Abstract
Crit Care Sci. 2023;35(1):73-83
DOI 10.5935/2965-2774.20230374-pt
To understand the perception of medical communication and needs of family members with loved ones in intensive care.
The study was mainly qualitative and exploratory, with thematic analysis of comments made by 92 family members with loved ones in intensive care units when answering in-person interviews comprising the Quality of Communication Questionnaire (QoC) and open-ended questions about their need for additional help, the appropriateness of the place where they received information, and additional comments.
The participants’ mean age was 46.8 years (SD = 11.8), and most of them were female, married and had incomplete or completed elementary education. The following themes were found: perception of characteristics of medical communication; feelings generated by communication; considerations about specific questions in the QoC; family members’ needs; and strategies to overcome needs regarding communication. Characteristics that facilitated communication included attention and listening. Characteristics that made communication difficult included aspects of information sharing, such as inaccessible language; lack of clarity, objectivity, sincerity, and agreement among the team; limited time; and inadequate location. Feelings such as shame, helplessness, and sadness were cited when communication was inadequate. Family members’ needs related to communication included more details about the loved one’s diagnosis, prognosis, and health condition; participation in decisionmaking; and being asked about feelings, spirituality, dying and death. Others were related to longer visitation time, psychological support, social assistance, and better infrastructure.
It is necessary to enhance medical communication and improve hospital infrastructure to improve the quality of care for family members.
Abstract
Crit Care Sci. 2023;35(1):84-96
DOI 10.5935/2965-2774.20230405-pt
The number of patients with cancer requiring intensive care unit admission is increasing around the world. The improvement in the pathophysiological understanding of this group of patients, as well as the increasingly better and more targeted treatment options for their underlying disease, has led to a significant increase in their survival over the past three decades. Within the organizational concepts, it is necessary to know what adds value in the care of critical oncohematological patients. Practices in medicine that do not benefit patients and possibly cause harm are called low-value practices, while high-value practices are defined as high-quality care at relatively low cost. In this article, we discuss ten domains with high-value evidence in the care of cancer patients: (1) intensive care unit admission policies; (2) intensive care unit organization; (3) etiological investigation of hypoxemia; (4) management of acute respiratory failure; (5) management of febrile neutropenia; (6) urgent chemotherapy treatment in critically ill patients; (7) patient and family experience; (8) palliative care; (9) care of intensive care unit staff; and (10) long-term impact of critical disease on the cancer population. The disclosure of such policies is expected to have the potential to change health care standards. We understand that it is a lengthy process, and initiatives such as this paper are one of the first steps in raising awareness and beginning a discussion about high-value care in various health scenarios.
Abstract
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2022;34(4):469-476
DOI 10.5935/0103-507X.20220429-en
To evaluate the effects of critical illness on the functional status of children aged zero to 4 years with or without a history of prematurity after discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit.
This was a secondary cross-sectional study nested in an observational cohort of survivors from a pediatric intensive care unit. Functional assessment was performed using the Functional Status Scale within 48 hours after discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit.
A total of 126 patients participated in the study, 75 of whom were premature, and 51 of whom were born at term. Comparing the baseline and functional status at pediatric intensive care unit discharge, both groups showed significant differences (p < 0.001). Preterm patients exhibited greater functional decline at discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit (61%). Among patients born at term, there was a significant correlation between the Pediatric Index of Mortality, duration of sedation, duration of mechanical ventilation and length of hospital stay with the functional outcomes (p = 0.05).
Most patients showed a functional decline at discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit. Although preterm patients had a greater functional decline at discharge, sedation and mechanical ventilation duration influenced functional status among patients born at term.
Abstract
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2022;34(4):477-483
DOI 10.5935/0103-507X.20220280-en
To create and validate a model for predicting septic or hypovolemic shock from easily obtainable variables collected from patients at admission to an intensive care unit.
A predictive modeling study with concurrent cohort data was conducted in a hospital in the interior of northeastern Brazil. Patients aged 18 years or older who were not using vasoactive drugs on the day of admission and were hospitalized from November 2020 to July 2021 were included. The Decision Tree, Random Forest, AdaBoost, Gradient Boosting and XGBoost classification algorithms were tested for use in building the model. The validation method used was k-fold cross validation. The evaluation metrics used were recall, precision and area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve.
A total of 720 patients were used to create and validate the model. The models showed high predictive capacity with areas under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve of 0.979; 0.999; 0.980; 0.998 and 1.00 for the Decision Tree, Random Forest, AdaBoost, Gradient Boosting and XGBoost algorithms, respectively.
The predictive model created and validated showed a high ability to predict septic and hypovolemic shock from the time of admission of patients to the intensive care unit.
