The effect of different definitions of hepatic injury on incidence and mortality rates in the ICU patient population with secondary hepatic injury.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate how different hepatic injury (HI) definitions used in the same study population change incidence and mortality rates and which would best diagnose secondary HI. DESIGN: Single-centre retrospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary hospital ICU, ANKARA, Turkey. PATIENTS: Four hundred seventy-eight adult patients were included in the study. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Three definitions of HI were compared. Taking the SOFA hepatic criteria (SOFA: Total bilirubin (TBL) > 1.2 mg/dl) as the gold standard, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of the modified 2017 definition by the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and the 2019 European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) were calculated. RESULTS: Incidence rates ranged from 10% to 45% according to the definition (p < 0.005), while mortality rates ranged from 38% to 57%. When the SOFA1.2 (TBL > 1.2 definition was taken as the gold standard, the diagnostic value of the ACG definition was high, and HI was found to be an independent risk factor that increased mortality four times. CONCLUSIONS: According to this study's results, the incidence and mortality rates of secondary HI vary greatly depending on the definition used. A definition that includes minimal increases in ALT, AST, and TBL predicts mortality with reasonable incidence rates.

Practical approach to inhaled sedation in the critically ill patient. Sedation, analgesia and Delirium Working Group (GTSAD) of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC).

The use of sedatives in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is essential for relieving anxiety and stress in mechanically ventilated patients, and it is related to clinical outcomes, duration of mechanical ventilation, and length of stay in the ICU. Inhaled sedatives offer benefits such as faster awakening and extubation, decreased total opioid and neuromuscular blocking agents (NMB) doses, as well as bronchodilator, anticonvulsant, and cardiopulmonary and neurological protective effects. Inhaled sedation is administered using a specific vaporizer. Isoflurane is the recommended agent due to its efficacy and safety profile. Inhaled sedation is recommended for moderate and deep sedation, prolonged sedation, difficult sedation, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), status asthmaticus, and super-refractory status epilepticus. By offering these significant advantages, the use of inhaled sedatives allows for a personalized and controlled approach to optimize sedation in the ICU.

Cognitive function in Mexican older adults 6-months after recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with multiple short- and long-term complications including depression, and cognitive impairment (CI). However, older adults with CI after COVID-19 have not been fully documented. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cognitive function in Mexican adults post-recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: In this prospective observational cohort study, we assess cognitive function (CF) by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) test with a cut-off less than 26 points, and functional status via telemedicine. Eligible patients with a history of moderate-severe COVID-19 aged ≥60 years, cognitively healthy (evaluated by Everyday Cognition Scale) and required admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) were included. Patients with history of dementia, stroke, and delirium during the cognitive evaluation were excluded. The association between CI and COVID-19 was assessed with a Cox regression model. RESULTS: From the 634 patients admitted to the ICU, 415 survived, afterward 308 were excluded and 107 were analyzed. Mean age was 70 years, 58% were female, and 53% had severe COVID. The mean MoCA score was 21±5 points, CI was present in 61 patients (57%). Infection severity (RR 1.87; 95% CI: 1.11-3.15, p<0.05), lower education (RR 0.92; 95% CI: 0.87-0.97, p<0.01), and activity daily living disability (RR 1.87; 95% CI: 1.07-3.26, p<0.05) were the main factors associated with CI (unadjusted model by age and sex). The delayed recall, orientation, and language (83.2, 77.6 and 72.9% respectively) domains were the most affected in patients with CI. CONCLUSIONS: Fifty-seven percent of patients analyzed developed CI six months post-ICU discharge due to SARS-CoV-2, and COVID severity was the main factor associated to its outcome.

Complicaciones y mortalidad en pacientes neurocríticos / Complications and mortality in neurocritic patients

