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Acta Paediatr 2002;91(10):1093-100
Department of Paediatrics, Orebro University Hospital, Sweden. mats.eriksson@orebroll.se
[Medline record in process]
AIM: To test four neonatal severity-of-illness indices (CRIB, NTISS, SNAP, SNAP-PE) for their ability to predict short- and long-term outcome in very low-birthweight infants receiving neonatal intensive care. METHODS: Data on 240 newborns with birthweights below 1500 g from two Swedish neonatal units were collected. The predictive values of the indices for an adverse outcome in the neonatal period and at 4 y of age were compared with those of gestational age and birthweight. RESULTS: An early adverse outcome (in-hospital death, severe haemorrhagic-ischaemic brain lesion, retinopathy, chronic lung disease) was better predicted with CRIB (area under ROC curve (Az) = 0.87) and SNAP-PE (Az = 0.86), while SNAP-PE was best for predicting late problems (deviations in growth and psychomotor development, neurosensory impairment, difficulties in concentration, and impairment in vision, and hearing) (Az = 0.63). All indices predicted the early outcome better than the outcome at the 4-y follow-up. Severity-of-illness indices can be used as instruments to follow and improve the level of neonatal intensive care, but unfortunately seem to be of little value in long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: CRIB and SNAP-PE indices are better in predicting hospital mortality than birthweight. None of the systems can predict adverse outcome at 4 y of age.
PMID: 12434896, UI: 22321933
Other Formats:
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2607-8
Publication Types:
PMID: 12441786, UI: 22328851
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2597-8
PMID: 12441779, UI: 22328844
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2593-4
PMID: 12441776, UI: 22328841
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2588-92
St. Francis Medical Center, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA.
OBJECTIVE: The routine turning of immobilized critically ill patients at a minimum of every 2 hrs has become the accepted standard of care. There has never been an objective assessment of whether this standard is achieved routinely. To determine if immobilized patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) receive the prevailing standard of change in body position every 2 hrs. To determine prevailing attitudes about patient positioning among ICU physicians. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal observational study. E-mail survey of ICU physicians. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of mixed medical/surgical ICU patients at three tertiary care hospitals in two different cities in the United States. Random sampling of ICU professionals from a directory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in body position recorded at 15-min intervals.RESULTS Seventy-four patients were observed for a total of 566 total patient hours of observation, with a mean observation time per patient of 7.7 hrs (range, 5-12). On average, 49.3% of the observed time, patients remained without a change in body position for >2 hrs. Only two of 74 patients (2.7%) had a demonstrable change in body position every 2 hrs. A total of 80-90% of respondents to the survey agreed that turning every 2 hrs was the accepted standard and that it prevented complications, but only 57% believed it was being achieved in their ICUs. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of critically ill patients may not be receiving the prevailing standard of changes in body position every 2 hrs. This warrants a reappraisal of our care of critically ill patients.
PMID: 12441775, UI: 22328840
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2566-74
Portex Anaesthesia, Intensive Therapy and Respiratory Medicine Unit, Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of the expired tidal volumes (VT(E)) displayed by one of the most frequently used ventilators that measures exhaled volume at the expiratory valve. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: The intensive care units of a pediatric tertiary referral center in London, UK. PATIENTS: A total of 56 intubated children aged between 3 wks and 16.6 yrs who were clinically stable and ventilated with a Servo 300 ventilator. INTERVENTIONS: The CO2SMO Plus respiratory monitor, which measures flow at the airway opening, was validated using calibrated syringes and appropriate tracheal tubes and connections. Simultaneous in vivo recordings of VT(E) from the Servo 300 and CO2SMO Plus were compared before (displayed Servo VT(E)) and after (effective Servo VT(E)) compensating for ventilator circuit compliance. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The in vitro accuracy of the CO2SMO Plus was within +/-5% over a wide range of volumes and measurement conditions. The displayed Servo 300 VT(E) overestimated the true VT(E) by between 2% and 91%. The magnitude of error varied within and between children, according to pressure change (peak inspiratory pressure minus positive end-expiratory pressure), VT(E), and circuit size. Mean (sd) error was 32% (20%) in 40 children with displayed Servo VT(E) of <160 mL and 18% (6%) in 16 subjects with displayed Servo VT(E) of >/=160 mL. After correcting for gas compression, effective VT(E) from the Servo 300 underestimated the true VT(E) by up to 64% in the smallest infants but continued to overestimate by as much as 29% in older children. CONCLUSIONS: The accuracy of tidal volume values is crucially dependent on the site of measurement. Unless measured at the airway opening, displayed values are an inconsistent and misleading indicator of the true volumes delivered.
