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Gardner AJ, Kristensen SR. A multivariable analysis to predict variations in hospital mortality using systems-based factors of healthcare delivery to inform improvements to healthcare design within the English NHS. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303932. [PMID: 38968314 PMCID: PMC11226030 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Over the last decade, the strain on the English National Health Service (NHS) has increased. This has been especially felt by acute hospital trusts where the volume of admissions has steadily increased. Patient outcomes, including inpatient mortality, vary between trusts. The extent to which these differences are explained by systems-based factors, and whether they are avoidable, is unclear. Few studies have investigated these relationships. A systems-based methodology recognises the complexity of influences on healthcare outcomes. Rather than clinical interventions alone, the resources supporting a patient's treatment journey have near-equal importance. This paper first identifies suitable metrics of resource and demand within healthcare delivery from routinely collected, publicly available, hospital-level data. Then it proceeds to use univariate and multivariable linear regression to associate such systems-based factors with standardised mortality. Three sequential cross-sectional analyses were performed, spanning the last decade. The results of the univariate regression analyses show clear relationships between five out of the six selected predictor variables and standardised mortality. When these five predicators are included within a multivariable regression analysis, they reliably explain approximately 36% of the variation in standardised mortality between hospital trusts. Three factors are consistently statistically significant: the number of doctors per hospital bed, bed occupancy, and the percentage of patients who are placed in a bed within four hours after a decision to admit them. Of these, the number of doctors per bed had the strongest effect. Linear regression assumption testing and a robustness analysis indicate the observations have internal validity. However, our empirical strategy cannot determine causality and our findings should not be interpreted as established causal relationships. This study provides hypothesis-generating evidence of significant relationships between systems-based factors of healthcare delivery and standardised mortality. These have relevance to clinicians and policymakers alike. While identifying causal relationships between the predictors is left to the future, it establishes an important paradigm for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Gardner
- Centre for Health Policy, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- William Harvey Research Institute, Critical Care and Perioperative Medicine Research Group, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Sarfati S, Ehrmann S, Vodovar D, Jung B, Aissaoui N, Darreau C, Bougouin W, Deye N, Kallel H, Kuteifan K, Luyt CE, Terzi N, Vanderlinden T, Vinsonneau C, Muller G, Guitton C. Inadequate intensive care physician supply in France: a point-prevalence prospective study. Ann Intensive Care 2024; 14:92. [PMID: 38888663 PMCID: PMC11189355 DOI: 10.1186/s13613-024-01298-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of intensive care units (ICUs) and their organization in healthcare systems. However, ICU capacity and availability are ongoing concerns beyond the pandemic, particularly due to an aging population and increasing complexity of care. This study aimed to assess the current and future shortage of ICU physicians in France, ten years after a previous evaluation. A national e-survey was conducted among French ICUs in January 2022 to collect data on ICU characteristics, medical staffing, individual physician characteristics, and education and training capacities. RESULTS Among 290 ICUs contacted, 242 responded (response rate: 83%), representing 4943 ICU beds. The survey revealed an overall of 300 full time equivalent (FTE) ICU physician vacancies in the country. Nearly two-thirds of the participating ICUs reported at least one physician vacancy and 35% relied on traveling physicians to cover shifts. The ICUs most affected by physician vacancies were the ICUs of non-university affiliated public hospitals. The retirements expected in the next five years represented around 10% of the workforce. The median number of physicians per ICU was 7.0, corresponding to a ratio of 0.36 physician (FTE) per ICU bed. In addition, 27% of ICUs were at risk of critical dysfunction or closure due to vacancies and impending retirements. CONCLUSION The findings highlight the urgent need to address the shortage of ICU physicians in France. Compared to a similar study conducted in 2012, the inadequacy between ICU physician supply and demand has increased, resulting in a higher number of vacancies. Our study suggests that, among others, increasing the number of ICM residents trained each year could be a crucial step in addressing this issue. Failure to take appropriate measures may lead to further closures of ICUs and increased risks to patients in this healthcare system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sacha Sarfati
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, UR 3830, CHU Rouen, 76000, Rouen, France
| | - Stephan Ehrmann
- Médecine Intensive Réanimation, INSERM CIC 1415, CRICS-TriggerSEP F-CRIN Research Network and Centre d'études Des Pathologies Respiratoires, INSERM U1100, Tours University, Tours, France
| | - Dominique Vodovar
- Centre Antipoison de Paris, Hopital Fernand Widal, 75010, Paris, France
- Université Paris Cite, UFR de médecine, 75010, Paris, France
- Inserm UMR-S 1144 - Faculté de Pharmacie, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Boris Jung
- Médecine Intensive Réanimation, INSERM PhyMedExp, Université de Montpellier, CHU Montpellier, France
| | - Nadia Aissaoui
- Médecine Intensive Réanimation Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Paris, France
- Université Paris CIté, INSERM U 978, Équipe 4, AfterROSC, Paris, France
| | - Cédric Darreau
- Service de Réanimation Médico-Chirurgicale, CH Le Mans, Le Mans, France
| | - Wulfran Bougouin
- Paris Cardiovascular Research Center (PARCC), INSERM Unit 970, Paris, France
- Ramsay Générale de Santé, Hôpital Privé Jacques Cartier, Paris, France
- AfterROSC Network, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Deye
- Medical & Toxicological Intensive Care Unit, UMR-S 942, Inserm, Lariboisiere University Hospital, APHP, Paris, France
| | - Hatem Kallel
- Intensive Care Unit, Cayenne General Hospital, Cayenne, French Guiana
- Tropical Biome and Immunopathology CNRS UMR-9017, Inserm U1019, Université de Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Khaldoun Kuteifan
- Service de Réanimation Médicale, GHRMSA, Hôpital Emile Muller, Mulhouse, France
| | - Charles-Edouard Luyt
- Médecine Intensive Réanimation, Institut de Cardiologie, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- UMRS 1166, Sorbonne Université, GRC 30, RESPIRE, ICAN Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Terzi
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, University of Rennes, Rennes, France
| | - Thierry Vanderlinden
- Médecine Intensive Réanimation, Groupement Hospitalier de L'Institut Catholique de Lille, FMMS - ETHICS EA 7446, Université Catholique de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Christophe Vinsonneau
- Service de Médecine Intensive Réanimation, Centre Hospitalier de Béthune, Béthune, France
| | - Grégoire Muller
- CRICS_TRIGGERSep F-CRIN Research Network, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) d'Orléans, Médecine Intensive Réanimation, Université de Tours, MR INSERM, 1327 ISCHEMIA, Université de Tours, 37000, Tours, France
| | - Christophe Guitton
- Service de Réanimation Médico-Chirurgicale, CH Le Mans, Le Mans, France.
- Faculté de Santé, Université d'Angers, Angers, France.
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Quinones-Rozo LDP, Canaval-Erazo GE, Sandoval-Moreno LM. Predictors of Quality of Work Life in Health Care Workers at Adult Critical Care Units: A Cross-sectional Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024; 28:355-363. [PMID: 38585316 PMCID: PMC10998526 DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Aim and background Satisfaction with the quality of work life reflects the inadequate distribution of the workforce in critical care units and is not enough; on many occasions, they work in precarious conditions and with high levels of physical, emotional, spiritual, and social demands, impacting the quality of care. Aim To identify predictors of the quality of work life of healthcare workers in adult critical care units (ACCU). Materials and methods Quantitative study, cross-sectional analytical design with stratified two-stage sampling; three instruments were applied to 209 healthcare professionals in adult critical care units in different sites in a region of Colombia, concerning Quality of Life at Work-GOHISALO, Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire-COPSOQ and Professional Quality of Life-ProQoL V. Multiple ordinal logistic regression was performed with exposure variables from the COPSOQ and ProQoL domains; the outcome variables were the dimensions of the Quality of Work Life instrument. Ethical standards for research involving human subjects were ensured. Results According to the results of the multiple logistic models, quality of work life is predicted by job integration and predictability (OR = 6.93; 95% CI = 3.6-13.9), leisure time management and double presence (OR = 4.5; 95% CI = 1.22-8.79). Both job satisfaction and job security are related to leadership quality (OR=3.82; 95% CI = 2.27-6.55 and OR = 3.18; 95% CI = 1.22-8.79), respectively. Conclusions The quality of work life of healthcare workers in adult intensive care units is predicted by quantitative demands, double presence, emotional demands, work pace, predictability, vertical trust, and quality of leadership. How to cite this article Quinones-Rozo LP, Canaval-Erazo GE, Sandoval-Moreno LM. Predictors of Quality of Work Life in Health Care Workers at Adult Critical Care Units: A Cross-sectional Study. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024;28(4):355-363.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura del P Quinones-Rozo
- Docente Catedrático, Programa de Enfermería, Grupo APS, Universidad Libre y Grupo PROMESA, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
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Mitra LG, Sharma J, Walia HS. Improving Work-life Balance and Satisfaction to Improve Patient Care. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024; 28:326-328. [PMID: 38585310 PMCID: PMC10998519 DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
How to cite this article: Mitra LG, Sharma J, Walia HS. Improving Work-life Balance and Satisfaction to Improve Patient Care. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024;28(4):326-328.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lalita G Mitra
- Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, New Chandigarh, Punjab, India
| | - Jagdeep Sharma
- Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, New Chandigarh, Punjab, India
| | - Harsimran S Walia
- Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, New Chandigarh, Punjab, India
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Choi KH, Kang D, Lee J, Park H, Park TK, Lee JM, Song YB, Hahn JY, Choi SH, Gwon HC, Cho J, Yang JH. Association between intensive care unit nursing grade and mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock and its cost-effectiveness. Crit Care 2024; 28:99. [PMID: 38523296 PMCID: PMC10962168 DOI: 10.1186/s13054-024-04880-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the high workload of cardiac intensive care unit (ICU), there is a paucity of evidence on the association between nurse workforce and mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS). This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of the ICU nursing grade on mortality and cost-effectiveness in CS. METHODS A nationwide analysis was performed using the K-NHIS database. Patients diagnosed with CS and admitted to the ICU at tertiary hospitals were enrolled. ICU nursing grade was defined according to the bed-to-nurse ratio: grade1 (bed-to-nurse ratio < 0.5), grade2 (0.5 ≤ bed-to-nurse ratio < 0.63), and grade3 (0.63 ≤ bed-to-nurse ratio < 0.77) or above. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Cost-effective analysis was also performed. RESULTS Of the 72,950 patients with CS, 27,216 (37.3%) were in ICU nursing grade 1, 29,710 (40.7%) in grade 2, and 16,024 (22.0%) in grade ≥ 3. The adjusted-OR for in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in patients with grade 2 (grade 1 vs. grade 2, 30.6% vs. 37.5%, adjusted-OR 1.14, 95% CI1.09-1.19) and grade ≥ 3 (40.6%) with an adjusted-OR of 1.29 (95% CI 1.23-1.36) than those with grade 1. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of grade1 compared with grade 2 and ≥ 3 was $25,047/year and $42,888/year for hospitalization and $5151/year and $5269/year for 1-year follow-up, suggesting that grade 1 was cost-effective. In subgroup analysis, the beneficial effects of the high-intensity nursing grade on mortality were more prominent in patients who received CPR or multiple vasopressors usage. CONCLUSIONS For patients with CS, ICU grade 1 with a high-intensity nursing staff was associated with reduced mortality and more cost-effectiveness during hospitalization compared to grade 2 and grade ≥ 3, and its beneficial effects were more pronounced in subjects at high risk of CS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ki Hong Choi
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Danbee Kang
- Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Lee
- Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyejeong Park
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Taek Kyu Park
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Joo Myung Lee
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Bin Song
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Joo-Yong Hahn
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Hyuk Choi
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeon-Cheol Gwon
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Juhee Cho
- Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jeong Hoon Yang
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heart Vascular Stroke Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Ahmadi N, Sasangohar F, Yang J, Yu D, Danesh V, Klahn S, Masud F. Quantifying Workload and Stress in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: Preliminary Evaluation Using Continuous Eye-Tracking. HUMAN FACTORS 2024; 66:714-728. [PMID: 35511206 DOI: 10.1177/00187208221085335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE (1) To assess mental workloads of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in 12-hour working shifts (days and nights) using eye movement data; (2) to explore the impact of stress on the ocular metrics of nurses performing patient care in the ICU. BACKGROUND Prior studies have employed workload scoring systems or accelerometer data to assess ICU nurses' workload. This is the first naturalistic attempt to explore nurses' mental workload using eye movement data. METHODS Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye-tracking and Empatica E4 devices were used to collect eye movement and physiological data from 15 nurses during 12-hour shifts (252 observation hours). We used mixed-effect models and an ordinal regression model with a random effect to analyze the changes in eye movement metrics during high stress episodes. RESULTS While the cadence and characteristics of nurse workload can vary between day shift and night shift, no significant difference in eye movement values was detected. However, eye movement metrics showed that the initial handoff period of nursing shifts has a higher mental workload compared with other times. Analysis of ocular metrics showed that stress is positively associated with an increase in number of eye fixations and gaze entropy, but negatively correlated with the duration of saccades and pupil diameter. CONCLUSION Eye-tracking technology can be used to assess the temporal variation of stress and associated changes with mental workload in the ICU environment. A real-time system could be developed for monitoring stress and workload for intervention development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nima Ahmadi
