Recommendations of the Working Groups from the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) for the management of adult critically ill patients. / Recomendaciones para el tratamiento de los pacientes críticos de los Grupos de Trabajo de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Intensiva, Crítica y Unidades Coronarias (SEMICYUC).

The standardization of the Intensive Care Medicine may improve the management of the adult critically ill patient. However, these strategies have not been widely applied in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The aim is to elaborate the recommendations for the standardization of the treatment of critical patients. A panel of experts from the thirteen working groups (WG) of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) was selected and nominated by virtue of clinical expertise and/or scientific experience to carry out the recommendations. Available scientific literature in the management of adult critically ill patients from 2002 to 2016 was extracted. The clinical evidence was discussed and summarised by the experts in the course of a consensus finding of every WG and finally approved by the WGs after an extensive internal review process that was carried out between December 2015 and December 2016. A total of 65 recommendations were developed, of which 5 corresponded to each of the 13 WGs. These recommendations are based on the opinion of experts and scientific knowledge, and are intended as a guide for the intensivists in the management of critical patients.

Mortality prediction using TRISS methodology in the Spanish ICU Trauma Registry (RETRAUCI).

OBJECTIVES: To validate Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) methodology as an auditing tool in the Spanish ICU Trauma Registry (RETRAUCI). DESIGN: A prospective, multicenter registry evaluation was carried out. SETTING: Thirteen Spanish Intensive Care Units (ICUs). PATIENTS: Individuals with traumatic disease and available data admitted to the participating ICUs. INTERVENTIONS: Predicted mortality using TRISS methodology was compared with that observed in the pilot phase of the RETRAUCI from November 2012 to January 2015. Discrimination was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the corresponding areas under the curves (AUCs) (95% CI), with calibration using the Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) goodness-of-fit test. A value of p<0.05 was considered significant. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Predicted and observed mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1405 patients were analyzed. The observed mortality rate was 18% (253 patients), while the predicted mortality rate was 16.9%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.889 (95% CI: 0.867-0.911). Patients with blunt trauma (n=1305) had an area under the ROC curve of 0.887 (95% CI: 0.864-0.910), and those with penetrating trauma (n=100) presented an area under the curve of 0.919 (95% CI: 0.859-0.979). In the global sample, the HL test yielded a value of 25.38 (p=0.001): 27.35 (p<0.0001) in blunt trauma and 5.91 (p=0.658) in penetrating trauma. TRISS methodology underestimated mortality in patients with low predicted mortality and overestimated mortality in patients with high predicted mortality. CONCLUSIONS: TRISS methodology in the evaluation of severe trauma in Spanish ICUs showed good discrimination, with inadequate calibration - particularly in blunt trauma.

Epidemiology of severe trauma in Spain. Registry of trauma in the ICU (RETRAUCI). Pilot phase. / Epidemiología del trauma grave en España. REgistro de TRAuma en UCI (RETRAUCI). Fase piloto.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics and management of severe trauma disease in Spanish Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Registry of trauma in the ICU (RETRAUCI). Pilot phase. DESIGN: A prospective, multicenter registry. SETTING: Thirteen Spanish ICUs. PATIENTS: Patients with trauma disease admitted to the ICU. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: Epidemiology, out-of-hospital attention, registry of injuries, resources utilization, complications and outcome were evaluated. RESULTS: Patients, n=2242. Mean age 47.1±19.02 years. Males 79%. Blunt trauma 93.9%. Injury Severity Score 22.2±12.1, Revised Trauma Score 6.7±1.6. Non-intentional in 84.4% of the cases. The most common causes of trauma were traffic accidents followed by pedestrian and high-energy falls. Up to 12.4% were taking antiplatelet medication or anticoagulants. Almost 28% had a suspected or confirmed toxic influence in trauma. Up to 31.5% required an out-of-hospital artificial airway. The time from trauma to ICU admission was 4.7±5.3hours. At ICU admission, 68.5% were hemodynamically stable. Brain and chest injuries predominated. A large number of complications were documented. Mechanical ventilation was used in 69.5% of the patients (mean 8.2±9.9 days), of which 24.9% finally required a tracheostomy. The median duration of stay in the ICU and in hospital was 5 (range 3-13) and 9 (5-19) days, respectively. The ICU mortality rate was 12.3%, while the in-hospital mortality rate was 16.0%. CONCLUSIONS: The pilot phase of the RETRAUCI offers a first impression of the epidemiology and management of trauma disease in Spanish ICUs.

Quality of trauma care and trauma registries.

Traumatic disease is a major public health concern. Monitoring the quality of services provided is essential for the maintenance and improvement thereof. Assessing and monitoring the quality of care in trauma patient through quality indicators would allow identifying opportunities for improvement whose implementation would improve outcomes in hospital mortality, functional outcomes and quality of life of survivors. Many quality indicators have been used in this condition, although very few ones have a solid level of scientific evidence to recommend their routine use. The information contained in the trauma registries, spread around the world in recent decades, is essential to know the current health care reality, identify opportunities for improvement and contribute to the clinical and epidemiological research.

