Nationwide time-series surveys of pressure ulcer prevalence in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: The Japanese Society of Pressure Ulcers (JSPU) has two purposes: first, to improve knowledge and skills among health professionals related to preventing and managing pressure ulcers (PUs); and second, to represent those in the field managing PUs, including with government and health authorities. Since 2006, JSPU has conducted fact-finding surveys about every four years to identify PU prevalence in Japan (2006, 2010, 2013 and 2016). Based on the prevalence identified by these surveys, an attempt was made to validate the achievements of JSPU's activities. METHOD: Information from one-day surveys of hospitals, long-term care health facilities, long-term care welfare facilities, and home visit nursing care stations was analysed. We used generalised estimating equations to estimate the proportions of PUs and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each survey. RESULTS: A total of 662,419 patients in 2631 facilities participated in the surveys. The estimated proportions for all facilities (95% CI) in chronological order, from the first to the fourth survey, were: 2.67% (2.52-2.83); 2.61% (2.43-2.80); 1.99% (1.83-2.17); and 1.79% (1.65-1.94), respectively. In all facility types, the proportion of PUs was lower in the fourth survey than the first survey. CONCLUSION: The proportion of PUs showed a decreasing trend and was low according to global standards, demonstrating the efficacy of JSPU's activities.

Use of Automated Infrared Pupillometry to Predict Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Observational Study.

Introduction: Delirium is an acute state of brain dysfunction prevalent among critically ill patients. Disturbances in the sympathetic neurons, including cholinergic neurons, have been reported to cause delirium by upsetting the balance of neurotransmitter synthesis, release, and inactivation. The cholinergic system mediates pupillary constriction as a response to light stimulation, and this reflex can be measured using automated infrared pupillometry (AIP). The relationship between delirium and AIP parameters has been examined. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM ICU) and the Intensive Care Unit Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC) are used for assessing delirium. However, that between the ICDSC score and AIP parameters remains unclear. Objective: To examine the relationship between AIP parameters and the various categories of delirium as defined by the ICDSC score (delirium, subsyndromal delirium, no delirium). Methods: This prospective observational study included patients aged ≥18 years admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from May 2018 to September 2018. ICU patients were classified into delirium, subsyndromal delirium, and no delirium groups according to the ICDSC score during ICU stay. The pupillary light reflex was assessed in both eyes immediately after admission using AIP with a portable infrared pupillometer. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the odds ratio to examine the relationship between the severity of delirium as assessed by the ICDSC score and the AIP parameters. Results: In total 133 patients were included in the study. Based on the ICDSC scores, 41.4% of patients had no delirium, 40.6% had subsyndromal delirium, and 18% had delirium. Dilation velocity (DV) measured by AIP was significantly different among the delirium, subsyndromal delirium, and no delirium groups. Post-hoc comparisons showed that DV was significantly slower in the delirium group than in the no delirium group but was not significantly different between the subsyndromal delirium and no delirium groups. After adjusting for patients' sex and age at enrollment, DV was shown to be independently associated with delirium. Conclusion: This study suggests that the use of AIP at ICU admission may improve the identification of patients at a high risk of developing delirium.