Dataset Information

Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) Identifies Critical Illness among Ward Patients in a Resource Restricted Setting in Kampala, Uganda: A Prospective Observational Study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Providing optimal critical care in developing countries is limited by lack of recognition of critical illness and lack of essential resources. The Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), based on physiological parameters, is validated in adult medical and surgical patients as a predictor of mortality. The objective of this study performed in Uganda was to determine the prevalence of critical illness on the wards as defined by the MEWS, to evaluate the MEWS as a predictor of death, and to describe additional risk factors for mortality.

Methods

We conducted a prospective observational study at Mulago National Referral Teaching Hospital in Uganda. We included medical and surgical ward patients over 18 years old, excluding patients discharged the day of enrolment, obstetrical patients, and patients who self-discharged prior to study completion. Over a 72-hour study period, we collected demographic and vital signs, and calculated MEWS; at 7-days we measured outcomes. Patients discharged prior to 7 days were assumed to be alive at study completion. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed.

Results

Of 452 patients, the median age was 40.5 (IQR 29-54) years, 53.3% were male, 24.3% were HIV positive, and 45.1% had medical diagnoses. MEWS ranged from 0 to 9, with higher scores representing hemodynamic instability. The median MEWS was 2 [IQR 1-3] and the median length of hospital stay was 9 days [IQR 4-24]. In-hospital mortality at 7-days was 5.5%; 41.4% of patients were discharged and 53.1% remained on the ward. Mortality was independently associated with medical admission (OR: 7.17; 95% CI: 2.064-24.930; p = 0.002) and the MEWS ? 5 (OR: 5.82; 95% CI: 2.420-13.987; p<0.0001) in the multivariable analysis.

Conclusion

There is a significant burden of critical illness at Mulago Hospital, Uganda. Implementation of the MEWS could provide a useful triage tool to identify patients at greatest risk of death. Future research should include refinement of MEWS for low-resource settings, and development of appropriate interventions for patients identified to be at high risk of death based on early warning scores.

SUBMITTER: Kruisselbrink R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4795640 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) Identifies Critical Illness among Ward Patients in a Resource Restricted Setting in Kampala, Uganda: A Prospective Observational Study.

Kruisselbrink Rebecca R Kwizera Arthur A Crowther Mark M Fox-Robichaud Alison A O'Shea Timothy T Nakibuuka Jane J Ssinabulya Isaac I Nalyazi Joan J Bonner Ashley A Devji Tahira T Wong Jeffrey J Cook Deborah D

PloS one 20160317 3

<h4>Introduction</h4>Providing optimal critical care in developing countries is limited by lack of recognition of critical illness and lack of essential resources. The Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), based on physiological parameters, is validated in adult medical and surgical patients as a predictor of mortality. The objective of this study performed in Uganda was to determine the prevalence of critical illness on the wards as defined by the MEWS, to evaluate the MEWS as a predictor of dea ...[more]

PMID: 26986466

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Project description:The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the pre-hospital National Early Warning Score (pNEWS) and the pre-hospital Modified Early Warning Score (pMEWS) for predicting admission and in-hospital mortality in elderly patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). We also compare the value of the pNEWS with that of the ED NEWS (eNEWS) and ED MEWS (eMEWS) for predicting admission and in-hospital mortality. This retrospective, single-centre observational study was carried out in the ED of Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital, in Chiba, Japan, from 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018. All patients aged 65 years or older were included in this study. The pNEWS/eNEWS were derived from seven common physiological vital signs: respiratory rate, peripheral oxygen saturation, the presence of inhaled oxygen parameters, body temperature, systolic blood pressure, pulse rate and Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive (AVPU) score, whereas the pMEWS/eMEWS were derived from six common physiological vital signs: respiratory rate, peripheral oxygen saturation, body temperature, systolic blood pressure, pulse rate and AVPU score. Discrimination was assessed by plotting the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The median pNEWS, pMEWS, eNEWS and eMEWS were significantly higher at admission than at discharge (p < 0.001). The median pNEWS, pMEWS, eNEWS and eMEWS of non-survivors were significantly higher than those of the survivors (p < 0.001). The AUC for predicting admission was 0.559 for the pNEWS and 0.547 for the pMEWS. There was no significant difference between the AUCs of the pNEWS and the pMEWS for predicting admission (p = 0.102). The AUCs for predicting in-hospital mortality were 0.678 for the pNEWS and 0.652 for the pMEWS. There was no significant difference between the AUCs of the pNEWS and the pMEWS for predicting in-hospital mortality (p = 0.081). The AUC for predicting admission was 0.628 for the eNEWS and 0.591 for the eMEWS. The AUC of the eNEWS was significantly greater than that of the eMEWS for predicting admission (p < 0.001). The AUC for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.789 for the eNEWS and 0.720 for the eMEWS. The AUC of the eNEWS was significantly greater than that of the eMEWS for predicting in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001). For admission and in-hospital mortality, the AUC of the eNEWS was significantly greater than that of the pNEWS (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), and the AUC of the eMEWS was significantly greater than that of the pMEWS (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). Our single-centre study has demonstrated the low utility of the pNEWS and the pMEWS as predictors of admission and in-hospital mortality in elderly patients, whereas the eNEWS and the eMEWS predicted admission and in-hospital mortality more accurately. Evidence from multicentre studies is needed before introducing pre-hospital versions of risk-scoring systems.

