Workforce, Workload, and Burnout Among Intensivists and Advanced Practice Providers: A Narrative Review.

OBJECTIVES: To assess-by literature review and expert consensus-workforce, workload, and burnout considerations among intensivists and advanced practice providers. DESIGN: Data were synthesized from monthly expert consensus and literature review. SETTING: Workforce and Workload section workgroup of the Academic Leaders in Critical Care Medicine Task Force. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Multidisciplinary care teams led by intensivists are an essential component of critical care delivery. Advanced practice providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) are progressively being integrated into ICU practice models. The ever-increasing number of patients with complex, life-threatening diseases, concentration of ICU beds in few centralized hospitals, expansion of specialty ICU services, and desire for 24/7 availability have contributed to growing intensivist staffing concerns. Such staffing challenges may negatively impact practitioner wellness, team perception of care quality, time available for teaching, and length of stay when the patient to intensivist ratio is greater than or equal to 15. Enhanced team communication and reduction of practice variation are important factors for improved patient outcomes. A diverse workforce adds value and enrichment to the overall work environment. Formal succession planning for ICU leaders is crucial to the success of critical care organizations. Implementation of a continuous 24/7 ICU coverage care model in high-acuity, high-volume centers should be based on patient-centered outcomes. High levels of burnout syndrome are common among intensivists. Prospective analyses of interventions to decrease burnout within the ICU setting are limited. However, organizational interventions are felt to be more effective than those directed at individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Critical care workforce and staffing models are myriad and based on several factors including local culture and resources, ICU organization, and strategies to reduce burden on the ICU provider workforce. Prospective studies to assess and avoid the burnout syndrome among intensivists and advanced practice providers are needed.

Reducing Unnecessary Testing in the Intensive Care Unit by Choosing Wisely.

Overuse of laboratory and X-ray testing is common in the intensive care unit (ICU). This review highlights focused strategies for critical care clinicians as outlined by the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC) as part of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation's Choosing Wisely® campaign. The campaign aims to promote the use of judicious testing and decrease unnecessary treatment measures in the ICU. The CCSC outlines five specific recommendations for reducing unnecessary testing in the ICU. First, reduce the use of daily or regular interval diagnostic testing. Second, do not transfuse red blood cells in hemodynamically stable, non-bleeding ICU patients with a hemoglobin concentration greater than 7 mg/dl. Third, do not use parenteral nutrition in adequately nourished critically ill patients within the first 7 days of ICU stay. Fourth, do not deeply sedate mechanically ventilated patients without a specific indication and without daily attempts to lighten sedation. Finally, do not continue life support for patients at high risk of death without offering patients and their families the alternative of comfort focused care. A number of strategies can be used to reduce unnecessary testing in the ICU, including educational campaigns, audit and feedback, and implementing prompts in the electronic ordering system to allow only acceptable indications when ordering routine testing. Greater awareness of the lack of outcome benefit and associated costs can prompt clinicians to be more mindful of ordering tests and procedures in order to reduce unnecessary testing in the ICU.

Mechanical circulatory assist devices: a primer for critical care and emergency physicians.

Mechanical circulatory assist devices are now commonly used in the treatment of severe heart failure as bridges to cardiac transplant, as destination therapy for patients who are not transplant candidates, and as bridges to recovery and "decision-making". These devices, which can be used to support the left or right ventricles or both, restore circulation to the tissues, thereby improving organ function. Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are the most common support devices. To care for patients with these devices, health care providers in emergency departments (EDs) and intensive care units (ICUs) need to understand the physiology of the devices, the vocabulary of mechanical support, the types of complications patients may have, diagnostic techniques, and decision-making regarding treatment. Patients with LVADs who come to the ED or are admitted to the ICU usually have nonspecific clinical symptoms, most commonly shortness of breath, hypotension, anemia, chest pain, syncope, hemoptysis, gastrointestinal bleeding, jaundice, fever, oliguria and hematuria, altered mental status, headache, seizure, and back pain. Other patients are seen for cardiac arrest, psychiatric issues, sequelae of noncardiac surgery, and trauma. Although most patients have LVADs, some may have biventricular support devices or total artificial hearts. Involving a team of cardiac surgeons, perfusion experts, and heart-failure physicians, as well as ED and ICU physicians and nurses, is critical for managing treatment for these patients and for successful outcomes. This review is designed for critical care providers who may be the first to see these patients in the ED or ICU.

