Development and pilot-testing of an evidence-based quality indicator set for home mechanical ventilation care: the OVER-BEAS project.

BACKGROUND: The number of patients depending on home mechanical ventilation (HMV) has increased substantially in Germany in recent years. These patients receive long-term care in different nursing facilities (nursing home, shared living community, private home). However, there are limited data available on the quality of care of HMV patients. The aim of the OVER-BEAS project was to identify quality indicators (QIs) of HMV care using an evidence-based approach. METHODS: A multidisciplinary board consisting of professionals and experts of HMV provision compiled a set of QIs between March and September 2019. In a structured, transparent process a set of QIs covering structures, processes and outcome of HMV patient's care were proposed and evaluated based on the best available evidence. QIs were defined as relevant, reliable and valid measurements of the quality of HMV care and furthermore to be comprehensive and applicable in practice. RESULTS: The experts proposed 40 QIs and consented a final set of 26 QIs. Based on the final set, questionnaires to document the QIs were developed: (1) to assess the quality and describe the structure of the nursing facility; and (2) to gather information on patient-related processes and outcomes. The feasibility of the questionnaires was tested in 5 nursing facilities treating HMV patients. The remarks from the nursing specialists were categorised in three groups: (1) term missing accuracy, (2) problem of understanding, and (3) not documented or documented elsewhere. Mean documentation time by the nursing specialists for one patient was 15 min. Based on this feedback, the questionnaires were finalised. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed a set of QIs relating to long-term HMV care and developed two questionnaires to collect this information. In a pilot study, we found the set of questionnaires to be feasible in assessing the quality of HMV care according to current evidence. The development of standardised evidence-based QIs to evaluate HMV care is a step towards implementing a standardised quality assurance program to document the quality of care of HMV patients.

[Patient blood management in the preparation for birth, obstetrics and postpartum period]. / Patient Blood Management in der Geburtsvorbereitung, Geburtshilfe und postpartalen Phase.

The implementation of patient blood management (PBM) is increasingly becoming standard in operative medicine. Recently, interest has also been shown for the vulnerable collective of pregnant women and neonates. As the information regarding anesthesiological procedures for pregnant women and the peripartum period including an informed consent process should be carried out long before childbirth, this provides a good possibility in this connection to incorporate PBM. An anesthesiological risk estimation as well as the diagnostic workup and treatment of potential anemia should be carried out during the pregnancy. Furthermore, loss of blood in anticipation of bleeding complications should be reduced by interdisciplinary preventive measures and an individually coordinated postpartum care should be organized. This results in an early diagnosis of anemia or iron deficiency with subsequent treatment also postpartum, analogous to the prepartum period.

[Postpartum hemorrhage : Interdisciplinary consideration in the context of patient blood management]. / Postpartale Hämorrhagie : Interdisziplinäre Betrachtung im Kontext des Patient Blood Management.

Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) nowadays still represents a severe complication of both a vaginal delivery and a cesarean section. In German-speaking areas a new definition of the term has recently become established and the nomenclature with respect to the severe form of PPH was dropped. The handling of misoprostol as a uterotonic during treatment of PPH is also new, which is available in Germany only as a medical direct import. For adequate diagnostics and targeted treatment interdisciplinary and standardized algorithms should be established and the specialist disciplines involved should be sensitized to this problem. In addition to an adequate hemostasis, a developing coagulopathy must be recognized at an early stage and treated with targeted coagulation management. Through implementation concepts, particularly the second pillar (minimization of blood loss) and the third pillar (rational use of blood transfusions) of patient blood management, various aspects for improvement of treatment of a PPH can be identified.

[Anesthesiology Seminar in Times of COVID-19: a Hybrid Model evolving from Digital and Virtual Lessons]. / Anästhesiologische Lehre in Zeiten von Corona ­ von der Präsenzlehre zum Hybridmodell.

On March 14, 2020, the first Bavaria-wide exit restriction was imposed and university teaching in its familiar form was drastically restricted. For intensive care physicians and anesthetists, there was a special area of tension in many places due to the extraordinary demand for the treatment of critically ill patients and the restructuring and maintenance of teaching. We report on the realignment of the anesthesia seminar in an online flipped classroom and the development towards a hybrid model. As such, an adequate transfer of knowledge could take place under difficult conditions and at the same time the teaching concept could be further developed.

[Analysis of the weaning process in intensive care patients with regard to documentation and transfer to further treatment units]. / Analyse des Weaningprozesses bei Intensivpatienten im Hinblick auf Dokumentation und Verlegung in weiterbehandelnde Einheiten.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Weaning from ventilators is not always finished in the primary intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Transfer to other treatment facilities is a sensitive stage in the treatment and rehabilitation of the weaning patient. The aim of the present study was to investigate transition management and interhospital transfer of weaning patients, with special emphasis on documentation quality. METHODS: A retrospective data analysis of one year (2018) in two ICUs of a university hospital was performed. All ventilated patients with the following tracer diagnoses were included: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, patients with multiple injuries, pneumonia, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and cardiac arrest (ventilation > 24 h). RESULTS: A total of 750 patients were included in the study (median age 64 [IQR 52.8-76]; 32% female). In all, 48 (6.4%) patients were not weaned at the time of transfer (especially sepsis and ARDS). Routine documentation was sufficient for the sections "spontaneous breathing trial", "assessment of readiness to wean" and "presumed weanability" to adequately assess the parameters of the German S2k guideline "prolonged weaning". Predominantly, these patients were transferred with tracheostoma (76%) to rehabilitation units (44%) by specialized physician-assisted patient transport ambulances (75%). DISCUSSION: The transfer of ventilated patients after initial ICU stay is a relevant issue for interhospital transfer. Routine documentation of a structured weaning process is sufficient in core elements to describe the weaning process. This is of great importance for continuity in the further treatment of these patients.