- Center for Outcomes Research, Houston Methodist, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Farzan Sasangohar
- Center for Outcomes Research, Houston Methodist, Houston, TX, USA and Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Jing Yang
- School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Denny Yu
- School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Valerie Danesh
- Baylor Scott & White Health, Center for Applied Health Research, Dallas, TX, USA and University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Steven Klahn
- Center for Critical Care, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Faisal Masud
- Center for Critical Care, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
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Kim S, Kim GO, Lee S, Kwon YU. Effects of intensive care unit quality assessment on changes in medical staff in medical institutions and in-hospital mortality. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH 2024; 22:12. [PMID: 38308311 PMCID: PMC10835892 DOI: 10.1186/s12960-024-00893-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Quality assessments are being introduced in many countries to improve the quality of care and maintain acceptable quality levels. In South Korea, various quality assessments are being conducted to improve the quality of care, but there is insufficient evidence on intensive care units (ICUs). This study aims to evaluate the impact of ICU quality assessments on the structural indicators in medical institutions and the resulting in-hospital mortality of patients. METHODS This study used data collected in the 2nd and 3rd ICU quality assessments in 2017 and 2019. A total of 72,879 patients admitted to ICUs were included during this period, with 265 institutions that received both assessments. As for structural indicators, changes in medical personnel and equipment were assessed, and in-hospital deaths were evaluated as patient outcomes. To evaluate the association between medical staff and in-hospital mortality, a generalized estimating equation model was performed considering both hospital and patient variables. RESULTS Compared to the second quality evaluation, the number of intensivist physicians and experienced nurses increased in the third quality evaluation; however, there was still a gap in the workforce depending on the type of medical institution. Among all ICU patients admitted during the evaluation period, 12.0% of patients died in the hospital. In-hospital mortality decreased at the 3rd assessment, and hospitals employing intensivist physicians were associated with reduced in-hospital deaths. In addition, an increase in the number of experienced nurses was associated with a decrease in in-hospital mortality, while an increase in the nurse-to-bed ratio increased mortality. CONCLUSIONS ICU quality assessments improved overall structural indicators, but the gap between medical institutions has not improved and interventions are required to bridge this gap. In addition, it is important to maintain skilled medical personnel to bring about better results for patients, and various efforts should be considered. This requires continuous monitoring and further research on long-term effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungju Kim
- Department of Health System, College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea, 222, Banpo-Daero, Seocho-Gu, Seoul, 06591, Republic of Korea.
- Research Institute for Hospice/Palliative Care, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
| | - Gui Ok Kim
- Department of Quality Assessment, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Wonju, Republic of Korea
| | - Syalrom Lee
- Department of Quality Assessment, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Wonju, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong Uk Kwon
- Healthcare Review and Assessment CommitteeHealth Insurance Review and Assessment Service, Wonju, Republic of Korea
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Vaara ST, Serpa Neto A, Bellomo R, Adhikari NKJ, Dreyfuss D, Gallagher M, Gaudry S, Hoste E, Joannidis M, Pettilä V, Wang AY, Kashani K, Wald R, Bagshaw SM, Ostermann M. Regional Practice Variation and Outcomes in the Standard Versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) Trial: A Post Hoc Secondary Analysis. Crit Care Explor 2024; 6:e1053. [PMID: 38380940 PMCID: PMC10878545 DOI: 10.1097/cce.0000000000001053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Among patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI) admitted to the ICU in high-income countries, regional practice variations for fluid balance (FB) management, timing, and choice of renal replacement therapy (RRT) modality may be significant. DESIGN Secondary post hoc analysis of the STandard vs. Accelerated initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02568722). SETTING One hundred-fifty-three ICUs in 13 countries. PATIENTS Altogether 2693 critically ill patients with AKI, of whom 994 were North American, 1143 European, and 556 from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Total mean FB to a maximum of 14 days was +7199 mL in North America, +5641 mL in Europe, and +2211 mL in ANZ (p < 0.001). The median time to RRT initiation among patients allocated to the standard strategy was longest in Europe compared with North America and ANZ (p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Continuous RRT was the initial RRT modality in 60.8% of patients in North America and 56.8% of patients in Europe, compared with 96.4% of patients in ANZ (p < 0.001). After adjustment for predefined baseline characteristics, compared with North American and European patients, those in ANZ were more likely to survive to ICU (p < 0.001) and hospital discharge (p < 0.001) and to 90 days (for ANZ vs. Europe: risk difference [RD], -11.3%; 95% CI, -17.7% to -4.8%; p < 0.001 and for ANZ vs. North America: RD, -10.3%; 95% CI, -17.5% to -3.1%; p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS Among STARRT-AKI trial centers, significant regional practice variation exists regarding FB, timing of initiation of RRT, and initial use of continuous RRT. After adjustment, such practice variation was associated with lower ICU and hospital stay and 90-day mortality among ANZ patients compared with other regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvi T Vaara
- Department of Perioperative and Intensive Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Ary Serpa Neto
- Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Critical Care, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Intensive Care, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Rinaldo Bellomo
- Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Critical Care, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Intensive Care, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Data Analytics Research & Evaluation, Austin Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Intensive Care, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Neill K J Adhikari
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Didier Dreyfuss
- French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), UMR_S1155, CORAKID, Hôpital Tenon, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
- Service de Médecine Intensive Réanimation, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Assistance Publique, Université de Paris-Cité, Paris, France
| | - Martin Gallagher
- South Western Sydney Clinical Campus, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, NSW, Australia
- The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stephane Gaudry
- French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), UMR_S1155, CORAKID, Hôpital Tenon, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Hôpital Avicenne, Service de Réanimation Médico-Chirurgicale, UFR SMBH, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Bobigny, France
| | - Eric Hoste
- Intensive Care Unit, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Michael Joannidis
- Division of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ville Pettilä
- Department of Perioperative and Intensive Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Amanda Y Wang
- South Western Sydney Clinical Campus, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, NSW, Australia
- The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia
- The Faculty of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kianoush Kashani
- Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN
| | - Ron Wald
- Medicine Program and Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Division of Nephrology, St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sean M Bagshaw
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta and Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Marlies Ostermann
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, King's College London, Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital, London, United Kingdom
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Riman KA, Davis BS, Seaman JB, Kahn JM. Association Between Nurse Copatient Illness Severity and Mortality in the ICU. Crit Care Med 2024; 52:182-189. [PMID: 37846937 PMCID: PMC10840670 DOI: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000006066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In the context of traditional nurse-to-patient ratios, ICU patients are typically paired with one or more copatients, creating interdependencies that may affect clinical outcomes. We aimed to examine the effect of copatient illness severity on ICU mortality. DESIGN We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from a multihospital health system from 2018 to 2020. We identified nurse-to-patient assignments for each 12-hour shift using a validated algorithm. We defined copatient illness severity as whether the index patient's copatient received mechanical ventilation or vasoactive support during the shift. We used proportional hazards regression with time-varying covariates to assess the relationship between copatient illness severity and 28-day ICU mortality. SETTING Twenty-four ICUs in eight hospitals. PATIENTS Patients hospitalized in the ICU between January 1, 2018, and August 31, 2020. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The main analysis included 20,650 patients and 84,544 patient-shifts. Regression analyses showed a patient's risk of death increased when their copatient received both mechanical ventilation and vasoactive support (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.30; 95% CI, 1.05-1.61; p = 0.02) or vasoactive support alone (HR: 1.82; 95% CI, 1.39-2.38; p < 0.001), compared with situations in which the copatient received neither treatment. However, if the copatient was solely on mechanical ventilation, there was no significant increase in the risk of death (HR: 1.03; 95% CI, 0.86-1.23; p = 0.78). Sensitivity analyses conducted on cohorts with varying numbers of copatients consistently showed an increased risk of death when a copatient received vasoactive support. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that considering copatient illness severity, alongside the existing practice of considering individual patient conditions, during the nurse-to-patient assignment process may be an opportunity to improve ICU outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn A Riman
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Billie S Davis
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Jennifer B Seaman
- Department of Acute and Tertiary Care, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Jeremy M Kahn
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
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10
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Brunelli L, Miotto E, Del Pin M, Celotto D, Moccia A, Borghi G, De Monte A, Macor C, Cocconi R, Lattuada L, Brusaferro S, Arnoldo L. A look at the past to draw lessons for the future: how the case of an urgent ICU transfer taught us to always be ready with a plan B. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1253673. [PMID: 38053617 PMCID: PMC10694263 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1253673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective The urgent transfer of an intensive care unit (ICU) is particularly challenging because it carries a high clinical and infectious risk and is a critical node in a hospital's patient flow. In early 2017, exceptional rainfall damaged the roof of the tertiary hospital in Udine, necessitating the relocation of one of the three ICUs for six months. We decided to assess the impact of this transfer on quality of care and patient safety using a set of indicators, primarily considering the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and mortality rates. Methods We performed a retrospective, observational analysis of structural, process, and outcome indicators comparing the pre- and posttransfer phases. Specifically, we analyzed data between July 2016 and June 2017 for the transferred ICU and examined mortality and the incidence of HAI. Results Despite significant changes in structural and organizational aspects of the unit, no differences in mortality rates or cumulative incidence of HAIs were observed before/after transfer. We collected data for all 393 patients (133 women, 260 men) admitted to the ICU before (49.4%) and after transfer (50.6%). The mortality rate for 100 days in the ICU was 1.90 (34/1791) before and 2.88 (37/1258) after transfer (p = 0.063). The evaluation of the occurrence of at least one HAI included 304 patients (102 women and 202 men), as 89 of them were excluded due to a length of stay in the ICU of less than 48 h; again, there was no statistical difference between the two cumulative incidences (13.1% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.075). Conclusion In the case studied, no adverse effects on patient outcomes were observed after urgent transfer of the injured ICU. The indicators used in this study may be an initial suggestion for further discussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Brunelli
- Dipartimento di Area Medica, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy
- SOC Rischio Clinico, Qualità e Accreditamento, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Edoardo Miotto
- Dipartimento di Area Medica, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Massimo Del Pin
- Dipartimento di Area Medica, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Daniele Celotto
- Dipartimento di Area Medica, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Adriana Moccia
- Direzione Medica, Presidio Ospedaliero Universitario S. Maria della Misericordia di Udine, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Gianni Borghi
- Direzione Medica, Presidio Ospedaliero Universitario S. Maria della Misericordia di Udine, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Amato De Monte
- Dipartimento di Anestesia e Rianimazione, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Cristiana Macor
- Dipartimento di Anestesia e Rianimazione, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Roberto Cocconi
- SOC Rischio Clinico, Qualità e Accreditamento, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Luca Lattuada
- Direzione Medica, Presidio Ospedaliero Universitario S. Maria della Misericordia di Udine, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
| | - Silvio Brusaferro
- Dipartimento di Area Medica, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Luca Arnoldo
- Dipartimento di Area Medica, Università degli Studi di Udine, Udine, Italy
- SOC Rischio Clinico, Qualità e Accreditamento, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy
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11
