Critical care guidelines on pain, agitation and delirium management: Which one to use? A systematic literature search and quality appraisal with AGREE II

Pain management interventions of the non-communicating patient in intensive care: What works for whom and why? A rapid realist review

AIM

The utility and uptake of pain management interventions across intensive care settings is inconsistent. A rapid realist review was conducted to synthesise the evidence for the purpose of theory building and refinement.

DESIGN

A five-step iterative process was employed to develop project scope/ research questions, collate evidence, appraise literature, synthesise evidence and interpret information from data sources.

METHODS

Realist synthesis method was employed to systematically review literature for developing a programme theory.

DATA SOURCES

Initial searches were undertaken in three electronic databases: MEDLINE, CINHAL and OVID. The review was supplemented with key articles from bibliographic search of identified articles. The first 200 hits from Google Scholar were screened.

RESULTS

Three action-oriented themes emerged as integral to successful implementation of pain management interventions. These included health facility actions, unit/team leader actions and individual nurses' actions.

CONCLUSION

Pain assessment interventions are influenced by a constellation of factors which trigger mechanisms yielding effective implementation outcomes.

IMPLICATIONS

The results have implications on policy makers, health organisations, nursing teams and nurses concerned with optimising the successful implementation of pain management interventions.

IMPACT

The review enabled formation of a programme theory concerned with explaining how to effectively implement pain management interventions in intensive care.

REPORTING METHOD

This review was informed by RAMESES publication standards for realist synthesis.

PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution. The study protocol was registered in Open Science Framework. 10.17605/OSF.IO/J7AEZ.

A critical appraisal and recommendation synthesis of delirium clinical practice guidelines relevant to the care of older adults in the emergency department: An umbrella review

RATIONALE

Older adults are at high risk of developing delirium in the emergency department (ED); however, it is often missed or undertreated. Improving ED delirium care is challenging in part due to a lack of standards to guide best practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) translate evidence into recommendations to improve practice.

AIM

To critically appraise and synthesize CPG recommendations for delirium care relevant to older ED patients.

METHODS

We conducted an umbrella review to retrieve relevant CPGs. Quality of the CPGs and their recommendations were critically appraised using the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research, and Evaluation (AGREE)-II; and Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation-Recommendations Excellence (AGREE-REX) instruments. A threshold of 70% or greater in the AGREE-II Rigour of Development domain was used to define high-quality CPGs. Delirium recommendations from CPGs meeting this threshold were included in the synthesis and narrative analysis.

RESULTS

AGREE-II Rigour of Development scores ranged from 37% to 83%, with 5 of 10 CPGs meeting the predefined threshold. AGREE-REX overall calculated scores ranged from 44% to 80%. Recommendations were grouped into screening, diagnosis, risk reduction, and management. Although none of the included CPGs were ED-specific, many recommendations incorporated evidence from this setting. There was agreement that screening for nonmodifiable risk factors is important to define high-risk populations, and those at risk should be screened for delirium. The '4A's Test' was the recommended tool to use in the ED specifically. Multicomponent strategies were recommended for delirium risk reduction, and for its management if it occurs. The only area of disagreement was for the short-term use of antipsychotic medication in urgent situations.

CONCLUSION

This is the first known review of delirium CPGs including a critical appraisal and synthesis of recommendations. Researchers and policymakers can use this synthesis to inform future improvement efforts and research in the ED.

REGISTRATION

This study has been registered in the Open Science Framework registries: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/TG7S6OSF.IO/TG7S6.

A systematic review and critical appraisal of guidelines and their recommendations for sedation interruptions in adult mechanically ventilated patients

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of the review were to (i) assess the methodological quality of all accessible and published guidelines and care bundles that offer a recommendation related to sedation interruptions, using the AGREE-II instrument, to (ii) determine what is the recommended best practice for sedation interruptions from the available guidelines, and then to have (iii) a closer inspection of the overall credibility and applicability of the recommendations using the AGREE-REX instrument. This review will benefit the outcomes of critically ill patients and the multidisciplinary team responsible for the care of mechanically ventilated adults with continuous medication infusions by providing a synthesis of the recommended action(s), actor(s), contextual information, target(s), and timing related to sedation interruptions from current best practice.

REVIEW METHOD USED

We conducted a systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

We applied a peer-reviewed search strategy to four electronic databases from 2010 to November 2021-MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews-and included grey literature.

REVIEW METHOD

Findings are reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses checklist. We assessed overall quality using the validated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II and AGREE Recommendation Excellence tools.

RESULTS

We identified 11 clinical practice guidelines and care bundles comprising 15 recommendations related to sedation interruption. There are three key findings: (i) deficiencies exist with the methodological quality of included guidelines, (ii) sedation interruption is recommended practice for the care of adult mechanically ventilated patients, and (iii) the current evidence is of low quality, which impacts overall credibility and applicability of the recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

Sedation interruptions are currently best practice for adult mechanically ventilated patients; however, the available guidelines and recommendations have several deficiencies. Future research is needed to further understand the role of the nurse and other actors to enact this practice.