Objetivo: Relacionar las complicaciones y el riesgo de muerte en pacientes neurocríticos admitidos en la unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) del Hospital Universitario de Caracas durante un período de 5 meses. Métodos: investigación observacional, prospectiva, descriptiva. La muestra estuvo conformada por 65 pacientes neurocríticos, ≥ 18 años, con patologías médicas o quirúrgicas, ingresados en la UCI. El análisis estadístico incluyó la determinación de frecuencias, promedios, porcentajes y medias para descripción de variables y el T de Student. Resultados: La edad promedio fue 50,98 ± 16,66 años; la población masculinarepresentó el 50,76%. Entre las complicaciones, la mayor incidencia correspondió a las no infecciosas (70,77 %) y los trastornos ácido-básicos de tipo metabólico, la anemia y las alteraciones electrolíticas fueron las más frecuentes; el 29,23% de los pacientes presentaron complicaciones infecciosas, y la neumonía asociada a ventilación mecánica fue la más frecuente (73,91 %). La comorbilidad con mayor incidencia fue hipertensión arterial sistémica (53,84%). El 90.70% requirió ventilación mecánica y el tiempo en VM fue 4.29 ± 6.43 días. La estancia en UCI fue 5.96 ± 7.72 días. El 29,23% presentó un puntaje en la escala APACHE II entre 5-9; el SAPS II presentó mayor incidencia entre los 6-21 y 22-37 puntos con (66,70%); el SOFA al ingreso se reportó < 15 puntos en 98,46% y > 15 en 1,53%. La mortalidad del grupo fue 23,08 % (n=15). Conclusiones: Las complicaciones no infecciosas predominaron sobre las infecciosas las primeras íntimamente relacionadas con la mortalida(AU)

Objective: To relate complications and the risk of death in neurocritical patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the University Hospital of Caracas during a period of 5 months. Methods: observational, prospective, descriptive research. The sample was made up of 65 neurocritical patients, ≥ 18 years old, with medical or surgical pathologies, admitted to the ICU.The statistical analysis included the determination of frequencies, averages, percentages and meansfor description of variables and Student's T.Results: The average age was 50.98 ± 16.66 years; the male population represented 50.76%. Among the complications, the highest incidence corresponded to non-infectious complications (70.77%) and metabolic acid-base disorders, anemia and electrolyte alterations were the most frequent; 29.23% of patients presented infectious complications, and pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation was the most frequent (73.91%). The comorbidity with the highest incidence was systemic arterial hypertension (53.84%), 90.70% required mechanical ventilation and the time on MV was 4.29 ± 6.43 days. The ICU stay was 5.96 ± 7.72 days. 29.23% had a score on the APACHE II scale between 5-9; SAPS II presented the highest incidence between 6-21 and 22-37 points with (66.70%); The SOFA upon admission was reported to be < 15 points in 98.46% and > 15 in 1.53%. The mortality of the group was 23.08% (n=15). Conclusions: Non-infectious complications predominated over infectious complications, the former being closely related to mortalit(AU)

Incidence of confusional syndrome (delirium) in a Latin American university hospital.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the incidence of delirium and its subtypes in patients admitted to different departments of university hospitals in Latin America. OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of delirium and the frequency of its subtypes, as well as its associated factors, in patients admitted to different departments of a university hospital in Bogotá, Colombia. METHODS: A cohort of patients over 18 years of age admitted to the internal medicine (IM), geriatrics (GU), general surgery (GSU), orthopaedics (OU) and intensive care unit (ICU) services of a university hospital was followed up between January and June 2018. To detect the presence of delirium, we used the CAM (Confusion Assessment Method) and the CAM-ICU if the patient had decreased communication skills. The delirium subtype was characterised using the RASS (Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale). Patients were assessed on their admission date and then every two days until discharged from the hospital. Those in whom delirium was identified were referred for specialised intra-institutional interdisciplinary management. RESULTS: A total of 531 patients admitted during the period were assessed. The overall incidence of delirium was 12% (95% CI, 0.3-14.8). They represented 31.8% of patients in the GU, 15.6% in the ICU, 8.7% in IM, 5.1% in the OU, and 3.9% in the GSU. The most frequent clinical display was the mixed subtype, at 60.9%, followed by the normoactive subtype (34.4%) and the hypoactive subtype (4.7%). The factors most associated with delirium were age (adjusted RR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.05-1.09), the presence of four or more comorbidities (adjusted RR = 2.04; 95% CI, 1.31-3.20), and being a patient in the ICU (adjusted RR = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.22-3.35). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of delirium is heterogeneous in the different departments of the university hospital. The highest incidence occurred in patients that were admitted to the GU. The mixed subtype was the most frequent one, and the main associated factors were age, the presence of four or more comorbidities, and being an ICU patient.

BGOA-TVG: Binary Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm with Time-Varying Gaussian Transfer Functions for Feature Selection.

