Long-term impact of COVID-19 on nursing and care delivery: A national survey among anaesthetic and critical care nurses.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put an exceptional strain on intensive care delivery and has significantly impacted nursing practice in the intensive care unit, consequently affecting nurses' working environment and health. Little is known about the long-term impact on the nursing workforce and care delivery in intensive care and anaesthetic departments. AIM/OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nursing profession and nursing care from the perspectives of anaesthetic and critical care nurses. METHODS: In this study, an online questionnaire with open- and close-ended questions was distributed to registered nurses working in anaesthesia and intensive care between February 8 and March 7, 2022. The data were analysed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of the 514 registered nurses who responded to the questionnaire, 256 (50%) worked in anaesthesia care and 215 (42%) in intensive care. The long-term impact of COVID-19 was expressed in three categories: nursing care on hold, insights and experiences forming a new professional identity, and the impact of organisational conditions on the profession. Critical care nurses considered nursing care comparable to that before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse anaesthetics experienced changes in nursing tasks and activities compared to that before the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing care is still influenced by the pandemic due to the lack of resources and persistent high workload and needs to be reclaimed and prioritised. Re-establishing high-quality nursing care is a shared responsibility of the organisation and nursing profession, and the organisation needs to create prerequisites for this. Furthermore, nurses' views and insights into their profession developed both positively and negatively during the pandemic, which must be further considered, including the profession's values.

Surviving COVID-19: patients' experiences of care and path to recovery.

PURPOSE: To examine patients' experiences of receiving care on an ICU for COVID-19 and the subsequent rehabilitation process. METHODS: An explorative and inductive design was used. Participants were recruited from two university hospitals in Sweden. Patients admitted to the ICU due to COVID-19 from March 2020 to April 2021, who enrolled in the ICU follow-up, and understood and spoke Swedish were invited to participate. In total, 20 participants completed a semi-structured interview, of whom 18 were included in the thematic analysis. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in two themes: "An isolated world with silver linings" and "Recovery in the wake of the pandemic". Findings show that patients cared for on an ICU for COVID-19 during the pandemic felt safe but experienced a sense of vulnerability. After discharge, physical rehabilitation was a slow process with frustrating day-to-day fluctuations. Mentally, participants felt isolated, fatigued, and emotionally sensitive. Patients reported that love and support from family and friends were crucial for the recovery process. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the challenges of recovering from COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of continued support from health care, public services, family and friends. It provides important insights into patients' experiences and can inform future healthcare strategies and policies.

Health-related quality of life after surviving intensive care for COVID-19: a prospective multicenter cohort study.

In survivors of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) incomplete mental and physical recovery may considerably impact daily activities and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). HRQoL can be evaluated with the RAND-36 questionnaire, a multidimensional instrument that assesses physical and mental aspects of health in eight dimensions. The objective was to investigate HRQoL in intensive care patients previously treated for COVID-19 at three Nordic university hospitals, in a prospective multi-center cohort study. HRQoL was measured using RAND-36, 3-9 months after discharge from intensive care units (ICU). One hospital performed a second follow-up 12 months after discharge. A score under the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval in the reference cohorts was considered as significantly reduced HRQoL. We screened 542 and included 252 patients. There was more than twice as many male (174) as female (78) patients and the median age was 61 (interquartile range, IQR 52-69) years. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity observed in 132 (52%) patients and 121 (48%) patients were mechanically ventilated for a median of 8 (IQR 4-14) days. In RAND-36 physical functioning, physical role functioning, general health (p < 0.001 for all) and social functioning (p < 0.05) were below reference, whereas bodily pain, emotional role functioning and mental health were not. In a time-to-event analysis female sex was associated with a decreased chance of reaching the reference HRQoL in the physical function, bodily pain and mental health dimensions. Higher body mass index was found in the physical functioning dimension and hypertension in the physical functioning, vitality and social functioning dimensions. Similar results were seen for diabetes mellitus in general health, vitality and mental health dimensions, as well as pulmonary illness in the physical role functioning dimension and psychiatric diagnosis in the social functioning dimension. Mechanical ventilation was associated with a decreased likelihood of achieving reference HRQoL in the bodily pain and physical functioning dimensions. Patients treated in an ICU because of COVID-19 had lower HRQoL 3-9 months after ICU discharge than 95% of the general population. Physical dimensions were more severely affected than mental dimensions. Female sex and several comorbidities were associated with a slower rate of recovery.Study registration: clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04316884 registered on the 13th of March 2020, NCT04474249 registered on the 29th of June 2020 and NCT04864938 registered on the 4th of April 2021.

