Project description:IntroductionThe management of neurologic emergencies is an important component of critical care fellowship training. Additional training in neurocritical care has been demonstrated to improve clinical outcomes, though exposure to these emergencies during training can be limited.MethodsThree simulation cases are presented as part of a comprehensive neurologic emergencies curriculum for critical care trainees. The cases represent neurologic catastrophes encountered in the intensive care unit consisting of symptomatic hyponatremia, severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and brain herniation syndrome. The case descriptions are complete with learning objectives, critical actions checklists, and debriefing material for facilitators, as well as all necessary personnel briefs and required equipment.ResultsThe scenarios were completed over the course of the 2016-2017 academic year by first-year critical care fellows. Following curriculum implementation, there was an improvement in self-perceived confidence of fellows in neurologic emergency management skills.DiscussionThe cases were felt to be realistic and beneficial and led to perceived improvement in management of neurologic emergencies and leadership during clinical crises.
Project description:Large seasonal outbreaks of bronchiolitis put pressure on healthcare systems and particularly on intensive care units (ICUs). ICU admission is necessary to provide respiratory support to the severest cases, otherwise bronchiolitis can result in substantial mortality. ICU resources are often insufficient and there is scant evidence to guide the ICU clinical management. Most available studies do not cover the ICU-admitted cases and do not consider the associated public health issues. We review this topic through a multidisciplinary approach from both the clinical and public health perspectives, with an analysis based on pathophysiology and cost-effectiveness. We suggest ways to optimise respiratory care, minimise ICU stay, "protect" ICU beds and, whenever possible, make them available for other critically ill children. We also provide guidance on how to prepare ICUs to work under stressful conditions due to outbreaks and to reduce the risk of nosocomial cross-contamination, particularly in ICUs caring for high-risk children.FundingNone.
Project description:IntroductionManagement of airway emergencies is a core skill for critical care fellows. There is no standardized training mechanism for difficult airway management among critical care fellowships, although fellows frequently cite management of airway catastrophes as an area of educational need.MethodsThree simulation cases that are each approximately 15 minutes in length are presented. The cases represent airway emergencies encountered in the intensive care unit consisting of angioedema, endotracheal tube dislodgement, and endotracheal tube occlusion. Incorporated into the scenarios are planned incidents of interpersonal conflict requiring negotiation by the learner during a crisis event. The case descriptions are complete, with learning objectives and critical actions as well as all necessary personnel briefs and required equipment.ResultsThe cases were completed over multiple simulation sessions on different days by 11 first-year critical care fellows during the 2016-2017 academic year. All participants demonstrated improvement in self-perceived confidence in airway management skills.DiscussionThe cases were felt to be realistic and beneficial and led to perceived improvement in management of airway emergencies and leadership during crisis scenarios.
Project description:IntroductionCritical cardiopulmonary events arising from congenital or acquired heart diseases are infrequent in some pediatric critical care units but can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality when encountered. We developed four simulation cases for interprofessional pediatric critical care teams (fellows, residents, and nurses) to provide participants with high-acuity cardiopulmonary scenarios in safe learning environments. The included cases were coarctation of the aorta, Kawasaki disease, myocarditis, and tetralogy of Fallot.MethodsThe simulations were typically 15 minutes in duration and took place within the pediatric intensive care unit. The scenarios began with handoff of the patient to the primary nurse, who recruited the assistance of resident physicians and ultimately a pediatric critical care medicine fellow as the scenario escalated. Upon completion, participants engaged in a structured, interactive debriefing session for 40 minutes. Afterward, they were asked to complete an anonymous feedback form that was collected and analyzed.ResultsBased on aggregate postsimulation survey responses from 114 learners, participants reported that these simulation exercises improved their knowledge and ability to manage acutely deteriorating cardiac patients. Additionally, learners rated the impact of the simulation on their practice highly (average score >4 for each group of participants on a 5-point Likert scale). Feedback was analyzed and categorized into three domains: (1) Pediatric Medicine Learning Objectives, (2) Teamwork Strategies, and (3) Opportunities for Simulation Improvements.DiscussionThis series advances self-reported learner knowledge and skills surrounding management of cardiopulmonary events while also providing opportunities to enhance teamwork and communication skills.
Project description:BackgroundAs many as 70% of intensive care unit (ICU) survivors suffer from long-term physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). We describe how the first ICU survivor clinic in the United States, the Critical Care Recovery Center (CCRC), was designed to address PICS using the principles of Agile Implementation (AI).MethodsThe CCRC was designed using an eight-step process known as the AI Science Playbook. Patients who required mechanical ventilation or were delirious ≥48 hours during their ICU stay were enrolled in the CCRC. One hundred twenty subjects who completed baseline HABC-M CG assessments and had demographics collected were included in the analysis to identify baseline characteristics that correlated with higher HABC-M CG scores. A subset of patients and caregivers also participated in focus group interviews to describe their perceptions of PICS.ResultsQuantitative analyses showed that the cognitive impairment was a major concern of caregivers. Focus group data also confirmed that caregivers of ICU survivors (n = 8) were more likely to perceive cognitive and mental health symptoms than ICU survivors (n = 10). Caregivers also described a need for ongoing psychoeducation about PICS, particularly cognitive and mental health symptoms, and for ongoing support from other caregivers with similar experiences.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated how the AI Science Playbook was used to build the first ICU survivor clinic in the United States. Caregivers of ICU survivors continue to struggle with PICS, particularly cognitive impairment, months to years after discharge. Future studies will need to examine whether the CCRC model of care can be adapted to other complex patient populations seen by health-care professionals.