Feature selection aims to select crucial features to improve classification accuracy in machine learning and data mining. In this paper, a new binary grasshopper optimization algorithm using time-varying Gaussian transfer functions (BGOA-TVG) is proposed for feature selection. Compared with the traditional S-shaped and V-shaped transfer functions, the proposed Gaussian time-varying transfer functions have the characteristics of a fast convergence speed and a strong global search capability to convert a continuous search space to a binary one. The BGOA-TVG is tested and compared to S-shaped and V-shaped binary grasshopper optimization algorithms and five state-of-the-art swarm intelligence algorithms for feature selection. The experimental results show that the BGOA-TVG has better performance in UCI, DEAP, and EPILEPSY datasets for feature selection.

Limitation of life support treatments in Spanish Intensive Care Units: Analysis of the ETHICUS II study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to describe the results of Spanish ICUs in ETHICUS II study. DESIGN: Planned substudy of patients from ETHICUS II study. SETTING: 12 Spanish ICU. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Patients admitted to Spanish ICU who died or in whom a limitation of life-sustaining treatment (LLST) was decided during a recruitment period of 6 months. INTERVENTIONS: Follow-up of patients was performed until discharge from the ICU and 2 months after the decision of LLST or death. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Demographic characteristics, clinical profile, type of decision of LLST, time and form in which it was adopted. Patients were classified into 4 categories according to the ETHICUS II study protocol: withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining therapy, active shortening of the dying process, failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and patients with brain death. RESULTS: A total of 795 patients were analyzed; 129 patients died after CPR, 129 developed brain death. LLST was decided in 537 patients, 485 died in the ICU, 90.3%. The mean age was 66.19 years ± 14.36, 63.8% of male patients. In 221 (41%) it was decided to withdraw life-sustaining treatments and in 316 (59%) withholding life-sustaining treatments. Nineteen patients (2.38%) had advance living directives. CONCLUSIONS: The predominant clinical profile when LTSV was established was male patients over 65 years with mostly cardiovascular comorbidity. We observed that survival was higher in LLST decisions involving withholding of treatments compared to those in which withdrawal was decided. Spain has played a leading role in both patient and ICU recruitment participating in this worldwide multicenter study.

Efficacy of the "Start to move" protocol on functionality, ICU-acquired weakness and delirium: A randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the Start to move protocol compared to conventional treatment in subjects over 15 years of age hospitalized in the ICU on an improvement in functionality, decrease in ICU-acquired weakness (DAUCI), incidence of delirium, days of mechanical ventilation (MV), length of stay in ICU and mortality at 28 days. DESIGN: randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Intensive Care Unit. PARTICIPANTS: Includes adults older than 15 years with invasive mechanical ventilation more than 48h, randomized allocation. INTERVENTIONS: Start to move protocol and conventional treatment. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Functionality, incidence of ICU-acquired weakness, incidence of delirium, days on mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and mortality-28 days, ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05053724. RESULTS: 69 subjects were admitted to the study, 33 to the Start to move group and 36 to conventional treatment, clinically and sociodemographic comparable. In the "Start to move" group, the incidence of IUCD at ICU discharge was 35.7% vs. 80.7% in the "conventional treatment" group (p=0.001). Functionality (FSS-ICU) at ICU discharge corresponds to 26 vs. 17 points in favor of the "Start to move" group (p=0.001). The difference in Barthel at ICU discharge was 20% in favor of the "Start to move" group (p=0.006). There were no significant differences in the incidence of delirium, days of mechanical ventilation, ICU stay and 28-day mortality. The study did not report adverse events or protocol suspension. CONCLUSIONS: The application of the "Start to move" protocol in ICU showed a reduction in the incidence of IUAD, an increase in functionality and a smaller decrease in Barthel score at discharge.