Central nervous system biomarkers GFAp and NfL associate with post-acute cognitive impairment and fatigue following critical COVID-19.

A high proportion of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) experience post-acute COVID-19, including neuropsychiatric symptoms. Objective signs of central nervous system (CNS) damage can be investigated using CNS biomarkers such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAp), neurofilament light chain (NfL) and total tau (t-tau). We have examined whether CNS biomarkers can predict fatigue and cognitive impairment 3-6 months after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) in critically ill COVID-19 patients. Fifty-seven COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU were included with analysis of CNS biomarkers in blood at the ICU and at follow up. Cognitive dysfunction and fatigue were assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Multidimensional Fatigue inventory (MFI-20). Elevated GFAp at follow-up 3-6 months after ICU discharge was associated to the development of mild cognitive dysfunction (p = 0.01), especially in women (p = 0.005). Patients who experienced different dimensions of fatigue at follow-up had significantly lower GFAp in both the ICU and at follow-up, specifically in general fatigue (p = 0.009), physical fatigue (p = 0.004), mental fatigue (p = 0.001), and reduced motivation (p = 0.001). Women showed a more pronounced decrease in GFAp compared to men, except for in mental fatigue where men showed a more pronounced GFAp decrease compared to women. NfL concentration at follow-up was lower in patients who experienced reduced motivation (p = 0.004). Our findings suggest that GFAp and NfL are associated with neuropsychiatric outcome after critical COVID-19.Trial registration The study was registered à priori (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04316884 registered on 2020-03-13 and NCT04474249 registered on 2020-06-29).

Poor long-term recovery after critical COVID-19 during 12 months longitudinal follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe the burden of illness and impact on health and working situation among former intensive care patients treated for COVID-19. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed at one intensive care unit of a university hospital in Sweden during the first wave of COVID-19 in spring 2020. The burden of illness in health status, cognitive, physical, and psychological outcomes, and working situation were assessed at four and 12 months after discharge from intensive care, using nine validated instruments. RESULTS: Forty-six participants treated for COVID-19 participated in both follow-ups and were included in this study. General fatigue was reported by 37 of 46 participants (82%) at both follow-ups (p = 1.000). For overall health status 28 (61%) participants at the first follow-up and 26 (57%) (p = 0.414) at the second reported lower values than the general population. Cognitive impairment was seen in 22 (52%) participants at four months and in 13 (31%) at 12 months (p = 0.029). The proportion of participants on sick-leave decreased between the first and second follow-up (24% vs 13%, p = 0.025), but the proportion of participants working full-time was almost the same at both follow-ups (35% vs 37%, p = 0.317). CONCLUSIONS: The burden of illness of patients treated in intensive care due to COVID-19 included cognitive, physical, and psychological impacts. Cognitive functions were improved after 12 months, but no clear improvements could be distinguished in the physical or psychological outcome. Higher burden of illness was associated with inability to return to work.

Estimated Global Proportions of Individuals With Persistent Fatigue, Cognitive, and Respiratory Symptom Clusters Following Symptomatic COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.