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Zuin M, Rigatelli G, Bilato C. Weekend atrial fibrillation hospitalizations are associated with higher short-term mortality. Acta Cardiol 2023; 78:1006-1011. [PMID: 37339243 DOI: 10.1080/00015385.2023.2223007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous investigations have analysed the relationship between weekend (WE) admission and early death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) patients without reaching univocal results. We systematically reviewed the available literature and performed a meta-analysis of data from cohort studies to estimate the association between WE admission and short-term mortality in AF patients. METHODS This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline. We searched relevant publications using MEDLINE and Scopus from inception until 15 November 2022. Studies reporting the mortality risk as an adjusted odds ratio (OR), with relative 95% confidence interval (CI) comparing early (in-hospital or 30-day) mortality between patients admitted during the WE (Friday to Sunday) versus weekdays (WD) and having confirmed AF were included into the analysis. Data were pooled using a random-effects models with OR and related 95% CI. RESULTS Overall, 5.164.986 AF patients (mean age 69.7 years old, 47.6% males) enrolled in five retrospective investigations were considered for the analysis. A random-effect model evidenced that AF patients admitted during the WE had a higher risk of 30-day or in-hospital death (adjusted OR: 1.57; 95% CI, 1.05-1.27, p = .003, I2 = 64.7%). Sensitivity analysis confirmed yielded results. A meta-regression analysis showed a relationship between mortality and the mean age of the studies included (p = .001) while no associations were identified using sex as moderating variables (p = .15). CONCLUSIONS Patients admitted during WE for AF are characterised by an approximately 58% excess in the risk of early death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zuin
- Department of Cardiology, West Vicenza Hospital, Arzignano, Italy
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | | | - Claudio Bilato
- Department of Cardiology, West Vicenza Hospital, Arzignano, Italy
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Bhargav A, Ramanathan V, Ramadoss R, Kavadichanda C, Mariaselvam CM, Negi VS, Thabah MM. Outcome of critically ill patients with systemic lupus erythematosus from a medical intensive care unit in Southern India. Lupus 2023; 32:1462-1470. [PMID: 37769791 DOI: 10.1177/09612033231204074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has become the most prevalent autoimmune condition requiring admission in the intensive care units (ICU) in the last two decades. Here we analysed the clinical outcomes of SLE patients admitted to our ICU between 2011 and 2021, and studied the prognostic role of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and procalcitonin in those enrolled after August 2019. METHODS Systemic lupus erythematosus (ACR/SLICC 2012) were enrolled, 72 retrospectively and 30 prospectively. Data on indications for ICU admission, complications, infections, and disease activity were recorded. Outcome was mortality at 90 days (prospective) whereas in the retrospective analysis outcome was hospital discharge or death in hospital. Serum HDL and procalcitonin (PCT) was estimated in the prospectively enrolled 30 patients and compared with 30 non ICU-SLE patients. RESULTS Indications for ICU admissions were respiratory causes in 78/102 (76.5%) patients; for haemodynamic monitoring and for invasive procedures in the remaining. Pneumonia was the primary reason for mechanical ventilation, followed by diffuse alveolar haemorrhage (DAH). Eighty-three (81.3%) patients died; infections (n = 54) and SLE related causes (n = 29). APACHE-II >16 (p = .026), lymphopenia (p = .021), infection (p = .002), creatinine >1.3 mg/dL (p = .023), and hypotension requiring vasopressor support (p = .006) emerged as significant predictors of non-survival on multivariable analysis. HDL (mg/dL) day 1 was significantly lower in SLE-ICU patients compared to non ICU-SLE (31.8 ± 14.3 vs 38.8 ± 11.4 mg/dl); p = .045. On day 1, PCT (ng/mL) in SLE-ICU was significantly higher when compared to non-ICU SLE; median (IQR): 0.53 (0.26-5.27) versus 0.13 (0.05-0.47), p < .001), respectively. It was also significantly higher on day 5 in SLE-ICU than non-ICU SLE (median (IQR): 4.18 (0.20-14.67) versus 0.10 (0.08-0.46), p = .004. CONCLUSION The mortality of SLE patients admitted to the ICU in this study is high, and infections were the principal reason for death. Baseline low HDL and higher procalcitonin are potential biomarkers to identify critically ill SLE patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arvind Bhargav
- Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Venkateswaran Ramanathan
- Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Ramu Ramadoss
- Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Chengappa Kavadichanda
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Christina M Mariaselvam
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Vir S Negi
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Molly M Thabah
- Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
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Ross P, Serpa-Neto A, Chee Tan S, Watterson J, Ilic D, Hodgson CL, Udy A, Litton E, Pilcher D. The relationship between nursing skill mix and severity of illness of patients admitted in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units. Aust Crit Care 2023; 36:813-820. [PMID: 36732156 DOI: 10.1016/j.aucc.2022.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Critically ill patients in the intensive care environment require an appropriate nursing workforce to improve quality of care and patient outcomes. However, limited information exists as to the relationship between severity of illness and nursing skill mix in the intensive care. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the variation in nursing skill mix across different hospital types and to determine if this was associated with severity of illness of critically ill patients admitted to adult intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia and New Zealand. DESIGN & SETTING A retrospective cohort study using the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database (to provide information on patient demographics, severity of illness, and outcome) and the Critical Care Resources Registry (to provide information on annual nursing staffing levels and hospital type) from July 2014 to June 2020. Four hospital types (metropolitan, private, rural/regional, and tertiary) and three patient groups (elective surgical, emergency surgical, and medical) were examined. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The main outcome measure was the proportion of critical care specialist registered nurses (RNs) expressed as a percentage of the full-time equivalent (FTE) of total RNs working within each ICU each year, as reported annually to the Critical Care Resources Registry. RESULTS Data were examined for 184 ICUs in Australia and New Zealand. During the 6-year study period, 770 747 patients were admitted to these ICUs. Across Australia and New Zealand, the median percentage of registered nursing FTE with a critical care qualification for each ICU (n = 184) was 59.1% (interquartile range [IQR] = 48.9-71.6). The percentage FTE of critical care specialist RNs was highest in private [63.7% (IQR = 52.6-78.2)] and tertiary ICUs [58.1% (IQR = 51.2-70.2)], followed by metropolitan ICUs [56.0% (IQR = 44.5-68.9)] with the lowest in rural/regional hospitals [55.9% (IQR = 44.9-70.0)]. In ICUs with higher percentage FTE of critical care specialist RNs, patients had higher severity of illness, most notably in tertiary and private ICUs. This relationship was persistent across all hospital types when examining subgroups of emergency surgical and medical patients and in multivariable analysis after adjusting for the type of hospital and relative percentage of each diagnostic group. CONCLUSIONS In Australian and New Zealand ICUs, the highest acuity patients are cared for by nursing teams with the highest percentage FTE of critical care specialist RNs. The Australian and New Zealand healthcare system has a critical care nursing workforce which scales to meet the acuity of ICU patients across Australia and New Zealand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Ross
- Department of Intensive Care, Alfred Health, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia; School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 3004, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Ary Serpa-Neto
- Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Critical Care, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | | | - Jason Watterson
- School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 3004, Victoria, Australia; Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Frankston Hospital, Peninsula Health, Frankston, VIC 3199, Australia.
| | - Dragan Ilic
- Medical Education Research & Quality (MERQ), School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, 3004, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Carol L Hodgson
- Department of Intensive Care, Alfred Health, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia; Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Andrew Udy
- Department of Intensive Care, Alfred Health, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia; Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Edward Litton
- Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Centre for Outcome and Resources Evaluation, Camberwell, VIC 3124, Australia; Department of Intensive Care, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Robin Warren Drive, Perth, WA 6150, Australia.
| | - David Pilcher
- Department of Intensive Care, Alfred Health, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia; Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Research Centre (ANZIC-RC), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Centre for Outcome and Resources Evaluation, Camberwell, VIC 3124, Australia.
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14
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Jessula S, Cote CL, Kim Y, Cooper M, McDougall G, Casey P, Lee MS, Smith M, Dua A, Herman C. Effect of after-hours presentation in ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. J Vasc Surg 2023; 77:1045-1053.e3. [PMID: 36343873 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvs.2022.10.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (RAAAs) are surgical emergencies that require immediate and expert treatment. It has been unclear whether presentation during evenings and weekends, when "on call" teams are primarily responsible for patient care, is associated with worse outcomes. Our objective was to evaluate the outcomes of patients presenting with RAAAs after-hours vs during the workday. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of all RAAAs in Nova Scotia between 2005 and 2015 was performed through linkage of administrative databases. Patients who had presented to the hospital with RAAAs during the workday (Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm) were compared with those who had presented after-hours (6 pm to 6 am during the week and on weekends). The baseline and operative characteristics were identified for all patients through the available databases and a review of the medical records. Mortality before surgery, 30-day mortality, and operative mortality were compared between groups using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for factors clinically significant on univariable analysis. RESULTS A total of 390 patients with RAAAs were identified from 2005 to 2015, of whom 205 (53%) had presented during the workday and 185 (47%) after-hours. The overall chance of survival (OCS) was 45% overall, 49% if admitted to hospital, and 64% if surgery had been performed. During the workday, the OCS was 43% overall, 48% if admitted to hospital, and 67% if surgery had been performed. After-hours, the OCS was 46% overall, 49% if admitted to hospital, and 61% if surgery had been performed. Mortality before surgery was increased for patients who had presented to the hospital during the workday compared with after-hours (36% vs 26%; P = .04). The 30-day mortality (57% vs 54%; P = .62), rates of operative management (63% vs 72%; P = .06), and operative mortality (33% vs 39%; P = .33) were similar between the workday and after-hours groups (57% vs 54%; P = .06). After adjusting for significant clinical variables, the patients who had presented with RAAAs after-hours had had a similar odds of dying before surgery (odds ratio [OR], 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41-1.03), operative management (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 0.93-2.31), 30-day mortality (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.63-1.51), and operative mortality (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.78-2.26). In the subgroup of patients presenting to a hospital with endovascular capabilities, patients presenting after-hours had had similar odds of 30-day mortality (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.57-2.02), and operative mortality (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.58-2.23). CONCLUSIONS We found that patients presenting to the hospital with RAAAs after-hours did not have increased adjusted odds of mortality before surgery, operative management, 30-day mortality, or operative mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Jessula
- Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
| | - Claudia L Cote
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Young Kim
- Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
| | - Matthew Cooper
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Garrett McDougall
- Department of Emergency Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Patrick Casey
- Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Min S Lee
- Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Matthew Smith
- Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Anahita Dua
- Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Christine Herman
- Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada; Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
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Patient Outcomes and Unit Composition With Transition to a High-Intensity ICU Staffing Model: A Before-and-After Study. Crit Care Explor 2023; 5:e0864. [PMID: 36778910 PMCID: PMC9904765 DOI: 10.1097/cce.0000000000000864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Provider staffing models for ICUs are generally based on pragmatic necessities and historical norms at individual institutions. A better understanding of the role that provider staffing models play in determining patient outcomes and optimizing use of ICU resources is needed. OBJECTIVES To explore the impact of transitioning from a low- to high-intensity intensivist staffing model on patient outcomes and unit composition. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS This was a prospective observational before-and-after study of adult ICU patients admitted to a single community hospital ICU before (October 2016-May 2017) and after (June 2017-November 2017) the transition to a high-intensity ICU staffing model. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality, ICU length of stay (LOS), and unit composition characteristics including type (e.g., medical, surgical) and purpose (ICU-specific intervention vs close monitoring only) of admission. RESULTS For the primary outcome, 1,219 subjects were included (779 low-intensity, 440 high-intensity). In multivariable analysis, the transition to a high-intensity staffing model was not associated with a decrease in 30-day (odds ratio [OR], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.61-1.34; p = 0.62) or in-hospital (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.57-1.38; p = 0.60) mortality, nor ICU LOS. However, the proportion of patients admitted to the ICU without an ICU-specific need did decrease under the high-intensity staffing model (27.2% low-intensity to 17.5% high-intensity; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Multivariable analysis showed no association between transition to a high-intensity ICU staffing model and mortality or LOS outcomes; however, the proportion of patients admitted without an ICU-specific need decreased under the high-intensity model. Further research is needed to determine whether a high-intensity staffing model may lead to more efficient ICU bed usage.
