Study of special-care baby services in North-west Thames region.

During three months in 1975 admissions to 17 of the 21 special-care baby units in the North-west Thames region were analysed by birth weight and category of care. Of the 1,718 babies admitted, one-third needed only observation. Neonatal intensive care formed only a small proportion of the work load in most units. Considerable variation in the pattern of admissions was found. There was some evidence of concentration, about 100 babies being transferred for urgent medical or surgical reasons, and the work load of one unit suggested that it was serving as a referral centre. It is concluded that the quality of care given to some infants needing intensive care might be improved by greater concentration, and that some units should review their admission policies in order to prevent unnecessary postpartum separation of mother and baby.     

Intensive care triage: priority should be independent of whether patients are already receiving intensive care

Intensive care units (ICUs) are not always able to admit all patients who would benefit from intensive care. Pressure on ICU beds is likely to be particularly high during times of epidemics such as might arise in the case of swine influenza. In making choices as to which patients to admit, the key US guidelines state that significant priority should be given to the interests of patients who are already in the ICU over the interests of patients who would benefit from intensive care but who have not been admitted. We examine four reasons that in principle might justify such a prioritization rule and conclude that none is convincing. We argue that the current location of patients should not, in principle, affect their priority for intensive care. We show, however, that under some but not all circumstances, maximizing lives saved by intensive care might require continuing to treat in the ICU a patient already admitted rather than transferring that patient out of the unit in order to admit a sicker patient who would also benefit more from intensive care. We conclude that further modelling is required in order to clarify what practical policies would maximize lives saved by intensive care.     

提高规范化培训住院医师在CCU沟通能力的探讨

摘要：随着生物医学模式向生物．心理．社会医学模式的转变,构建和谐的医患关系成为当今医学发展和进步的时代新要求,构建和谐的医患关系,有效的医患沟通是获得良好医疗效果的基本保证,本文总结了目前参加规范化培训的住院医师在心脏科重症监护室培训轮转期间医患沟通中存在的问题,分析了沟通障碍的主要影响因素,包括住院医师对医患关系的沟通认识不够充分,沟通技巧不够,工作负担增加,患方经济负担增加,治疗效果心理预期增加,医患双方认知差异增加,失信增加,健康和维权意识增加等都影响了医患关系的和谐构建;心脏重症监护室是心血管系统中常见病,多发病发展到终末期或急重期间的治疗场所,特点是病情急,危,重,死亡率高,结合其医患关系的实际特点,提出了提高住院医师沟通能力的可行性措施,主要包括：沟通的内容务必真实可信,形式力求形象,换位思考,注重诚信待人,加强非语言沟通,注重沟通分寸,尊重患者或家属的知情同意权,加强心脏监护室的细节规范化管理等。     

Intensive Metabolic Support : Evolution and Revolution

ObjectiveTo describe a new aspect of critical care termed intensive metabolic support.MethodsWe performed a MEDLINE search of the English-language literature published between 1995 and 2008 for studies regarding the metabolic stages of critical illness, intensive insulin treatment, and intensive metabolic support in the intensive care unit, and we summarize the clinical data.ResultsIntensive metabolic support is a 3-component model involving metabolic control and intensive insulin therapy, early nutrition support, and nutritional pharmacology aimed at preventing allostatic overload and the development of chronic critical illness. To improve clinical outcome and prevent mortality, intensive metabolic support should start on arrival to the intensive care unit and should end only when patients are in the recovery phase of their illness.ConclusionsIntensive metabolic support should be an essential part of the daily treatment strategy in critical care medicine. This will involve a newfound and extensive collaboration between the endocrinologist and the intensivist. We call for well-designed future studies involving implementation of this protocol to decrease the burden of chronic critical illness. (Endocr Pract. 2008;14:1047-1054)     

Quantitative quality assurance in a community hospital pediatric intensive care unit.

Unbiased, objective evaluations of quality of care are preferred over subjective evaluations. We observed 681 admissions to a pediatric intensive care unit of a community hospital from 1989 through 1990 for outcomes and physiologic profiles of the patients on the admission day using the Pediatric Risk of Mortality score to assess severity of illness. Mortality adjusted for severity of illness was compared with that predicted from a pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary medical center: 32.6 deaths were predicted based on the physiologic profiles, and 23 occurred. The number of outcomes and their distribution according to mortality risk indicated close agreement between observed and predicted results. Thus, a quality-assurance technique developed in tertiary care centers can be used to indicate a comparable level of care in a community hospital.     