Importance: Some individuals experience persistent symptoms after initial symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (often referred to as Long COVID). Objective: To estimate the proportion of males and females with COVID-19, younger or older than 20 years of age, who had Long COVID symptoms in 2020 and 2021 and their Long COVID symptom duration. Design, Setting, and Participants: Bayesian meta-regression and pooling of 54 studies and 2 medical record databases with data for 1.2 million individuals (from 22 countries) who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of the 54 studies, 44 were published and 10 were collaborating cohorts (conducted in Austria, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US). The participant data were derived from the 44 published studies (10 501 hospitalized individuals and 42 891 nonhospitalized individuals), the 10 collaborating cohort studies (10 526 and 1906), and the 2 US electronic medical record databases (250 928 and 846 046). Data collection spanned March 2020 to January 2022. Exposures: Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures: Proportion of individuals with at least 1 of the 3 self-reported Long COVID symptom clusters (persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings; cognitive problems; or ongoing respiratory problems) 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020 and 2021, estimated separately for hospitalized and nonhospitalized individuals aged 20 years or older by sex and for both sexes of nonhospitalized individuals younger than 20 years of age. Results: A total of 1.2 million individuals who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection were included (mean age, 4-66 years; males, 26%-88%). In the modeled estimates, 6.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 2.4%-13.3%) of individuals who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection experienced at least 1 of the 3 Long COVID symptom clusters in 2020 and 2021, including 3.2% (95% UI, 0.6%-10.0%) for persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings, 3.7% (95% UI, 0.9%-9.6%) for ongoing respiratory problems, and 2.2% (95% UI, 0.3%-7.6%) for cognitive problems after adjusting for health status before COVID-19, comprising an estimated 51.0% (95% UI, 16.9%-92.4%), 60.4% (95% UI, 18.9%-89.1%), and 35.4% (95% UI, 9.4%-75.1%), respectively, of Long COVID cases. The Long COVID symptom clusters were more common in women aged 20 years or older (10.6% [95% UI, 4.3%-22.2%]) 3 months after symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection than in men aged 20 years or older (5.4% [95% UI, 2.2%-11.7%]). Both sexes younger than 20 years of age were estimated to be affected in 2.8% (95% UI, 0.9%-7.0%) of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. The estimated mean Long COVID symptom cluster duration was 9.0 months (95% UI, 7.0-12.0 months) among hospitalized individuals and 4.0 months (95% UI, 3.6-4.6 months) among nonhospitalized individuals. Among individuals with Long COVID symptoms 3 months after symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, an estimated 15.1% (95% UI, 10.3%-21.1%) continued to experience symptoms at 12 months. Conclusions and Relevance: This study presents modeled estimates of the proportion of individuals with at least 1 of 3 self-reported Long COVID symptom clusters (persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings; cognitive problems; or ongoing respiratory problems) 3 months after symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Dehydration is associated with production of organic osmolytes and predicts physical long-term symptoms after COVID-19: a multicenter cohort study.

BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that iatrogenic dehydration is associated with a shift to organic osmolyte production in the general ICU population. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the validity of the physiological response to dehydration known as aestivation and its relevance for long-term disease outcome in COVID-19. METHODS: The study includes 374 COVID-19 patients from the Pronmed cohort admitted to the ICU at Uppsala University Hospital. Dehydration data was available for 165 of these patients and used for the primary analysis. Validation was performed in Biobanque Québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19) using 1052 patients with dehydration data. Dehydration was assessed through estimated osmolality (eOSM = 2Na + 2 K + glucose + urea), and correlated to important endpoints including death, invasive mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury, and long COVID-19 symptom score grouped by physical or mental. RESULTS: Increasing eOSM was correlated with increasing role of organic osmolytes for eOSM, while the proportion of sodium and potassium of eOSM were inversely correlated to eOSM. Acute outcomes were associated with pronounced dehydration, and physical long-COVID was more strongly associated with dehydration than mental long-COVID after adjustment for age, sex, and disease severity. Metabolomic analysis showed enrichment of amino acids among metabolites that showed an aestivating pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Dehydration during acute COVID-19 infection causes an aestivation response that is associated with protein degradation and physical long-COVID. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered à priori (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04316884 registered on 2020-03-13 and NCT04474249 registered on 2020-06-29).

