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Breast Surgery

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Storytelling in the Early Bereavement Period to Reduce Emotional Distress Among Surrogates Involved in a Decision to Limit Life Support in the ICU: A Pilot Feasibility Trial

Storytelling in the Early Bereavement Period to Reduce Emotional Distress Among Surrogates Involved in a Decision to Limit Life Support in the ICU: A Pilot Feasibility Trial
Critical Care Medicine: January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p 35–46
Barnato, A E et al

Objectives: Surrogate decision makers involved in decisions to limit life support for an incapacitated patient in the ICU have high rates of adverse emotional health outcomes distinct from normal processes of grief and bereavement. Narrative self-disclosure (storytelling) reduces emotional distress after other traumatic experiences. We sought to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and tolerability of storytelling among bereaved surrogates involved in a decision to limit life support in the ICU. 
Design: Pilot single-blind trial. Setting: Five ICUs across three hospitals within a single health system between June 2013 and November 2014. Subjects: Bereaved surrogates of ICU patients. Interventions: Storytelling and control conditions involved printed bereavement materials and follow-up assessments. Storytelling involved a single 1- to 2-hour home or telephone visit by a trained interventionist who elicited the surrogate’s story. 
Measurements and Main Results: The primary outcomes were feasibility (rates of enrollment, intervention receipt, 3- and 6-mo follow-up), acceptability (closed and open-ended end-of-study feedback at 6 mo), and tolerability (acute mental health services referral). Of 53 eligible surrogates, 32 (60%) consented to treatment allocation. Surrogates’ mean age was 55.5 (SD, 11.8), and they were making decisions for their parent (47%), spouse (28%), sibling (13%), child (3%), or other relation (8%). We allocated 14 to control and 18 to storytelling, 17 of 18 (94%) received storytelling, 14 of 14 (100%) and 13 of 14 (94%) control subjects and 16 of 18 (89%) and 17 of 18 (94%) storytelling subjects completed their 3- and 6-month telephone assessments. At 6 months, nine of 13 control participants (69%) and 16 of 17 storytelling subjects (94%) reported feeling “better” or “much better,” and none felt “much worse.” One control subject (8%) and one storytelling subject (6%) said that the study was burdensome, and one control subject (8%) wished they had not participated. No subjects required acute mental health services referral. 
Conclusion: A clinical trial of storytelling in this study population is feasible, acceptable, and tolerable.

Hospital Volume and Outcomes of Noninvasive Ventilation in Patients Hospitalized With an Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Hospital Volume and Outcomes of Noninvasive Ventilation in Patients Hospitalized With an Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Critical Care Medicine: January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p 20–27
Stefan, M S et al

Objective: To determine the relationship between hospital noninvasive ventilation caseload and outcomes among patients with an acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. Design: Cross-sectional study of 13,893 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treated with noninvasive ventilation. Setting: A total of 243 U.S. hospitals participating in the Premier Inpatient Database. Patients: A total of 13,893 patients admitted between July 2009 and June 2011. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Annual hospital volume of noninvasive ventilation was analyzed as a continuous variable, as well as after grouping it in four categories. The median hospital annual volume of noninvasive ventilation use was 627 and varied from 234 admissions in quartile 1 to 1,529 admissions in quartile 4. Noninvasive ventilation failure occurred in 15.2%, and in-hospital mortality was 6.5%. After adjusting for patient characteristics, relative to low-volume hospitals, high-volume hospitals did not have lower noninvasive ventilation failure (odds ratio quartile 4 vs quartile 1, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.65–1.68) or in-hospital mortality (odds ratio quartile 4 vs quartile 1, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.69–1.12). In a hierarchical multivariable analysis with adjustment for patient characteristics where volume was assessed as a continuous variable, hospital volume was not related to outcomes, including noninvasive ventilation failure (p = 0.87), in-hospital mortality (p = 0.88), 30-day readmission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = 0.83), or hospital length of stay (p = 0.12). Conclusions: The results of this large retrospective cohort study suggest that hospitals with higher noninvasive ventilation volume do not achieve better outcomes of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation treated with noninvasive ventilation; even hospitals with low noninvasive ventilation volume are able to successfully implement this intervention.

