Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for acute domestic carbon monoxide poisoning: two randomized controlled trials.

INTRODUCTION: Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is broadly used for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, its efficacy and practical modalities remain controversial. OBJECTIVES: To assess HBO in patients poisoned with CO. DESIGN: Two prospective randomized trial on two parallel groups. SETTING: Critical Care Unit, Raymond Poincaré Hospital, Garches, France. SUBJECTS: Three hundred eighty-five patients with acute domestic CO poisoning. INTERVENTION: Patients with transient loss of consciousness (trial A, n = 179) were randomized to either 6 h of normobaric oxygen therapy (NBO; arm A0, n = 86) or 4 h of NBO plus one HBO session (arm A1, n = 93). Patients with initial coma (trial B, n = 206) were randomized to either 4 h of NBO plus one HBO session (arm B1, n = 101) or 4 h of NBO plus two 2 HBO sessions (arm B2, n = 105). PRIMARY ENDPOINT: Proportion of patients with complete recovery at 1 month. RESULTS: In trial A, there was no evidence for a difference in 1-month complete recovery rates with and without HBO [58% compared to 61%; unadjusted odds ratio, 0.90 (95% CI, 0.47-1.71)]. In trial B, complete recovery rates were significantly lower with two than with one HBO session [47% compared to 68%; unadjusted odds ratio, 0.42 (CI, 0.23-0.79)]. CONCLUSION: In patients with transient loss of consciousness, there was no evidence of superiority of HBO over NBO. In comatose patients, two HBO sessions were associated with worse outcomes than one HBO session.

Assessing organizational performance in intensive care units: a French experience.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to assess and to explain variation of organizational performance in intensive care units (ICUs). DESIGN: This was a prospective multicenter study. SETTING: The study involved 26 ICUs located in the Paris area, France, participating in a regional database. METHODS: Data were collected through answers of 1000 ICU personnel to the Culture, Organization, and Management in Intensive Care questionnaire and from the database. Organizational performance was assessed through a composite score related to 5 dimensions: coordination and adaptation to uncertainty, communication, conflict management, organizational change, and organizational learning, Skills developed in relationship with patients and their families. Statistical comparisons between ICUs were performed by analysis of variance with a Scheffé pairwise procedure. A multilevel regression model was used to analyze both individual and structural variables explaining differences of ICU's organizational performance. RESULTS: The organizational performance score differed among ICUs. Some cultural values were negatively correlated with a high level of organizational performance, suggesting improvement potential. Several individual and structural factors were also related to the quality of ICU organization, including absence of burnout, older staff, satisfaction to work, and high workload (P < .02 for each). CONCLUSIONS: A benchmarking approach can be used by ICU managers to assess the organizational performance of their ICU based on a validated questionnaire. Differences are mainly explained by cultural values and individual well-being factors, introducing new requirements for managing human resources in ICUs.

Culture, organization, and management in intensive care: construction and validation of a multidimensional questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to develop and validate a questionnaire designed to assess the culture, organization, and management of intensive care units. DESIGN: This is a prospective multicenter study. SETTING: The study was conducted in 26 intensive care units located in Paris. PARTICIPANTS: All personnel were asked to complete the questionnaire. INTERVENTION: The questionnaire was developed in 2 steps: (1) development of a theoretical framework based on organizational theory and (2) testing of the reliability and validity of a comprehensive set of measures. METHOD: The internal consistency of the items composing each scale was tested by using the Cronbach alpha. Convergent, and discriminant validity was assessed by factor analysis with varimax rotation. RESULTS: The overall completion rate was 74% with 1000 respondents (750 nurses, 26 head nurses, 168 physicians, and 56 medical secretaries). Starting with a 220-item questionnaire, we constructed a short version-conserving metrological characteristics with good reliability and validity. The short questionnaire, entitled Culture, Organization, and Management in Intensive Care, consists of 106 items distributed in 9 dimensions and 22 scales: culture (n = 3), coordination and adaptation to uncertainty (n = 3), communication (n = 3), problem solving and conflict management (n = 2), organizational learning and organizational change (n = 2), skills developed in a patient-caregiver relationship (n = 1), subjective unit performance (n = 3), burnout (n = 3), and job satisfaction and intention to quit (n = 2). All the scales showed good-to-high reliability, with Cronbach alpha scores higher than .7 (with the exception of coordination [.6]). Team satisfaction-oriented culture is positively correlated with good managerial practices and individual well-being. CONCLUSIONS: The Culture, Organization, and Management in Intensive Care questionnaire enables staff and managers to assess the organizational performance of their intensive care unit.

Current epidemiology of septic shock: the CUB-Réa Network.

To update the epidemiology of septic shock we analyzed clinical, microbiologic, and outcome variables from 100,554 intensive care unit admissions on the Collège des Utilisateurs de Bases de données en Réanimation (CUB-Réa) database, collected from 22 hospitals over a 8-year period, 1993 to 2000. The overall frequency of septic shock was 8.2 per 100 admissions (i.e., 8,251 stays). It increased from 7.0 (in 1993) to 9.7 per 100 admissions (in 2000). The distribution analysis of the sites of infection and of the types of pathogens showed an increase in the rate of pulmonary infection (p = 0.001) and of multiresistant bacteria-related septic shock (p = 0.001). The crude mortality was 60.1% and declined from 62.1% (in 1993) to 55.9 (in 2000) (p = 0.001). As compared with matched intensive care unit admissions without sepsis, the excess risk of death due to septic shock was 25.7 (95% confidence interval, 24.0-27.3) and the matched odds ratio of death was 3.9 (95% confidence interval, 3.5-4.3). The frequency of septic shock is increasing with more multiresistant strains. Its crude mortality rate is decreasing, but patients with septic shock still have a high excess risk of death than critically ill patients who are nonseptic.