Critical care practices in the world: Results of the global intensive care unit need assessment survey 2020.

BACKGROUND: There is variability in intensive care unit (ICU) resources and staffing worldwide. This may reflect variation in practice and outcomes across all health systems. AIM: To improve research and quality improvement measures administrative leaders can create long-term strategies by understanding the nature of ICU practices on a global scale. METHODS: The Global ICU Needs Assessment Research Group was formed on the basis of diversified skill sets. We aimed to survey sites regarding ICU type, availability of staffing, and adherence to critical care protocols. An international survey 'Global ICU Needs Assessment' was created using Google Forms, and this was distributed from February 17th, 2020 till September 23rd, 2020. The survey was shared with ICU providers in 34 countries. Various approaches to motivating healthcare providers were implemented in securing submissions, including use of emails, phone calls, social media applications, and WhatsApp™. By completing this survey, providers gave their consent for research purposes. This study was deemed eligible for category-2 Institutional Review Board exempt status. RESULTS: There were a total 121 adult/adult-pediatrics ICU responses from 34 countries in 76 cities. A majority of the ICUs were mixed medical-surgical [92 (76%)]. 108 (89%) were adult-only ICUs. Total 36 respondents (29.8%) were 31-40 years of age, with 79 (65%) male and 41 (35%) female participants. 89 were consultants (74%). A total of 71 (59%) respondents reported having a 24-h in-house intensivist. A total of 87 (72%) ICUs were reported to have either a 2:1 or ≥ 2:1 patient/nurse ratio. About 44% of the ICUs were open and 76% were mixed type (medical-surgical). Protocols followed regularly by the ICUs included sepsis care (82%), ventilator-associated pneumonia (79%); nutrition (76%), deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis (84%), stress ulcer prophylaxis (84%), and glycemic control (89%). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this international, multi-dimensional, needs-assessment survey, there is a need for increased recruitment and staffing in critical care facilities, along with improved patient-to-nurse ratios. Future research is warranted in this field with focus on implementing appropriate health standards, protocols and resources for optimal efficiency in critical care worldwide.

Clinical and Economic Impact of Rapid Blood Pathogen Identification Via Verigene.

INTRODUCTION: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality if not treated appropriately. Rapid identification of microorganisms will allow clinicians the opportunity to modify initial broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and improve patient outcomes in bacteremia. We aim to evaluate the impact of the Verigene Gram-positive blood culture (BC-GP) technology on time to modification of antibiotic therapy by clinicians. METHODS: This was a retrospective research study conducted at Corpus Christi Medical Center. Verigene BC-GP technology was employed to rapidly identify microorganisms in patients with suspected Gram-positive bacteremia. Empiric antibiotic therapy was modified via de-escalation or escalation when culture results became available. The primary outcome for this study was the mean time to modification of antibiotic therapy after Verigene BC-GP results became available. Data analysis was conducted from data collected between January 2015 and August 2017 to assess the clinical and pharmacoeconomic impact of BC-GP. RESULTS: Data were collected on 159 patients, with 123 of 159 (77%) meeting the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 66 ± 14.9 years, with 53/123 (43%) females and 70/123 (57%) males. Positive cultures identified were as follows: Streptococcus species (34), Staphylococcus species (72), 31/72 (43%) were MRSA, and Enterococcus species (19), 4/19 (21%) were Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). Antibiotic therapies in 31 of 123 patients (25%) were escalated, and 29 of 123 (24%) were de-escalated. Therapy was determined to be appropriate based on culture results in 63 of 123 (51%) patients, and thus therapy was not modified in this group. The mean time to escalate therapy was 6.2 ± 6 h and 9.2 ± 12.1 h to de-escalate. The average time for modification of antibiotic therapy was 7.6 ± 9.5 h. The conventional approach would take approximately 24-72 h for pathogen identification. Data on cost savings per intervention is estimated to be approximately $4000 per intervention. Based on this model, we estimate approximately $240,000 in cost savings from the 60 cases where interventions occurred. CONCLUSION: There is a significant time advantage to pathogen identification, therapy modification as well as a pharmacoeconomic benefit associated with the Verigene GC-GP system as compared to the conventional approach, which translates to positive patient outcomes.

