Checklists and protocols in the ICU: less variability in care or more unnecessary interventions?

Intensive care nurses' knowledge and use of a nursing checklist: A cross-sectional survey

AIM

This descriptive study was conducted to determine the awareness of nurses working in intensive care units about the daily patient checklist.

BACKGROUND

Checklists are used in the daily follow-up and evaluation of patients admitted to the intensive care unit.

METHOD

The research was carried out with 180 nurses through the social media account of the Turkish Intensive Care Specialists Association Nurse Commission between July 2021 and March 2022. Data were collected with a descriptive information form and intensive care unit daily patient checklist. Necessary permissions were obtained before the study.

RESULTS

Among nurses, 45.0% of them got 15 full points from the Checklist. Moreover, 81.1% of the nurses stated that they knew that a checklist should be used to help eliminate the deficiencies of daily care and treatment in the intensive care unit, while 66.7% stated that they used a checklist. It was determined that nurses knew the most about parameters 'Check the daily infection parameters', 'Glycaemic control', 'Therapy', and the least about parameters 'Thromboprophylaxis', 'Ulcer prevention', 'Hypo-hyper delirium' and 'Use a daily checklist'.

CONCLUSION

It was determined that the level of awareness of intensive care unit nurses about some parameters that should be followed daily for patient care was low.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Checklists can be used as a guide for health care professionals in the routine daily evaluation of intensive care unit patients. It is thought that these reminder abbreviations will provide efficiency in preventing the disruption of applications, reducing medical errors, reducing mortality and morbidity, and cost.

Simulation-based randomized trial of medical emergency cognitive aids

BACKGROUND

Medical emergencies are complex and stressful, especially for the young and inexperienced. Cognitive aids (CA) have been shown to facilitate management of simulated medical emergencies by experienced teams. In this randomized trial we evaluated guideline adherence and treatment efficacy in simulated medical emergencies managed by residents with and without CA.

METHODS

Physicians attending educational courses executed simulated medical emergencies. Teams were randomly assigned to manage emergencies with or without CA. Primary outcome was risk reduction of essential working steps. Secondary outcomes included prior experience in emergency medicine and CA, perceptions of usefulness, clinical relevance, acceptability, and accuracy in CA selection. Participants were grouped as "medical" (internal medicine and neurology) and "perioperative" (anesthesia and surgery) regarding their specialty. The study was designed as a prospective randomized single-blind study that was approved by the ethical committee of the University Duisburg-Essen (19-8966-BO).

TRIAL REGISTRATION

DRKS, DRKS00024781. Registered 16 March 2021-Retrospectively registered, http://www.drks.de/DRKS00024781 .

RESULTS

Eighty teams participated in 240 simulated medical emergencies. Cognitive aid usage led to 9% absolute and 15% relative risk reduction. Per protocol analysis showed 17% absolute and 28% relative risk reduction. Wrong CA were used in 4%. Cognitive aids were judged as helpful by 94% of the participants. Teams performed significantly better when emergency CA were available (p < 0.05 for successful completion of critical work steps). Stress reduction using CA was more likely in "medical" than in "perioperative" subspecialties (3.7 ± 1.2 vs. 2.9 ± 1.2, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In a high-fidelity simulation study, CA usage was associated with significant reduction of incorrect working steps in medical emergencies management and was characterized by high acceptance. These findings suggest that CA for medical emergencies may have the potential to improve emergency care.

Pragmatic Disease-Focused Checklist for Use During Rounding on Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19

The sudden surge in cases of COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges in the care of critically ill patients with the disease. A disease-focused checklist was developed to supplement and streamline the existing structure of rounds during a time of significant resource constraint. A total of 51 critical care consultants across multiple specialties at a tertiary academic medical center were surveyed regarding their preference for a structured checklist. Among the respondents, 82% were in favor of a disease-focused checklist. Mechanical ventilation parameters, rescue ventilation strategies, sedation regimens, inflammatory markers specific to COVID-19, and family communication were the elements most commonly identified as being important for inclusion in such a checklist.