Prognostic Factors for Long-Term Mortality in Critically Ill Patients Treated With Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: A Systematic Review

Prognostic Factors for Long-Term Mortality in Critically Ill Patients Treated With Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation: A Systematic Review
Critical Care Medicine:January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p 69–74
Dettmer, M et al

Objectives: Long-term survival for patients treated with prolonged mechanical ventilation is generally poor; however, patient-level factors associated with long-term mortality are unclear. Our objective was to systematically review the biomedical literature and synthesize data for prognostic factors that predict long-term mortality in prolonged mechanical ventilation patients. 
Data sources: We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library from 1988 to 2015 for studies on prolonged mechanical ventilation utilizing a comprehensive strategy without language restriction. Study Selection: We included studies of adults 1) receiving mechanical ventilation for more than or equal to 14 days, 2) admitted to a ventilator weaning unit, or 3) received a tracheostomy for acute respiratory failure. We analyzed articles that used a multivariate analysis to identify patient-level factors associated with long-term mortality (≥ 6 mo from when the patient met criteria for receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation). 
Data Extraction: We used a standardized data collection tool and assessed study quality with a customized Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We abstracted the strength of association between each prognostic factor and long-term mortality. Individual prognostic factors were then designated as strong, moderate, weak, or inconclusive based on an a priori previously published schema. 
Data Synthesis: A total of 7,411 articles underwent relevance screening; 419 underwent full article review. We identified 14 articles that contained a multivariate analysis. We abstracted 19 patient-level factors that showed association with long-term mortality. Six factors demonstrated strong strength of evidence for association with the primary outcome: age, vasopressor requirement, thrombocytopenia, preexisting kidney disease, failed ventilator liberation, and acute kidney injury ± hemodialysis requirement. All factors, except preexisting kidney disease and failed ventilator liberation, were measured at the time the patients met criteria for prolonged mechanical ventilation. Conclusions: Despite the magnitude of the public health challenge posed by the prolonged mechanical ventilation population, only 14 articles in the biomedical literature have tested patient-level factors associated with long-term mortality. Further research is needed to inform optimal patient selection for prolonged mechanical ventilation.

Impact of Source Control in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock

Impact of Source Control in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock
Critical Care Medicine:January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p 11–19
Martínez, M L et al

Objectives: Time to clearance of pathogens is probably critical to outcome in septic shock. Current guidelines recommend intervention for source control within 12 hours after diagnosis. We aimed to determine the epidemiology of source control in the management of sepsis and to analyze the impact of timing to source control on mortality. 
Design: Prospective observational analysis of the Antibiotic Intervention in Severe Sepsis study, a Spanish national multicenter educational intervention to improve antibiotherapy in sepsis. Setting: Ninety-nine medical-surgical ICUs in Spain. Patients: We enrolled 3,663 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock during three 4-month periods between 2011 and 2013. Interventions: Source control and hospital mortality. 
Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1,173 patients (32%) underwent source control, predominantly for abdominal, urinary, and soft-tissue infections. Compared with patients who did not require source control, patients who underwent source control were older, with a greater prevalence of shock, major organ dysfunction, bacteremia, inflammatory markers, and lactic acidemia. In addition, compliance with the resuscitation bundle was worse in those undergoing source control. In patients who underwent source control, crude ICU mortality was lower (21.2% vs 25.1%; p = 0.010); after adjustment for confounding factors, hospital mortality was also lower (odds ratio, 0.809 [95% CI, 0.658–0.994]; p = 0.044). In this observational database analysis, source control after 12 hours was not associated with higher mortality (27.6% vs 26.8%; p = 0.789). 
Conclusions: Despite greater severity and worse compliance with resuscitation bundles, mortality was lower in septic patients who underwent source control than in those who did not. The time to source control could not be linked to survival in this observational database.

Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score Is Superior to the Obstetric-Specific Sepsis in Obstetrics Score in Predicting Mortality in Septic Obstetric Patients

Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score Is Superior to the Obstetric-Specific Sepsis in Obstetrics Score in Predicting Mortality in Septic Obstetric Patients
Critical Care Medicine:January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p e49–e57
Aarvold, A et al