Description of Intensive Care and Intermediate Care resources managed by Anaesthesiology Departments in Spain and their adaptation capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: It is essential to understand the strategic importance of intensive care resources in the sustainable organisation of healthcare systems. Our objective has been to identify the intensive and intermediate care beds managed by Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation Services (A-ICU and A-IMCU) in Spain, their human and technical resources, and the changes made to these resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective observational study performed between December 2020 and July 2021 to register the number and characteristics of A-ICU and A-IMCU beds in hospitals listed in the catalogue published by the Spanish Ministry of Health. RESULTS: Data were obtained from 313 hospitals (98% of all hospitals with more than 500 beds, 70% of all hospitals with more than 100 beds). One hundred and forty seven of these hospitals had an A-ICU with a total of 1702 beds. This capacity increased to 2107 (124%) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three hundred and eight hospitals had an A-IMCU with a total of 3470 beds, 52.9% (2089) of which provided long-term care. The hospitals had 1900 ventilators, at a ratio of 1.07 respirators per A-ICU; 1559 anaesthesiologists dedicated more than 40% of their working time to intensive care. The nurse-to-bed ratio in A-ICUs was 2.8. DISCUSSION: A large proportion of fully-equipped ICU and IMCU beds in Spanish hospitals are managed by the anaesthesiology service. A-ICU and A-IMCUs have shown an extraordinary capacity to adapt their resources to meet the increased demand for intensive care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evaluation of the last 2 decades in the characteristics of presentation, management and prognosis of serious spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in a third level hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the change in the characteristics of presentation, evolution and treatment in the ICU, as well as the functional evolution at 12 months of spontaneous intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs) treated in an ICU reference center. PATIENT AND METHODS: Descriptive, retrospective study in a Neurocritical Reference Hospital. All admissions of patients with HICE during three periods are studied: 1999-2001 (I), 2015-2016 (II) and 2020-2021 (III). Evolution in the three periods of demographic variables, baseline characteristics of the patients, clinical variables and characteristics of bleeding, evolutionary data in the ICU are studied. At one year we assessed the GOS scale (Glasgow Outcome Score) according to whether they had a poor (GOS 1-3) or good (GOS 4-5) prognosis. RESULTS: 300 admitted patients, distributed in periods: I: 28.7%, II: 36.3% and III: 35%. 56.7% were males aged 66 (55.5-74) years; ICH score 2 (1-3). The ICU stay was 5 (2-14) days with a mortality of 36.8%. GOS 1-3 a year in 67.3% and GOS 4-5 in 32.7%. Comparing the three periods, we observed a higher prevalence in women, and the presence of cardiovascular factors; no changes in etiology; in relation to the location, it increases cerebellar hemorrhage and in the brainstem. Although the severity was greater, the stay in the ICU, the use of invasive mechanical ventilation and tracheostomy were lower. Open surgery has decreased its use by 50%. Mortality continues to be high, stagnating in the ICU at 35% and entails a high degree of disability one year after assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Severe ICH is a complex pathology that has changed some characteristics in the last two decades, with more severe patients, with more cardiovascular history and a greater predominance of brainstem and cerebellar hemorrhage. Despite the increase in severity, better parameters during the ICU stay, with open surgery used 50% less. Mortality remains stagnant at 35% with high disability per year.

Effectiveness of a specific follow up program for the management of the mental components of post-intensive care syndrome and chronic pain after COVID-19: results from the PAIN-COVID randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Critical COVID-19 survivors are at risk of developing Post-intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) and Chronic ICU-Related Pain (CIRP). We determined whether a specific care program improves the quality of life (QoL) of patients at risk of developing PICS and CIRP after COVID-19. METHODS: The PAIN-COVID trial was a parallel-group, single-centre, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. The intervention consisted of a follow up program, patient education on PICS and pain, and a psychological intervention based on Rehm's self-control model in patients with abnormal depression scores (≥8) in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at the baseline visit. QoL was evaluated with the 5-level EQ 5D (EQ 5D 5 L), mood disorders with the HADS, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the PCL-5 checklist, and pain with the Brief Pain Inventory short form, the Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. The primary outcome was to determine if the program was superior to standard-of-care on the EQ visual analogue scale (VAS) at 6 months after the baseline visit. The secondary outcomes were EQ VAS at 3 months, and EQ index, CIRP incidence and characteristics, and anxiety, depression, and PTSD at 3 and 6 months after baseline visits. CONCLUSIONS: This program was not superior to standard care in improving QoL in critical COVID-19 survivors as measured by the EQ VAS. However, our data can help establish better strategies for the study and management of PICS and CIRP in this population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: # NCT04394169, registered on 5/19/2020.

A Retrospective Application of the Arbon and Hartman Models to the Union Cycliste International Mountain Bike World Cup.

