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IntroductionHospital mortality for critically ill patients has decreased significantly throughout the developed world over the past two decades, attributable to improvements in the quality of intensive care, advances in critical care medicine and technologies that provide long-term multiorgan support. However, the long-term outcomes of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors is emerging as a real issue. Cognitive and physical impairments suffered by ICU survivors are common including profound weakness, pain and delirium which are inextricably linked. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Assess, prevent and manage pain; Both spontaneous awakening and spontaneous breathing trials; Choice of sedation and analgesia; Delirium: assess, prevent and manage; Early mobility and exercise; Family engagement and empowerment (ABCDEF) bundle in reducing ICU-related short-term and long-term consequences of critical illness through a randomised controlled trial (RCT).Methods and analysisThe study will be a single-centre, prospective RCT. A total of 150 participants will be recruited and randomised to either receive the ABCDEF bundle protocol or non-protocolised standard care for the duration of the participant’s admission in the ICU. The primary outcome is delirium status measured using the Confusion Assessment Measure for ICU (CAM-ICU). Secondary outcomes include physical function measured by the Functional Independence Measure and quality of life measured by the European Quality of Life five dimensions, five-level questionnaire. A mixed-method process evaluation will contribute to understanding the experience of health teams who implement the ABCDEF bundle into practice.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was provided by the Metro South Health Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) (EC00167) and the Griffith University’s HREC prior to study commencement.Study results will be disseminated by presentations at conferences and via publications to peer-review journals.Trial registration numberACTRN12620000736943; Pre-results.

Background Early rehabilitation has been found to prevent delirium and weakness that can hamper the recovery of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. Integrated clinical practice guidelines for managing patient pain, agitation and delirium (PAD) have been developed. The Awakening and Breathing Coordination, Delirium monitoring/management, and Early exercise/mobility (ABCDE) bundle provides a strategy to implement PAD guidelines into everyday clinical practice. However, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of the ABCDE bundle in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a full-scale randomised controlled trial comparing the ABCDE bundle to standard care in an ICU. Trial feasibility was defined as the successful recruitment and retention of trial participants, adherence to the intervention, identification of barriers to the intervention, and the rigorous collection of outcome data. Methods A prospective, single-centre, randomised controlled feasibility study was conducted. Thirty adult mechanically ventilated participants were recruited from an eight-bed ICU in south east Queensland, Australia, between April 2015 and December 2015. Participants were randomised to receive either the ABCDE bundle or standard routine management. The ABCDE bundle integrated prescribed awakening and breathing trials, delirium monitoring and management, and prescribed exercise and mobility regimes. Feasibility outcomes measured included recruitment and retention rates, intervention fidelity, and the feasibility of participant outcome data collection. Outcome measurement assessors were blinded to participant assignment. It was not possible to blind the research team or the participant to group assignment. Results In total, 30 (81.1%) of 37 eligible participants consented and were randomised to the intervention group ( n  = 15) or the control group ( n  = 15). Of these, 23 (76.6%) participants successfully completed the 90-day post discharge assessment. A lengthy recruitment period of 8 months was related to overly stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria. Intervention adherence exceeded defined success rates with participation in awakening and breathing trials, delirium monitoring and exercise interventions performed on 80.2, 97.4 and 90.2% of ventilated days respectively. Outcome assessments were successfully and accurately performed at ICU and hospital discharge and 90-day post hospital discharge. Intervention participants were deemed to be delirious on 39.6% of mechanically ventilated days indicating a requirement for a scripted regime to prevent delirium. Conclusions With minor adjustment of inclusion and exclusion criteria, the inclusion of delirium management protocols, and encouragement of family engagement and involvement, a large-scale definitive randomised controlled trial to test the impact of the ABCDEF bundle will be feasible. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry 12614000763640 Date registered 17/08/2014

