Palliative and end-of-life care practices for critically ill patients and their families in a peri-intensive care setting: A protocol for an umbrella review.

OBJECTIVES: This umbrella review will summarize palliative and end-of-life care practices in peri-intensive care settings by reviewing systematic reviews in intensive care unit (ICU) settings. Evidence suggests that integrating palliative care into ICU management, initiating conversations about care goals, and providing psychological and emotional support can significantly enhance patient and family outcomes. METHODS: The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for umbrella reviews will be followed. The search will be carried out from inception until 30 September 2023 in the following databases: Cochrane Library, SCOPUS, Web of Science, CINAHL Complete, Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO. Two reviewers will independently conduct screening, data extraction, and quality assessment, and to resolve conflicts, adding a third reviewer will facilitate the consensus-building process. The quality assessment will be carried out using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist. The review findings will be reported per the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews statement. RESULTS: This umbrella review seeks to inform future research and practice in critical care medicine, helping to ensure that end-of-life care interventions are optimized to meet the needs of critically ill patients and their families.

Critical Care for COVID-19 Affected Patients: Updated Position Statement of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine.

The management of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is witnessing a change as we learn more about the pathophysiology and the severity of the disease. Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analysis have been published over the last few months. Several interventions and therapies which showed promise in the initial days of the pandemic have subsequently failed to show benefit in well-designed trials. Understanding of the methods of oxygen delivery and ventilation have also evolved over the past few months. The Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) has reviewed the evidence that has emerged since the publication of its position statement in May and has put together an addendum of updated evidence. How to cite this article: Mehta Y, Chaudhry D, Abraham OC, Chacko J, Divatia J, Jagiasi B, et al. Critical Care for COVID-19 Affected Patients: Position Statement of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(Suppl 5):S225-S230.

Critical Care for COVID-19 Affected Patients: Position Statement of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine.

The global pandemic involving severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-COV-2) has stretched the limits of science. Ever since it emerged from the Wuhan province in China, it has spread across the world and has been fatal to about 4% of the victims. This position statement of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine represents the collective opinion of the experts chosen by the society. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Mehta Y, Chaudhry D, Abraham OC, Chacko J, Divatia J, Jagiasi B, et al. Critical Care for COVID-19 Affected Patients: Position Statement of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(4):222-241.

Constitutional and Legal Protection for Life Support Limitation in India.

Appropriate treatment limitations towards the end of life to reduce unwanted burdens require ethical clarity that is supported by appropriate legislation. The lack of knowledge of enabling legal provisions, physicians feel vulnerable to legal misinterpretation of treatment limiting decisions. In India the lack of societal awareness, inadequate exploration of the gray areas of bio-ethics and unambiguous legal position relating to terminal illness have resulted in poor quality end of life care. Much of the perceived vulnerability by the physician is attributable to insufficient knowledge and understanding of existing constitutional and legal position in India. While we await informed legal and legislative opinion, this paper highlights possible legal liabilities arising from treatment limitation decisions with available defense. It is hoped that such clarity would lead to more confident ethical decisions and improved end of life care for patients.

Problems in the diagnosis of AIDS related cryptococcal meningitis: a case report.

Cryptococcal meningitis in a 35-year old male who had a history of chronic alcoholism and sexual promiscuity, is presented here. The patient presented twice, 6 weeks apart, with altered sensorium. On the earlier occasion, CSF examination and CT head scan were entirely normal, while on the second occasion CSF abnormalities were found which led to the diagnosis of cryptococcal meningitis. The patient eventually tested positive for HIV by both the ELISA and Western Blot techniques. Diagnostic problems and management difficulties in AIDS-related cryptococcal meningitis are discussed.

Use of blood components in critically ill patients in the medical intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital.

BACKGROUND: The art of fluid administration and hemodynamic support is one of the most challenging aspects of treating critically ill patients. Transfusions of blood products continue to be an important technique for resuscitating patients in the intensive care settings. Concerns about the rate of inappropriate transfusion exist, particularly given the recognized risks of transfusions and the decreasing availability of donor blood. We investigated the current transfusion practice in the critically ill patients at our hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1817 consecutive critically ill patients admitted between January 2006 and December 2006 were included in this retrospective study. The blood request forms of the patients were analyzed, and their pretransfusion investigations, indications for transfusions, etc. were studied. RESULTS: Nine hundred and eleven (50.1%) critically ill patients, comprising 71.6% males and 28.4% females, received blood/blood components. About 43.8% patients were administered packed red cells (PRC), 18.27% fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and 8.4% transfused platelets. Among those receiving PRC, 31.1% had a pretransfusion Hb below 7.5g%, 34.4% had Hb between 7.5 and 9g%, while 21.4% had Hb above 9g%. Among those receiving FFP, 14.5% had an international normalized ratio INR < 1.5, and 19% had a pretransfusion platelet count above 50,000/cumm. During the study, there were 7% of the patients who received red cells and FFP, 2% of the patients received red cells and platelets, 1% of the patients received platelets and FFP, and 5% of the patients had received all the three components, i.e., red cells, FFP and Platelets. The baseline investigations and/or clinical indications were not mentioned in 13.1% of patients receiving PRC, 57% receiving FFP and 49.7% receiving platelets. CONCLUSION: About 21.4% of PRC, 14.5% of FFP, and 19% of platelets were inappropriately indicated. Clinicians in our centre were conservative in keeping with recent transfusion guidelines. A significant number of blood request forms were still incomplete with baseline investigations not mentioned in the request forms.