INTRODUCTION: Outdoor activities have accelerated in the past several years. The authors were tasked with providing medical care for the Union Cycliste International (UCI) mountain biking World Cup in Snowshoe, West Virginia (USA) in September 2021. The Hartman and Arbon models were designed to predict patient presentation and hospital transport rates as well as needed medical resources at urban mass-gathering events. However, there is a lack of standardized methods to predict injury, illness, and insult severity at rural mass gatherings. STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether the Arbon model would predict, within 10%, the number of patient presentations to be expected and to determine if the event classification provided by the Hartman model would adequately predict resources needed during the event. METHODS: Race data were collected from UCI event officials and injury data were collected from participants at time of presentation for medical care. Predicted presentation and transport rates were calculated using the Arbon model, which was then compared to the actual observed presentation rates. Furthermore, the event classification provided by the Hartman model was compared to the resources utilized during the event. RESULTS: During the event, 34 patients presented for medical care and eight patients required some level of transport to a medical facility. The Arbon predictive model for the 2021 event yielded 30.3 expected patient presentations. There were 34 total patient presentations during the 2021 race, approximately 11% more than predicted. The Hartman model yielded a score of four. Based on this score, this race would be classified as an "intermediate" event, requiring multiple Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) personnel and transport units. CONCLUSION: The Arbon model provided a predicted patient presentation rate within reasonable error to allow for effective pre-event planning and resource allocation with only a four patient presentation difference from the actual data. While the Arbon model under-predicted patient presentations, the Hartman model under-estimated resources needed due to the high-risk nature of downhill cycling. The events staffed required physician skills and air medical services to safely care for patients. Further evaluation of rural events will be needed to determine if there is a generalized need for physician presence at smaller events with inherently risky activities, or if this recurring cycling event is an outlier.

Early diagnosis and personalised treatment focusing on synthetic data modelling: Novel visual learning approach in healthcare.

The early diagnosis and personalised treatment of diseases are facilitated by machine learning. The quality of data has an impact on diagnosis because medical data are usually sparse, imbalanced, and contain irrelevant attributes, resulting in suboptimal diagnosis. To address the impacts of data challenges, improve resource allocation, and achieve better health outcomes, a novel visual learning approach is proposed. This study contributes to the visual learning approach by determining whether less or more synthetic data are required to improve the quality of a dataset, such as the number of observations and features, according to the intended personalised treatment and early diagnosis. In addition, numerous visualisation experiments are conducted, including using statistical characteristics, cumulative sums, histograms, correlation matrix, root mean square error, and principal component analysis in order to visualise both original and synthetic data to address the data challenges. Real medical datasets for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, cryotherapy and immunotherapy are selected as case studies. As a benchmark and point of classification comparison in terms of such as accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, several models are implemented such as k-Nearest Neighbours and Random Forest. To simulate algorithm implementation and data, Generative Adversarial Network is used to create and manipulate synthetic data, whilst, Random Forest is implemented to classify the data. An amendable and adaptable system is constructed by combining Generative Adversarial Network and Random Forest models. The system model presents working steps, overview and flowchart. Experiments reveal that the majority of data-enhancement scenarios allow for the application of visual learning in the first stage of data analysis as a novel approach. To achieve meaningful adaptable synergy between appropriate quality data and optimal classification performance while maintaining statistical characteristics, visual learning provides researchers and practitioners with practical human-in-the-loop machine learning visualisation tools. Prior to implementing algorithms, the visual learning approach can be used to actualise early, and personalised diagnosis. For the immunotherapy data, the Random Forest performed best with precision, recall, f-measure, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 81%, 82%, 81%, 88%, 95%, and 60%, as opposed to 91%, 96%, 93%, 93%, 96%, and 73% for synthetic data, respectively. Future studies might examine the optimal strategies to balance the quantity and quality of medical data.

Factores de riesgo asociados a estancia hospitalaria prolongada en cuidados intensivos neonatales: Un estudio de casos y controles