Objectives: Mortality prediction scores have been used for a long time in ICUs; however, numerous studies have shown that they over-predict mortality in the obstetric population. With sepsis remaining a major cause of obstetric mortality, we aimed to look at five mortality prediction scores (one obstetric-based and four general) in the septic obstetric population and compare them to a nonobstetric septic control group. 
Subject and Design: Women in the age group of 16–50 years with an admission diagnosis or suspicion of sepsis were included. In a multicenter obstetric population (n = 797), these included all pregnant and postpartum patients up to 6 weeks postpartum. An age- and gender-matched control nonobstetric population was drawn from a single-center general critical care population (n = 2,461). Sepsis in Obstetric Score, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, and Multiple Organ Dysfunction Scores were all applied to patients meeting inclusion criteria in both cohorts, and their area under the receiver-operator characteristic curves was calculated to find the most accurate predictor. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 146 septic patients were found for the obstetric cohort and 299 patients for the nonobstetric control cohort. The Sepsis in Obstetric Score, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, and Multiple Organ Dysfunction Scores gave area under the receiver-operator characteristic curves of 0.67, 0.68, 0.72, 0.79, and 0.84 in the obstetric cohort, respectively, and 0.64, 0.72, 0.61, 0.78, and 0.74 in the nonobstetric cohort, respectively. The Sepsis in Obstetric Score performed similarly to all the other scores with the exception of the Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score, which was significantly better (p < 0.05). 
Conclusion: The Sepsis in Obstetric Score, designed specifically for sepsis in obstetric populations, was not better than general severity of illness scoring systems. Furthermore, the Sepsis in Obstetric Score performance was no different in an obstetric sepsis population compared to a nonobstetric sepsis population. The Multiple Organ Dysfunction Score is a simple organ-based score, and this result supports the use of organ-based outcome predictors in ICU even in an obstetric sepsis population.

Overtreatment of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in the Surgical ICU

Overtreatment of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in the Surgical ICU
Critical Care Medicine:January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p 28–34
Harada, M et al

Objective: Recent studies reveal a high occurrence of overdiagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in surgical patients with critical illness. The optimal criteria for diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia remain unclear, contributing to unnecessary treatment. We reviewed patients who were admitted to surgical ICUs and were suspected of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia to identify how often patients were correctly treated. 
Design: In this clinical prospective study, data were collected including age, sex, antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serotonin release assay, and Warkentin 4Ts scores. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-positive patients were defined as those with both positive antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (optical density, ≥ 0.40) and positive serotonin release assay results. 
Setting: Urban tertiary medical center. Patients: Patients admitted to the surgical and cardiac ICU who were presumed to have heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and underwent antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and serotonin release assay testing between January 1, 2011, and August 1, 2014. Interventions: None. 
Measurements and Main Results: A total of 135 patients had 4Ts, antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and serotonin release assay scores. A total of 11 patients (8.1%) had positive serotonin release assay and 80 patients had positive antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; 10 patients were identified as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia positive. Positive serotonin release assay was noted in nine of 11 patients (81.8%) with antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay optical density greater than or equal to 2.0, compared with one of 22 patients (4.5%) with optical density values of 0.85–1.99, and one of 102 patients (1.0%) with optical density values of 0–0.84. Out of 135 patients, 29 patients (21.5%) received treatment with argatroban, lepirudin, or fondaparinux: 10 of 10 heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-positive patients (100%) compared with 19 of 125 heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-negative patients (15%). 
Conclusions: Overtreatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in the surgical ICU continues even with recent increased caution encouraging a higher antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay optical density threshold before initiating treatment. More stringent criteria should be used to determine when to order serologic testing and when the results of such testing should prompt a change in anticoagulant treatment. If antiplatelet factor 4/heparin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is used to consider immediate treatment, an optical density greater than or equal to 2.0 may be a more appropriate threshold.

Guidelines for Family-Centered Care in the Neonatal, Pediatric, and Adult ICU

Guidelines for Family-Centered Care in the Neonatal, Pediatric, and Adult ICU
Critical Care Medicine:January 2017 - Volume 45 - Issue 1 - p 103–128
Davidson, J et al