Quality improvement education incorporated as an integral part of critical care fellows training at the Mayo Clinic.

PROBLEM: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education emphasizes quality improvement (QI) education in residency/fellowship training programs. The Mayo Clinic Combined Critical Care Fellowship (CCF) program conducted a pilot QI education program to incorporate QI training as a required curriculum for the 2010-2011 academic year. APPROACH: CCF collaborated with the Mayo Quality Academy to customize and teach the existing Mayo Quality Fellows curriculum to the CCF fellows with the help of two quality coaches over five months starting July 2010. All fellows were to achieve Bronze and Silver certification prior to graduation. Silver required passing four written exams and submitting a health care QI project. Five projects were selected on the basis of the Impact-Effort Prioritization matrix, and DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) methodology was used to complete the projects. The primary outcome was to assess learners' satisfaction, knowledge, and skill transfer. OUTCOMES: All 20 fellows were Bronze certified, and 14 (70%) were Silver certified by the time of graduation. All five QI projects were completed and showed positive impacts on patient safety and care. Surveys showed improved learner satisfaction. Graduates felt the QI training improved their QI skills and employment and career advancement. The QI curriculum had appropriate content and teaching pace and did not significantly displace other important clinical core curriculum topics. NEXT STEPS: The pilot was successfully implemented in the CCF program and now is in the fourth academic year as an established and integral part of the fellowship core curriculum.

Thrombocytopenia in adult patients with sepsis: incidence, risk factors, and its association with clinical outcome.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a major risk factor for the development of thrombocytopenia, but few studies have specifically evaluated prognostic importance of thrombocytopenia in patients with sepsis. We investigated the incidence, risk factors, and prognostic importance of thrombocytopenia in adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with sepsis. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients admitted with severe sepsis/septic shock from December 2007 to January 2009 to a 24-bed medical ICU was done. RESULTS: A total of 304 patients were included in the study. The patients' mean (±SD) age was 68.8 (±15.8) years. The majority (93.7%) had septic shock, and pneumonia was the most common infection (38.8%). Thrombocytopenia developed in 145 patients (47.6%): 77 (25.3%) at ICU admission and 68 (22.3%) during their hospital course. The median (IQR) duration of thrombocytopenia was 4.4 (1.9-6.9) days. Patients who developed thrombocytopenia had more episodes of major bleeding (14.4% vs. 3.7%, P < 0.01) and received more transfusions. Patients with thrombocytopenia had a higher incidence of acute kidney injury (44.1% vs. 29.5%, P < 0.01), prolonged vasopressor support (median (IQR): 37 (17-76) vs. 23 (13-46) h, P < 0.01), and longer ICU stay (median (IQR): 3.1 (1.6-7.8) vs. 2.1 (1.2-4.4) days, P < 0.01). The 28-day mortality was similar between patients with and without thrombocytopenia (32.4% vs. 24.5%, P = 0.12). However, while 15 of 86 patients (17.4%) who resolved their thrombocytopenia died, 32 of 59 patients (54.2%) whose thrombocytopenia did not resolve died (P < 0.01). The association between non-resolution of thrombocytopenia and mortality remained significant after adjusting for age, APACHE III score and compliance with a sepsis resuscitation bundle (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Thrombocytopenia is common in patients who are admitted to the ICU with severe sepsis and septic shock. Patients with thrombocytopenia had more episodes of major bleeding, increased incidence of acute kidney injury, and prolonged ICU stay. Non-resolution of thrombocytopenia, but not thrombocytopenia itself, was associated with increased 28-day mortality.

Preparedness lessons from modern disasters and wars.

Disasters come in all shapes and forms, and in varying magnitudes and intensities. Nevertheless, they offer many of the same lessons for critical care practitioners and responders. Among these, the most important is that well thought out risk assessment and focused planning are vital. Such assessment and planning require proper training for providers to recognize and treat injury from disaster, while maintaining safety for themselves and others. This article discusses risk assessment and planning in the context of disasters. The article also elaborates on the progress toward the creation of portable, credible, sustainable, and sophisticated critical care outside the walls of an intensive care unit. Finally, the article summarizes yields from military-civilian collaboration in disaster planning and response.

The Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score predicts unplanned intensive care unit patient readmission: initial development and validation.

OBJECTIVE: Unplanned readmission of hospitalized patients to an intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with a worse outcome, but our ability to identify who is likely to deteriorate after ICU dismissal is limited. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a numerical index, named the Stability and Workload Index for Transfer, to predict ICU readmission. DESIGN: In this prospective cohort study, risk factors for ICU readmission were identified from a broad range of patients' admission and discharge characteristics, specific ICU interventions, and in-patient workload measurements. The prediction score was validated in two independent ICUs. SETTING: One medical and one mixed medical-surgical ICU in two tertiary centers. PATIENTS: Consecutive patients requiring >24 hrs of ICU care. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS: Unplanned ICU readmission or unexpected death following ICU dismissal. RESULTS: In a derivation cohort of 1,131 medical ICU patients, 100 patients had unplanned readmissions, and five died unexpectedly in the hospital following ICU discharge. Predictors of readmission/unexpected death identified in a logistic regression analysis were ICU admission source, ICU length of stay, and day of discharge neurologic (Glasgow Coma Scale) and respiratory (hypoxemia, hypercapnia, or nursing requirements for complex respiratory care) impairment. The Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score predicted readmission more precisely (area under the curve [AUC], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-0.80) than the day of discharge Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score (AUC, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.56-0.68). In the two validation cohorts, the Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score predicted readmission similarly in a North American medical ICU (AUC, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.67-0.80) and a European medical-surgical ICU (AUC, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.64-0.76), but was less well calibrated in the medical-surgical ICU. CONCLUSION: The Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score is derived from information readily available at the time of ICU dismissal and acceptably predicts ICU readmission. It is not known if discharge decisions based on this prediction score will decrease the number of ICU readmissions and/or improve outcome.

A suggested curriculum in echocardiography for critical care physicians.

Echocardiography is a powerful diagnostic and monitoring tool of cardiac performance, cardiac pathology, and extracardiac intrathoracic abnormalities. Numerous investigations in intensive care have shown its merit, being efficacious and safe. Because many obvious and/or unsuspected conditions can impact the hemodynamic status of critically ill patients, echocardiography is becoming an integral part of an intensivist's diagnostic and monitoring armamentarium. However, significant background information, cognitive, and technical skills are required to properly perform and interpret echocardiography images. Some education and training guidelines for echocardiography have been developed while others remain "in progress." This manuscript suggests a core curriculum and necessary training elements for intensivists. This curriculum does not segregate portable handheld surface echocardiography from the typical platforms of transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography, because hardware and software developments have bridged these technologies.

Comparison of a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol for intensive insulin therapy between adult surgical trauma, medical and coronary care intensive care patients.

BACKGROUND: Sustained hyperglycemia is a known risk factor for adverse outcomes in critically ill patients. The specific aim was to determine if a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol (IIP) was effective in maintaining blood glucose values (BG) within a target goal of 100-150 mg/dL across different intensive care units (ICUs) and to describe glycemic control during the 48 hours after protocol discontinuation. METHODS: A descriptive, retrospective review of 366 patients having 28,192 blood glucose values in three intensive care units, Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU), Medical (MICU) and Coronary Care Unit (CCU) in a quaternary care hospital was conducted. Patients were > 15 years of age, admitted to STICU (n = 162), MICU (n = 110) or CCU (n = 94) over 8 months; October 2003-June 2004 and who had an initial blood glucose level > 150 mg/dL. We summarized the effectiveness and safety of a nurse initiated IIP, and compared these endpoints among STICU, MICU and CCU patients. RESULTS: The median blood glucose values (mg/dL) at initiation of insulin infusion protocol were lower in STICU (188; IQR, 162-217) than in MICU, (201; IQR, 170-268) and CCU (227; IQR, 178-313); p < 0.0001. Mean time to achieving a target glucose level (100-150 mg/dL) was similar between the three units: 4.6 hours in STICU, 4.7 hours in MICU and 4.9 hours in CCU (p = 0.27). Hypoglycemia (BG < 60 mg/dL) occurred in 7% of STICU, 5% of MICU, and 5% of CCU patients (p = 0.85). Protocol violations were uncommon in all three ICUs. Mean blood glucose 48 hours following IIP discontinuation was significantly different for each population: 142 mg/dL in STICU, 167 mg/dL in MICU, and 160 mg/dL in CCU (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The safety and effectiveness of nurse initiated IIP was similar across different ICUs in our hospital. Marked variability in glucose control after the protocol discontinuation suggests the need for further research regarding glucose control in patients transitioning out of the ICU.