Abstract
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2022;34(4):484-491
DOI 10.5935/0103-507X.20220264-en
To obtain data on bed refusal in intensive care units in Brazil and to evaluate the use of triage systems by professionals.
A cross-sectional survey. Using the Delphi methodology, a questionnaire was created contemplating the objectives of the study. Physicians and nurses enrolled in the research network of the Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira (AMIBnet) were invited to participate. A web platform (SurveyMonkey®) was used to distribute the questionnaire. The variables in this study were measured in categories and expressed as proportions. The chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test was used to verify associations. The significance level was set at 5%.
In total, 231 professionals answered the questionnaire, representing all regions of the country. The national intensive care units had an occupancy rate of more than 90% always or frequently for 90.8% of the participants. Among the participants, 84.4% had already refused admitting patients to the intensive care unit due to the capacity of the unit. Half of the Brazilian institutions (49.7%) did not have triage protocols for admission to intensive beds.
Bed refusal due to high occupancy rates is common in Brazilian intensive care units. Even so, half of the services in Brazil do not adopt protocols for triage of beds.
Abstract
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2022;34(4):492-498
DOI 10.5935/0103-507X.20220169-en
To describe the rate and factors related to nonreturn to work in the third month after discharge from the intensive care unit and the impact of unemployment, loss of income and health care expenses for survivors.
This was a prospective multicenter cohort study that included survivors of severe acute illness who were hospitalized between 2015 and 2018, previously employed, and who stayed more than 72 hours in the intensive care unit. Outcomes were assessed by telephone interview in the third month after discharge.
Of the 316 patients included in the study who had previously worked, 193 (61.1%) did not return to work within 3 months after discharge from the intensive care unit. The following factors were associated with nonreturn to work: low educational level (prevalence ratio 1.39; 95%CI 1.10 - 1.74; p = 0.006), previous employment relationship (prevalence ratio 1.32; 95%CI 1 10 - 1.58; p = 0.003), need for mechanical ventilation (prevalence ratio 1.20; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.42; p = 0.04) and physical dependence in the third month after discharge (prevalence ratio 1.27; 95%CI 1.08 - 1.48; p = 0.003). Survivors who were unable to return to work more often had reduced family income (49.7% versus 33.3%; p = 0.008) and increased health expenditures (66.9% versus 48.3%; p = 0.002). compared to those who returned to work in the third month after discharge from the intensive care unit.
Intensive care unit survivors often do not return to work until the third month after discharge from the intensive care unit. Low educational level, formal job, need for ventilatory support and physical dependence in the third month after discharge were related to nonreturn to work. Failure to return to work was also associated with reduced family income and increased health care costs after discharge.
Abstract
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2022;34(4):499-506
DOI 10.5935/0103-507X.20220080-en
To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with depression in family members of people hospitalized in intensive care units.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 980 family members of patients admitted to the intensive care units of a large public hospital in the interior of Bahia. Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-8. The multivariate model consisted of the following variables: sex and age of the patient, sex and age of the family member, education level, religion, living with the family member, previous mental illness and anxiety.
Depression had a prevalence of 43.5%. In the multivariate analysis, the model with the best representativeness indicated that factors associated with a higher prevalence of depression were being female (39%), age younger than 40 years (26%) and previous mental illness (38%). A higher education level was associated with a 19% lower prevalence of depression in family members.
The increase in the prevalence of depression was associated with female sex, age younger than 40 years and previous psychological problems. Such elements should be valued in actions aimed at family members of people hospitalized in intensive care.
Abstract
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2022;34(4):507-518
DOI 10.5935/0103-507X.20220145-en
To verify strategies for the prevention and treatment of abstinence syndrome in a pediatric intensive care unit.
This is a systematic review in the PubMed database®, Lilacs, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, Cinahl, Cochrane Database Systematic Review and CENTRAL. A three-step search strategy was used for this review, and the protocol was approved in PROSPERO (CRD42021274670).
Twelve articles were included in the analysis. There was great heterogeneity among the studies included, especially regarding the therapeutic regimens used for sedation and analgesia. Midazolam doses ranged from 0.05mg/kg/hour to 0.3mg/kg/hour. Morphine also varied considerably, from 10mcg/kg/hour to 30mcg/kg/hour, between studies. Among the 12 selected studies, the most commonly used scale for the identification of withdrawal symptoms was the Sophia Observational Withdrawal Symptoms Scale. In three studies, there was a statistically significant difference in the prevention and management of the withdrawal syndrome due to the implementation of different protocols (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001).
There was great variation in the sedoanalgesia regimen used by the studies and the method of weaning and evaluation of withdrawal syndrome. More studies are needed to provide more robust evidence about the most appropriate treatment for the prevention and reduction of withdrawal signs and symptoms in critically ill children.
CRD 42021274670
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