PurposeThe Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) Workgroup recently released a consensus definition of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI), combining Sepsis-3 and Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) AKI criteria. This study aims to describe the epidemiology of SA-AKI.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study carried out in 12 intensive care units (ICUs) from 2015 to 2021. We studied the incidence, patient characteristics, timing, trajectory, treatment, and associated outcomes of SA-AKI based on the ADQI definition.ResultsOut of 84,528 admissions, 13,451 met the SA-AKI criteria with its incidence peaking at 18% in 2021. SA-AKI patients were typically admitted from home via the emergency department (ED) with a median time to SA-AKI diagnosis of 1 day (interquartile range (IQR) 1–1) from ICU admission. At diagnosis, most SA-AKI patients (54%) had a stage 1 AKI, mostly due to the low urinary output (UO) criterion only (65%). Compared to diagnosis by creatinine alone, or by both UO and creatinine criteria, patients diagnosed by UO alone had lower renal replacement therapy (RRT) requirements (2.8% vs 18% vs 50%; p < 0.001), which was consistent across all stages of AKI. SA-AKI hospital mortality was 18% and SA-AKI was independently associated with increased mortality. In SA-AKI, diagnosis by low UO only, compared to creatinine alone or to both UO and creatinine criteria, carried an odds ratio of 0.34 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.32–0.36) for mortality.ConclusionSA-AKI occurs in 1 in 6 ICU patients, is diagnosed on day 1 and carries significant morbidity and mortality risk with patients mostly admitted from home via the ED. However, most SA-AKI is stage 1 and mostly due to low UO, which carries much lower risk than diagnosis by other criteria.

Background In septic shock, the optimal timing of adjunctive vasopressin initiation shock is unknown. We aimed to assess the effect of its early initiation for patients with septic shock. Methods We conducted a multicenter target trial emulation to estimate the intensive care unit (ICU) mortality effect of early (≤ 6 h) adjunctive vasopressin compared with usual care. Eligible patients had septic shock diagnosed within 6 h of ICU admission. The primary outcome of this study was 30-day ICU mortality. Subgroup analyses were conducted to test the interaction of early vasopressin start with peak norepinephrine-equivalent dose (NED) at 6 h, APACHE score, peak lactate at 6 h and invasive mechanical ventilation. Secondary outcomes were the impact of delayed vasopressin introduction on 30-day ICU mortality and effect of NED at vasopressin start on 30-day ICU mortality. We used the parametric g-formula to emulate a target trial. Results Overall, 3,105 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Mean age was 62 years and mean APACHE III score was 83. In the first six hours of vasopressor therapy, 1,864 (60%) patients were invasively ventilated. Estimated 30-day ICU mortality was 19.34% (95%CI, 17.0 to 21.68) in the no vasopressin group and 18.45% (95%CI, 16.26 to 20.63) in the early vasopressin group; relative risk 0.95 (95%CI, 0.93 to 0.98). The estimated 30-day ICU mortality effect of starting vasopressin was particularly strong at lower norepinephrine doses (< 0.25 µg.kg −1 .min −1 ) and significant at lower norepinephrine doses than recommended by the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines. Vasopressin administration progressively increased over the study period, from 35.2% (95%CI, 30.0 to 40.5) in 2015 to 45.1% (95%CI, 40.7 to 49.6) in 2021 (ß =  + 1.3% per year; 95%CI, + 0.46 to + 2.16, p  = 0.011). Patients had progressively lower norepinephrine equivalent dose (ß = − 0.05 µg.kg −1 .min −1 per year; 95%CI, − 0.09 to − 0.002, p  = 0.038) and lower total SOFA score (ß = − 0.1 point per year; 95%CI, − 0.18 to − 0.07, p  < 0.001) at vasopressin start. Conclusions In this emulation of a hypothetical target trial, patients with septic shock benefited from early vasopressin administration. These findings can help design prospective randomised-control trials of early adjunctive vasopressin use in septic shock.

In critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), a fluid balance (FB) > 2 L at 72 h after AKI diagnosis is associated with adverse outcomes. Identification of patients at high-risk for such fluid accumulation may help prevent it. We used Australian electronic medical record (EMR)-based clinical data to develop the “AKI-FB risk score”, validated it in a British cohort and used it to predict a positive FB >2 L at 72 h after AKI diagnosis. We developed the AKI-FB score in 32,030 patients with a median age of 63 years and a median APACHE 2 score of 16. We validated it in 4465 patients, with significant differences in admission diagnoses and interventions. The key score variables were admission after trauma, sepsis or septic shock, and, on the day of AKI diagnosis, highest creatinine, daily cumulative FB, mechanical ventilation, noradrenaline use, noradrenaline equivalent dose >0.07 μg/kg/min, lactate ≥2 mmol/L, transfusion, and nutritional support. A score threshold of 32 had a sensitivity of 75 % and a specificity of 72 % for predicting a > 2 L positive FB with an AUC-ROC of 0.805; 95 % CI 0.799 to 0.810. External validation demonstrated an AUC of 0.761 (95 % CI 0.746 to 0.775). We developed and validated the “AKI-FB risk score” to predict patients who developed a positive FB >2 L within 72 h of AKI diagnosis. This prediction score was robust and facilitated the identification of high-risk AKI patients who could be the tarted for preventive measures and be included in future clinical trials of FB management. •Developed AKI-FB risk score for the prediction of a strongly positive fluid balance 72 hours after diagnosis of AKI.•The AKI-FB risk score had excellent predictive ability and was validated in a large cohort from another country.•A score of 32 or higher had high sensitivity and specificity for a positive fluid balance greater than 2L at 72 hours.

