American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Many alcohol withdrawal scoring tools are used in hospitalized patients to assess the severity of alcohol withdrawal and guide treatment. The revised Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment (CIWA-Ar) and the modified Minnesota Detoxification Scale (mMINDS) are commonly used but have never been correlated. ⋯ The correlation between the CIWA-Ar and mMINDS tools is strong and appears to be most robust in patients with CIWA-Ar scores of 10 or less.
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Losing a loved one in the intensive care unit can be challenging for families. Providing bereavement support may assist in the grieving process. ⋯ Bereavement is a challenging experience for families of deceased intensive care unit patients. The themes identified in this study add insight into the experiences of these family members. The results of this study may guide future interventions to help support bereaved families of intensive care unit patients.
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Mortality in patients with intra-abdominal sepsis remains high. Recognition and classification of patients with sepsis are challenging; about 70% of critical care specialists find the existing definitions confusing and not clinically useful. ⋯ The PIRO score is useful for predicting mortality in patients with surgically related intra-abdominal sepsis.