Objetivo: Identificar las patologías o condiciones neonatales que influyen en la prolongación de la estancia hospitalaria en una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Neonatales (UCIN). Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, retrospectivo, de casos y controles; en neonatos hospitalizados de la UCIN, durante el periodo 2015 - 2019, considerando sus diagnósticos perinatales y posnatales como factores a evaluar, así como la estancia hospitalaria. Se dividieron dos grupos: casos (estancia prolongada) y controles (estancia no prolongada). Los datos recolectados fueron procesados en el programa SPSS v.23 obteniendo el OR y la Regresión Logística Binaria. Resultados: Se incluyeron 361 neonatos (91 casos y 270 controles), encontrándose significancia en factores perinatales (p<0.05): Peso al nacer (1000g a <1500g, ORa 8.2: IC3.1 - 21.2) y edad gestacional (28 a 31 sem., ORa 18.6: IC4.8-71.4; 32-33 sem, ORa 8.1: IC3.5 - 18.4); y factores posnatales (p<0.05): Síndrome de distrés respiratorio (ORa 10.3:IC 4.8-22.2), Hipertensión pulmonar persistente (OR 32.2:IC 1.8-559.0), sepsis (ORa 7.1: IC 3.1-16.0), Malnutrición neonatal (ORa 10.2:IC 4.7-22.1) y anemia del prematuro (ORa 8.3:IC 2.4-28.1). No alcanzaron significancia: asfixia, taquipnea transitoria del recién nacido, neumonía, neumotórax, displasia broncopulmonar, síndrome de aspiración meconial, conducto arterioso persistente, cardiopatía congénita, hiperbilirrubinemia, hipoglicemia, enterocolitis necrotizante y apnea del prematuro. Conclusiones: El peso al nacer, edad gestacional, Síndrome de distrés respiratorio, Hipertensión pulmonar persistente, sepsis, malnutrición neonatal y anemia del prematuro son factores de riesgo para estancia hospitalaria prolongada.

Objective: Identify neonatal pathologies or conditions that influence the prolongation of hospital stay in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Materials and methods: An observational, retrospective, case-control study was carried out; in neonates hospitalized in the NICU, during the period 2015-2019, considering their perinatal and postnatal diagnoses as factors to be evaluated, as well as hospital stay. Two groups were divided: cases (prolonged stay) and controls (non-prolonged stay). The collected data were processed in the SPSS v.23 program, obtaining the OR and the Binary Logistic Regression. Results: 361 neonates (91 cases and 270 controls) were included, finding significance in perinatal factors (p<0.05): Birth weight (1000g to <1500g, ORa 8.2: CI3.1 - 21.2) and gestational age (28 to 31 weeks , ORa 18.6: CI4.8-71.4; 32-33 weeks, ORa 8.1: CI3.5 - 18.4); and postnatal factors (p<0.05): RDS (ORa 10.3: CI 4.8-22.2), PHT (OR 32.2: CI 1.8-559.0), sepsis (ORa 7.1: CI 3.1-16.0), Neonatal malnutrition (ORa 10.2: CI 4.7 -22.1) and anemia of prematurity (aOR 8.3: CI 2.4-28.1). The following did not reach significance: asphyxia, transient tachypnea of ​​the newborn, pneumonia, pneumothorax, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, meconium aspiration syndrome, patent ductus arteriosus, congenital heart disease, hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and apnea of ​​prematurity. Conclusions: Birth weight, gestational age, RDS, PHPT, sepsis, neonatal malnutrition and anemia of prematurity are risk factors for prolonged hospital stay.

Transitions and empowerment theory: A framework for nursing interventions during intensive care unit patient transition.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To explore the main characteristics of intensive care unit transition according to patients' lived experience and 2) To identify nursing therapeutics to facilitate patients' transition from the intensive care unit to the inpatient unit. METHODOLOGY: Secondary Analysis (SA) of the findings of a descriptive qualitative study on the experience of patients admitted to an ICU during the transition to the inpatient unit, based on the Nursing Transitions Theory. Data for the primary study were generated from 48 semi-structured interviews of patients who had survived critical illness in 3 tertiary university hospitals. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified during the transition of patients from the intensive care unit to the inpatient unit: 1) nature of ICU transition, 2) response patterns and 3) nursing therapeutics. Nurse therapeutics incorporates information, education and promotion of patient autonomy; in addition to psychological and emotional support. CONCLUSIONS: Transitions Theory as a theoretical framework helps to understand patients' experience during ICU transition. Empowerment nursing therapeutics integrates the dimensions aimed at meeting patients' needs and expectations during ICU discharge.

Intensive care photoplethysmogram datasets and machine-learning for blood pressure estimation: Generalization not guarantied.