PMID: 12441771, UI: 22328836
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2481-8
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Innsbruck, Austria.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and efficacy of a novel intravascular cooling device (Cool Line catheter with Cool Gard system) to control body temperature (temperature goal <37 degrees C) in neurologic intensive care patients. DESIGN: A prospective, uncontrolled pilot study in 51 consecutive neurologic intensive care patients. SETTING: A neurologic intensive care unit at a tertiary care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Patients were 51 neurologic intensive care patients with an intracranial disease requiring a central venous catheter due to the primary (intracranial) disease. We excluded patients under the age of 19 yrs and those with active cardiac arrhythmia, full sepsis syndrome, bleeding diathesis and infection, or bleeding at the site of the intended catheter insertion. Male to female ratio was 31:20, and the median age was 55 yrs (range, 24-85 yrs). Forty-four of 51 patients (86.3%) had an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3, three patients had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 9, one patient presented with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 11, two patients had an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13, and one patient had an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15. The mean initial tissue injury severity score was 45.1 and the median initial tissue injury severity score 45.0 (range, 19-70). INTERVENTIONS: Patients were enrolled prospectively in a consecutive way. Within 12 hrs after admission, the intravascular cooling device (Cool Line catheter) was placed, the temperature probe was located within the bladder (by Foley catheter), and the Cool Gard cooling device was initiated. This Cool Gard system circulates temperature-controlled sterile saline through two small balloons mounted on the distal end of the Cool Line catheter. The patient's blood is gently cooled as it is passed over the balloons. The Cool Gard system has been set with a target temperature of 36.5 degrees C. The primary purpose and end point of this study was to evaluate the cooling capacity of this intravascular cooling device. Efficacy is expressed by the calculation formula of fever burden, which is defined as the fever time product ( degrees C hours) under the fever curve. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The cooling device was in operation for a mean of 152.4 hrs. The ease of insertion was judged as easy in 42 of 51 patients; in a single patient, the catheter was malpositioned within the jugular vein, requiring early removal. The rate of infectious and noninfectious complications (nosocomial pneumonia, bacteremia, catheter-related ventriculitis, pulmonary embolism, etc.) was comparable to the rate usually observed in our neurologic intensive care patients with such severe intracranial diseases. The total fever burden within the entire study period of (on average) 152.4 hrs was 4.0 degrees C hrs/patient, being equivalent to 0.6 degrees C hrs/patient and day. Thirty of 51 patients showed an elevation of the body temperature (>37.9 degrees C) within 24 hrs after termination of the cooling study. One awake patient (subarachnoid hemorrhage, Glasgow Coma Scale score 15) experienced mild to moderate shivering throughout the entire period of 7 days. The mortality rate was 23.5%. CONCLUSION: This novel intravascular cooling device (Cool Line catheter and Cool Gard cooling device) was highly efficacious in prophylactically controlling the body temperature of neurologic intensive care patients with very severe intracranial disease (median Glasgow Coma Scale score, 3-15). Morbidity and mortality rates were consistent with the ranges reported in the literature for such neurologic intensive patients.
PMID: 12441758, UI: 22328823
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2468-72
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis 38163, USA. afreire@utmem.edu
OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical characteristics associated with analgesia utilization in the intensive care unit. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study of adult patients admitted to a medical intensive care unit. SUBJECTS: Four hundred adult patients. SETTING: Twelve-bed medical intensive care unit of an inner-city, university-affiliated hospital. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Collected data included demographics, sedation and neuromuscular blocking agents used, mechanical ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring, Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System score, Logistic Organ Dysfunction System (LODS) score, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score. Hospital outcome was noted. The odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were determined by using multiple logistic regression analyses. Patients' mean age (+/-sd) was 47.8 +/- 17.1 yrs; 58% were male, 84% African-American. Their APACHE II-predicted hospital mortality rate was 33%. Analgesics were used in 36% of patients. There were no differences in demographics, initial LODS score, APACHE II score, and mechanical ventilation use between patients who did and did not receive analgesics. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that analgesic use was independently associated with sedation (odds ratio, 2.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.47-4.14), neuromuscular blockade (odds ratio, 4.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.85-13.41), and pulmonary artery flotation catheter utilization (odds ratio, 2.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-4.20). The median duration of mechanical ventilation was 5 days for those who received analgesia compared with 2 for those who did not (p =.0001). The median length of stay in the intensive care unit (4 vs. 2, p <.0001) and hospital (11 vs. 7, p <.0001) was higher in patients who received analgesics. There were no significant differences in intensive care unit and hospital mortality rates between patients who did and did not receive analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: Intensive care unit patients for whom analgesics were prescribed have a higher frequency of hemodynamic monitoring and use of sedative and neuromuscular blocking agents, more mechanical ventilation days, and longer intensive care unit and hospital lengths of stay.
