. BCx rates from contemporary control units were obtained for comparison. The primary outcome was the change in BCxs ordered with the intervention. Secondary outcomes included proportion of inappropriate BCx, solitary BCx, and positive BCx. Balancing metrics included compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) SEP-1 BCx component, 30-day readmission, and all-cause in-hospital and 30-day mortality. After the intervention, BCx rates decreased from 27.7 to 22.8 BCx/100 patient-days (PDs) in the MICU (P = 0.001) and from 10.9 to 7.7 BCx/100 PD for the 5 medicine units combined (P < 0.001). BCx rates in the control units did not decrease significantly (surgical intensive care unit [ICU], P = 0.06; surgical units, P = 0.15). The proportion of inappropriate BCxs did not significantly change with the intervention (30% in the MICU and 50% in medicine units). BCx positivity increased in the MICU (from 8% to 11%, P < 0.001). Solitary BCxs decreased by 21% in the medicine units (P < 0.001). Balancing metrics were similar before and after the intervention. BCx use can be optimized with clinician education and practice guidance without affecting sepsis quality metrics or mortality.

THE IMPACT OF COMPLICATIONS ON THE RESOURCE UTILIZATION, HOSPITAL CHARGES, AND OUTCOME IN THE SURGICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (SICU)

1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. S196
Author(s):  
Edmund Rutherford ◽  
Robert Rutledge ◽  
Samir Fakhry ◽  
Farid Muakkassa ◽  
Christopher Baker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Hospital Charges ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Surgical Intensive Care ◽  
The Impact
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