A comparison of impact of comorbidities and demographics on 60-day mortality in ICU patients with COVID-19, sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with several pre-existing comorbidities and demographic factors. Similar factors are linked to critical sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We hypothesized that age and comorbidities are more generically linked to critical illness mortality than a specific disease state. We used national databases to identify ICU patients and to retrieve comorbidities. The relative importance of risk factors for 60-day mortality was evaluated using the interaction with disease group (Sepsis, ARDS or COVID-19) in logistic regression models. We included 32,501 adult ICU patients. In the model on 60-day mortality in sepsis and COVID-19 there were significant interactions with disease group for age, sex and asthma. In the model on 60-day mortality in ARDS and COVID-19 significant interactions with cohort were found for acute disease severity, age and chronic renal failure. In conclusion, age and sex play particular roles in COVID-19 mortality during intensive care but the burden of comorbidity was similar between sepsis and COVID-19 and ARDS and COVID-19.

A global systematic analysis of the occurrence, severity, and recovery pattern of long COVID in 2020 and 2021.

Importance: While much of the attention on the COVID-19 pandemic was directed at the daily counts of cases and those with serious disease overwhelming health services, increasingly, reports have appeared of people who experience debilitating symptoms after the initial infection. This is popularly known as long COVID. Objective: To estimate by country and territory of the number of patients affected by long COVID in 2020 and 2021, the severity of their symptoms and expected pattern of recovery. Design: We jointly analyzed ten ongoing cohort studies in ten countries for the occurrence of three major symptom clusters of long COVID among representative COVID cases. The defining symptoms of the three clusters (fatigue, cognitive problems, and shortness of breath) are explicitly mentioned in the WHO clinical case definition. For incidence of long COVID, we adopted the minimum duration after infection of three months from the WHO case definition. We pooled data from the contributing studies, two large medical record databases in the United States, and findings from 44 published studies using a Bayesian meta-regression tool. We separately estimated occurrence and pattern of recovery in patients with milder acute infections and those hospitalized. We estimated the incidence and prevalence of long COVID globally and by country in 2020 and 2021 as well as the severity-weighted prevalence using disability weights from the Global Burden of Disease study. Results: Analyses are based on detailed information for 1906 community infections and 10526 hospitalized patients from the ten collaborating cohorts, three of which included children. We added published data on 37262 community infections and 9540 hospitalized patients as well as ICD-coded medical record data concerning 1.3 million infections. Globally, in 2020 and 2021, 144.7 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 54.8-312.9) people suffered from any of the three symptom clusters of long COVID. This corresponds to 3.69% (1.38-7.96) of all infections. The fatigue, respiratory, and cognitive clusters occurred in 51.0% (16.9-92.4), 60.4% (18.9-89.1), and 35.4% (9.4-75.1) of long COVID cases, respectively. Those with milder acute COVID-19 cases had a quicker estimated recovery (median duration 3.99 months [IQR 3.84-4.20]) than those admitted for the acute infection (median duration 8.84 months [IQR 8.10-9.78]). At twelve months, 15.1% (10.3-21.1) continued to experience long COVID symptoms. Conclusions and relevance: The occurrence of debilitating ongoing symptoms of COVID-19 is common. Knowing how many people are affected, and for how long, is important to plan for rehabilitative services and support to return to social activities, places of learning, and the workplace when symptoms start to wane. Key Points: Question: What are the extent and nature of the most common long COVID symptoms by country in 2020 and 2021?Findings: Globally, 144.7 million people experienced one or more of three symptom clusters (fatigue; cognitive problems; and ongoing respiratory problems) of long COVID three months after infection, in 2020 and 2021. Most cases arose from milder infections. At 12 months after infection, 15.1% of these cases had not yet recovered.Meaning: The substantial number of people with long COVID are in need of rehabilitative care and support to transition back into the workplace or education when symptoms start to wane.

Intensive care-treated COVID-19 patients' perception of their illness and remaining symptoms.