Clinical review: allocating ventilators during large-scale disasters--problems, planning, and process.

Catastrophic disasters, particularly a pandemic of influenza, may force difficult allocation decisions when demand for mechanical ventilation greatly exceeds available resources. These situations demand integrated incident management responses on the part of the health care facility and community, including resource management, provider liability protection, community education and information, and health care facility decision-making processes designed to allocate resources as justly as possible. If inadequate resources are available despite optimal incident management, a process that is evidence-based and as objective as possible should be used to allocate ventilators. The process and decision tools should be codified pre-event by the local and regional healthcare entities, public health agencies, and the community. A proposed decision tool uses predictive scoring systems, disease-specific prognostic factors, response to current mechanical ventilation, duration of current and expected therapies, and underlying disease states to guide decisions about which patients will receive mechanical ventilation. Although research in the specifics of the decision tools remains nascent, critical care physicians are urged to work with their health care facilities, public health agencies, and communities to ensure that a just and clinically sound systematic approach to these situations is in place prior to their occurrence.

The initial Mayo Clinic experience using high-frequency oscillatory ventilation for adult patients: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) was introduced in our institution in June 2003. Since then, there has been no protocol to guide the use of HFOV, and all decisions regarding ventilation strategies and settings of HFOV were made by the treating intensivist. The aim of this study is to report our first year of experience using HFOV. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we reviewed all 14 adult patients, who were consecutively ventilated with HFOV in the intensive care units of a tertiary medical center, from June 2003 to July 2004. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56 years, 10 were males, and all were whites. The first day median APACHE II score and its predicted hospital mortality were 35 and 83%, respectively, and the median SOFA score was 11.5. Eleven patients had ARDS, two unilateral pneumonia with septic shock, and one pulmonary edema. Patients received conventional ventilation for a median of 1.8 days before HFOV. HFOV was used 16 times for a median of 3.2 days. Improvements in oxygenation parameters were observed after 24 hours of HFOV (mean PaO2/FIO2 increased from 82 to 107, P < 0.05; and the mean oxygenation index decreased from 42 to 29; P < 0.05). In two patients HFOV was discontinued, in one because of equipment failure and in another because of severe hypotension that was unresponsive to fluids. No change in mean arterial pressure, or vasopressor requirements was noted after the initiation of HFOV. Eight patients died (57 %, 95% CI: 33-79); life support was withdrawn in six and two suffered cardiac arrest. CONCLUSION: During our first year of experience, HFOV was used as a rescue therapy in very sick patients with refractory hypoxemia, and improvement in oxygenation was observed after 24 hours of this technique. HFOV is a reasonable alternative when a protective lung strategy could not be achieved on conventional ventilation.

Providing critical care during a disaster: the interface between disaster response agencies and hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: Recent natural disasters have highlighted shortfall areas in current hospital disaster preparedness. These include the following: 1) insufficient coordination between hospitals and civil/governmental response agencies; 2) insufficient on-site critical care capability; 3) a lack of "portability" of acute care processes (i.e., patient transport and/or bringing care to the patient); 4) education shortfalls; and 5) the inability of hospitals to align disaster medical requirements with other competing priorities. CONCLUSIONS: Definition of the roles and responsibilities of a hospital during a disaster requires additional planning precision beyond the prehospital response phase. Planners must also better define plans for circumstances when or if a hospital is rendered unusable. Disaster medical training of hospital personnel has been inadequate. This article details the specifics of these issues and outlines various potential approaches to begin addressing and formulating remedies to these shortfalls.