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Beltempo M, Patel S, Platt RW, Julien AS, Blais R, Bertelle V, Lapointe A, Lacroix G, Gravel S, Cabot M, Piedboeuf B. Association of nurse staffing and unit occupancy with mortality and morbidity among very preterm infants: a multicentre study. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2023:archdischild-2022-324414. [PMID: 36609411 DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2022-324414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In a healthcare system with finite resources, hospital organisational factors may contribute to patient outcomes. We aimed to assess the association of nurse staffing and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) occupancy with outcomes of preterm infants born <33 weeks' gestation. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Four level III NICUs. PATIENTS Infants born 23-32 weeks' gestation 2015-2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Nursing provision ratios (nursing hours worked/recommended nursing hours based on patient acuity categories) and unit occupancy rates were averaged for the first shift, 24 hours and 7 days of admission of each infant. Primary outcome was mortality/morbidity (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe neurological injury, retinopathy of prematurity, necrotising enterocolitis and nosocomial infection). ORs for association of exposure with outcomes were estimated using generalised linear mixed models adjusted for confounders. RESULTS Among 1870 included infants, 823 (44%) had mortality/morbidity. Median nursing provision ratio was 1.03 (IQR 0.89-1.22) and median unit occupancy was 89% (IQR 82-94). In the first 24 hours of admission, higher nursing provision ratio was associated with lower odds of mortality/morbidity (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.98), and higher unit occupancy was associated with higher odds of mortality/morbidity (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.36). In causal mediation analysis, nursing provision ratios mediated 47% of the association between occupancy and outcomes. CONCLUSIONS NICU occupancy is associated with mortality/morbidity among very preterm infants and may reflect lack of adequate resources in periods of high activity. Interventions aimed at reducing occupancy and maintaining adequate resources need to be considered as strategies to improve patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Beltempo
- Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada .,Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sharina Patel
- Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Robert W Platt
- Department of Pediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anne-Sophie Julien
- Département de mathématiques et de statistique, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| | - Régis Blais
- Département de gestion, d'évaluation et de politique de santé, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Valerie Bertelle
- Departement of Pediatrics, Université de Sherbooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anie Lapointe
- Departement of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Guy Lacroix
- Department of Economics, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sophie Gravel
- Division of Neonatalogy, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Michèle Cabot
- Division of Neonatalogy, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
| | - Bruno Piedboeuf
- Departement of Pediatrics, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
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Strain on the ICU resources and patient outcomes in the COVID-19 pandemic: A Swedish national registry cohort study. Eur J Anaesthesiol 2023; 40:13-20. [PMID: 36156044 DOI: 10.1097/eja.0000000000001760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to an unprecedented strain on the ICU resources. It is not known how the ICU resources employed in treating COVID-19 patients are related to inpatient characteristics, use of organ support or mortality. OBJECTIVES To investigate how the use of ICU resources relate to use of organ support and mortality in COVID-19 patients. DESIGN A national register-based cohort study. SETTING All Swedish ICUs from March 2020 to November 2021. PATIENTS All patients admitted to Swedish ICUs with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 reported to the national Swedish Intensive Care Register (SIR). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Organ support (mechanical ventilation, noninvasive ventilation, high-flow oxygen therapy, prone positioning, surgical and percutaneous tracheostomy, central venous catheterisation, continuous renal replacement therapy and intermittent haemodialysis), discharge at night, re-admission, transfer and ICU and 30-day mortality. RESULTS Seven thousand nine hundred and sixty-nine patients had a median age of 63 years, and 70% were men. Median daily census was 167% of habitual census, daily new admissions were 20% of habitual census and the median occupancy was 82%. Census and new admissions were associated with mechanical ventilation, OR 1.37 (95% CI 1.28 to 1.48) and OR 1.44 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.84), respectively, but negatively associated with noninvasive ventilation, OR 0.83 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.89) and OR 0.40 (95% CI 0.30 to 52) and high-flow oxygen therapy, OR 0.72 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.77) and OR 0.77 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.97). Occupancy above 90% of available beds was not associated with mechanical ventilation or noninvasive ventilation, but with high-flow oxygen therapy, OR 1.36 (95% CI 1.21 to 1.53). All measures of pressure on resources were associated with transfer to other hospitals, but none were associated with discharge at night, ICU mortality or 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS Pressure on ICU resources was associated with more invasive respiratory support, indicating that during these times, ICU resources were reserved for sicker patients.
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Hosona M, Uesugi Y. The Effect of Stress, Fatigue, and Sleep Quality on Shift-Work Nurses in Japan. Health (London) 2023. [DOI: 10.4236/health.2023.153017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
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Sandal O, Ceylan G, Topal S, Hepduman P, Colak M, Novotni D, Soydan E, Karaarslan U, Atakul G, Schultz MJ, Ağın H. Closed–loop oxygen control improves oxygenation in pediatric patients under high–flow nasal oxygen—A randomized crossover study. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:1046902. [DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1046902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundWe assessed the effect of a closed–loop oxygen control system in pediatric patients receiving high–flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO).MethodsA multicentre, single–blinded, randomized, and cross–over study. Patients aged between 1 month and 18 years of age receiving HFNO for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) were randomly assigned to start with a 2–h period of closed–loop oxygen control or a 2–h period of manual oxygen titrations, after which the patient switched to the alternative therapy. The endpoints were the percentage of time spent in predefined SpO2 ranges (primary), FiO2, SpO2/FiO2, and the number of manual adjustments.FindingsWe included 23 patients, aged a median of 18 (3–26) months. Patients spent more time in a predefined optimal SpO2 range when the closed–loop oxygen controller was activated compared to manual oxygen titrations [91⋅3% (IQR 78⋅4–95⋅1%) vs. 63⋅0% (IQR 44⋅4–70⋅7%)], mean difference [28⋅2% (95%–CI 20⋅6–37⋅8%); P < 0.001]. Median FiO2 was lower [33⋅3% (IQR 26⋅6–44⋅6%) vs. 42⋅6% (IQR 33⋅6–49⋅9%); P = 0.07], but median SpO2/FiO2 was higher [289 (IQR 207–348) vs. 194 (IQR 98–317); P = 0.023] with closed–loop oxygen control. The median number of manual adjustments was lower with closed–loop oxygen control [0⋅0 (IQR 0⋅0–0⋅0) vs. 0⋅5 (IQR 0⋅0–1⋅0); P < 0.001].ConclusionClosed-loop oxygen control improves oxygenation therapy in pediatric patients receiving HFNO for AHRF and potentially leads to more efficient oxygen use. It reduces the number of manual adjustments, which may translate into decreased workloads of healthcare providers.Clinical trial registration[www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT 05032365].
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Riman KA, Davis BS, Seaman JB, Kahn JM. The Use of Electronic Health Record Metadata to Identify Nurse-Patient Assignments in the Intensive Care Unit: Algorithm Development and Validation. JMIR Med Inform 2022; 10:e37923. [DOI: 10.2196/37923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Nursing care is a critical determinant of patient outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). Most studies of nursing care have focused on nursing characteristics aggregated across the ICU (eg, unit-wide nurse-to-patient ratios, education, and working environment). In contrast, relatively little work has focused on the influence of individual nurses and their characteristics on patient outcomes. Such research could provide granular information needed to create evidence-based nurse assignments, where a nurse’s unique skills are matched to each patient’s needs. To date, research in this area is hindered by an inability to link individual nurses to specific patients retrospectively and at scale.
Objective
This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using nurse metadata from the electronic health record (EHR) to retrospectively determine nurse-patient assignments in the ICU.
Methods
We used EHR data from 38 ICUs in 18 hospitals from 2018 to 2020. We abstracted data on the time and frequency of nurse charting of clinical assessments and medication administration; we then used those data to iteratively develop a deterministic algorithm to identify a single ICU nurse for each patient shift. We examined the accuracy and precision of the algorithm by performing manual chart review on a randomly selected subset of patient shifts.
Results
The analytic data set contained 5,479,034 unique nurse-patient charting times; 748,771 patient shifts; 87,466 hospitalizations; 70,002 patients; and 8,134 individual nurses. The final algorithm identified a single nurse for 97.3% (728,533/748,771) of patient shifts. In the remaining 2.7% (20,238/748,771) of patient shifts, the algorithm either identified multiple nurses (4,755/748,771, 0.6%), no nurse (14,689/748,771, 2%), or the same nurse as the prior shift (794/748,771, 0.1%). In 200 patient shifts selected for chart review, the algorithm had a 93% accuracy (ie, correctly identifying the primary nurse or correctly identifying that there was no primary nurse) and a 94.4% precision (ie, correctly identifying the primary nurse when a primary nurse was identified). Misclassification was most frequently due to patient transitions in care location, such as ICU transfers, discharges, and admissions.
Conclusions
Metadata from the EHR can accurately identify individual nurse-patient assignments in the ICU. This information enables novel studies of ICU nurse staffing at the individual nurse-patient level, which may provide further insights into how nurse staffing can be leveraged to improve patient outcomes.