Improving delirium detection in intensive care units: Multicomponent education and training program

BACKGROUND

Delirium is a common, devastating, and underrecognized syndrome in the intensive care unit (ICU). The study aimed to describe and evaluate a multicomponent education and training program utilizing a "Train-The-Trainer" (TTT) model, to improve delirium detection across a large health system.

METHODS

Fourteen ICUs across nine hospitals participated in a multicomponent delirium program consisting of a 1-day workshop that included: (1) patient testimonials, (2) small group discussions, (3) didactics, and (4) role-playing. Additionally, four ICUs received direct observation/training via telehealth (tele-delirium training). The Kirkpatrick model was used for program evaluation in a pre/post-test design.

RESULTS

A 1-day delirium workshop was held at two time points and included 73 ICU nurses. Of the 65 nurses completing the post-workshop satisfaction survey, most (46.2) had >10 years of clinical experience, and no or minimal delirium training (69.2%). All nurses (100%) identified lack of knowledge as a barrier to delirium detection, while time constraints and lack of importance accounted for only 25%. Overall, nurses rated the workshop positively (excellent 66.7%, and very good 23.3%), and likely to change practice (definitely 73.3% and very likely 15.0%). All validated Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) cases demonstrated improvement in number of correct responses. Delirium detection across the health system improved from 9.1% at baseline to 21.2% in ICUs that participated in the workshop and 30.1% in those ICUs that also participated in the tele-delirium training (p = 0.005).

CONCLUSION

A multicomponent delirium education and training program using a TTT model was rated positively, improved CAM-ICU knowledge, and increased delirium detection.

The Impact of Nursing Delirium Preventive Interventions in the Intensive Care Unit: A Multicenter Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Rationale Delirium is common in critically ill patients and associated with deleterious outcomes. Non-pharmacologic interventions are recommended in current delirium guidelines, but their effects have not been unequivocally established. Objective To determine the effects of a multicomponent nursing intervention program on delirium in the Intensive Care Unit. Methods Stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial, conducted in Intensive care units of 10 centers. Adult critically ill surgical, medical or trauma patients at high risk to develop delirium were included. A multicomponent nursing intervention program focusing on modifiable risk factors was implemented as standard of care. Primary outcome was the number of delirium-free and coma-free days alive in 28 days after Intensive Care Unit admission. Measurements and main results A total of 1749 patients were included. Time spent per 8 hours shift on interventions was median [IQR] 38 [14-116] in the intervention period and median 32 [13-73] minutes in the control period (p=0.44). Patients in the intervention period had median 23 [4-27] delirium-free and coma-free days alive, compared to median 23 [5-27] days for patients in the control group (mean difference -1.21 days, 95%CI -2.84 to 0.42 days; p=0.15). Also, the number of delirium days was similar: median 2 [1-4] days (ratio of medians 0.90, 95%CI 0.75 to 1.09; p=0.27). Conclusion In this large randomized controlled trial in adult ICU patients, a limited increase was achieved of the use of nursing interventions, and no change in the number of delirium-free and coma-free days alive in 28 days could be determined. Clinical trial registration available at www.clinicaltrials.gov, ID: NCT03002701.

Multiple sclerosis clinical practice guidelines provide few complementary and alternative medicine recommendations: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is prevalent among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the quantity and quality of CAM recommendations in MS clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) has not been assessed. The objective of this study was to determine the mention of CAM in MS CPGs and assess the quality of CAM recommendations.

DESIGN/SETTING

A systematic review was conducted to identify MS CPGs. MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL were searched from 2008 to 2018. The Guidelines International Network and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) websites were also searched. Eligible CPGs containing CAM recommendations published by non-profit agencies on the treatment of MS for adults were assessed for quality and reporting using the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument.

OUTCOME/RESULTS

From 204 unique search results, six CPGs mentioned CAM and four made CAM recommendations. Scaled domain percentages from highest to lowest were clarity of presentation (90.3 % Overall, 83.3 % CAM), scope and purpose (87.5 % Overall, 86.8 % CAM), rigour of development (80.0 % Overall, 61.7 % CAM), applicability (55.2 % Overall, 44.3 % CAM), editorial independence (49.0 % Overall, 47.9 % CAM), and stakeholder involvement (55.6 % Overall, 39.6 % CAM). Quality varied within and across CPGs. Three of the four CPGs were recommended by both appraisers; one was recommended as "No" or "Yes with modifications".

CONCLUSION

CAM recommendations were only present in one third of all eligible CPGs. CPGs that scored highly can be used by patients and healthcare professionals as the basis for discussion about the use of CAM therapies for MS treatment/management. Although many people living with MS (PwMS) seek CAM therapies, few CPGs are available to provide guidance for clinicians and patients.