Objective: To provide clinicians with evidence-based strategies to optimize the support of the family of critically ill patients in the ICU. Methods: We used the Council of Medical Specialty Societies principles for the development of clinical guidelines as the framework for guideline development. We assembled an international multidisciplinary team of 29 members with expertise in guideline development, evidence analysis, and family-centered care to revise the 2007 Clinical Practice Guidelines for support of the family in the patient-centered ICU. 
We conducted a scoping review of qualitative research that explored family-centered care in the ICU. Thematic analyses were conducted to support Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome question development. Patients and families validated the importance of interventions and outcomes. We then conducted a systematic review using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations methodology to make recommendations for practice. Recommendations were subjected to electronic voting with pre-established voting thresholds. No industry funding was associated with the guideline development. 
Results: The scoping review yielded 683 qualitative studies; 228 were used for thematic analysis and Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome question development. The systematic review search yielded 4,158 reports after deduplication and 76 additional studies were added from alerts and hand searches; 238 studies met inclusion criteria. We made 23 recommendations from moderate, low, and very low level of evidence on the topics of: communication with family members, family presence, family support, consultations and ICU team members, and operational and environmental issues. We provide recommendations for future research and work-tools to support translation of the recommendations into practice. 
Conclusions: These guidelines identify the evidence base for best practices for family-centered care in the ICU. All recommendations were weak, highlighting the relative nascency of this field of research and the importance of future research to identify the most effective interventions to improve this important aspect of ICU care.

Lung Injury Prediction Score in Hospitalized Patients at Risk of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Lung Injury Prediction Score in Hospitalized Patients at Risk of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Critical Care Medicine:December 2016 - Volume 44 - Issue 12 - p 2182–2191
Soto, G et al

Objective: The Lung Injury Prediction Score identifies patients at risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome in the emergency department, but it has not been validated in non-emergency department hospitalized patients. We aimed to evaluate whether Lung Injury Prediction Score identifies non-emergency department hospitalized patients at risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome at the time of critical care contact. 
Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Five academic medical centers. Patients: Nine hundred consecutive patients (≥ 18 yr old) with at least one acute respiratory distress syndrome risk factor at the time of critical care contact. Interventions: None. 
Measurements and Main Results: Lung Injury Prediction Score was calculated using the worst values within the 12 hours before initial critical care contact. Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome at the time of initial contact were excluded. Acute respiratory distress syndrome developed in 124 patients (13.7%) a median of 2 days (interquartile range, 2–3) after critical care contact. Hospital mortality was 22% and was significantly higher in acute respiratory distress syndrome than non-acute respiratory distress syndrome patients (48% vs 18%; p < 0.001). Increasing Lung Injury Prediction Score was significantly associated with development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (odds ratio, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.21–1.42) and the composite outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome or death (odds ratio, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.18–1.34). A Lung Injury Prediction Score greater than or equal to 4 was associated with the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (odds ratio, 4.17; 95% CI, 2.26–7.72), composite outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome or death (odds ratio, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.68–3.49), and acute respiratory distress syndrome after accounting for the competing risk of death (hazard ratio, 3.71; 95% CI, 2.05–6.72). For acute respiratory distress syndrome development, the Lung Injury Prediction Score has an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.70 and a Lung Injury Prediction Score greater than or equal to 4 has 90% sensitivity (misses only 10% of acute respiratory distress syndrome cases), 31% specificity, 17% positive predictive value, and 95% negative predictive value. Conclusions: In a cohort of non-emergency department hospitalized patients, the Lung Injury Prediction Score and Lung Injury Prediction Score greater than or equal to 4 can identify patients at increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome and/or death at the time of critical care contact but it does not perform as well as in the original emergency department cohort.

Protocol-Based Resuscitation Bundle to Improve Outcomes in Septic Shock Patients: Evaluation of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association Keystone Sepsis Collaborative

Protocol-Based Resuscitation Bundle to Improve Outcomes in Septic Shock Patients: Evaluation of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association Keystone Sepsis Collaborative
Critical Care Medicine: December 2016 - Volume 44 - Issue 12 - p 2123–2130
Thompson, M et al