BACKGROUND: The remaining symptoms in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treated in intensive care unit are limited described. Therefore, we assessed patient's perception of their COVID-19 disease, stay in intensive care, and remaining symptoms three to six months after intensive care. METHODS: Prospective cohort study was performed in one intensive care unit of a university hospital in Sweden during the first wave. A questionnaire with open-ended questions and closed-ended questions was used. Data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative content analysis and descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Out of 123 patients treated for COVID-19, 64 answered the questionnaire 3-6 months after discharge from intensive care. Memories from illness and hospital stay revealed in three categories; awareness of the illness, losing anchor to reality and being cared for in a dynamic environment. Information was perceived as spare by 48% and they wanted the information to be more personal. The diary was perceived as personal and was received by 33% patients. The relationship with family was affected among 39% and 13% of the patients indicated that they had not resumed their daily life. A large amount, 84%, indicated that they had remaining symptoms from COVID-19. The dominated symptoms were impaired strength and energy both physically and mentally. CONCLUSION: Patients reported a variety of physical and mental symptoms, and revealed memories from the ICU, and specific awareness of other patients' health. It illustrates the need for screening patients for remaining symptoms after COVID-19 disease and ICU care and may affect resuming patients' daily life.

Caregiver burden and emotional wellbeing in informal caregivers to ICU survivors-A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Informal caregivers to intensive care unit (ICU) survivors may develop post-intensive care syndrome family (PICS-F), including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress (PTS). Our primary aim was to investigate associations between caregiver burden in informal caregivers cohabiting with ICU survivors and patients' physical and psychological outcomes. METHODS: A prospective, multicentre cohort study in four ICUs in Sweden. Adults cohabiting with ICU patients included in a previous study were eligible for inclusion. Three months post-ICU, informal caregivers received questionnaires assessing caregiver burden, health-related quality of life (HRQL) and symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTS. In parallel, patients reported their three-month physical and psychological status via validated questionnaires. The primary outcome of this study was to compare caregiver burden in informal caregivers to patients with and without adverse physical and psychological outcomes 3 months post-ICU. Secondary outcomes were correlations between caregiver burden and informal caregivers' mental HRQL. RESULTS: Among 62 included informal caregivers, 55 (89%) responded to the follow-up questionnaires. Caregiver burden was higher among informal caregivers to patients with an adverse outcome, compared to informal caregivers to patients without an adverse outcome, caregiver burden scale score mean (±standard deviation) 52 (11) and 41 (13) respectively (p = 0.003). There was strong negative correlation between caregiver burden and informal caregivers' mental HRQL (rs -0.74, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Informal caregivers to ICU survivors with adverse physical or psychological outcome experience a higher caregiver burden. A higher caregiver burden correlates with worse caregiver mental HRQL. ICU follow-up programs should consider screening and follow-up of informal caregivers for mental health problems.

Healthcare workers' structured daily reflection on patient safety, workload and work environment in intensive care. A descriptive retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the results of use of structured daily reflection assessments among healthcare workers at an intensive care unit over the course of one year. METHODS: In this descriptive retrospective study, data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The data encompassed 1095 work shifts, evaluated by healthcare workers at an intensive care unit using a structured daily reflection instrument. The areas evaluated were patient safety, workload and work environment, and free-text comments were possible. FINDINGS: The results showed that 36% (n = 395) of work shifts, most of them daytime shifts (44%; n = 161), were affected. Workload was the area that affected most work shifts (29%; n = 309). Missed nursing care, complex care and inaccurate communication impacted patient safety, while patient care, multitasking and working conditions affected workload. Work environment was impacted by organisational factors, environment, lack of control and moral stress. CONCLUSION: Using daily reflection among healthcare workers in the intensive care unit illuminated areas that affect patient safety, workload, and work environment. The importance of communication and collaboration and how they can impact patient safety, workload, and the work environment were highlighted by the team.

Registered nurses' experiences of working in the intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the pandemic, increased numbers of patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission required an increase in ICU capacity, including ICU staffing with competence to care for critically ill patients. Consequently, nurses from acute care areas were called in to staff the ICU along with experienced intensive care nurses. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe Swedish registered nurses' experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19 in ICUs during the pandemic. DESIGN: Mixed method survey design. METHODS: An online questionnaire was distributed through social media to registered nurses who had been working in the ICU during the COVID-19 outbreak. Data were collected for 1 week (May 2020) and analysed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of the 282 nurses who participated, the majority were ICU nurses (n = 151; 54%). Half of the nurses specialized in ICU reported that they were responsible for the ICU care of three or more patients during the pandemic (n = 75; 50%). Among non-intensive care nurses, only 19% received introduction to the COVID-19 ICU (n = 26). The analysis of data regarding nurses' experiences resulted in three categories: tumbling into chaos, diminished nursing care, and transition into pandemic ICU care. Participants described how patient safety and care quality were compromised, and that nursing care was severely deprioritized during the pandemic. The situation of not being able to provide nursing care resulted in ethical stress. Furthermore, an increased workload and worsened work environment affected nurses' health and well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from the present study indicate that nurses perceived that patient safety and quality of care were compromised during the pandemic. This resulted in ethical stress among nurses, which may have affected their physical and psychosocial well-being. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on nurses' work environment, which could result in burnout and staff turnover.