Organ donation from intensive care units in England.

OBJECTIVE--To audit all deaths in intensive care units (excepting coronary care only and neonatal intensive care units) in England to assess potential for organ procurement. DESIGN--An audit in which 14 regional health authorities and London special health authorities each designated a regional liaison officer to identify intensive care units and liaise with Department of Health and the Medical Research Council''s biostatistics unit in distribution, return, and checking of audit forms. Audit took place from 1 January to 31 March 1989 and will continue to 31 December 1990. SETTING--278 Intensive care units in England. PARTICIPANTS--Colleagues in intensive care units (doctors, nurses, coordinators, and others), who completed serially numbered audit forms for all patients who died in intensive care. RESULTS--The estimated number of deaths in intensive care units was 3085, and validated audit forms were received for 2853 deaths (92%). Brain stem death was a possible diagnosis in only 407 (14%) patients (about 1700 cases a year) and was confirmed in 282 (10%) patients (an estimated 1200 cases a year). Half the patients (95% confidence interval 45% to 57%) in whom brain stem death was confirmed became actual donors of solid organs. Tests for brain stem death were not performed in 106 (26%) of 407 patients with brain stem death as a possible diagnosis, and general medical contraindication to organ donation was recorded for 48 (17%) of 282 patients who fulfilled brain stem death criteria before cessation of heart beat. The criteria were fulfilled before cessation of heart beat and in the absence of any general medical contraindication to organ donation in 234 patients, 8% of those dying in intensive care (an estimated 1000 cases a year). Consent for organ donation was given in 152 (70%) of 218 cases (64% to 76%) when the possibility of organ donation was suggested to relatives. In only 14 out of 232 families (6%; 3% to 9%) was there no discussion of organ donation with relatives. Corneal suitability was recorded as "not known" in a high proportion (1271; 45%) of all deaths and intensive care units reported only 123 corneal donors (4% of all audited deaths). CONCLUSION--When brain stem death is a possible diagnosis tests should always be carried out for confirmation. Early referral to the transplant team or coordinator should occur in all cases of brain stem death to check contraindications to organ donation. There should be increased use of asystolic kidney donation, and patients should be routinely assessed for suitability for corneal donation. Finally, more publicity and education are necessary to promote consent.     

A report from Japan: choices of Japanese patients in the face of disagreement

Background: Patients in different countries have different attitudes toward self-determination and medical information. Little is known how much respect Japanese patients feel should be given for their wishes about medical care and for medical information, and what choices they would make in the face of disagreement.
Methods: Ambulatory patients in six clinics of internal medicine at a university hospital were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire.
Results: A total of 307 patients participated in our survey. Of the respondents, 47% would accept recommendations made by physicians, even if such recommendations were against their wishes; 25% would try to persuade their physician to change their recommendations; and 14% would leave their physician to find a new one.
Seventy-six percent of the respondents thought that physicians should routinely ask patients if they would want to know about a diagnosis of cancer, while 5% disagreed; 59% responded that physicians should inform them of the actual diagnosis, even against the request of their family not to do so, while 24% would want their physician to abide by their family's request and 14% could not decide. One-third of the respondents who initially said they would want to know the truth would yield to the desires of the family in a case of disagreement.
Interpretations: In the face of disagreement regarding medical care and disclosure, Japanese patients tend to respond in a diverse and unpredictable manner. Medical professionals should thus be prudent and ask their patients explicitly what they want regarding medical care and information.     

Neonatal intensive care and cost effectiveness.

During the past decade the rate of death among newborns weighing less than 1500 g at birth has decreased by approximately half. This dramatic reduction has resulted from the application of research findings and technologic advances, but it has proved expensive. Perhaps as a consequence of articles demonstrating the costs as well as the recognition that the overall prevalence of disabilities in infants is relatively unchanged, neonatal intensive care has recently been viewed as a possible area for cost containment. We reviewed the literature on the cost of neonatal intensive care and the limited information on other expensive medical programs and found that the cost of neonatal intensive care compared favourably, especially for infants whose birth weight was 1000 to 1500 g. Better information on the outcome of infants of very low birth weight and comparable rigorous studies of the cost effectiveness of other expensive medical programs are required, and other less easily quantified factors must be considered before decisions are made to limit neonatal intensive care on the basis of gestational age or birth weight.     