The large MIMIC waveform dataset, sourced from intensive care units, has been used extensively for the development of Photoplethysmography (PPG) based blood pressure (BP) estimation algorithms. Yet, because the data comes from patients in severe conditions-often under the effect of drugs-it is regularly noted that the relationship between BP and PPG signal characteristics may be anomalous, a claim that we investigate here. A sample of 12,000 records from the MIMIC waveform dataset was stacked up against the 219 records of the PPG-BP dataset, an alternative public dataset obtained under controlled experimental conditions. The distribution of systolic and diastolic BP data and 31 PPG pulse morphological features was first compared between datasets. Then, the correlation between features and BP, as well as between the features themselves, was analysed. Finally, regression models were trained for each dataset and validated against the other. Statistical analysis showed significant p < 0.001 differences between the datasets in diastolic BP and in 20 out of 31 features when adjusting for heart rate differences. The eight features showing the highest rank correlation ρ   >   0.40 to systolic BP in PPG-BP all displayed muted correlation levels ρ   <   0.10 in MIMIC. Regression tests showed twice higher baseline predictive power with PPG-BP than with MIMIC. Cross-dataset regression displayed a practically complete loss of predictive power for all models. The differences between the MIMIC and PPG-BP dataset exposed in this study suggest that BP estimation models based on the MIMIC dataset have reduced predictive power on the general population.

"É um bombardeio de sentimentos": experiências maternas no contexto do nascimento prematuro / "It's an explosion of feelings": maternal experiences in the context of preterm birth / "Es un bombardeo de sentimientos": experiencias maternas en el contexto del parto prematuro

O presente estudo investigou a experiência da maternidade de mães de bebês nascidos extremamente prematuros durante suas hospitalizações na UTI Neo. Em particular, buscou-se conhecer os sentimentos maternos relacionados a esse contexto. Participaram 18 mães cujos bebês tinham entre 25 e 28 semanas gestacionais e pesavam entre 625g e 1000g. As mães foram entrevistas 15 dias após o parto e as respostas foram examinadas por meio de análise de conteúdo qualitativa. Foram desenvolvidos três eixos, derivados das entrevistas: sentimentos sobre a UTI Neo; sentimentos sobre as manifestações do bebê; e sentimentos sobre a maternidade. Os achados revelaram uma complexidade de sentimentos maternos no contexto da UTI Neo. Porém, destacaram-se nas verbalizações maternas o investimento narcísico das mães nos seus bebês, que as levavam a se comunicar com eles a partir de pequenos gestos e expressões sensoriais, o que oportunizava, simultaneamente, a construção de um lugar simbólico para o bebê. (AU)

The present study investigated the motherhood experience of mothers of extremely preterm infants during their hospitalizations in the NICU. In particular, we sought to investigate the maternal feelings related to this context. Participants included 18 mothers whose babies were between 25 and 28 gestational weeks and weighed between 625g and 1000g. Mothers were interviewed 15 days after delivery and the responses were examined using qualitative content analysis. Three axes were developed, derived from the interviews: feelings about the NICU; feelings about the baby's manifestations; and feelings about motherhood. The findings revealed the complexity of maternal feelings in the context of the NICU. However, the mothers' narcissistic investment in their babies, which led them to communicate with them using small gestures and sensory expressions, stood out in the maternal verbalizations, which simultaneously made it possible to build a symbolic place for the infant. (AU)

El presente estudio investigó la experiencia de maternidad de madres de bebés nacidos extremadamente prematuros durante sus hospitalizaciones en la UCI Neonatal. En particular, se buscó conocer los sentimientos maternos relacionados con este contexto. Participaron 18 madres cuyos bebés tenían entre 25 y 28 semanas de gestación y pesaban entre 625 g y 1000 g. Las madres fueron entrevistadas 15 días después del parto y las respuestas se examinaron mediante análisis de contenido cualitativo. Se desarrollaron tres ejes, derivados de las entrevistas: sentimientos sobre la UCI Neonatal; sentimientos sobre las manifestaciones del bebé; y sentimientos sobre la maternidad. Los hallazgos revelaron una complejidad de los sentimientos maternos en el contexto de la UCI Neonatal. Sin embargo, la inversión narcisista de las madres en sus bebés se evidenció en sus verbalizaciones, que las llevaba a comunicarse con ellos a través de pequeños gestos y expresiones sensoriales que, simultáneamente, permitían la construcción de un lugar simbólico para el bebé. (AU)

A Hybrid Generic Framework for Heart Problem Diagnosis Based on a Machine Learning Paradigm.