Outcomes of very elderly trauma ICU patients. Results from the Spanish trauma ICU registry.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze outcomes and factors related to mortality among very elderly trauma patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) participating in the Spanish trauma ICU registry. DESIGN: A multicenter nationwide registry. Retrospective analysis. November 2012-May 2017. SETTING: Participating ICUs. PATIENTS: Trauma patients aged ≥80 years. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN VARIABLES OF INTEREST: The outcomes and influence of limitation of life sustaining therapy (LLST) were analyzed. Comparisons were established using the Wilcoxon test, Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze variables related to mortality. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 83.4±3.3 years; 281 males (60.4%). Low-energy falls were the mechanisms of injury in 256 patients (55.1%). The mean ISS was 20.5±11.1, with a mean ICU stay of 7.45±9.9 days. The probability of survival based on the TRISS methodology was 69.8±29.7%. The ICU mortality rate was 15.5%, with an in-hospital mortality rate of 19.2%. The main cause of mortality was intracranial hypertension (42.7%). The ISS, the need for first- and second-tier measures to control intracranial pressure, and being admitted to the ICU for organ donation were independent mortality predictors. LLST was applied in 128 patients (27.9%). Patients who received LLST were older, with more severe trauma, and with more severe brain injury. CONCLUSIONS: Very elderly trauma ICU patients presented mortality rates lower than predicted on the basis of the severity of injury.

[Recommendations of the Working Groups from the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) for the management of adult critically ill patients in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)]. / Recomendaciones de «hacer¼ y «no hacer¼ en el tratamiento de los pacientes críticos ante la pandemia por coronavirus causante de COVID-19 de los Grupos de Trabajo de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Intensiva, Crítica y Unidades Coronarias (SEMICYUC).

On March 11, 2020, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The spread and evolution of the pandemic is overwhelming the healthcare systems of dozens of countries and has led to a myriad of opinion papers, contingency plans, case series and emerging trials. Covering all this literature is complex. Briefly and synthetically, in line with the previous recommendations of the Working Groups, the Spanish Society of Intensive, Critical Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) has prepared this series of basic recommendations for patient care in the context of the pandemic.

[Contingency plan for the intensive care services for the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Plan de contingencia para los servicios de medicina intensiva frente a la pandemia COVID-19.

In January 2020, the Chinese authorities identified a new virus of the Coronaviridae family as the cause of several cases of pneumonia of unknown aetiology. The outbreak was initially confined to Wuhan City, but then spread outside Chinese borders. On 31 January 2020, the first case was declared in Spain. On 11 March 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. On 16 March 2020, there were 139 countries affected. In this situation, the Scientific Societies SEMICYUC and SEEIUC have decided to draw up this Contingency Plan to guide the response of the Intensive Care Services. The objectives of this plan are to estimate the magnitude of the problem and identify the necessary human and material resources. This is to provide the Spanish Intensive Medicine Services with a tool to programme optimal response strategies.

Practical document on the management of hyponatremia in critically ill patients. / Documento práctico del manejo de la hiponatremia en pacientes críticos.

Hyponatremia is the most prevalent electrolyte disorder in Intensive Care Units. It is associated with an increase in morbidity, mortality and hospital stay. The majority of the published studies are observational, retrospective and do not include critical patients; hence it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Moreover, the lack of clinical evidence has led to important dissimilarities in the recommendations coming from different scientific societies. Finally, etiopathogenic mechanisms leading to hyponatremia in the critical care patient are complex and often combined, and an intensive analysis is clearly needed. A study was therefore made to review all clinical aspects about hyponatremia management in the critical care setting. The aim was to develop a Spanish nationwide algorithm to standardize hyponatremia diagnosis and treatment in the critical care patient.

"Do not do" recommendations of the working groups of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) for the management of critically ill patients. / Recomendaciones de "no hacer" en el tratamiento de los pacientes críticos de los grupos de trabajo de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Intensiva, Crítica y Unidades Coronarias (SEMICYUC).

The project "Commitment to Quality of Scientific Societies", promoted since 2013 by the Spanish Ministry of Health, seeks to reduce unnecessary health interventions that have not proven effective, have little or doubtful effectiveness, or are not cost-effective. The objective is to establish the "do not do" recommendations for the management of critically ill patients. A panel of experts from the 13 working groups (WGs) of the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC) was selected and nominated by virtue of clinical expertise and/or scientific experience to carry out the recommendations. Available scientific literature in the management of adult critically ill patients from 2000 to 2017 was extracted. The clinical evidence was discussed and summarized by the experts in the course of consensus finding of each WG, and was finally approved by the WGs after an extensive internal review process carried out during the first semester of 2017. A total of 65 recommendations were developed, of which 5 corresponded to each of the 13 WGs. These recommendations are based on the opinion of experts and scientific knowledge, and aim to reduce those treatments or procedures that do not add value to the care process; avoid the exposure of critical patients to potential risks; and improve the adequacy of health resources.