Project description:IntroductionImproved teamwork and communication have been associated with improved quality of care. Early Warning Scores (EWS) and rapid response algorithms are a way of identifying deteriorating patients and providing a common framework for communication and response between physicians and nurses. The impact of EWS implementation on interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has been minimally studied, especially in resource-limited settings.MethodsThe study took place in the Pediatric Department of the main academic referral hospital in Rwanda between April 2019 and January 2020. Pediatric nurses and residents were trained on the use of the Pediatric Warning Score for Resource-Limited Settings (PEWS-RL) and a rapid response algorithm. Training included vital sign collection, PEWS-RL calculation, IPC and rapid response algorithm implementation. Prior to training, participants completed surveys on IPC with Likert scale responses (from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"). Follow-up surveys were then administered nine months later and also included an open-response question on the impact of the PEWS-RL implementation on IPC.ResultsSixty-five (96%) nurses were trained and completed the pre-survey and thirty-seven (54%) of the trained nurses completed the post-survey. Twenty-two (59%) pediatric residents were trained in the workshop and completed the pre-survey and twenty-four physicians (4 pediatricians (40%) and 20 pediatric residents (53%)) completed the post-implementation survey. There was a statistically significant increase in the percent of nurses indicating strong agreement across all domains of communication and collaboration from the pre- to the post-survey. Although the percent of physicians indicating strong agreement increased in the post-survey for all items, only the "share information" item was statistically significant.ConclusionTraining and implementation of a PEWS-RL and a rapid response algorithm at a tertiary hospital in Rwanda resulted in significant improvement of nurse and physician ratings of IPC nine months later.

Project description:Background:Ventilator-associated respiratory infection (VARI) is a significant problem in resource-restricted intensive care units (ICUs), but differences in casemix and etiology means VARI in resource-restricted ICUs may be different from that found in resource-rich units. Data from these settings are vital to plan preventative interventions and assess their cost-effectiveness, but few are available. Methods:We conducted a prospective observational study in four Vietnamese ICUs to assess the incidence and impact of VARI. Patients ??16 years old and expected to be mechanically ventilated >?48 h were enrolled in the study and followed daily for 28 days following ICU admission. Results:Four hundred fifty eligible patients were enrolled over 24 months, and after exclusions, 374 patients' data were analyzed. A total of 92/374 cases of VARI (21.7/1000 ventilator days) were diagnosed; 37 (9.9%) of these met ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) criteria (8.7/1000 ventilator days). Patients with any VARI, VAP, or VARI without VAP experienced increased hospital and ICU stay, ICU cost, and antibiotic use (p?<?0.01 for all). This was also true for all VARI (p?<?0.01 for all) with/without tetanus. There was no increased risk of in-hospital death in patients with VARI compared to those without (VAP HR 1.58, 95% CI 0.75-3.33, p?=?0.23; VARI without VAP HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.14-1.17, p?=?0.09). In patients with positive endotracheal aspirate cultures, most VARI was caused by Gram-negative organisms; the most frequent were Acinetobacter baumannii (32/73, 43.8%) Klebsiella pneumoniae (26/73, 35.6%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (24/73, 32.9%). 40/68 (58.8%) patients with positive cultures for these had carbapenem-resistant isolates. Patients with carbapenem-resistant VARI had significantly greater ICU costs than patients with carbapenem-susceptible isolates (6053 USD (IQR 3806-7824) vs 3131 USD (IQR 2108-7551), p?=?0.04) and after correction for adequacy of initial antibiotics and APACHE II score, showed a trend towards increased risk of in-hospital death (HR 2.82, 95% CI 0.75-6.75, p?=?0.15). Conclusions:VARI in a resource-restricted setting has limited impact on mortality, but shows significant association with increased patient costs, length of stay, and antibiotic use, particularly when caused by carbapenem-resistant bacteria. Evidence-based interventions to reduce VARI in these settings are urgently needed.

Project description:Objectives1) To explore the adequacy of: vital signs' recordings (respiratory and heart rate, oxygen saturation, systolic blood pressure (BP), temperature, level of consciousness and urine output) in the first 8 post-operative hours; responses to clinical deterioration. 2) To identify factors associated with death on the ward between transfer from the theatre recovery suite and the seventh day after operation.DesignRetrospective review of records of 11 patients who died plus four controls for each case.ParticipantsWe reviewed clinical records of 55 patients who met inclusion criteria (general anaesthetic, age >13, complete records) from six surgical wards in a teaching hospital between 1 May and 31 July 2009.MethodsIn the absence of guidelines for routine post-operative vital signs' monitoring, nurses' standard practice graphical plots of recordings were recoded into MEWS formats (0?=?normal, 1-3 upper or lower limit) and their responses to clinical deterioration were interpreted using MEWS reporting algorithms.ResultsNo patients' records contained recordings for all seven parameters displayed on the MEWS. There was no evidence of response to: 22/36 (61.1%) abnormal vital signs for patients who died that would have triggered an escalated MEWS reporting algorithm; 81/87 (93.1%) for controls. Death was associated with age, ?61 years (OR 14.2, 3.0-68.0); ?2 pre-existing co-morbidities (OR 75.3, 3.7-1527.4); high/low systolic BP on admission (OR 7.2, 1.5-34.2); tachycardia (?111-129 bpm) (OR 6.6, 1.4-30.0) and low systolic BP (?81-100 mmHg), as defined by the MEWS (OR 8.0, 1.9-33.1).ConclusionsGuidelines for post-operative vital signs' monitoring and reporting need to be established. The MEWS provides a useful scoring system for interpreting clinical deterioration and guiding intervention. Exploration of the ability of the Cape Town MEWS chart plus reporting algorithm to expedite recognition of signs of clinical and physiological deterioration and securing more skilled assistance is essential.

Dataset Information

Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) Identifies Critical Illness among Ward Patients in a Resource Restricted Setting in Kampala, Uganda: A Prospective Observational Study.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) Identifies Critical Illness among Ward Patients in a Resource Restricted Setting in Kampala, Uganda: A Prospective Observational Study.

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