Adversaries at the Bedside: Advance Care Plans and Future Welfare

Advance care planning refers to the process of determining how one wants to be cared for in the event that one is no longer competent to make one's own medical decisions. Some have argued that advance care plans often fail to be normatively binding on caretakers because those plans do not reflect the interests of patients once they enter an incompetent state. In this article, we argue that when the core medical ethical principles of respect for patient autonomy, honest and adequate disclosure of information, institutional transparency, and concern for patient welfare are upheld, a policy that would allow for the disregard of advance care plans is self‐defeating. This is because when the four principles are upheld, a patient's willingness to undergo treatment depends critically on the willingness of her caretakers to honor the wishes she has outlined in her advance care plan. A patient who fears that her caretakers will not honor her wishes may choose to avoid medical care so as to limit the influence of her caretakers in the future, which may lead to worse medical outcomes than if she had undergone care. In order to avoid worse medical outcomes and uphold the four core principles, caregivers who are concerned about the future welfare of their patients should focus on improving advance care planning and commit to honoring their patients’ advance care plans.     

Requirements for a minimum standard of care for phenylketonuria: the patients’ perspective

Phenylketonuria (PKU, ORPHA716) is an inherited disorder that affects about one in every 10,000 children born in Europe. Early and continuous application of a modified diet is largely successful in preventing the devastating brain damage associated with untreated PKU. The management of PKU is inconsistent: there are few national guidelines, and these tend to be incomplete and implemented sporadically. In this article, the first-ever pan- European patient/carer perspective on optimal PKU care, the European Society for Phenylketonuria and Allied Disorders (E.S.PKU) proposes recommendations for a minimum standard of care for PKU, to underpin the development of new pan-European guideline for the management of PKU. New standards of best practice should guarantee equal access to screening, treatment and monitoring throughout Europe. Screening protocols and interpretation of screening results should be standardised. Experienced Centres of Expertise are required, in line with current European Union policy, to guarantee a defined standard of multidisciplinary treatment and care for all medical and social aspects of PKU. Women of childbearing age require especially intensive management, due to the risk of severe risks to the foetus conferred by uncontrolled PKU. All aspects of treatment should be reimbursed to ensure uniform access across Europe to guideline-driven, evidence-based care. The E.S.PKU urges PKU healthcare professionals caring for people with PKU to take the lead in developing evidence based guidelines on PKU, while continuing to play an active role in serving as the voice of patients and their families, whose lives are affected by the condition.     

Building new university hospital--what citizens know and policy makers should be aware of

Survey of citizens' attitudes in the process of strategic decision making is one of the most important methods for determining health care priorities. We describe the results of a survey carried out in December 2001, with an aim to collect and analyze the attitudes of the citizens and health care professionals toward the possibilities and strategies of construction of the University Hospital in Blato, Zagreb. The first referendum on the construction of the new hospital was conducted among Zagreb citizens in 1982, when they agreed that the new University Hospital was much needed. Zagreb citizens confirmed once again their attitudes toward and opinions on the need to continue the construction of new hospital in the city outskirts. By 1992, when the construction of the hospital was halted due to insufficient financial means, Zagreb citizens had already invested over 150 epsilon million in the project. It is interesting that today, 89.4% of the citizens and 74.5% of physicians agree that the new hospital building should be completed. Also, 66.7% of the citizens and 88% of physicians think that this hospital should be a University hospital that could offer the most complex treatments and medical education. To finish the construction of the new hospital further 200 epsilon million needs to be invested. Survey showed that 71% of citizens and 82.2% of physicians think that funds should be raised from some form of credit or budget rather than by special local tax, additional tax or voluntary tax. This project will significantly determine the future of hospital and health care system in Croatia due to its capacities in terms of space, technology, and staff. Before the decision to continue with the new hospital construction be made, the expected future needs, demands, and supply of the health care services in hospital sector in Zagreb and Croatia should be provided using SWOT analysis for each of existing the facilities.     