[A multimodal strategy to improve adherence to hand hygiene in a university hospital]. / Estrategia multimodal para la mejora de la adherencia a la higiene de manos en un hospital universitario.

OBJECTIVE: Within the framework of the PaSQ (Patient Safety and Quality care) Project, this hospital decided to implement a multifaceted hospital-wide Hand Hygiene (HH) intervention based on a multimodal WHO approach over one year, focusing on achieving a sustained change in HH cultural change in this hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Setting: University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander (Spain), a tertiary hospital with 900 beds. Intervention period: 2014. An action plan was developed that included the implementation of activities in each component of the 5-step multimodal intervention. An observation/feedback methodology was used that included the provision of performance and results feedback to the staff. A 3/3 strategy (non-blinded direct observation audits performed during 3 randomised days every 3 weeks with pro-active corrective actions at the end of each observation period). HH compliance, alcohol-based hand-rub (ABHR) consumption, and rate of MRSA infection, were monitored during the intervention. RESULTS: Hospital ABHR consumption increased during the study period: from 17.5 to 19.7mL/patient-days. In the intervention units, this consumption was 24.8mL pre-intervention, 42.5mL during the intervention, and 30.4mL two months post-intervention. There were 137 evaluation periods in 30 different days, in which a total of 737 health-care workers were observed and 1,870 HH opportunities. HH compliance was 54.5%, ranging between 44.8% and 69.9%. The incidence of MRSA infection decreased during the intervention in the selected units, from 13.2 infections per 10,000 patient-days pre-intervention to 5.7 three months post-intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Our HH strategy, supported by a 3/3 strategy increased alcohol-based hand-rub consumption and compliance. A reduction in MRSA infections was observed.

Scoring severity in trauma: comparison of prehospital scoring systems in trauma ICU patients.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the predictive ability of mechanism, Glasgow coma scale, age and arterial pressure (MGAP), Glasgow coma scale, age and systolic blood pressure (GAP), and triage-revised trauma Score (T-RTS) scores in patients from the Spanish trauma ICU registry using the trauma and injury severity score (TRISS) as a reference standard. METHODS: Patients admitted for traumatic disease in the participating ICU were included. Quantitative data were reported as median [interquartile range (IQR), categorical data as number (percentage)]. Comparisons between groups with quantitative variables and categorical variables were performed using Student's T Test and Chi Square Test, respectively. We performed receiving operating curves (ROC) and evaluated the area under the curve (AUC) with its 95 % confidence interval (CI). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values and accuracy were evaluated in all the scores. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The final sample included 1361 trauma ICU patients. Median age was 45 (30-61) years. 1092 patients (80.3 %) were male. Median ISS was 18 (13-26) and median T-RTS was 11 (10-12). Median GAP was 20 (15-22) and median MGAP 24 (20-27). Observed mortality was 17.7 % whilst predicted mortality using TRISS was 16.9 %. The AUC in the scores evaluated was: TRISS 0.897 (95 % CI 0.876-0.918), MGAP 0.860 (95 % CI 0.835-0.886), GAP 0.849 (95 % CI 0.823-0.876) and T-RTS 0.796 (95 % CI 0.762-0.830). CONCLUSIONS: Both MGAP and GAP scores performed better than the T-RTS in the prediction of hospital mortality in Spanish trauma ICU patients. Since these are easy-to-perform scores, they should be incorporated in clinical practice as a triaging tool.

[Traumatic dissection of the internal carotid artery by a safety belt: a report of two cases]. / Disección traumática de la arteria carótida interna por el cinturón de seguridad: descripción de dos casos.

Traumatic internal carotid artery dissection secondary to blunt trauma is a rare event accounting for 0.08 to 0.4% of all traumatic lesions. The spectrum of traumatic lesions that can affect the internal carotid artery includes minor lesions like spasm, intimal tears, or mural contusions and serious lesions like pseudoaneurysms and complete occlusion. Delayed clinical presentation is typical and can include headache, hemiparesis, partial Horner's syndrome, and cranial nerve palsy. Embolization secondary to the dissection can have devastating effects because it may cause ischemic stroke. Traumatic internal carotid artery dissection after safety belt trauma is very rare; it is usually due to direct cervical trauma on the side of the shoulder fixation point, which causes external bruising along the pathway of the safety belt. We present two cases of traumatic internal carotid artery dissection with concomitant cerebral infarcts caused by safety belts; we discuss the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of this lesion.