Developing the COVID-19 intensive care medical equipment distribution platform: outcomes and lessons learned.

During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the UK government took the decision to centralise the procurement, allocation and distribution of mission-critical intensive care unit (ICU) medical equipment. Establishing new supply chains in the context of global shortages presented significant challenges. This report describes the development of an innovative platform developed rapidly and voluntarily by clinical engineers, to mobilise the UK's shared medical equipment inventory, in order to match ICU capacity to dynamically evolving clinical demand. The 'Coronavirus ICU Medical Equipment Distribution' platform was developed to optimise ICU equipment allocation, distribution, collection, redeployment and traceability across the National Health Service. Although feedback on the platform has largely been very positive, the platform was built for a scenario that did not fully materialise in the UK and this affected the implementation approach. As such, it was not used to its full potential. Nonetheless, the platform and the insights derived and disseminated in its development have been extremely valuable. It provides a prototype for not only optimising system capacity in future pandemic scenarios but also a means for maximally exploiting the large amount of new equipment in the UK health system, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This early stage innovation has demonstrated that a system-wide pooled information resource can benefit the operations of individual organisations. It has also generated numerous lessons to be borne in mind in innovation projects.

Comparison of estimated GFR and measured GFR in prospective living kidney donors.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the usefulness of three GFR-estimating equations (eGFR) compared with measured GFR (mGFR) in potential living kidney donors. METHODS: We compared the performance of the MDRD, CKD-Epi and Cockcroft-Gault equations with mGFR measured using (51)Cr-EDTA in 508 consecutive potential living kidney donors. Each equation was assessed for bias, precision and accuracy compared with mGFR, and the sensitivity and specificity for the identification of donors with mGFR<80 mL/min/1.73 m2 was evaluated. RESULTS: Two hundred and forty-four subjects were male, 398 Caucasian, 60 Afro-Caribbean and 50 from other ethnic groups. Median age and mGFR were 44.1 year and 91.7 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively. Spearman correlation coefficients between eGFR and mGFR were in the range R s=0.520-0.593. Median bias (eGFR-mGFR) for the MDRD, CKD-Epi and Cockcroft-Gault equations were -1.0 (p=0.98), +8.8 (p<0.0001) and +11.1 (p<0.0001) mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively. Significant differences in bias between Afro-Caribbean and Caucasian subjects were found. The sensitivity (specificity) for the MDRD, CKD-Epi and Cockcroft-Gault equations for identifying subjects with mGFR<80 mL/min/1.73 m2 was 60 (83), 39 (95) and 44% (95%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The level of agreement between mGFR and all three eGFR values was poor, with the MDRD equation performing best. We conclude that reliance on creatinine-based eGFR values is unsatisfactory for the evaluation of potential living kidney donors.

Glomerular filtration rate in prospective living kidney donors.

PURPOSE: Measurements of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are frequently interpreted assuming a linear variation with age. Nonlinear relationships may give a better representation of the changes associated with normal ageing. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 904 subjects (468 women, 436 men; age range 18-84 years) undergoing assessment as prospective living kidney donors. GFR was evaluated from (51)Cr-EDTA plasma clearance using blood samples taken at 2, 3 and 4 h. The slope-intercept GFR was corrected for body surface area (BSA) using the Haycock formula and for the fast exponential using the Brochner-Mortensen equation. The relationship between age, gender and GFR was examined using best-fit curve analysis. Nonlinear relationships with age were explored using fractional polynomials. RESULTS: There was no gender difference in BSA-corrected GFR over five decades of age (P = 0.40). However, female donors with a body mass index >30 kg/m(2) had a statistically significantly lower GFR than nonobese women (P < 0.01). The best-fit relationship between age and GFR was nonlinear and described using a fractional polynomial model of degree 1 (GFR = 103.9-0.0061 × Age(2) mL/min/1.73 m(2)) with a root mean standard error of 12.9 mL/min/1.73 m(2). The residual variance for this model was significantly smaller than for the best-fit linear model (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: GFR measurements in prospective living kidney donors are best corrected for age using a nonlinear relationship.