Call for a Global Vaccine Plan to Combat Current and Future Pandemics: One for ALL and ALL for One.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in late December 2019 has taken the world by storm. In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) named this virus COVID-19. To date, it has infected approximately 186 million people worldwide and is attributed as the cause of death of more than 5 million people (and this number is only increasing.) The global effort to develop vaccines and therapeutics occurred at the fastest pace yet, with several vaccines' approval under emergency authorization use. There are also several post-marketing side effects, including myocarditis, cerebral venous embolism, and Guillain Barre Syndrome. Global vaccine disparity complicates the control of pandemic challenges. Several highly infectious variants have emerged, and more variants are feared to emerge if global vaccination plans are not developed soon.

Current Utility of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score: A Literature Review and Future Directions.

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is commonly used in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to evaluate, prognosticate and assess patients. Since its validation, the SOFA score has served in various settings, including medical, trauma, surgical, cardiac, and neurological ICUs. It has been a strong mortality predictor and literature over the years has documented the ability of the SOFA score to accurately distinguish survivors from non-survivors on admission. Over the years, multiple variations have been proposed to the SOFA score, which have led to the evolution of alternate validated scoring models replacing one or more components of the SOFA scoring system. Various SOFA based models have been used to evaluate specific clinical populations, such as patients with cardiac dysfunction, hepatic failure, renal failure, different races and public health illnesses, etc. This study is aimed to conduct a review of modifications in SOFA score in the past several years. We review the literature evaluating various modifications to the SOFA score such as modified SOFA, Modified SOFA, modified Cardiovascular SOFA, Extra-renal SOFA, Chronic Liver Failure SOFA, Mexican SOFA, quick SOFA, Lactic acid quick SOFA (LqSOFA), SOFA in hematological malignancies, SOFA with Richmond Agitation-Sedation scale and Pediatric SOFA. Various organ systems, their relevant scoring and the proposed modifications in each of these systems are presented in detail. There is a need to incorporate the most recent literature into the SOFA scoring system to make it more relevant and accurate in this rapidly evolving critical care environment. For future directions, we plan to put together most if not all updates in SOFA score and probably validate it in a large database a single institution and validate it in multisite data base.

Tsunami of economic turmoil to hit the healthcare in 2021-2022: COVID-19 pandemic is just an earthquake.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the United States to hit record numbers of COVID-19 cases: peak unemployment of 14.7%, an increase in $4 trillion in national debt, and an estimated 3.4% GDP decline. The current socio-economic environment the pandemic created is just an earthquake that can create a tsunami that is bound to hit the healthcare system and can be felt around the globe. This tsunami is composed of a post-pandemic increase in healthcare facilities admission of indigent patients, decrease in medical reimbursement, and high operating costs to maintain healthcare workers, which can cause a synergistic effect that can lead to healthcare facilities experiencing significant negative total revenue. Time is of the essence, and it is imperative to make a collective effort from all healthcare professionals and legislatures to shift the nation's attention to the issue at hand that can threaten the closure of many healthcare facilities post-pandemic.

Psychological effects of the COVID 19 pandemic on healthcare workers globally: A systematic review.

In this systematic review, we compared the incidences of psychological issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as anxiety, depression, occupational stress, PTSD and insomnia, in healthcare workers (HCW) and non-healthcare workers (NHCW). PubMed, Ovid, Google Scholar and PsycInfo were systematically searched for related published articles. In all electronic databases, the following search strategy was implemented, and these key words were used: "COVID 19″ OR "SARS-CoV-2″ AND "psychological" OR "stress" OR "depression" AND "healthcare$". We identified 6 studies, out of the final 15 selected, which reported numerical estimates for incidences of psychological effects. Meta-analysis was conducted, comparing both combined and individual effect sizes of all psychological manifestations. Qualitative evidence was reported from the remaining 9 cross- sectional studies. The summary effects of the combined quantitative meta-analysis conducted on 6 studies did indicate near significant differences between HCW and NHCW. Summary effects of individual manifestations indicated significantly higher incidence of insomnia among HCW, when compared to NHCW. Qualitative evidence from remaining cross-sectional studies provided additional information into the nature of the psychological issues. We conclude that even though reasons for psychological distress among HCW and NHCW may be different, both suffered in equal measures excepting for insomnia.

Critical care practice in India: Results of the intensive care unit need assessment survey (ININ2018).

