COSARA: integrated service platform for infection surveillance and antibiotic management in the ICU.

The Intensive Care Unit is a data intensive environment where large volumes of patient monitoring and observational data are daily generated. Today, there is a lack of an integrated clinical platform for automated decision support and analysis. Despite the potential of electronic records for infection surveillance and antibiotic management, different parts of the clinical data are stored across databases in their own formats with specific parameters, making access to all data a complex and time-consuming challenge. Moreover, the motivation behind physicians' therapy decisions is currently not captured in existing information systems. The COSARA research project offers automated data integration and services for infection control and antibiotic management for Ghent University Hospital. The platform not only gathers and integrates all relevant data, it also presents the information visually at the point of care. In this paper, we describe the design and value of COSARA for clinical treatment and infectious diseases monitoring. On the one hand, this platform can facilitate daily bedside follow-up of infections, antibiotic therapies and clinical decisions for the individual patient, while on the other hand, the platform serves as management view for infection surveillance and care quality improvement within the complete ICU ward. It is shown that COSARA is valuable for registration, real-time presentation and management of infection-related and antibiotics data.

Serum urea concentration is probably not related to outcome in ICU patients with AKI and renal replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Among other variables, serum urea concentrations are recommended for timing of initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether serum urea concentration or different serum urea concentration cutoffs as recommended in the literature were associated with in-hospital mortality at time of initiation of RRT for AKI. METHODS: This is a retrospective single- centre study during a 3-year period (2004-07), in a 44-bed tertiary care centre ICU of adult AKI patients who were treated with RRT. RESULTS: Three hundred and two patients were included: 68.9% male, median age 65 years and an APACHE II score of 21. The overall in-hospital mortality was 57.9%. Non-survivors were older (67 versus 64 years, P = 0.016) and had a higher APACHE II score (22 versus 20, P < 0.001). At time of initiation of RRT, they were more severely ill and had a lower serum urea concentration compared to survivors (130 versus 141 mg/dL, P = 0.038). Serum urea concentration, as well as the different historical serum urea concentration cut-offs had low area under the curves for the receiver operating characteristic curve for prediction of mortality. In multivariate analysis, age, and at time of initiation of RRT, potassium, SOFA score with exclusion of points for AKI and RIFLE class were associated with mortality, but serum urea concentration and the different cut-offs were not. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study suggests that serum urea concentration and serum urea concentration cut-offs at time of initiation of RRT have no predictive value for in-hospital mortality in ICU patients with AKI.

Has information technology finally been adopted in Flemish intensive care units?

BACKGROUND: Information technology (IT) may improve the quality, safety and efficiency of medicine, and is especially useful in intensive Care Units (ICUs) as these are extremely data-rich environments with round-the-clock changing parameters. However, data regarding the implementation rates of IT in ICUs are scarce, and restricted to non-European countries. The current paper aims to provide relevant information regarding implementation of IT in Flemish ICU's (Flanders, Belgium). METHODS: The current study is based on two separate but complementary surveys conducted in the region of Flanders (Belgium): a written questionnaire in 2005 followed by a telephone survey in October 2008. We have evaluated the actual health IT adoption rate, as well as its evolution over a 3-year time frame. In addition, we documented the main benefits and obstacles for taking the decision to implement an Intensive Care Information System (ICIS). RESULTS: Currently, the computerized display of laboratory and radiology results is almost omnipresent in Flemish ICUs, (100% and 93.5%, respectively), but the computerized physician order entry (CPOE) of these examinations is rarely used. Sixty-five % of Flemish ICUs use an electronic patient record, 41.3% use CPOE for medication prescriptions, and 27% use computerized medication administration recording. The implementation rate of a dedicated ICIS has doubled over the last 3 years from 9.3% to 19%, and another 31.7% have plans to implement an ICIS within the next 3 years. Half of the tertiary non-academic hospitals and all university hospitals have implemented an ICIS, general hospitals are lagging behind with 8% implementation, however. The main reasons for postponing ICIS implementation are: (i) the substantial initial investment costs, (ii) integration problems with the hospital information system, (iii) concerns about user-friendly interfaces, (iv) the need for dedicated personnel and (v) the questionable cost-benefit ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Most ICUs in Flanders use hospital IT systems such as computerized laboratory and radiology displays. The adoption rate of ICISs has doubled over the last 3 years but is still surprisingly low, especially in general hospitals. The major reason for not implementing an ICIS is the substantial financial cost, together with the lack of arguments to ensure the cost/benefit.

Epidemiology and outcome of nosocomial bloodstream infection in elderly critically ill patients: a comparison between middle-aged, old, and very old patients.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the epidemiology of nosocomial bloodstream infection in elderly intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: In a single-center, historical cohort study (1992-2006), we compared middle-aged (45-64 years; n = 524), old(65-74 years; n = 326), and very old ICU patients (> 75 years; n = 134) who developed a nosocomial bloodstream infection during their ICU stay. RESULTS: Although the total number of ICU admissions (patients aged > or = 45 years) decreased by approximately 10%, the number of very old patients increased by 33% between the periods 1992-1996 and 2002-2006. The prevalence of bloodstream infection (per 1,000 ICU admissions) increased significantly over time among old (p = 0.001) and very old patients (p = 0.002), but not among middle-aged patients (p = 0.232). Yet, this trend could not be confirmed with the incidence data expressed per 1,000 patient days (p > 0.05). Among patients with bloodstream infection, the proportion of very old patients increased significantly with time from 7.2% (1992-1996) to 13.5% (1997-2001) and 17.4% (2002-2006) (p <0.001). The incidence of bloodstream infection (per 1000 patient days) decreased with age: 8.4 per thousand in middle-aged, 5.5 per thousand in old, and 4.6 per thousand in very old patients (p < 0.001). Mortality rates increased with age: 42.9%, 49.1%, and 56.0% for middle-aged, old, and very old patients, respectively (p = 0.015). Regression analysis revealed that the adjusted relationship with mortality was borderline significant for old age (hazard ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.0 -1.5) and significant for very old age (hazard ratio,1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4 -2.4). CONCLUSION: Over the past 15 years, an increasing number of elderly patients were admitted to our ICU. The incidence of nosocomial bloodstream infection is lower among very old ICU patients when compared to middle-aged and old patients. Yet, the adverse impact of this infection is higher in very old patients.