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Namikata Y, Matsuoka Y, Ito J, Seo R, Hijikata Y, Itaya T, Ouchi K, Nishida H, Yamamoto Y, Ariyoshi K. Association between ICU admission during off-hours and in-hospital mortality: a multicenter registry in Japan. J Intensive Care 2022; 10:41. [PMID: 36064449 PMCID: PMC9446872 DOI: 10.1186/s40560-022-00634-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The effect of ICU admission time on patient outcomes has been shown to be controversial in several studies from a number of countries. The imbalance between ICU staffing and medical resources during off-hours possibly influences the outcome for critically ill or injured patients. Here, we aimed to evaluate the association between ICU admission during off-hours and in-hospital mortality in Japan. METHODS This study was an observational study using a multicenter registry (Japanese Intensive care PAtient Database). From the registry, we enrolled adult patients admitted to ICUs from April 2015 to March 2019. Patients with elective surgery, readmission to ICUs, or ICU admissions only for medical procedures were excluded. We compared in-hospital mortalities between ICU patients admitted during off-hours and office-hours, using a multilevel logistic regression model which allows for the random effect of each hospital. RESULTS A total of 28,200 patients were enrolled with a median age of 71 years (interquartile range [IQR], 59 to 80). The median APACHE II score was 18 (IQR, 13 to 24) with no significant difference between patients admitted during off-hours and those admitted during office-hours. The in-hospital mortality was 3399/20,403 (16.7%) when admitted during off-hours and 1604/7797 (20.6%) when admitted during office-hours. Thus, off-hours ICU admission was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.91, [95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.99]). CONCLUSIONS ICU admissions during off-hours were associated with lower in-hospital mortality in Japan. These results were against our expectations and raised some concerns for a possible imbalance between ICU staffing and workload during office-hours. Further studies with a sufficient dataset required for comparing with other countries are warranted in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Namikata
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Matsuoka
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan. .,Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan.
| | - Jiro Ito
- Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Ryutaro Seo
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yasukazu Hijikata
- Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
| | - Takahiro Itaya
- Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
| | - Kenjiro Ouchi
- Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Haruka Nishida
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
| | - Yosuke Yamamoto
- Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine and Public Health, Kyoto University, Yoshidakonoe-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
| | - Koichi Ariyoshi
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, 2-1-1 Minatojima-Minamimachi, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047, Japan
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Zuin M, Valerio L, Quadretti L, Zuliani G, Manfredini R, Rigatelli G, Barco S, Roncon L. Weekend effect and short-term mortality in patients with acute pulmonary embolism: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown) 2022; 23:744-747. [PMID: 35905006 DOI: 10.2459/jcm.0000000000001332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
We systematically reviewed the available literature and performed a meta-analysis of data from cohort studies to estimate the association between weekend admission and early mortality in patients diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Statistical heterogeneity between groups was measured using the Higgins I2 statistic. Data were pooled using a random-effects models with odds ratio (OR) and related 95% CI. Publication bias was evaluated both by the Egger's test and by visual examination of the corresponding funnel plot. Among the 12 studies reviewed, based on 1.782.385 patients with PE, the pooled analysis showed that patients admitted during the weekend had a higher risk of 30-day or in-hospital death than those admitted during weekdays (unadjusted OR: 1.17; 95% CI 1.13-1.20, P < 0.0001, I2 = 36.6%). A sub-analysis based on the adjusted OR derived from those studies performing a multivariate regression analysis confirmed yielded results (adjusted OR: 1.15, 95% CI 1.07-1.75, P < 0.0001, I2 = 0%). In conclusion, patients admitted during weekend for acute pulmonary embolism are characterized by an approximately 15% excess in the risk of early death, defined as either 30-day or in-hospital death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zuin
- Department of Translational Medicine, Section of Internal and CardioRespiratory Medicine., University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Luca Valerio
- Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Laura Quadretti
- Department of Medicine and Cardiology, Porto Viro General Hospital, Rovigo
| | - Giovanni Zuliani
- Department of Translational Medicine, Section of Internal and CardioRespiratory Medicine., University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Roberto Manfredini
- Department of Medical Sciences, Clinical Medicine Unit, University of Ferrara, Ferrara
| | - Gianluca Rigatelli
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Specialistic Medicine, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Rovigo, Italy
| | - Stefano Barco
- Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.,Clinic of Angiology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Loris Roncon
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Specialistic Medicine, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Rovigo, Italy
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Mihalj M, Corona A, Andereggen L, Urman RD, Luedi MM, Bello C. Managing bottlenecks in the perioperative setting: Optimizing patient care and reducing costs. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol 2022; 36:299-310. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpa.2022.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Verma A, Tran Z, Sakowitz S, Hadaya J, Lee C, Madrigal J, Revels S, Benharash P. Hospital variation in the development of respiratory failure after pulmonary lobectomy: A national analysis. Surgery 2022; 172:379-384. [DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2022.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Simeone S, Condit D, Nadler E. Do Not Give Up Your Stethoscopes Yet—Telemedicine for Chronic Respiratory Diseases in the Era of COVID-19. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12020222. [PMID: 35207508 PMCID: PMC8877139 DOI: 10.3390/life12020222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Telemedicine in its many forms has been utilized across numerous medical specialties to facilitate and expand access to medical care, optimize existing healthcare infrastructure to encourage patient–provider communication, reduce provider burnout, and improve patient surveillance. Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic there has been widening of existing socioeconomic disparities in healthcare access for those with chronic respiratory diseases, sparking interest in expanding the use of telemedicine modalities to enhance access to pulmonology specialist care, pulmonary rehabilitation, symptom monitoring, and early identification of clinical exacerbations. Furthermore, the use of telemedicine has been expanded into the intensive care setting to improve patient outcomes and offset provider demands following the increase in critically ill patients due to COVID-19. While an invaluable modality by which to broaden healthcare access and increase the efficacy of care delivery, telemedicine must be used in conjunction with face-to-face physical evaluation and appropriate clinical testing to optimize its benefit. We present here our view of the benefits and disadvantages of the use of telemedicine in the management of chronic respiratory disorders from the perspective of practicing clinicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Simeone
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA;
| | - Daniel Condit
- Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA
- Correspondence: (D.C.); (E.N.)
| | - Evan Nadler
- Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT 06105, USA
- Correspondence: (D.C.); (E.N.)
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Weekend Mortality in an Italian Hospital: Immediate versus Delayed Bedside Critical Care Treatment. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19020767. [PMID: 35055589 PMCID: PMC8776160 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19020767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Background: a number of studies highlighted increased mortality associated with hospital admissions during weekends and holidays, the so–call “weekend effect”. In this retrospective study of mortality in an acute care public hospital in Italy between 2009 and 2015, we compared inpatient mortality before and after a major organizational change in 2012. The new model (Model 2) implied that the intensivist was available on call from outside the hospital during nighttime, weekends, and holidays. The previous model (Model 1) ensured the presence of the intensivist coordinating a Medical Emergency Team (MET) inside the hospital 24 h a day, 7 days a week. Methods: life status at discharge after 9298 and 8223 hospital admissions that occurred during two consecutive periods of 1185 days each (organizational Model 1 and 2), respectively, were classified into “discharged alive”, “deceased during nighttime–weekends–holidays” and “deceased during daytime-weekdays”. We estimated Relative Risk Ratios (RRR) for the associations between the organizational model and life status at discharge using multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for demographic and case-mix indicators, and timing of admission (nighttime–weekends–holidays vs. daytime-weekdays). Results: there were 802 and 840 deaths under Models 1 and 2, respectively. Total mortality was higher for hospital admissions under Model 2 compared to Model 1. Model 2 was associated with a significantly higher risk of death during nighttime–weekends–holidays (IRR: 1.38, 95% CI 1.20–1.59) compared to daytime–weekdays (RRR: 1.12, 95% CI 0.97–1.31) (p = 0.04). Respiratory diagnoses, in particular, acute and chronic respiratory failure (ICD 9 codes 510–519) were the leading causes of the mortality excess under Model 2. Conclusions: our data suggest that the immediate availability of an intensivist coordinating a MET 24 h, 7 days a week can result in a better prognosis of in-hospital emergencies compared to delayed consultation.
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Tang J, Zhang Y, Xiong F, Li F, Zheng Z, Gao X, Luo Z. A survey of coping strategies among clinical nurses in China during the early stage of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Nurs Open 2021; 8:3583-3592. [PMID: 33939884 PMCID: PMC8242858 DOI: 10.1002/nop2.908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS To investigate coping strategies and identify their associated factors among Chinese clinical nurses during the early stage of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. DESIGN A cross-sectional study. METHODS This study was conducted in seven designated hospitals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the coronavirus disease 2019 in the southwest of China between 1 February and 31 March, 2020. Multiple linear regression was conducted to explore the association of different factors with the coping strategies of nurses. RESULTS Nurses' positive coping was associated with higher psychological capital (B = 0.185, 95% CI 0.158-0.213), social support (B = 0.292, 95% CI 0.244-0.340) and lower frustration (B = -0.065, 95% CI -0.123 to -0.007). In contrast, higher frustration (B = 0.091, 95% CI 0.044-0.139), lower performance (B = -0.054, 95% CI -0.101 to -0.007) and psychological capital (B = -0.035, 95% CI -0.055 to -0.014) were associated with negative coping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Tang
- School of NursingChongqing Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - You Zhang
- School of Foreign LanguagesChongqing Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Fangfang Xiong
- Department of NursingThe First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Fuying Li
- School of NursingChongqing Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Zehong Zheng
- Engineering Training CenterGuizhou Minzu UniversityGuiyangChina
| | - Xi Gao
- Department of DermatologyUniversity‐Town Hospital of Chongqing Medical UniversityChongqingChina
| | - Zhongchen Luo
- School of NursingGuizhou Medical UniversityGuizhouChina
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Vahedian-Azimi A, Rahimibashar F, Ashtari S, Guest PC, Sahebkar A. Comparison of the clinical features in open and closed format intensive care units: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med 2021; 40:100950. [PMID: 34555538 DOI: 10.1016/j.accpm.2021.100950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE The difference in clinical outcomes between closed and open designs of intensive care units (ICUs) is still an open question. OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare total mortality, hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS) and mortality as primary outcomes, and severity of illness based on physiological variables, organ failure assessment, age, duration of mechanical ventilation and ventilator-associated pneumonia frequency as secondary outcomes in closed and open ICUs. EVIDENCE REVIEW Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane database, Iran-doc and Elm-net according to the MeSH terms were searched from 1988 to October 2019. The standardised mean difference (SMD), relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were applied to display summary statistics of primary and secondary outcomes. FINDINGS A total of 90 studies with 444,042 participants were analysed. ICU mortality (RR: 1.16, CI: 1.07-1.27, p < 0.001), hospital mortality (RR: 1.12, CI: 1.03-1.22, p = 0.010) and ICU LOS (SMD: 0.43, CI: 0.01-0.85, p = 0.040) were significantly higher in open ICUs. Total mortality (RR: 0.91, CI: 0.77-1.08, p = 0.28) and hospital LOS (SMD: 1.14, CI: 1.31-3.59, p = 0.36) showed no significant difference between the two types of ICU. The secondary outcome measures were also comparable between the two ICU formats (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The results demonstrated superiority of closed versus open ICUs in hospital and ICU mortality rates and ICU LOS, with no difference in total mortality, hospital LOS or severity of illness parameters. The superiority of the closed ICU format may be a result of the intensivist-led patient care and should therefore be implemented by clinicians to decrease ICU mortality rates and LOS for critically ill patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Vahedian-Azimi
- Trauma Research Centre, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farshid Rahimibashar
- Anaesthesia and Critical Care Department, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
| | - Sara Ashtari
- Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Centre, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Paul C Guest
- Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Amirhossein Sahebkar
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
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Song J, Chen C, Zhao S, Zhou L, Chen H. Trading quality for quantity? Evidence from patient level data in China. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257127. [PMID: 34529680 PMCID: PMC8445449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In China, overcrowding at hospitals increases the workload of medical staff, which may negatively impact the quality of medical services. This study empirically examined the impact of hospital admissions on the quality of healthcare services in Chinese hospitals. Specifically, we estimated the impact of the number of hospital admissions per day on a patient's length of stay (LOS) and hospital mortality rate using both ordinary least squares (OLS) and instrumental variable (IV) methods. To deal with potential endogeneity problems and accurately identify the impact of medical staff configuration on medical quality, the daily air quality index was selected as the IV. Furthermore, we examined the differential effects of hospital admissions on the quality of care across different hospital tiers. We used the data from a random sample of 10% of inpatients from a city in China, covering the period from January 2014 to June 2019. Our final regression analysis included a sample of 167 disease types (as per the ICD-10 classification list) and 862,722 patient cases from 517 hospitals. According to our results, the LOS decreased and hospital mortality rate increased with an increasing number of admissions. Using the IV method, for every additional hospital admission, there was a 6.22% (p < 0.01) decrease in LOS and a 1.86% (p < 0.01) increase in hospital mortality. The impact of healthcare staffing levels on the quality of care varied between different hospital tiers. The quality of care in secondary hospitals was most affected by the number of admissions, with the average decrease of 18.60% (p < 0.05) in LOS and the increase of 6.05% (p < 0.01) in hospital mortality for every additional hospital admission in our sample. The findings suggested that the supply of medical services in China should be increased and a hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system should be actively promoted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinglin Song
- Department of Public Economic System and Policy, School of Public Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Chen Chen
- Department of Finance, School of Public Finance & Economics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Shaoyang Zhao
- Department of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Leming Zhou
- Computer Science and Information Technology College of Chongqing Post and Telecommunication, Chongqing, China
- Department of Statistics and Development Research, Chongqing Health Information Center, Chongqing, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Chongqing Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, China
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Kadri SS, Sun J, Lawandi A, Strich JR, Busch LM, Keller M, Babiker A, Yek C, Malik S, Krack J, Dekker JP, Spaulding AB, Ricotta E, Powers JH, Rhee C, Klompas M, Athale J, Boehmer TK, Gundlapalli AV, Bentley W, Datta SD, Danner RL, Demirkale CY, Warner S. Association Between Caseload Surge and COVID-19 Survival in 558 U.S. Hospitals, March to August 2020. Ann Intern Med 2021; 174:1240-1251. [PMID: 34224257 PMCID: PMC8276718 DOI: 10.7326/m21-1213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several U.S. hospitals had surges in COVID-19 caseload, but their effect on COVID-19 survival rates remains unclear, especially independent of temporal changes in survival. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between hospitals' severity-weighted COVID-19 caseload and COVID-19 mortality risk and identify effect modifiers of this relationship. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04688372). SETTING 558 U.S. hospitals in the Premier Healthcare Database. PARTICIPANTS Adult COVID-19-coded inpatients admitted from March to August 2020 with discharge dispositions by October 2020. MEASUREMENTS Each hospital-month was stratified by percentile rank on a surge index (a severity-weighted measure of COVID-19 caseload relative to pre-COVID-19 bed capacity). The effect of surge index on risk-adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of in-hospital mortality or discharge to hospice was calculated using hierarchical modeling; interaction by surge attributes was assessed. RESULTS Of 144 116 inpatients with COVID-19 at 558 U.S. hospitals, 78 144 (54.2%) were admitted to hospitals in the top surge index decile. Overall, 25 344 (17.6%) died; crude COVID-19 mortality decreased over time across all surge index strata. However, compared with nonsurging (<50th surge index percentile) hospital-months, aORs in the 50th to 75th, 75th to 90th, 90th to 95th, 95th to 99th, and greater than 99th percentiles were 1.11 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.23), 1.24 (CI, 1.12 to 1.38), 1.42 (CI, 1.27 to 1.60), 1.59 (CI, 1.41 to 1.80), and 2.00 (CI, 1.69 to 2.38), respectively. The surge index was associated with mortality across ward, intensive care unit, and intubated patients. The surge-mortality relationship was stronger in June to August than in March to May (slope difference, 0.10 [CI, 0.033 to 0.16]) despite greater corticosteroid use and more judicious intubation during later and higher-surging months. Nearly 1 in 4 COVID-19 deaths (5868 [CI, 3584 to 8171]; 23.2%) was potentially attributable to hospitals strained by surging caseload. LIMITATION Residual confounding. CONCLUSION Despite improvements in COVID-19 survival between March and August 2020, surges in hospital COVID-19 caseload remained detrimental to survival and potentially eroded benefits gained from emerging treatments. Bolstering preventive measures and supporting surging hospitals will save many lives. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Cancer Institute.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sameer S Kadri
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Junfeng Sun
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Alexander Lawandi
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Jeffrey R Strich
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and U.S. Public Health Service, Rockville, Maryland (J.R.S.)