When a physician and a clinical ethicist collaborate for better patient care

Bioethics is a relatively new addition to bedside medical care in Arab world which is characterized by a special culture that often makes blind adaptation of western ethics codes and principles; a challenge that has to be faced. To date, the American University of Beirut Medical Center is the only hospital that offers bedside ethics consultations in the Arab Region aiming towards better patient‐centered care. This article tackles the role of the bedside clinical ethics consultant as an active member of the medical team and the impact of such consultations on decision‐making and patient‐centered care. Using the case of a child with multiple medical problems and a futile medical condition, we describe how the collaboration of the medical team and the clinical ethics consultant took a comprehensive approach to accompany and lead the parents and the medical team in their decision‐making process and how the consultations allowed several salient issues to be addressed. This approach proved to be effective in the Arab cultural setting and indeed did lead to better patientcentered care.     

呼吸科与重症监护室院内获得性肺炎预后因素分析

目的通过对浙江大学医学院附属第一医院呼吸科和监护室（ICU）院内获得性肺炎（HAP）患者资料进行回顾性分析,以寻找不同科室患者HAP发生的危险因素的异同,从而针对不同人群建立特异的预防HAP的决策。方法采取回顾性研究,收集2011年6月1日至2013年9月30日浙江大学附属第一医院呼吸科和ICU出院诊断为肺炎（年龄≥18岁）的病历资料,比较两科室患者基本资料、基础疾病等方面的差别,然后对HAP患者危险因素进行分析,对筛选出来的P〈0.05的因素再进行Logistic多因素回归分析。结果逐步Logistic回归（Backward：Wald）分析提示,呼吸科危险因素为血液及实体肿瘤病史而ICU危险因素为感染性休克与近期重大手术史。结论两科室存在不同的影响预后的危险因素,ICU院内获得性肺炎的发病率、死亡率明显高于呼吸科,这与患者基础疾病有密切关系。     

A Review of Experience Operating a General Medical Intensive Care Unit

From 18 months'' experience of operating a four-bedded general medical intensive care unit a high staff-to-patient ratio was the most important factor in its success. Heavy capital spending does not appreciably reduce the importance of adequate numbers of trained staff, though patient-monitoring equipment can be useful and sometimes vital. As the scope for intensive care widens, the problems of clinical care become difficult, because no doctor is likely to be competent enough to provide for all categories of patients, and there is no intensive care equivalent of the general physician. Intensive care is likely to function best in a divisional specialist system of clinical care.     

上海市公立医院病人满意度状况和影响因素研究

通过病人满意度问卷调查,对上海市公立医院的门诊病人满意度和住院病人满意度进行了分析。调查结果显示,上海市公立医院病人满意度总体较高,且比上一年度有所提升,但三级专科医院的医疗服务质量相对较低。建议改进医院门诊服务流程、注重诊疗过程中的隐私保护,建立公立医院分级诊疗制度,进一步改善医疗服务质量。

     

79例重症监护病房患者院内感染病原菌分布分析

目的了解重症监护病房（ICU）院内感染情况,更好地指导有针对性的用药和治疗。方法医院感染管理人员根据病历报告进行回顾性分析,菌种鉴定遵循美国临床和实验室标准化研究所（CLSI）2007年制定的标准,应用SPSS 12.0软件建立数据库并进行统计分析。结果 ICU的院内感染发生率为23.0%,原发疾病集中于脑血管意外和多发复合伤,院内感染患者感染部以下呼吸道和泌尿系感染比例最高,医院感染病例病原菌送检率44.5%,分离出的病原菌以革兰阴性菌为主55.4%,占,其次为革兰阳性菌占35.9%,真菌占8.7%,分离率居前5位的病原菌依次为大肠埃希菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、铜绿假单胞菌、肺炎克雷伯菌和肠球菌。结论 ICU院内感染情况严重,应加强预防。     

Does HIV status influence the outcome of patients admitted to a surgical intensive care unit? A prospective double blind study.