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a multi-ICU quality improvement collaborative implementing a protocol-based resuscitation bundle to treat septic shock patients. 
Design: A difference-in-differences analysis compared patient outcomes in hospitals participating in the Michigan Health & Hospital Association Keystone Sepsis collaborative (n = 37) with noncollaborative hospitals (n = 50) pre- (2010–2011) and postimplementation (2012–2013). Collaborative hospitals were also stratified as high (n = 19) and low (n = 18) adherence based on their overall bundle adherence. 
Setting: Eighty-seven Michigan hospitals with ICUs. Patients: We compared 22,319 septic shock patients in collaborative hospitals compared to 26,055 patients in noncollaborative hospitals using the Michigan Inpatient Database. Interventions: Multidisciplinary ICU teams received informational toolkits, standardized screening tools, and continuous quality improvement, aided by cultural improvement. 
Measurements and Main Results: In-hospital mortality and hospital length of stay significantly improved between pre- and postimplementation periods for both collaborative and noncollaborative hospitals. Comparing collaborative and noncollaborative hospitals, we found no additional reductions in mortality (odds ratio, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.87–1.01; p = 0.106) or length of stay (–0.3 d; 95% CI, –0.7 to 0.1 d; p = 0.174). Compared to noncollaborative hospitals, high adherence hospitals had significant reductions in mortality (odds ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79–0.93; p < 0.001) and length of stay (–0.7 d; 95% CI, –1.1 to –0.2; p < 0.001), whereas low adherence hospitals did not (odds ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.97–1.19; p = 0.197; 0.2 d; 95% CI, –0.3 to 0.8; p = 0.367). Conclusions: Participation in the Keystone Sepsis collaborative was unable to improve patient outcomes beyond concurrent trends. High bundle adherence hospitals had significantly greater improvements in outcomes, but further work is needed to understand these findings.

Long-Term Survival Rate in Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure Treated With Noninvasive Ventilation in Ordinary Wards

Long-Term Survival Rate in Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure Treated With Noninvasive Ventilation in Ordinary Wards
Critical Care Medicine: December 2016 - Volume 44 - Issue 12 - p 2139–2144
Cabrini, L et al

Objective: Noninvasive ventilation is a life-saving technique increasingly used to treat acute respiratory failure. Noninvasive ventilation has been applied mostly in ICUs, but several reasons brought to an increasing application of noninvasive ventilation in ordinary wards. Few articles evaluated the outcomes of patients receiving noninvasive ventilation including long-term follow-up. The aim of the present study was to assess 1-year survival rate of patients treated with noninvasive ventilation outside the ICU for acute respiratory failure of heterogeneous causes and to identify the predictors of long-term mortality. 
Design: Prospective, observational, pragmatic study. Setting: Ordinary wards of a teaching hospital. Patients: Consecutive patients treated with noninvasive ventilation for acute respiratory failure. Interventions: None. 
Measurements and Main Results: Two-hundred and twenty-patients were enrolled. Mortality rates at 30-day, 90-days, and 1-year follow-up were 20%, 26%, and 34%. When excluding patients with “do-not-resuscitate” status, mortality rates were 13%, 19%, and 28%. The multivariate analyses identified solid cancer, pneumonia in hematologic patients, and do-not-resuscitate status as independent predictors of mortality with postoperative acute respiratory failure associated with improved survival. The same predictors were confirmed when excluding do-not-resuscitate patients from the analyses. Conclusions: Noninvasive ventilation applied in ordinary wards was effective, with long-term outcomes not different from those reported for ICU settings. Solid cancer, pneumonia in hematologic malignancies, and do-not-resuscitate status predicted mortality, whereas patients with postoperative acute respiratory failure had the best survival rate. Additional studies are required to evaluate noninvasive ventilation efficacy in the wards compared with ICU.

Bone Failure in Critical Illness

Bone Failure in Critical Illness
Critical Care Medicine: December 2016 - Volume 44 - Issue 12 - p 2270–2274
Lee, P

Objectives: The origin of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is poorly understood but remains a fundamental concern in the ICU. 
This paper provides a critical appraisal on whether bone failure may represent an unrecognized component of systemic inflammatory response syndrome/multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. 
Data Sources, Data Selection, and Data Extraction: Search of the PubMed database and manual review of selected articles investigating bone pathophysiology in critical illness. 
Data Synthesis: Bone hyperresorption is highly prevalent among critically ill patients. Bone breakdown releases numerous systemically active cytokines and bone-sequestered toxins, with the capacity to fuel inflammatory hypercytokinaemia and metabolic toxaemia. Anti-resorptive medication inhibits bone break down and preadmission anti-resorptive use is associated with superior survival among critically ill patients. 
Conclusions: We propose that hyperresorptive bone failure is an unrecognised component of systemic inflammatory response syndrome/multiple organ dysfunction syndrome that is causal to critical illness progression. If this hypothesis is valid, bone preservative strategies could reduce the risk of osteoporosis/fractures among ICU survivors, as well as decreasing critical illness mortality.