BACKGROUND: A diverse country like India may have variable intensive care units (ICUs) practices at state and city levels. AIM: To gain insight into clinical services and processes of care in ICUs in India, this would help plan for potential educational and quality improvement interventions. METHODS: The Indian ICU needs assessment research group of diverse-skilled individuals was formed. A pan- India survey "Indian National ICU Needs" assessment (ININ 2018-I) was designed on google forms and deployed from July 23rd-August 25th, 2018. The survey was sent to select distribution lists of ICU providers from all 29 states and 7 union territories (UTs). In addition to emails and phone calls, social medial applications-WhatsApp™, Facebook™ and LinkedIn™ were used to remind and motivate providers. By completing and submitting the survey, providers gave their consent for research purposes. This study was deemed eligible for category-2 Institutional Review Board exempt status. RESULTS: There were total 134 adult/adult-pediatrics ICU responses from 24 (83% out of 29) states, and two (28% out of 7) UTs in 61 cities. They had median (IQR) 16 (10-25) beds and most, were mixed medical-surgical, 111(83%), with 108(81%) being adult-only ICUs. Representative responders were young, median (IQR), 38 (32-44) years age and majority, n = 108 (81%) were males. The consultants were, n = 101 (75%). A total of 77 (57%) reported to have 24 h in-house intensivist. A total of 68 (51%) ICUs reported to have either 2:1 or 2≥:1 patient:nurse ratio. More than 80% of the ICUs were open, and mixed type. Protocols followed regularly by the ICUs included sepsis care, ventilator- associated pneumonia (83% each); nutrition (82%), deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis (87%), stress ulcer prophylaxis (88%) and glycemic control (92%). Digital infrastructure was found to be poor, with only 46 % of the ICUs reporting high-speed internet availability. CONCLUSION: In this large, national, semi-structured, need-assessment survey, the need for improved manpower including; in-house intensivists, and decreasing patient-to-nurse ratios was evident. Sepsis was the most common diagnosis and quality and research initiatives to decrease sepsis mortality and ICU length of stay could be prioritized. Additionally, subsequent surveys can focus on digital infrastructure for standardized care and efficient resource utilization and enhancing compliance with existing protocols.

Role of long-term acute care in reducing hospital readmission.

Long-term acute care hospitals (LTACs) are health care facilities capable of admitting complex patients with high acuity that are unable to return home after hospitalization in acute care. Its defining characteristic is to accommodate patients for a length of stay greater than 25 days, however, little is known about its role of preventing hospital readmissions. Created in the 1980s, these facilities were designed to help acute care facilities improve their resource management, expenditures, and quality of care. Although these units were initially created for chronic ventilator weaning, their scope of practice has broadened. This article analyzes studies and suggests role of LTACs in reducing hospital readmissions.

The NAMES assessment: a novel combined-modality screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea.

PURPOSE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains underdiagnosed, despite our understanding of its impact on general health. Current screening methods utilize either symptoms or physical exam findings suggestive of OSA, but not both. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel screening tool for the detection of OSA, the NAMES assessment (neck circumference, airway classification, comorbidities, Epworth scale, and snoring), combining self-reported historical factors with physical exam findings. METHODS: Subjects were adults without previously diagnosed OSA, referred to a community sleep center for suspicion of OSA. General health, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Berlin questionnaires were completed, and a physical exam focusing on modified Friedman (MF) grade, body mass index (BMI), and neck circumference (NC) was performed prior to polysomnography. OSA was defined by a respiratory disturbance index ≥15. Each variable was dichotomized, and cutoff values were determined for the NAMES tool in a pilot group of 150 subjects. The NAMES score was calculated from NC, MF, comorbidities, ESS, and loud snoring values. The performances of the NAMES, Berlin questionnaire, and ESS screening tests in predicting OSA were then compared in a validation group of 509 subjects. RESULTS: In the pilot population, the cutoff value for the composite NAMES tool was calculated at ≥3 points. In the validation group, NAMES demonstrated similar test characteristics to the Berlin questionnaire, and sensitivity was better than that seen with the Epworth scale. The addition of BMI and gender to the tool improved screening characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The NAMES assessment is an effective, inexpensive screening strategy for moderate to severe OSA.

Sleepy nurses: are we willing to accept the challenge today?

With a shortage of supply of nurses and the increasing demand for nursing care, hospitals require or allow nurses to work extended shifts (in excess of 12 hours) and many shifts per week (up to and in excess of 60 hours per week). The result of these excessive hours of work is that many nurses care for patients while suffering from sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation has been shown to negatively impact judgment and performance resulting in errors and accidents. Sleep deprivation also negatively affects the health of individuals. Sleep deprivation in nurses is a significant issue that requires more attention.