OBJECTIVES: (a) To assess the impact of HIV status (HIV negative, HIV positive, AIDS) on the outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units for diseases unrelated to HIV; (b) to decide whether a positive test result for HIV should be a criterion for excluding patients from intensive care for diseases unrelated to HIV. DESIGN: A prospective double blind study of all admissions over six months. HIV status was determined in all patients by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence assay, western blotting, and flow cytometry. The ethics committee considered the clinical implications of the study important enough to waive patients'' right to informed consent. Staff and patients were blinded to HIV results. On discharge patients could be advised of their HIV status if they wished. SETTING: A 16 bed surgical intensive care unit. SUBJECTS: All 267 men and 135 women admitted to the unit during the study period. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: APACHE II score (acute physiological, age, and chronic health evaluation), organ failure, septic shock, durations of intensive care unit and hospital stay, and intensive care unit and hospital mortality. RESULTS: No patient had AIDS. 52 patients were tested positive for HIV and 350 patients were tested negative. The two groups were similar in sex distribution but differed significantly in age, incidence of organ failure (37 (71%) v 171 (49%) patients), and incidence of septic shock (20 (38%) v 54 (15%)). After adjustment for age there were no differences in intensive care unit or hospital mortality or in the durations of stay in the intensive care unit or hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity was higher in HIV positive patients but there was no difference in mortality. In this patient population a positive HIV test result should not be a criterion for excluding a patient from intensive care.     

Confidential inquiry into quality of care before admission to intensive care

Objective: To examine the prevalence, nature, causes, and consequences of suboptimal care before admission to intensive care units, and to suggest possible solutions. Design: Prospective confidential inquiry on the basis of structured interviews and questionnaires. Setting: A large district general hospital and a teaching hospital. Subjects: A cohort of 100 consecutive adult emergency admissions, 50 in each centre. Main outcome measures: Opinions of two external assessors on quality of care especially recognition, investigation, monitoring, and management of abnormalities of airway, breathing, and circulation, and oxygen therapy and monitoring. Results: Assessors agreed that 20 patients were well managed (group 1) and 54 patients received suboptimal care (group 2). Assessors disagreed on quality of management of 26 patients (group 3). The casemix and severity of illness, defined by the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II) score, were similar between centres and the three groups. In groups 1, 2, and 3 intensive care mortalities were 5 (25%), 26 (48%), and 6 (23%) respectively (P=0.04) (group 1 versus group 2, P=0.07). Hospital mortalities were 7 (35%), 30 (56%), and 8 (31%) (P=0.07) and standardised hospital mortality ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.23 (0.49 to 2.54), 1.4 (0.94 to 2.0), and 1.26 (0.54 to 2.48) respectively. Admission to intensive care was considered late in 37 (69%) patients in group 2. Overall, a minimum of 4.5% and a maximum of 41% of admissions were considered potentially avoidable. Suboptimal care contributed to morbidity or mortality in most instances. The main causes of suboptimal care were failure of organisation, lack of knowledge, failure to appreciate clinical urgency, lack of supervision, and failure to seek advice. Conclusions: The management of airway, breathing, and circulation, and oxygen therapy and monitoring in severely ill patients before admission to intensive care units may frequently be suboptimal. Major consequences may include increased morbidity and mortality and requirement for intensive care. Possible solutions include improved teaching, establishment of medical emergency teams, and widespread debate on the structure and process of acute care.

Key messages

• Suboptimal management of oxygen therapy, airway, breathing, circulation, and monitoring before admission to intensive care occurred in over half of a consecutive cohort of acute adult emergency patients. This may be associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and avoidable admissions to intensive care
• At least 39% of acute adult emergency patients were admitted to intensive care late in the clinical course of the illness
• Major causes of suboptimal care included failure of organisation, lack of knowledge, failure to appreciate clinical urgency, lack of supervision, and failure to seek advice
• A medical emergency team may be useful in responding pre-emptively to the clinical signs of life threatening dysfunction of airway, breathing, and circulation, rather than relying on a cardiac arrest team
• The structure and process of acute care and their importance require major re-evaluation and debate

     

Childhood malignancies and decision making.

Failure to obtain "adequate" medical care for a child constitutes child neglect, which may be used as the basis for prosecution of parents, removal of the child from the home, or court-ordered medical treatment. "Adequate" care is usually construed as that which is given by a licensed physician, but, in case of dispute, courts almost never engage in choosing one medical approach over another. The principle that parents may not refuse medical care, however, is made very difficult when children have malignancies--the long-term nature of the treatment means that, if the child is left at home, court order or not, the parents may flee with their child. Removing the child from the home, however, adds that trauma to the ill child's burdens. Questions should be asked before making a request to a court to order a therapy which will prolong but not save a child's life if the parents would prefer to spare their child the side effects. Parents, however, may always refuse to permit their child to participate in research studies, no matter how promising. Adolescents are increasingly believed to be capable of medical decision making; most courts, however, would not allow an adolescent to refuse life-saving treatment.