| | - Lindsay M Busch
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia (L.M.B.)
| | - Michael Keller
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Ahmed Babiker
- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia (A.B.)
| | - Christina Yek
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Seidu Malik
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Janell Krack
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - John P Dekker
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland (J.P.D., E.R.)
| | - Alicen B Spaulding
- Children's Minnesota Research Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota (A.B.S.)
| | - Emily Ricotta
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland (J.P.D., E.R.)
| | - John H Powers
- Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland (J.H.P.)
| | - Chanu Rhee
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (C.R., M.K.)
| | - Michael Klompas
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (C.R., M.K.)
| | - Janhavi Athale
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona (J.A.)
| | - Tegan K Boehmer
- U.S. Public Health Service, Rockville, Maryland, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (T.K.B.)
| | - Adi V Gundlapalli
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (A.V.G., S.D.D.)
| | - William Bentley
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, and General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia (W.B.)
| | - S Deblina Datta
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (A.V.G., S.D.D.)
| | - Robert L Danner
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Cumhur Y Demirkale
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
| | - Sarah Warner
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (S.S.K., J.S., A.L., M.K., C.Y., S.M., J.K., R.L.D., C.Y.D., S.W.)
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Gupta K, Khan A, Goyal H, Cal N, Hans B, Martins T, Ghaoui R. Weekend admissions with ascites are associated with delayed paracentesis: A nationwide analysis of the 'weekend effect'. Ann Hepatol 2021; 19:523-529. [PMID: 32540327 DOI: 10.1016/j.aohep.2020.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2020] [Revised: 05/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Weekend admissions has previously been associated with worse outcomes in conditions requiring specialists. Our study aimed to determine in-hospital outcomes in patients with ascites admitted over the weekends versus weekdays. Time to paracentesis from admission was studied as current guidelines recommend paracentesis within 24h for all patients admitted with worsening ascites or signs and symptoms of sepsis/hepatic encephalopathy (HE). PATIENTS We analyzed 70 million discharges from the 2005-2014 National Inpatient Sample to include all adult patients admitted non-electively for ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), and HE with ascites with cirrhosis as a secondary diagnosis. The outcomes were in-hospital mortality, complication rates, and resource utilization. Odds ratios (OR) and means were adjusted for confounders using multivariate regression analysis models. RESULTS Out of the total 195,083 ascites/SBP/HE-related hospitalizations, 47,383 (24.2%) occurred on weekends. Weekend group had a higher number of patients on Medicare and had higher comorbidity burden. There was no difference in mortality rate, total complication rates, length of stay or total hospitalization charges between the patients admitted on the weekend or weekdays. However, patients admitted over the weekends were less likely to undergo paracentesis (OR 0.89) and paracentesis within 24h of admission (OR 0.71). The mean time to paracentesis was 2.96 days for weekend admissions vs. 2.73 days for weekday admissions. CONCLUSIONS We observed a statistically significant "weekend effect" in the duration to undergo paracentesis in patients with ascites/SBP/HE-related hospitalizations. However, it did not affect the patient's length of stay, hospitalization charges, and in-hospital mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamesh Gupta
- Department of Internal Medicine, UMMS-Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA.
| | - Ahmad Khan
- Department of Internal Medicine, West Virginia University-Charleston Division, Charleston, WV, USA
| | - Hemant Goyal
- Department of Gastroenterology, Wright Center, Scranton, PA, USA
| | - Nicholas Cal
- Department of Gastroenterology, UMMS-Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA
| | - Bandhul Hans
- Depatment of Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tiago Martins
- Department of Internal Medicine, UMMS-Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA
| | - Rony Ghaoui
- Department of Gastroenterology, UMMS-Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA
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Marques-Quinteiro P, Graça AM, Coelho FA, Martins D. On the Relationship Between Authentic Leadership, Flourishing, and Performance in Healthcare Teams: A Job Demands-Resources Perspective. Front Psychol 2021; 12:692433. [PMID: 34393919 PMCID: PMC8357975 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.692433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study integrates the job demands-resources model and authentic leadership theory to test the general hypothesis that authentic leadership is a job resource that enables flourishing and performance in healthcare teams. Furthermore, this article tests the hypothesis that the daily bed occupancy is a job demand that weakens this relationship. Participants were 106 nurses that were distributed across 33 teams from two hospitals. The results suggest that the authentic leadership of team leaders is positively related with subjective and objective team performance, but only when daily bed occupancy is low. Authentic leadership had no relationship with team flourishing, regardless of the daily bed occupancy. Our findings suggest that the extent to which authentic leadership is adequate to promote the performance of teams working in a hospital setting is sensitive to contextual boundary conditions. Leading authentically might only be effective under specific circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ana Margarida Graça
- Division of Leadership, Organisations and Behaviour, Henley Centre for Leadership, Henley Business School, University of Reading, Henley-on-Thames, United Kingdom
| | - Francisco Antonio Coelho
- Department of Administration and Postgraduate Program in Administration, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Daniela Martins
- William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
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Rae PJL, Pearce S, Greaves PJ, Dall'Ora C, Griffiths P, Endacott R. Outcomes sensitive to critical care nurse staffing levels: A systematic review. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2021; 67:103110. [PMID: 34247936 DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2021.103110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine associations between variations in registered nurse staffing levels in adult critical care units and outcomes such as patient, nurse, organisational and family outcomes. METHODS We published and adhered to a protocol, stored in an open access repository and searched for quantitative studies written in the English language and held in CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SCOPUS and NDLTD databases up to July 2020. Three authors independently extracted data and critically appraised papers meeting the inclusion criteria. Results are summarised in tables and discussed in terms of strength of internal validity. A detailed review of the two most commonly measured outcomes, patient mortality and nosocomial infection, is also presented. RESULTS Our search returned 7960 titles after duplicates were removed; 55 studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies with strong internal validity report significant associations between lower levels of critical care nurse staffing and increased odds of both patient mortality (1.24-3.50 times greater) and nosocomial infection (3.28-3.60 times greater), increased hospital costs, lower nurse-perceived quality of care and lower family satisfaction. Meta-analysis was not feasible because of the wide variation in how both staffing and outcomes were measured. CONCLUSIONS A large number of studies including several with high internal validity provide evidence that higher levels of critical care nurse staffing are beneficial to patients, staff and health services. However, inconsistent approaches to measurement and aggregation of staffing levels reported makes it hard to translate findings into recommendation for safe staffing in critical care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela J L Rae
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. https://twitter.com/@DrPamelaJLRae
| | - Susie Pearce
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. https://twitter.com/@susiempearce
| | - P Jane Greaves
- School of Health and Life Sciences, University of Northumbria, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. https://twitter.com/@JaneGreaves4
| | - Chiara Dall'Ora
- School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, UK. https://twitter.com/@ora_dall
| | - Peter Griffiths
- School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, UK. https://twitter.com/@workforcesoton
| | - Ruth Endacott
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK; Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, University of Plymouth Clinical School, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Barrack Road Exeter EX2 5DW, UK; School of Nursing & Midwifery, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic 3199, Australia. https://twitter.com/@rdepu
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Prone Positioning and Survival in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019-Related Respiratory Failure. Crit Care Med 2021; 49:1026-1037. [PMID: 33595960 PMCID: PMC8277560 DOI: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000004938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Therapies for patients with respiratory failure from coronavirus disease 2019 are urgently needed. Early implementation of prone positioning ventilation improves survival in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, but studies examining the effect of proning on survival in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 are lacking. Our objective was to estimate the effect of early proning initiation on survival in patients with coronavirus disease 2019-associated respiratory failure. DESIGN Data were derived from the Study of the Treatment and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with coronavirus disease 2019, a multicenter cohort study of critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019 admitted to 68 U.S. hospitals. Using these data, we emulated a target trial of prone positioning ventilation by categorizing mechanically ventilated hypoxemic (ratio of Pao2 over the corresponding Fio2 ≤ 200 mm Hg) patients as having been initiated on proning or not within 2 days of ICU admission. We fit an inverse probability-weighted Cox model to estimate the mortality hazard ratio for early proning versus no early proning. Patients were followed until death, hospital discharge, or end of follow-up. SETTING ICUs at 68 U.S. sites. PATIENTS Critically ill adults with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 receiving invasive mechanical ventilation with ratio of Pao2 over the corresponding Fio2 less than or equal to 200 mm Hg. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Among 2,338 eligible patients, 702 (30.0%) were proned within the first 2 days of ICU admission. After inverse probability weighting, baseline and severity of illness characteristics were well-balanced between groups. A total of 1,017 (43.5%) of the 2,338 patients were discharged alive, 1,101 (47.1%) died, and 220 (9.4%) were still hospitalized at last follow-up. Patients proned within the first 2 days of ICU admission had a lower adjusted risk of death compared with nonproned patients (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.73-0.97). CONCLUSIONS In-hospital mortality was lower in mechanically ventilated hypoxemic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 treated with early proning compared with patients whose treatment did not include early proning.
