Trends in Return of Spontaneous Circulation and Survival to Hospital Discharge for In-Intensive Care Unit Cardiac Arrests.

Rationale: Nearly 3 in 5 in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCAs) occur in the intensive care unit (ICU), yet large-scale data on the outcomes of in-ICU cardiac arrests have not been published for over a decade. Objectives: We sought to examine outcomes of in-ICU cardiac arrests, evaluating both achievement of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and subsequent survival to hospital discharge and how these have changed over time and by type of cardiac arrest. Methods: This was an observational study using the Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry, an American Heart Association-sponsored, prospective, multisite registry of IHCAs in the United States, including adults 18 years of age and older with a confirmed initial cardiac arrest occurring in the ICU who underwent resuscitation. Outcomes included achievement of ROSC and survival to hospital discharge. Multivariable hierarchical logistic regression adjusting for patient-level factors and hospitals as random effects was used to evaluate ROSC and survival. Results: A total of 114,371 adult, in-ICU IHCAs from January 2006 to December 2018 were studied. The mean age was 63.8 years, 41.3% were women, and 82.1% had a nonshockable initial rhythm. Of the 114,371 ICU cardiac arrests, 70,610 (61.7%) achieved ROSC, and 21,747 (19.0%) survived until hospital discharge. The rate of ROSC improved from 2006 to 2018 (unadjusted rate, 55.0-65.4%; adjusted odds ratio [OR] per year, 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.05). There was an increase in overall survival to discharge during this time (unadjusted rate, 16.7-20.5%; adjusted OR per year, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.03-1.04). The survival to discharge rate of the 70,610 patients who achieved ROSC increased slightly (unadjusted rate, 30.3-31.4%; adjusted OR per year, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01, 1.02). Conclusions: There is an increase in survival to discharge for patients who experienced a cardiac arrest in the ICU between 2006 and 2018. There is an increase in achievement of ROSC and post-ROSC survival to discharge, although the increase in achievement of ROSC was greater than the increase in post-ROSC survival.

Identification of Patient Safety Threats in a Post-Intensive Care Clinic.

The extent to which postintensive care unit (ICU) clinics may improve patient safety for those discharged after receiving intensive care remains unclear. This observational cohort study conducted at an academic, tertiary care medical center used qualitative survey data analyzed via conventional content analysis to describe patient safety threats encountered in the post-ICU clinic. For 83 included patients, safety threats were identified for 60 patients resulting in 96 separate safety threats. These were categorized into 7 themes: medication errors (27%); inadequate medical follow-up (25%); inadequate patient support (16%); high-risk behaviors (5%); medical complications (5%); equipment/supplies failures (4%); and other (18%). Of the 96 safety threats, 41% were preventable, 27% ameliorable, and 32% were neither preventable nor ameliorable. Nearly 3 out of 4 patients within a post-ICU clinic had an identifiable safety threat. Medication errors and delayed medical follow-up were the most common safety threats identified; most were either preventable or ameliorable.

Survivorship After Critical Illness and Post-Intensive Care Syndrome.

Improvements in critical care medicine have led to a marked increase in survivors of the intensive care unit (ICU). These survivors encounter many difficulties following ICU discharge. The term post -intensive care syndrome (PICS) provides a framework for identifying the most common symptoms which fall into three domains: cognitive, physical, and mental health. There are numerous risk factors for the development of PICS including premorbid conditions and specific elements of ICU hospitalizations. Management is complex and should take an individualized approach with interdisciplinary care. Future research should focus on prevention, identification, and treatment of this unique population.

Interviews with primary care physicians identify unmet transition needs after ICU.

AIM: We sought to explore unmet needs in transitions of care for critical illness survivors that concern primary care physicians. FINDINGS: Semi-structured interviews with primary care physicians identified three categories of concerns about unmet transition needs after patients' ICU stays: patients' understanding of their ICU stay and potential complications, treatments or support needs not covered by insurance, and starting and maintaining needed rehabilitation and assistance across transitions of care. CONCLUSION: Given current constraints of access to coordinated post-ICU care, efforts to identify and address the post-hospitalization needs of critical illness survivors may be improved through coordinated work across the health system.