The Impact of Educational Intervention on Attitude Toward Organ Donation Among Health Care Workers in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: The attitudes of the health care workers (HCWs) are essential in influencing organ donation rate. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an educational intervention on attitudes toward organ donation among HCWs. METHODS: A questionnaire-based interventional study was conducted with 458 HCW from 5 hospitals in Malaysia. A 26-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed online as a preintervention test. Respondents then went through website-based educational materials followed by a post-intervention questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 345 (75.3%) respondents completed the tests. Their attitude toward organ donation was positive preintervention. After the intervention, respondents expressed an increase willingness to donate their own organs (P = .008) and their relatives' organs (P < .001) after death; were more willing to adopt organ donation as part of end-of-life care (P =.002); were more comfortable talking to relatives about organ donation (P =.001); and expressed an increase consideration to execute the action at any time (P =.001). There was increased willingness to admit to the intensive care unit for facilitating organ donation (P =.007); to employ the same resources to maintain a potential brain-dead donor (P < .001); and to support organ donation in case they or their relatives were diagnosed with end-stage organ failure (P =.008). However, there was an increase in negative attitudes regarding the association between organ donation with health care failure (P =.004) and with pain (P =.003). Positive attitude scores were higher after the intervention (P < .001). CONCLUSION: An educational website-based intervention was able to improve the attitudes of HCWs toward organ donation.

The Utility of the Creatinine Excretion to Production Ratio and the Plasma Creatinine and Cystatin C Based Kinetic Estimates of Glomerular Filtration Rates in Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis.

Introduction: Creatinine kinetics denotes that under steady-state conditions, creatinine production (G) will equal creatinine excretion rate (E). The glomerular filtration (GFR) is impaired when excretion is less than production. The kinetic estimate of GFR (keGFR) and E/G ratio were proposed as a more accurate estimate of GFR in acute settings with rapidly changing kidney function. We evaluated keGFR and E/G to diagnose AKI, predict recovery, death or dialysis. Methods: This is a prospective observational study of critically ill patients. Inclusion criteria were patients >18 years old with sepsis, defined as clinical infection with an increase in SOFA score >2, and plasma procalcitonin >0.5 ng/mL. Plasma creatinine and Cystatin C were measured on ICU admission and 4 h later, and their keGFR was calculated. Urine creatinine and urine output were measured over 4 h to calculate the E/G ratio. Results: A total of 70 patients were recruited, of which 49 (70%) had AKI. Of these, 33 recovered within 3 days, and 15 had a composite outcome of death or dialysis. Day 1 keGFRCr and keGFRCysC discriminated AKI from non-AKI with AUCs of 0.85 (95% Confidence interval: 0.74-0.96), and 0.86 (0.76-0.97), respectively. The E/G ratio predicted AKI recovery (AUC: 0.81 (0.69-0.97)). The keGFRs were not predictive of death or dialysis, whereas E/G was predictive (AUC: 0.76 (0.63-0.89). Conclusion: keGFR was strongly diagnostic of AKI. The E/G ratio predicted AKI recovery and a composite outcome of death and dialysis.

Acute Kidney Injury in Malaysian Intensive Care Setting: Incidences, Risk Factors, and Outcome.

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in the intensive care unit (ICU) with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. The high incidence of AKI in our population may be attributed to sepsis. We investigated the incidence, risk factors, and outcome of AKI in four tertiary Malaysian ICUs. We also evaluated its association with sepsis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study extracted de-identified data from the Malaysian Registry of Intensive Care in four Malaysian tertiary ICUs between January 2010 and December 2014. The study was registered under the NMRR and approved by the ethics committee. AKI was defined as twice the baseline creatinine or urine output <0.5 ml/kg/h for 12 h. RESULTS: Of 26,663 patients, 24.2% had AKI within 24 h of admission. Patients with AKI were older and had higher severity of illness compared to those without AKI. AKI patients had a longer duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU, and hospital stay. Age, Simplified Acute Physiological II Score, and the presence of sepsis and preexisting hypertension, chronic cardiovascular disease independently associated with AKI. About 32.3% had sepsis. Patients with both AKI and sepsis had the highest risk of mortality (relative risk 3.43 [3.34-3.53]). CONCLUSIONS: AKI is common in our ICU, with higher morbidity and mortality. Independent risk factors of AKI include age, the severity of illness, sepsis and preexisting hypertension, and chronic cardiovascular disease. AKI independently contributes to mortality. The presence of AKI and sepsis increased the risk of mortality by three times.

Dynamic Changes of Plasma Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Predicted Mortality in Critically Ill Patients with Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: About 50% of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit have systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and about 10%-20% of them died. Early risk stratification is important to reduce mortality. Plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is increased by inflammation and infection. Its ability to predict mortality in SIRS patients is of interest. We evaluated the ability of serial measurement of NGAL for the prediction of mortality in critically ill patients with SIRS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a single-center, prospective, observational study. Patients who fulfill the SIRS criteria were recruited in the study. Delta NGAL at 24 and 48 h (ΔNGAL-24 and ΔNGAL-48) was defined as 24 and 48 h NGAL minus day 1 NGAL; NGAL clearance (NGALc) was defined as percentage of ΔNGAL over day 1 NGAL. The primary outcome of the study is in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 151 patients were analyzed, of which 53 (35%) died. Nonsurvivors were older (51 vs. 45, P = 0.03) and had higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (9 ± 7 vs. 7 ± 4, P = 0.02) and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (47 ± 15 vs. 40 ± 15, P = 0.01) scores as compared to survivors. NGAL concentrations over 3 days were higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (repeated measures analysis of variance, P = 0.02). Day 1 NGAL, ΔNGAL-24, and NGALc-24 were not independently predictive of mortality. However, day 3 NGAL, ΔNGAL-48, and NGALc-48 were predictive after adjusted for age and severity of illness (odds ratio 9.1 [1.97-41.7]). CONCLUSIONS: NGAL dynamics over 48 h independently predicted mortality in critically ill patients with SIRS. This could assist clinicians in risk stratification of this group of high-risk patients.