Background Although comorbid medical diseases are important determinants of outcome among the critically ill, the role of psychiatric comorbidity is not well defined. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of psychiatric comorbidity and its effect on the outcome of patients admitted to adult intensive care units (ICU) in Queensland. Methods Admissions among adults to 12 ICUs in Queensland during 2015–2021 were included and clinical and outcome information was obtained through linkages between the ANZICS Adult Patient Database, the state-wide Queensland Hospital Admitted Patient Data Collection, and death registry. Results A total of 89,123 admissions were included among 74,513 individuals. Overall, 7,178 (8.1%) admissions had psychiatric co-morbidity with 6,270 (7.0%) having one major psychiatric diagnosis and 908 (1%) having two or more. Individual diagnoses of mood, psychotic, anxiety, or affective disorders were present in 1,801 (2.0%), 874 (1.0%), 3,241 (3.6%) and 354 (0.4%) admissions respectively. Significant differences were observed among the main groups (mood, affective, anxiety, psychotic, or multiple disorders) and those without psychiatric comorbidity with respect to main diagnosis, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) score, sex, age, and medical comorbidity. Crude 30-day case-fatality rates were significantly lower (5.1%) compared to the general ICU population (10.1%) ( p  < 0.001). After controlling for confounding variables in the logistic regression model, patients with psychiatric comorbidity were at lower odds of death. Conclusions Psychiatric comorbidity is common among ICU presentations and is associated with a lower risk of death. This association is likely to be more complex than being a simple protective factor, and future research needs to further delineate how psychiatric comorbidity informs outcomes of specific ICU presentations.

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The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the stressors experienced by home care hospice volunteers in their relationships with terminally ill clients. Volunteers working with a community nursing agency in southern Ontario were randomly selected to participate in this study. Neuman's Systems Model (1989) provided the conceptual framework. Participants were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. From the content analysis, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and extrapersonal stressors were identified. In coping with these stresses, the themes that evolved to provide protection from stress correlated with the use of the flexible line of defense, the normal line of defense, and the lines of resistance. In identifying themes for prevention of stressors, the volunteers identified primary, secondary, and tertiary methods that could be utilized by the program coordinators and nurses who are also providing care for their clients.

ObjectiveTo assess survival and identify predictors of survival in patients with systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) who participated in the Scleroderma Lung Studies (SLS) I and II.MethodsSLS I randomised 158 patients with SSc-ILD to 1  year of oral cyclophosphamide (CYC) vs placebo. SLS II randomised 142 patients to 1 year of oral CYC followed by 1 year of placebo vs 2 years of mycophenolate mofetil. Counting process Cox proportional hazard modelling identified variables associated with long-term mortality in SLS I and II. Internal validation was performed using joint modelling.ResultsAfter a median follow-up of 8 years, 42% of SLS I patients died, and when known the cause of death was most often attributable to SSc. There was no significant difference in the time to death between treatment arms in SLS I or II. Higher baseline skin score, older age, and a decline in the forced vital capacity (FVC) and the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) over 2 years were independently associated with an increased risk of mortality in SLS I. The Cox model identified the same mortality predictor variables using the SLS II data.ConclusionIn addition to identifying traditional mortality risk factors in SSc (skin score, age), this study demonstrated that a decline in FVC and DLCO over 2 years was a better predictor of mortality than baseline FVC and DLCO. These findings suggest that short-term changes in surrogate measures of SSc-ILD progression may have important effects on long-term outcomes.

Traditional sequences rarely show the web itself, requiring clinicians to infer its presence.1 2 For patients with progressive symptoms, the only treatment is surgical decompression, generally with good clinical outcomes.3 We describe three patients who presented in the outpatient setting. Grietz postulated that constriction caused by the web prevents the systolic pulse pressure wave of cranial intramedullary CSF being transmitted.4 This creates a pressure differential between the intramedullary compartment of the cord and the subarachnoid space, leading to the accumulation of extracellular fluid and cord dilation. Due to the insidious tempo of symptom onset, patients often experience symptoms for over a year before surgical intervention.3 Awareness that the MR ‘scalpel sign’ is largely pathognomonic for spinal arachnoid web will lead to earlier surgical intervention and better clinical outcomes.