The swedish covid-19 intensive care cohort: Risk factors of ICU admission and ICU mortality.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have recently addressed factors associated with severe Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, some medications and comorbidities have yet to be evaluated in a large matched cohort. We therefore explored the role of relevant comorbidities and medications in relation to the risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality. METHODS: All ICU COVID-19 patients in Sweden until 27 May 2020 were matched to population controls on age and gender to assess the risk of ICU admission. Cases were identified, comorbidities and medications were retrieved from high-quality registries. Three conditional logistic regression models were used for risk of ICU admission and three Cox proportional hazards models for risk of ICU mortality, one with comorbidities, one with medications and finally with both models combined, respectively. RESULTS: We included 1981 patients and 7924 controls. Hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, asthma, obesity, being a solid organ transplant recipient and immunosuppressant medications were independent risk factors of ICU admission and oral anticoagulants were protective. Stroke, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and treatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors (RAASi) were independent risk factors of ICU mortality in the pre-specified primary analyses; treatment with statins was protective. However, after adjusting for the use of continuous renal replacement therapy, RAASi were no longer an independent risk factor. CONCLUSION: In our cohort oral anticoagulants were protective of ICU admission and statins was protective of ICU death. Several comorbidities and ongoing RAASi treatment were independent risk factors of ICU admission and ICU mortality.

A nationwide study of the long-term prevalence of dementia and its risk factors in the Swedish intensive care cohort.

BACKGROUND: Developing dementia is feared by many for its detrimental effects on cognition and independence. Experimental and clinical evidence suggests that sepsis is a risk factor for the later development of dementia. We aimed to investigate whether intensive care-treated sepsis is an independent risk factor for a later diagnosis of dementia in a large cohort of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: We identified adult patients admitted to an ICU in 2005 to 2015 and who survived without a dementia diagnosis 1 year after intensive care admission using the Swedish Intensive Care Registry, collecting data from all Swedish general ICUs. Comorbidity, the diagnosis of dementia and mortality, was retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Registry, the Swedish Dementia Registry, and the Cause of Death Registry. Sepsis during intensive care served as a covariate in an extended Cox model together with age, sex, and variables describing comorbidities and acute disease severity. RESULTS: One year after ICU admission 210,334 patients were alive and without a diagnosis of dementia; of these, 16,115 (7.7%) had a diagnosis of sepsis during intensive care. The median age of the cohort was 61 years (interquartile range, IQR 43-72). The patients were followed for up to 11 years (median 3.9 years, IQR 1.7-6.6). During the follow-up, 6312 (3%) patients were diagnosed with dementia. Dementia was more common in individuals diagnosed with sepsis during their ICU stay (log-rank p < 0.001), however diagnosis of sepsis during critical care was not an independent risk factor for a later dementia diagnosis in an extended Cox model: hazard ratio (HR) 1.01 (95% confidence interval 0.91-1.11, p = 0.873). Renal replacement therapy and ventilator therapy during the ICU stay were protective. High age was a strong risk factor for later dementia, as was increasing severity of acute illness, although to a lesser extent. However, the severity of comorbidities and the length of ICU and hospital stay were not independent risk factors in the model. CONCLUSION: Although dementia is more common among patients treated with sepsis in the ICU, sepsis was not an independent risk factor for later dementia in the Swedish national critical care cohort. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered a priori with the Australian and New Zeeland Clinical Trials Registry (registration no. ACTRN12618000533291 ).

