Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2015
Impact of increasing overnight intensive care unit registrar staffing on duration of intubation of elective cardiac surgery patients.
It is unclear whether increases to overnight junior medical staffing levels can improve ICU patient outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort study before and after the introduction of a third overnight ICU registrar at a 24-bed metropolitan ICU in February 2012. We hypothesised that this change would be associated with decreased intubation time for elective cardiac surgery patients and an increase in the proportion of these patients being extubated during the overnight period. ⋯ The proportion of elective cardiac surgery patients extubated during the overnight period was similar, 54.2% in the control group compared to 50.0% in intervention group (P=0.45). In our unit, increasing overnight ICU registrar staffing levels was not associated with a significant reduction in duration of intubation for elective cardiac surgery patients or a reduction in the proportion of these patients extubated overnight. This is likely due to factors other than medical staffing levels influencing timing of extubation of these patients.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2015
Iron-restricted erythropoiesis and risk of red blood cell transfusion in the intensive care unit: a prospective observational study.
Intravenous (IV) iron can decrease transfusion requirements in selected patients with low, normal and moderately elevated ferritin. Whether the syndrome of iron-restricted erythropoiesis (IRE), diagnosed by iron studies, identifies critically ill patients at risk for subsequent red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, and hence, provides a simple method to determine response to IV iron therapy, is uncertain. We aimed to describe the characteristics of patients with IRE on admission to intensive care and determine the optimal variables to identify patients at risk of RBC transfusion who may benefit from early administration of IV iron. ⋯ The proportion of patients with IRE subsequently receiving RBC transfusion was significantly lower than the proportion of patients without IRE receiving RBC transfusion (absolute mean difference 18.9% [95% CI 4.7 to 33.1, P <0.001]). IRE was not independently associated with risk of transfusion on multivariate analysis, however, a prognostic model with three risk factors (RBC transfusion prior to ICU admission, Hb <100 g/l and ICU length of stay >3 days), had good discrimination and calibration for predicting transfusion (receiver operator curve area under the curve 0.87 [95% CI 0.79 to 0.94, P=0.88], Hosmer-Lemeshow 6.21; P=0.1). Excluding iron overload and using simple prognostic criteria to identify patients at high risk of RBC transfusion may be a preferable strategy for identifying critically ill patients who may benefit from IV iron.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2015
The utility of a Personal Values Report for medical decision-making.
Our aim was to determine if a patient's Personal Values Report (PVR) has a positive impact on a doctor's decisions regarding treatment. We conducted a prospective cohort study delivering a short, web-based hypothetical case-centred questionnaire to intensive care doctors practising in Australia and New Zealand. One hundred and twenty-four intensive care consultants and registrars agreed to participate in an online questionnaire in two routine mailings between November 2013 and February 2014. ⋯ One hundred and twenty-one of the 124 participants (97.6%) agreed or strongly agreed that the PVR helped them get an understanding of the patient's wishes, whereas none of the participants (0%) were unsure, disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement. The remaining 2.4% did not answer the question. It is surmised that PVRs pre-written by patients are potentially an effective and valuable tool for use in helping doctors make decisions regarding patient care.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2015
Central venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide gradient as a marker of occult tissue hypoperfusion after major surgery.
The central venous-arterial carbon dioxide tension gradient ('CO₂gap') has been shown to correlate with cardiac output and tissue perfusion in septic shock. Compared to central venous oxygen saturation (SCVO2), the CO₂gap is less susceptible to the effect of hyperoxia and may be particularly useful as an adjunctive haemodynamic target in the perioperative period. This study investigated whether a high CO₂gap was associated with an increased systemic oxygen extraction (O2ER >0.3) or occult tissue hypoperfusion in 201 patients in the immediate postoperative period. ⋯ A CO₂ gap >5 mmHg had a higher sensitivity (93%) and negative predictive value (74%) than a CO₂gap >6 mmHg in excluding occult tissue hypoperfusion. Of the four variables that were predictive of an increased O₂ER in the multivariate analysis-CO₂gap, arterial pH, haemoglobin and arterial lactate concentrations-the CO₂gap (odds ratio 4.41 per mmHg increment, 95% CI 1.7 to 11.2, P=0.002) was most important and explained about 34% of the variability in the risk of occult tissue hypoperfusion. In conclusion, a normal CO₂ gap (<5 mmHg) had a high sensitivity and negative predictive value in excluding inadequate systemic oxygen delivery and may be useful as an adjunct to other haemodynamic targets in avoiding occult tissue hypoperfusion in the perioperative setting when high inspired oxygen concentrations are used.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2015
Fluid administration, vasopressor use and patient outcomes in a group of high-risk cardiac surgical patients receiving postoperative goal-directed haemodynamic therapy: a pilot study.
The role of goal-directed therapy in high-risk cardiac surgical patients has not been determined. This study sought to observe the effect of a postoperative standardised haemodynamic protocol (SHP) on the administration of fluid and vasoactive drugs after high-risk cardiac surgery. This was an interventional pilot study. ⋯ There was no significant difference in the duration of noradrenaline infusion in the SHP cohort compared to historical controls (median [IQR] 18.5 hours [31.63] versus 18 hours [18.3]; P=0.35), despite patients receiving more fluid in their first 12 hours in the ICU (mean 4687 ml [SD ± 2284 ml] versus 1889 ml [SD ± 1344 ml]; P <0.001). The SHP cohort had a higher rate of reintubation (4 in 37 [10.8%] versus 0 in 40 [0%]; P=0.049). The SHP delivered significantly more fluid, but did not reduce the duration of noradrenaline infusion, compared to usual care.