A descriptive study of the surge response and outcomes of ICU patients with COVID-19 during first wave in Nordic countries.

BACKGROUND: We sought to provide a description of surge response strategies and characteristics, clinical management and outcomes of patients with severe COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (ICU) during the first wave of the pandemic in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. METHODS: Representatives from the national ICU registries for each of the five countries provided clinical data and a description of the strategies to allocate ICU resources and increase the ICU capacity during the pandemic. All adult patients admitted to the ICU for COVID-19 disease during the first wave of COVID-19 were included. The clinical characteristics, ICU management and outcomes of individual countries were described with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Most countries more than doubled their ICU capacity during the pandemic. For patients positive for SARS-CoV-2, the ratio of requiring ICU admission for COVID-19 varied substantially (1.6%-6.7%). Apart from age (proportion of patients aged 65 years or over between 29% and 62%), baseline characteristics, chronic comorbidity burden and acute presentations of COVID-19 disease were similar among the five countries. While utilization of invasive mechanical ventilation was high (59%-85%) in all countries, the proportion of patients receiving renal replacement therapy (7%-26%) and various experimental therapies for COVID-19 disease varied substantially (e.g. use of hydroxychloroquine 0%-85%). Crude ICU mortality ranged from 11% to 33%. CONCLUSION: There was substantial variability in the critical care response in Nordic ICUs to the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, including usage of experimental medications. While ICU mortality was low in all countries, the observed variability warrants further attention.

Use of social media for communicating about critical care topics: A Norwegian cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Social media (SoMe) might be an alternative platform for communicating critical care topics to implement evidence-based practice in the intensive care unit (ICU). This survey aims to describe ICU nurses' and physicians' use of SoMe in general, and their perception of using closed Facebook-groups for receiving content on critical care topics. METHODS: A cross-sectional, web-based, anonymous survey was distributed to ICU physicians and nurses in four ICUs in autumn 2017 via an email-campaign. Descriptive statistics with rates, percentages and median numeric rating scale (NRS) scores, interquartile ranges are presented. RESULTS: The response-rate was 64% (253/ 394) including 210 nurses and 43 physicians. Overall, 93% had a SoMe-profile, and 77% had a profile on more than one network site. Facebook was the most used social network site, with 87% having a profile. Totally, 68% were daily users, but more nurses used Facebook daily vs physicians (81% vs 60%, respectively, P = 0.006). Nurses were also more positive toward being members of closed Facebook-groups aimed to exchange content on critical care topics (median NRS 9 (6-10) vs 6 (3-9), respectively, P = 0.014). CONCLUSION: The majority of ICU nurses and physicians were active SoMe users, mainly for personal purposes, and Facebook was the most popular SoMe. Nurses used Facebook daily more frequent and were more positive toward content on critical care topics on Facebook than physicians. These findings might be relevant to customize future communication about critical care topics via SoMe.

Aetiology, antimicrobial therapy and outcome of patients with community acquired severe sepsis: a prospective study in a Norwegian university hospital.

BACKGROUND: Severe sepsis is recognized as an inflammatory response causing organ dysfunction in patients with infection. Antimicrobial therapy is the mainstay of treatment. There is an ongoing demand for local surveillance of sepsis aetiology and monitoring of empirical treatment recommendations. The present study was established to describe the characteristics, quality of handling and outcome of patients with severe sepsis admitted to a Norwegian university hospital. METHODS: A one year prospective, observational study of adult community acquired case-defined severe sepsis was undertaken. Demographics, focus of infection, microbiological findings, timing and adequacy of empirical antimicrobial agents were recorded. Clinical diagnostic practice was evaluated. Differences between categorical groups were analysed with Pearson's chi-squared test. Predictors of in-hospital mortality were identified in a multivariate stepwise backward logistic regression model. RESULTS: In total 220 patients were identified, yielding an estimated annual incidence of 0.5/1000 inhabitants. The focus of infection was established at admission in 69%. Respiratory tract infection was present in 52%, while genitourinary, soft tissue and abdominal infections each were found in 12-14%. Microbiological aetiology was identified in 61%; most prevalent were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were malignancy, cardiovascular disease, endocarditis, abdominal infections, undefined microbiological aetiology, delay in administration of empirical antimicrobial agents ≥ 6 hours and use of inadequate antimicrobial agents. In patients ≥ 75 years, antimicrobial therapy was less in compliance with current recommendations and more delayed. CONCLUSIONS: Community acquired severe sepsis is common. Initial clinical aetiology is often revised. Compliance with recommendations for empirical antimicrobial treatment is lowest in elderly patients. Our results emphasizes that quick identification of correct source of infection, proper sampling for microbiological analyses, and fast administration of adequate antimicrobial agents are crucial points in the management of severe sepsis.

Variations in the length of stay of intensive care unit nonsurvivors in three Scandinavian countries.

INTRODUCTION: The length of stay (LOS) in intensive care unit (ICU) nonsurvivors is not often reported, but represents an important indicator of the use of resources. LOS in ICU nonsurvivors may also be a marker of cultural and organizational differences between units. In this study based on the national intensive care registries in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, we aimed to report intensive care mortality and to document resource use as measured by LOS in ICU nonsurvivors. METHODS: Registry data from 53,305 ICU patients in 2006 were merged into a single database. ICU nonsurvivors were analyzed with regard to LOS within subgroups by univariate and multivariate analysis (Cox proportional hazards regression). RESULTS: Vital status at ICU discharge was available for 52,255 patients. Overall ICU mortality was 9.1%. Median LOS of the nonsurvivors was 1.3 days in Finland and Sweden, and 1.9 days in Norway. The shortest LOS of the nonsurvivors was found in patients older than 80 years, emergency medical admissions, and the patients with the highest severity of illness. Multivariate analysis confirmed the longer LOS in Norway when corrected for age group, admission category, sex, and type of hospital. LOS in nonsurvivors was found to be inversely related to the severity of illness, as measured by APACHE II and SAPS II. CONCLUSIONS: Despite cultural, religious, and educational similarities, significant variations occur in the LOS of ICU nonsurvivors among Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Overall, ICU mortality is low in the Scandinavian countries.

[Medical records, DRG and intensive care patients]. / Epikriser, DRG og intensivpasienter.

BACKGROUND: In order to control the quality of the medical report after a hospital stay with regards to the stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), and to cheque for correct DRG grouping, this study of 428 patients treated in our ICU in 2003 was conducted. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All ICU patients from 2003 were found in our database, which includes specific ICD-10 diagnosis and specific ICU procedures. The medical record summarising the hospital stay (epicrisis) was retrieved for each patient from the hospital's electronic patient files and controlled for correct information regarding the ICU stay. DRG groups for each patient were retrieved from the hospital's administrative database. All stays were re-coded, with all information about the ICU stay was also included. The new DRG codes were compared with the old ones, and the difference in DRG points computed. RESULTS: The description of the stay in the ICU was missing or very insufficient in 46% of the records. In the DRG control we found that an additional 347.37 DRG points (18.4% of the original sum of all DRG points) were missing, corresponding to a loss to the hospital of 6.2 million NOK. In addition we discovered missing codes for tracheostomy corresponding to 2.8 million NOK, giving a total loss of 9 million NOK. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that an adequate description of the stay in the ICU is insufficient in a large number of medical records. This also leads to incorrect DRG grouping of many patients and significant financial losses to the hospital.