Direct or subacute coronary angiography in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (DISCO)-An initial pilot-study of a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The clinical importance of immediate coronary angiography, with potentially subsequent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients without ST-elevation on the ECG is unclear. In this study, we assessed feasibility and safety aspects of performing immediate coronary angiography in a pre-specified pilot phase of the 'DIrect or Subacute Coronary angiography in Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest' (DISCO) randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02309151). METHODS: Resuscitated bystander witnessed OHCA patients >18 years without ST-elevation on the ECG were randomized to immediate coronary angiography versus standard of care. Event times, procedure related adverse events and safety variables within 7 days were recorded. RESULTS: In total, 79 patients were randomized to immediate angiography (n = 39) or standard of care (n = 40). No major differences in baseline characteristics between the groups were found. There were no differences in the proportion of bleedings and renal failure. Three patients randomized to immediate angiography and six patients randomized to standard care died within 24 h. The median time from EMS arrival to coronary angiography was 135 min in the immediate angiography group. In patients randomized to immediate angiography a culprit lesion was found in 14/38 (36.8%) and PCI was performed in all these patients. In 6/40 (15%) patients randomized to standard of care, coronary angiography was performed before the stipulated 3 days. CONCLUSION: In this out-of-hospital cardiac arrest population without ST-elevation, randomization to a strategy to perform immediate coronary angiography was feasible although the time window of 120 min from EMS arrival at the scene of the arrest to start of coronary angiography was not achieved. No significant safety issues were reported.

Design of DISCO-Direct or Subacute Coronary Angiography in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest study.

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome is a common cause of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). In patients with OHCA presenting with ST elevation, immediate coronary angiography and potential percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) after return of spontaneous circulation are recommended. However, the evidence for this invasive strategy in patients without ST elevation is limited. Observational studies have shown a culprit coronary artery occlusion in about 30% of these patients, indicating the electrocardiogram's (ECG's) limited sensitivity. The aim of this study is to determine whether immediate coronary angiography and subsequent PCI will provide outcome benefits in OHCA patients without ST elevation. METHODS/DESIGN: We describe the design of the DIrect or Subacute Coronary angiography in Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest study (DISCO)-a pragmatic national, multicenter, randomized, clinical study. OHCA patients presenting with no ST elevation on their first recorded ECG will be randomized to a strategy of immediate coronary angiography or to standard of care with admission to intensive care and angiography after 3days at the earliest unless the patient shows signs of acute ischemia or hemodynamic instability. Primary end point is 30-day survival. An estimated 1,006 patients give 80% power (α = .05) to detect a 20% improved 30-day survival rate from 45% to 54%. Secondary outcomes include good neurologic recovery at 30days and 6months, and cognitive function and cardiac function at 6months. CONCLUSION: This randomized clinical study will evaluate the effect of immediate coronary angiography after OHCA on 30-day survival in patients without ST elevation on their first recorded ECG.

Health status and psychological distress among in-hospital cardiac arrest survivors in relation to gender.

AIM: To describe health status and psychological distress among in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) survivors in relation to gender. METHODS: This national register study consists of data from follow-up registration of IHCA survivors 3-6 months post cardiac arrest (CA) in Sweden. A questionnaire was sent to the survivors, including measurements of health status (EQ-5D-5L) and psychological distress (HADS). RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2015, 594 IHCA survivors were included in the study. The median values for EQ-5D-5L index and EQ VAS among survivors were 0.78 (q1-q3=0.67-0.86) and 70 (q1-q3=50-80) respectively. The values were significantly lower (p<0.001) in women compared to men. In addition, women reported more problems than men in all dimensions of EQ-5D-5L, except self-care. A majority of the respondents reported no problems with anxiety (85.4%) and/or symptoms of depression (87.0%). Women reported significantly more problems with anxiety (p<0.001) and symptoms of depression (p<0.001) compared to men. Gender was significantly associated with poorer health status and more psychological distress. No interaction effects for gender and age were found. CONCLUSIONS: Although the majority of survivors reported acceptable health status and no psychological distress, a substantial proportion reported severe problems. Women reported worse health status and more psychological distress compared to men. Therefore, a higher proportion of women may be in need of support. Health care professionals should make efforts to identify health problems among survivors and offer individualised support when needed.