American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Serum Albumin Level at Intensive Care Unit Admission and Delirium Duration and Severity in Critically Ill Adults.
Hypoalbuminemia has been associated with an increased risk of in-hospital delirium. However, the relationship between serum albumin levels and the duration and severity of delirium is not well defined. ⋯ In patients with delirium, higher albumin levels were associated with shorter hospital stays but not with delirium duration or severity.
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Observational Study
Picturing Empathy in the Intensive Care Unit: Patient Photographs at an Urban Community Teaching Hospital.
Intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians are at risk for burnout, which can be driven by depersonalization. Photographs of patients in their baseline state of health before ICU admission may enhance the connection between clinicians and patients. The use of patient photographs has not been evaluated in an urban community teaching hospital. ⋯ Patient photographs may enhance connections between clinicians and patients in the ICU, potentially reducing depersonalization and burnout.
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Parents of children in pediatric intensive care units have varied communication experiences with health care professionals. Little is known about factors associated with parents' perceptions of miscommunication. ⋯ Parental stress and trust in physician scores were associated with perceived miscommunication. Further research is needed to understand the causes and consequences of miscommunication in order to support hospitalized children and their parents.
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Various social determinants of health have been established as significant risk factors for COVID-19 transmission, prevalence, incidence, and mortality. Area deprivation index (ADI, a composite score made up of educational, housing, and poverty markers) is an accepted multidimensional social determinants of health measure. Little is known about how structural social determinants of health before hospitalization, including ADI, may affect mortality related to COVID-19 in critically ill patients. ⋯ In this study, clinical factors were more predictive of mortality than ADI and other social determinants of health. The influence of ADI may be most relevant before hospital admission. These findings could serve as a foundation for shaping targeted public health strategies and hospital interventions, enhancing care delivery, and potentially contributing to better outcomes in future pandemics.
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Social constructs like race can affect how patients are perceived and impact care. This study investigated whether mentions of race in notes for critically ill patients differed according to patients' race. ⋯ Black patients were more than twice as likely as White patients to have race mentioned in notes. Note language containing information on social constructs has consequences for clinicians and patients reading notes and for algorithms trained on clinical notes.