Project description:BackgroundA recent international consensus conference called for the development of risk prediction models to identify ICU survivors at increased risk of each of the post-ICU syndrome domains. We previously developed and validated a risk prediction tool for functional impairment after ICU admission among older adults.Research questionIn this pilot study, we assessed the feasibility of administering the risk prediction tool in the hospital to older adults who had just survived critical illness. An exploratory objective was to evaluate whether augmentation of the model with additional hospital-related factors improved discrimination.Study design and methodsBetween January and October 2020, 50 adults aged 65 years and older underwent in-hospital administration of the risk prediction tool. Survivors were called monthly for 6 months after discharge. Feasibility was defined as completion of all tool components by ≥ 70% of enrolled participants. Persistent functional impairment was defined as failure to return to the functional baseline from before the ICU stay at the 6-month interview based on seven daily activities. The model was sequentially refit after adding three in-hospital factors as predictors, one at a time and then all together. Model discrimination was assessed with receiver operating characteristic curves.ResultsThe tool met the a priori feasibility threshold, with 92.0% of enrolled participants completing all eight components. In the exploratory analysis, the addition of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, presence of delirium, and maximum in-hospital mobility resulted in a 5% gain in discrimination that did not achieve statistical significance (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.68-0.82; P = .09).InterpretationOur results indicate that the risk prediction tool is feasible for use in the hospital setting, enabling the identification of ICU survivors at high risk of persistent functional impairment at 6 months after discharge. Augmentation with hospital-related factors improved model discrimination, but did not achieve statistical significance in this pilot study. Future studies should evaluate the augmented model in larger cohorts.
Project description:ObjectiveTo identify the key mechanisms that clinicians perceive improve care in the intensive care unit (ICU), as a result of their involvement in post-ICU programs.MethodsQualitative inquiry via focus groups and interviews with members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine's THRIVE collaborative sites (follow-up clinics and peer support). Framework analysis was used to synthesize and interpret the data.ResultsFive key mechanisms were identified as drivers of improvement back into the ICU: (1) identifying otherwise unseen targets for ICU quality improvement or education programs-new ideas for quality improvement were generated and greater attention paid to detail in clinical care. (2) Creating a new role for survivors in the ICU-former patients and family members adopted an advocacy or peer volunteer role. (3) Inviting critical care providers to the post-ICU program to educate, sensitize, and motivate them-clinician peers and trainees were invited to attend as a helpful learning strategy to gain insights into post-ICU care requirements. (4) Changing clinician's own understanding of patient experience-there appeared to be a direct individual benefit from working in post-ICU programs. (5) Improving morale and meaningfulness of ICU work-this was achieved by closing the feedback loop to ICU clinicians regarding patient and family outcomes.ConclusionsThe follow-up of patients and families in post-ICU care settings is perceived to improve care within the ICU via five key mechanisms. Further research is required in this novel area.
Project description:Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is a modality for noninvasive cortical mapping. Specifically, nTMS motor mapping is an objective measure of motor function, offering quantitative diagnostic information regardless of subject cooperation or consciousness. Thus far, it has mostly been restricted to the outpatient setting. This study evaluates the feasibility of nTMS motor mapping in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting and solves the challenges encountered in this special environment. We compared neuronavigation based on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We performed motor mappings in neurocritical patients under varying conditions (e.g., sedation or hemicraniectomy). Furthermore, we identified ways of minimizing electromyography (EMG) noise in the interference-rich ICU environment. Motor mapping was performed in 21 patients (six females, median age: 69 years). In 18 patients, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were obtained. In three patients, MEPs could not be evoked. No adverse reactions occurred. We found CT to offer a comparable neuronavigation to MRI (CT maximum e-field 52 ± 14 V/m vs. MRI maximum e-field 52 ± 11 V/m; p = 0.6574). We detailed EMG noise reduction methods and found that propofol sedation of up to 80 mcg/kg/h did not inhibit MEPs. Yet, nTMS equipment interfered with exposed pulse oximetry. nTMS motor mapping application and use was illustrated in three clinical cases. In conclusion, we present an approach for the safe and reliable use of nTMS motor mapping in the ICU setting and outline possible benefits. Our findings support further studies regarding the clinical value of nTMS in critical care settings.
Project description:ObjectiveProtocol to explore what is known about communication between critical care providers and patients and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (defined as people who are either from minority ethnic groups, non-English-speaking backgrounds who may have diverse cultural, linguistic, spiritual and religious affiliations and opinions) about death, dying, end-of-life care and organ donation in the intensive care unit (ICU).IntroductionPatients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds experience barriers to optimised care when admitted to the ICU. These barriers appear to derive from differences in language, cultural, societal and ethical expectations between patients, their families and healthcare professionals. These barriers may significantly impact the delivery of end-of-life care to patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Therefore, this has the potential for inadequate management of medical, psychological and existential distress.Inclusion criteriaStudies of all designs reporting for adult (age ≥18 years) patients and family members from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds at end-of-life in the ICU setting will be included. Studies that report results for patients aged <18 years or that are based outside the ICU will be excluded.MethodsRelevant sources will be retrieved, and their citation details will be imported into the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review of Information. This scoping review was guided by the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. A systematic search was conducted in EBSCOhost, Web of Science, PubMed Central and SciELO, OVID Medline, CINAHL, and Scopus, limited to English-language publications, without date limitation. Key study characteristics and findings will be extracted using a data extraction tool developed by the reviewers. Anticipating heterogeneous study designs, findings will be presented as a thematic synthesis.Ethics and disseminationThis is a protocol for a scoping review, formal ethics approval from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Local Health Network will be obtained for research projects that could potentially stem from this review and will then be subsequently disseminated through proper channels.