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Jin Z, Jovaisa T, Thomas B, Phull M. Intensive care unit staffing during the periods of fluctuating bed occupancy: An alternative dynamic model. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2021; 66:103063. [PMID: 34092453 DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2021.103063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Staffing is the single biggest cost component in the critical care budgets. Due to the fluctuation in both bed occupancy and the level of care needs, nursing staff requirement can vary considerably from day to day. This makes the traditional 'fixed roster' staffing system inefficient, costly and potentially unsafe. In this study, we used the existing bed occupancy data to test the viability two 'dynamic' workforce management models. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Nursing requirement data were prospectively collected over one year at a thirty-two-bed critical care unit. Using mathematical models, we then tested the concept of two alternative workforce management models and compared the level of staffing, as well as the estimated cost per year. The first was an 'on-call' model, which was a two-tier roster with a standard staffing level and an additional on-call component; the second was a 'predictive' model, which estimated the staffing requirement based on the bed occupancy a few days prior. SETTING Single centre study in a busy district general hospital with a 32-bed critical care unit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The number of days with safe staffing levels and the cost of the alternative workforce management models. RESULTS Data were collected over 331 days. The on-call model was estimated to cost 16% less per year (£431,320, or 2,630 nurse-shift equivalent) compared to the fixed roster, while fulfilling the adequate staffing standards in 97% of the days. While the predictive model could also be used to improve the workforce efficiency, this was overall less efficient than the on-call model. CONCLUSION The modelled data suggests that the implementation of an 'on-call' model in critical care nursing rostering could potentially improve coverage and appear to be cost effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaosheng Jin
- Queen's Hospital, Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, London, UK; Central London School of Anaesthesia, UK.
| | - Tomas Jovaisa
- Queen's Hospital, Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Beverley Thomas
- Queen's Hospital, Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Mandeep Phull
- Queen's Hospital, Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, London, UK
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Mo Y, Zhang B, Pan Y, Qin Q, Ye Y, Li X, Huang L, Jiang W. Impact of the weekday of the first intensity-modulated radiotherapy treatment on the survival outcomes of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A multicenter cohort study. Oral Oncol 2021; 116:105258. [PMID: 33706048 DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2021.105258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/27/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study's purpose was to assess whether the weekday on which intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is initiated influences survival outcomes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 1440 patients with NPC who received IMRT were enrolled in this study between January 2010 and June 2016. The patients were divided into five groups according to the weekday of their first radiotherapy treatment. Group 1 (n = 322), Group 2 (n = 322), Group 3 (n = 286), Group 4 (n = 292) and Group 5 (n = 218) received first radiotherapy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively. Differences in the rates of overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), loco-regional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were compared among the five groups using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression models. RESULTS No significant differences were found in OS, DFS, LRRFS or DMFS among the five groups. The Cox regression analysis showed that the weekday on which the radiotherapy was initiated was not an independent predictor of OS (Hazard Ratio [HR], 1.056; 95%CI: 0.959-1.164, P = 0.268), DFS (HR, 1.067; 95% CI: 0.980-1.161, P = 0.137), LRRFS (HR, 1.069; 95% CI: 0.914-1.249, P = 0.404) and DMFS (HR, 1.027; 95% CI: 0.929-1.134, P = 0.607). The subgroup analysis showed no significant differences among the five groups. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that the day of the week that patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma begin radiotherapy has no effect on their survival outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunyan Mo
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Guilin Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Guilin 541001, China
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Wuzhou Red Cross Hospital, Wuzhou 543002, China
| | - Yufei Pan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Nanxishan Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guilin 541004, China
| | - Qinghua Qin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Guilin Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Guilin 541001, China
| | - Yaomin Ye
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Guilin Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Guilin 541001, China
| | - Xi Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Guilin Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Guilin 541001, China
| | - Liying Huang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Guilin Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Guilin 541001, China
| | - Wei Jiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Guilin Medical University Affiliated Hospital, Guilin 541001, China.
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Kerlin MP, Costa DK, Kahn JM. The Society of Critical Care Medicine at 50 Years: ICU Organization and Management. Crit Care Med 2021; 49:391-405. [PMID: 33555776 DOI: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000004830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Meeta Prasad Kerlin
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine and Palliative and Advanced Illness Research Center, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
- Leonard Davis Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Deena Kelly Costa
- Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI
- Institute for Healthcare Innovation & Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Jeremy M Kahn
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
- Department of Health Policy & Management, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA
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Abstract
Nursing work efforts are important in providing sound healthcare services, especially in the intensive care units (ICU). Complications and adverse events are more liable to occur among patients in the ICU and these patients require more attention and nursing care. Most of the research in this field is mainly focused on the effect of staffing and its correlation to patient safety and satisfaction. Previous studies also showed that reduced nursing staffing was significantly associated with the development of pneumonia in ICU patients who needed more nursing requirements. An increase in nursing workload is also significantly associated with an increased incidence rate of nosocomial infections. The association between nursing workload in ICU patients and increased incidence rates of mortality is also supported by previous studies. The nurse-to-patient ratio has been previously used to evaluate patient safety correlation with the nursing workload as reported by previous reports. However, previous research shows that the nursing workload is a more complex correlation and can not be determined by a simple ratio as the nurse-to-patient one. Evidence shows that many adverse events may occur with patients in the ICU secondary to reduced nursing care such as increased mortality, length of hospital stay, and catching in-hospital infections. In the current study, we aim to review the outcomes from previous investigations to further emphasize the effect of nursing workload on ICU patient outcomes and safety.
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Hoogendoorn ME, Brinkman S, Spijkstra JJ, Bosman RJ, Margadant CC, Haringman J, de Keizer NF. The objective nursing workload and perceived nursing workload in Intensive Care Units: Analysis of association. Int J Nurs Stud 2020; 114:103852. [PMID: 33360666 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A range of classification systems are in use for the measurement of nursing workload in Intensive Care Units. However, it is unknown to what extent the measured (objective) nursing workload, usually in terms of the amount of nursing activities, is related to the workload actually experienced (perceived) by nurses. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the association between the objective nursing workload and the perceived nursing workload and to identify other factors associated with the perceived nursing workload. METHODS We measured the objective nursing workload with the Nursing Activities Score and the perceived nursing workload with the NASA-Task Load Index during 228 shifts in eight different Intensive Care Units. We used linear mixed-effect regression models to analyze the association between the objective and perceived nursing workload. Furthermore, we investigated the association of patient characteristics (severity of illness, comorbidities, age, body mass index, and planned or unplanned admission), education level of the nurse, and contextual factors (numbers of patients per nurse, the type of shift (day, evening, night) and day of admission or discharge) with perceived nursing workload. We adjusted for confounders. RESULTS We did not find a significant association between the observed workload per nurse and perceived nursing workload (p=0.06). The APACHE-IV Acute Physiology Score of a patient was significantly associated with the perceived nursing workload, also after adjustment for confounders (p=0.02). None of the other patient characteristics was significantly associated with perceived nursing workload. Being a certified nurse or a student nurse was the only nursing or contextual factor significantly associated with the perceived nursing workload, also after adjustment for confounders (p=0.03). CONCLUSION Workload is perceived differently by nurses compared to the objectively measured workload by the Nursing Activities Score. Both the severity of illness of the patient and being a student nurse are factors that increase the perceived nursing workload. To keep the workload of nurses in balance, planning nursing capacity should be based on the Nursing Activities Score, on the severity of patient illness and the graduation level of the nurse.
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Affiliation(s)
- M E Hoogendoorn
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Isala, Zwolle, The Netherlands; National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - S Brinkman
- Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J J Spijkstra
- Department of Intensive Care, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - R J Bosman
- Department of Intensive Care, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - C C Margadant
- Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J Haringman
- Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Isala, Zwolle, The Netherlands
| | - N F de Keizer
- Department of Medical Informatics, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; National Intensive Care Evaluation (NICE) Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Jung M, Park H, Kang D, Park E, Jeon K, Chung CR, Yang JH, Suh GY, Guallar E, Cho J, Cho J. The effect of bed-to-nurse ratio on hospital mortality of critically ill children on mechanical ventilation: a nationwide population-based study. Ann Intensive Care 2020; 10:159. [PMID: 33257997 PMCID: PMC7703514 DOI: 10.1186/s13613-020-00780-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the high workload of mechanical ventilation, there has been a lack of studies on the association between nurse workforce and mortality in mechanically ventilated patients. We evaluated the association of the bed-to-nurse ratio with mortality in ventilated pediatric patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS We conducted a nationwide retrospective analysis by using the Korean National Health Insurance database, which categorizes the bed-to-nurse ratio into 9 grades according to the number of beds divided by the number of full-time equivalent registered nurses in a unit. Patients of ages between 28 days and 18 years were enrolled. Multiple admissions and transfers from other hospitals were excluded. We evaluated the odds ratios (ORs) of in-hospital mortality using 4 groups (Grade 1: bed-to-nurse < 0.50, Grade 2: < 0.63, Grade 3: < 0.77, Grade 4 or above > 0.77) with adjustment of patient factors, hospital factors, and treatment requirements. RESULTS Of the 27,849 patients admitted to ICU, 11,628 (41.8%) were on mechanical ventilation. The overall in-hospital mortality rates in Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4 or above group were 4.5%, 6.8%, 6.9%, and 4.7%, respectively. The adjusted ORs (95% CI) for in-hospital mortality of mechanically ventilated patients in the Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4 or above compared to those in Grade 1 were 2.73 (95% CI 1.51-4.95), 4.02 (95% CI 2.23-7.26), and 7.83 (4.07-15.07), respectively. However, for patients without mechanical ventilation, the adjusted ORs of in-hospital mortality were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION In mechanically ventilated patients, the adjusted mortality rate increased significantly, as the bed-to-nurse ratio of the ICU increased. Policies that limit the number of ventilated patients per nurse should be considered. Trial registration retrospectively registered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minyoung Jung
- Department of Pediatrics, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, Kosin University School of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyejeong Park
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.,Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Danbee Kang
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Department of Clinical Research Design & Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Esther Park
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyeongman Jeon
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Chi Ryang Chung
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong Hoon Yang
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea
| | - Gee Young Suh
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.,Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eliseo Guallar
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Departments of Epidemiology and Department of Medicine, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Juhee Cho
- Center for Clinical Epidemiology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Department of Clinical Research Design & Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Joongbum Cho
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.