The early, valid prediction of heart problems would minimize life threats and save lives, while lack of prediction and false diagnosis can be fatal. Addressing a single dataset alone to build a machine learning model for the identification of heart problems is not practical because each country and hospital has its own data schema, structure, and quality. On this basis, a generic framework has been built for heart problem diagnosis. This framework is a hybrid framework that employs multiple machine learning and deep learning techniques and votes for the best outcome based on a novel voting technique with the intention to remove bias from the model. The framework contains two consequent layers. The first layer contains simultaneous machine learning models running over a given dataset. The second layer consolidates the outputs of the first layer and classifies them as a second classification layer based on novel voting techniques. Prior to the classification process, the framework selects the top features using a proposed feature selection framework. It starts by filtering the columns using multiple feature selection methods and considers the top common features selected. Results from the proposed framework, with 95.6% accuracy, show its superiority over the single machine learning model, classical stacking technique, and traditional voting technique. The main contribution of this work is to demonstrate how the prediction probabilities of multiple models can be exploited for the purpose of creating another layer for final output; this step neutralizes any model bias. Another experimental contribution is proving the complete pipeline's ability to be retrained and used for other datasets collected using different measurements and with different distributions.

Antimicrobial stewardship in hospitals: Expert recommendation guidance document for activities in specific populations, syndromes and other aspects (PROA-2) from SEIMC, SEFH, SEMPSPGS, SEMICYUC and SEIP.

In 2012, The Spanish Societies of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH), and Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Healthcare Management (SEMPSGS) lead a consensus document including recommendations for the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs (AMSP; PROA in Spanish) in acute care hospitals in Spain. While these recommendations were critical for the development of these programs in many centres, there is a need for guidance in the development of AMS activities for specific patient populations, syndromes or other specific aspects which were not included in the previous document or have developed significantly since then. The objective of this expert recommendation guidance document is to review the available information about these activities in these patient populations or circumstances, and to provide guidance recommendations about them. With this objective the SEIMC, SEFH, SEMPSPGS, the Spanish Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SEMICYUC) and the Spanish Pediatric Infectious Disease Society (SEIP) selected a panel of experts who chose the different aspects to include in the document. Because of the lack of high-level evidence in the implementation of the activities, the panel opted to perform a narrative review of the literature for the different topics for which recommendations were agreed by consensus. The document was open to public consultation for the members of these societies for their comments and suggestions, which were reviewed and considered by the panel.

Result of the implementation of a quality management system based on the ISO 9001:2015 standard in a surgical intensive care unit.

INTRODUCTION: The implementation of Quality Management Systems (QMS) is one of the fundamental and future-oriented elements for the improvement of modern health systems. The objective of implementing a QMS in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2015 Standard is to effectively carry out its activities, covering both technical and management aspects, guaranteeing the satisfaction of the needs and expectations of all its stakeholders, as well as compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. It must contemplate all those aspects that have an impact on the final quality of the product or service provided by the organization. OBJECTIVE: The main objective is to describe the process of implementing a QMS under the ISO 9001: 2015 Standard in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the General University Hospital of Elche and evaluate its results. METHODOLOGY: Carrying out and implementing a QMS in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the General University Hospital of Elche applying the points of the ISO 9001: 2015 Standard. The SGC has followed the benchmark of management by processes, identifying from its strategic core of mission, vision and values, the different processes involved and their interrelation reflected in the process map. Based on it, the necessary documents have been developed to describe the operation of the Unit both at an operational level through the key processes (admission and initial assessment of the patient, stabilization, follow-up, complementary tests, interconsultations, transfers and discharge) as well as which refers to procedures of a strategic or support type. RESULTS: The strategic lines that marked the beginning of the deployment of our QMS were defined with the drafting of 7 objectives, achieving 100% compliance. The key processes (7) that described the functioning of our organization were elaborated, as well as those of a strategic type (14) and support or support (5), complemented with 55 medical and nursing protocols. 20 monitoring indicators were analyzed: 6 organizational and planning type, and 14 clinical. 46 incidents were detected in the first year of implementation of the QMS that were analyzed by the Quality Commission, emerging 7 corrective actions. 14 improvement actions were developed after the application of the AMFE methodology for key processes, achieving an average of greater than 70% effectiveness after reassessment. From the analysis of patient and family satisfaction through SAIP case management, 41 of a total of 52 cases were acknowledgments in writing. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a QMS in our Surgical Intensive Care Unit has made it possible to define the strategic lines of our organization, develop objectives, establish monitoring indicators, standardize the work of the Unit through procedures and protocols, increase safety at work through the use of lists of verification, initiate improvement actions to strengthen the weak points of the QMS itself, as well as know the degree of satisfaction and needs of our patients and the personnel who work in it.