PMID: 12441756, UI: 22328821
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2462-7
Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary Health Region, Alberta, Canada.
OBJECTIVE: Nosocomial bloodstream infections have been extensively investigated, but relatively few studies have specifically evaluated the epidemiology of intensive care unit-acquired bloodstream infections. The study objective was to define the incidence, risk factors, microbiology, and clinical outcomes of intensive care unit-acquired bloodstream infections. DESIGN: Population-based prospective cohort. SETTING: Multidisciplinary intensive care units. PATIENTS: All Calgary Health Region (population 930,000) adult patients admitted to multidisciplinary intensive care units (>/=48 hrs) from May 1, 1999, to April 30, 2000. INTERVENTIONS: Blood sample analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: There were 1,158 admission episodes in 1,017 patients; 37% involved females, and mean +/- sd age and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores were 59.6 +/- 18.7 yrs and 23.4 +/- 7.7, respectively. Fifty-one patients developed intensive care unit-acquired bloodstream infections (first positive blood culture >/=48 hrs after intensive care unit admission) for an incidence of 4.4% and an incidence density of 5.2 per 1000 intensive care unit days. Younger age (adjusted odds ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.96-1.00, p =.01), longer intensive care unit length of stay (adjusted odds ratio, 4.74; 95% CI, 3.26-6.90, p <.001), and lower hematocrit (adjusted odds ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.00, p =.04) were significant independent predictors of intensive care unit-acquired bloodstream infections, and these infections were associated with an increased intensive care unit length of stay of 2.86 days (95% confidence interval, 2.29-3.57, p <.001). Staphylococcus aureus (27%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (14%), and Enterococcus faecium (12%) were most commonly isolated. Four (8%) bloodstream infections involved antibiotic-resistant organisms, and ten (20%) were polymicrobial. In multivariate analysis, intensive care unit-acquired bloodstream infection was associated with an increased intensive care unit mortality rate (adjusted odds ratio, 2.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-4.00, p = 0.04) but not overall hospital mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: One patient in 20 admitted to Calgary Health Region intensive care units acquires bloodstream infection and suffers longer intensive care unit stay and increased mortality rates. In our region, multiple antibiotic-resistant organisms are uncommon causes of bloodstream infections, suggesting that it may be safe to use narrower spectrum empirical treatment regimens than current guidelines recommend.
PMID: 12441755, UI: 22328820
Crit Care Med 2002 Nov;30(11):2413-9
Tusts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between severity of illness and length of stay for survivors and nonsurvivors of severe sepsis at intensive care unit admission. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Fifty intensive care units participating in Project IMPACT submitted data during 1998-99. Trained personnel followed comprehensive operations to manually perform data collection. PATIENTS: We identified 2,434 patients with severe sepsis at intensive care unit admission by using clinical variables that followed the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine Consensus Panel and evaluated them by using a general intensive care unit severity model customized for sepsis. The analyses included major diagnosis at intensive care unit admission (respiratory, infectious disease, and shock) and comparison to 19,046 patients without severe sepsis at intensive care unit admission. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sepsis patients were older, were more severely ill, had a higher mortality rate, and had more intensive care unit readmissions than did nonsepsis patients. Mean length of stay in the intensive care unit and hospital was longer for sepsis patients than for nonsepsis patients. Among sepsis patients, nonsurvivors had slightly longer mean intensive care unit length of stay than survivors (9.06 vs. 8.15 days, p =.03). For sepsis patients in the lower two quartiles of severity, mean intensive care unit length of stay was significantly higher for nonsurvivors than for survivors. Unlike intensive care unit length of stay, mean hospital length of stay was greater for survivors than for nonsurvivors (18.48 vs. 12.22 days, p <.001). In the upper two quartiles of severity, survivors had longer mean hospital stays (p <.001). For nonsurvivors, the sicker patients had shorter stays. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in length of stay between sepsis survivors and nonsurvivors were related to severity of illness. Thus, the potential economic effect of a new therapy for sepsis would depend, in part, on which particular patients, in terms of severity of illness, were enrolled. New therapies targeted to decrease mortality rate in patients with severe sepsis can potentially lead to the overall cost of care being neutral or increased depending on the severity levels of patients included in clinical trials.
PMID: 12441747, UI: 22328812