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Goel NN, Durst MS, Vargas-Torres C, Richardson LD, Mathews KS. Predictors of Delayed Recognition of Critical Illness in Emergency Department Patients and Its Effect on Morbidity and Mortality. J Intensive Care Med 2020; 37:52-59. [PMID: 33118840 DOI: 10.1177/0885066620967901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Timely recognition of critical illness is associated with improved outcomes, but is dependent on accurate triage, which is affected by system factors such as workload and staffing. We sought to first study the effect of delayed recognition on patient outcomes after controlling for system factors and then to identify potential predictors of delayed recognition. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Emergency Department (ED) patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) directly from the ED or within 48 hours of ED departure. Cohort characteristics were obtained through electronic and standardized chart abstraction. Operational metrics to estimate ED workload and volume using census data were matched to patients' ED stays. Delayed recognition of critical illness was defined as an absence of an ICU consult in the ED or declination of ICU admission by the ICU team. We employed entropy-balanced multivariate models to examine the association between delayed recognition and development of persistent organ dysfunction and/or death by hospitalization day 28 (POD+D), and multivariable regression modeling to identify factors associated with delayed recognition. RESULTS Increased POD+D was seen for those with delayed recognition (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.13-2.92). When the delayed recognition was by the ICU team, the patient was 2.61 times more likely to experience POD+D compared to those for whom an ICU consult was requested and were accepted for admission. Lower initial severity of illness score (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.12-0.53) was predictive of delayed recognition. The odds for delayed recognition decreased when ED workload is higher (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.23-0.89) compared to times with lower ED workload. CONCLUSIONS Increased POD+D is associated with delayed recognition. Patient and system factors such as severity of illness and ED workload influence the odds of delayed recognition of critical illness and need further exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha N Goel
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, 5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matthew S Durst
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwell Health, 232890Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
| | - Carmen Vargas-Torres
- Department of Emergency Medicine, 5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lynne D Richardson
- Department of Emergency Medicine, 5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Population Health Science and Policy, 5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kusum S Mathews
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, 5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Emergency Medicine, 5925Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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42
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Lees T, Maharaj S, Kalatzis G, Nassif NT, Newton PJ, Lal S. Electroencephalographic prediction of global and domain specific cognitive performance of clinically active Australian Nurses. Physiol Meas 2020; 41:095001. [PMID: 33021231 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6579/abb12a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between EEG activity and the global and domain specific cognitive performance of healthy nurses, and determine the predictive capabilities of these relationships. APPROACH Sixty-four nurses were recruited for the present study, and data from 61 were utilised in the present analysis. Global and domain specific cognitive performance of each participant was assessed psychometrically using the Mini-mental state exam and the Cognistat, and a 32-lead monopolar EEG was recorded during a resting baseline phase and an active phase in which participants completed the Stroop test. MAIN RESULTS Global cognitive performance was successfully predicted (81%-85% of variance) by a combination of fast wave activity variables in the alpha, beta and theta frequency bands. Interestingly, predicting domain specific performance had varying degrees of success (42%-99% of the variance predicted) and relied on combinations of both slow and fast wave activity, with delta and gamma activity predicting attention performance; delta, theta, and gamma activity predicting memory performance; and delta and beta variables predicting judgement performance. SIGNIFICANCE Global and domain specific cognitive performance of Australian nurses may be predicted with varying degrees of success by a unique combination of EEG variables. These proposed models image transitory cognitive declines and as such may prove useful in the prediction of early cognitive impairment, and may enable better diagnosis, and management of cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ty Lees
- Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, 115 Health & Human Development Building, University Park, PA 16802, United States of America
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Zhu W, Guo H, Li J. Psychometric properties of the short-form Chinese Community Nurses Stress Scale: A cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore) 2020; 99:e21607. [PMID: 32769917 PMCID: PMC7593042 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000021607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Job-related stress had adverse effects on both patients and community nurses. To evaluate stress, an effective and reliable instrument was needed. The aim of this study was to develop a short-form Chinese Community Nurse Stress Scale and examine its psychometric properties.A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 969 community nurses were selected from 56 community centers/stations in Sichuan Province. The socio-demographic data and job stress assessed by the Chinese Community Nurse Stress Scale (CNSS) were collected. After randomly splitting the sample into group 1 and group 2, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were carried out to shorten the scale and test its reliability and construct validity.There were no significant differences in socio-demographic variables between group 1 (n = 488) and group 2 (n = 481). During exploratory factor analysis, 4 factors were selected, including management and interpersonal relationships (8 items), patient care (7 items), environment and resources of work (6 items), and career promotion (4 items), which explained 62.66% of all variance. Cronbachs α coefficient of the short-form CNSS was 0.94, and the cross-sample validity test supported the best fit model for this 25-item CNSS.The results in this study supported that the 25-item CNSS had a good reliability and validity when it was administrated to Chinese community nurses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhu
- West China School of Nursing/West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu City, Sichuan Provience, China
| | - Hongxia Guo
- West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Jiping Li
- West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China
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Hajibandeh S, Hajibandeh S, Satyadas T. Impact of weekend effect on postoperative mortality in patients undergoing emergency General surgery procedures: Meta-analysis of prospectively maintained national databases across the world. Surgeon 2020; 18:231-240. [DOI: 10.1016/j.surge.2019.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 09/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Fishbein D, Nambiar S, McKenzie K, Mayorga M, Miller K, Tran K, Schubel L, Agor J, Kim T, Capan M. Objective measures of workload in healthcare: a narrative review. Int J Health Care Qual Assur 2020; 33:1-17. [PMID: 31940153 DOI: 10.1108/ijhcqa-12-2018-0288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Workload is a critical concept in the evaluation of performance and quality in healthcare systems, but its definition relies on the perspective (e.g. individual clinician-level vs unit-level workload) and type of available metrics (e.g. objective vs subjective measures). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of objective measures of workload associated with direct care delivery in tertiary healthcare settings, with a focus on measures that can be obtained from electronic records to inform operationalization of workload measurement. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Relevant papers published between January 2008 and July 2018 were identified through a search in Pubmed and Compendex databases using the Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type framework. Identified measures were classified into four levels of workload: task, patient, clinician and unit. FINDINGS Of 30 papers reviewed, 9 used task-level metrics, 14 used patient-level metrics, 7 used clinician-level metrics and 20 used unit-level metrics. Key objective measures of workload include: patient turnover (n=9), volume of patients (n=6), acuity (n=6), nurse-to-patient ratios (n=5) and direct care time (n=5). Several methods for operationalization of these metrics into measurement tools were identified. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This review highlights the key objective workload measures available in electronic records that can be utilized to develop an operational approach for quantifying workload. Insights gained from this review can inform the design of processes to track workload and mitigate the effects of increased workload on patient outcomes and clinician performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Fishbein
- Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Siddhartha Nambiar
- Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kendall McKenzie
- Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Maria Mayorga
- Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kristen Miller
- National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, MedStar Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Kevin Tran
- LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Laura Schubel
- National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, MedStar Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Joseph Agor
- School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Tracy Kim
- National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, MedStar Health, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Muge Capan
- LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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Gates PJ, Baysari MT, Gazarian M, Raban MZ, Meyerson S, Westbrook JI. Prevalence of Medication Errors Among Paediatric Inpatients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Drug Saf 2020; 42:1329-1342. [PMID: 31290127 DOI: 10.1007/s40264-019-00850-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The risk of medication errors is high in paediatric inpatient settings. However, estimates of the prevalence of medication errors have not accounted for heterogeneity across studies in error identification methods and definitions, nor contextual differences across wards and the use of electronic or paper medication charts. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to provide separate estimates of the prevalence of medication errors among paediatric inpatients, depending on hospital ward and the use of electronic or paper medication charts, that address differences in error identification methods and definitions. METHODS We systematically searched five databases to identify studies published between January 2000 and December 2018 that assessed medication error rates by medication chart audit, direct observation or a combination of methods. RESULTS We identified 71 studies, 19 involved paediatric wards using electronic charts. Most studies assessed prescribing errors with few studies assessing administration errors. Estimates varied by ward type. Studies of paediatric wards using electronic charts generally reported a reduced error prevalence compared to those using paper, although there were some inconsistencies. Error detection methods impacted the rate of administration errors in studies of multiple wards, however, no other difference was found. Definition of medication error did not have a consistent impact on reported error rates. CONCLUSIONS Medication errors are a frequent occurrence in paediatric inpatient settings, particularly in intensive care wards and emergency departments. Hospitals using electronic charts tended to have a lower rate of medication errors compared to those using paper charts. Future research employing controlled designs is needed to determine the true impact of electronic charts and other interventions on medication errors and associated harm among hospitalized children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Gates
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2109, Australia.
| | - Melissa T Baysari
- Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Madlen Gazarian
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of NSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Magdalena Z Raban
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Sophie Meyerson
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Johanna I Westbrook
- Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Rd, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2109, Australia
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Mathews KS, Goel NN, Vargas-Torres C, Olson AD, Zhou J, Powell CA, Mazumdar M, Stock GN, McDermott CM. A Cross-sectional Study of Hospital Performance on ICU Utilization Practices for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Lung 2020; 198:637-644. [PMID: 32495192 DOI: 10.1007/s00408-020-00364-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Intensive care unit (ICU) resources are a costly but effective commodity used in the management of critically ill patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ICU admission decisions are determined by patient diagnosis and severity of illness, but also may be affected by hospital differences in quality and performance. We investigate the variability in ICU utilization for patients with COPD and its association with hospital characteristics. METHODS Using a 3M administrative dataset spanning 2008-2013, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients discharged with COPD at hospitals in three state to determine variability in ICU utilization. Quality metrics were calculated for each hospital using observed-to-expected (O/E) ratios for overall mortality and length of stay. Logistic and multilevel multivariate regression models were constructed, estimating the association between hospital quality metrics on ICU utilization, after adjustment for available clinical factors and hospital characteristics. RESULTS In 434 hospitals with 570,517 COPD patient visits, overall ICU admission rate was 33.1% [range 0-89%; median (IQR) 24% (8, 54)]. The addition of patient, hospital, and quality characteristics decreased the overall variability attributable to individual hospital differences seen within our cohort from 40.9 to 33%. Odds of ICU utilization were increased for larger hospitals and those seeing lower pulmonary case volume. Hospitals with better overall O/E ratios for length of stay or mortality had lower ICU utilization. CONCLUSIONS Hospital characteristics, including quality metrics, are associated with variability in ICU utilization for COPD patients, with higher ICU utilization seen for lower performing hospitals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kusum S Mathews
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1232, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Neha N Goel
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1232, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Carmen Vargas-Torres
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ashley D Olson
- Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Institute for Healthcare Delivery Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jing Zhou
- Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Institute for Healthcare Delivery Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Charles A Powell
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, & Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1232, New York, NY, USA
| | - Madhu Mazumdar
- Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Institute for Healthcare Delivery Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gregory N Stock
- College of Business, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
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Veda A, Roy R. Occupational Stress Among Nurses: A Factorial Study with Special Reference to Indore City. JOURNAL OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/0972063420908392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Nurses are a stressed group and this may affect their health and work performance. Occurrence of occupational stress among nurses is becoming common and this takes a toll on their health both in terms of physical and mental health. There is minimal research on reducing occupational stress. This study aimed to determine factors of occupation stress within nurses. The present study has been undertaken on 68 employees of hospitals to understand the factors affecting occupational stress. This article reports the major factors that are constituents for occupational stress among nurses of Indore region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditi Veda
- Research Scholar, Shri Vaishnav School of Management, Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Rishu Roy
- Research Scholar, Shri Vaishnav School of Management, Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
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Higher ICU Capacity Strain Is Associated With Increased Acute Mortality in Closed ICUs*. Crit Care Med 2020; 48:709-716. [DOI: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000004283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Center Effects in Hospital Mortality of Critically Ill Patients With Hematologic Malignancies. Crit Care Med 2020; 47:809-816. [PMID: 30889024 DOI: 10.1097/ccm.0000000000003717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate center effects on hospital mortality of ICU patients with hematologic malignancies and to explore interactions between center and patients characteristics. DESIGN Multicenter prospective cohort. SETTING Seventeen ICUs across France and Belgium. PATIENTS One-thousand eleven patients with hematologic malignancies hospitalized in ICUs. INTERVENTIONS Reanalysis of the original data using state-of-the-art statistical methods with permutation procedures for testing multiple random effects. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Average crude mortality was 39% and varied from 11% to 58% across centers. There was a significant center effect on the mean hospital mortality, after adjustment on individual prognostic factors (p < 0.001; median adjusted odds ratio for center effect 1.57 [interquartile range, 1.24-2.18]). There was also a quantitative interaction between center and the effect of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score: higher scores were associated with higher mortality (odds ratio for 1 point = 1.24 on average; 95% CI, 1.15-1.33) but with a magnitude that depended on center (p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS Between-center heterogeneity in hospital mortality was confirmed after adjustment for individual prognostic factors. It was partially explained by center experience in treating oncology patients. Interestingly, center effect was similar in magnitude to that of known mortality risk factors.
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