Annals of the American Thoracic Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Pilot Randomized Trial of an Interactive Web-based Tool to Support Surrogate Decision-makers in the ICU.
Rationale: Breakdowns in clinician-family communication in intensive care units (ICUs) are common, yet there are no easily scaled interventions to prevent this problem. Objectives: To assess the feasibility, usability, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of a communication intervention that pairs proactive family meetings with an interactive, web-based tool to help surrogates prepare for clinician-family meetings. Methods: We conducted a two-arm, single-blind, patient-level randomized trial comparing the Family Support Tool with enhanced usual care in two ICUs in a tertiary-care hospital. ⋯ Compared with the control group, surrogates who used the tool reported higher overall quality of communication (mean, 8.9/10 ± 1.6 vs. 8.0/10 ± 2.4) and higher quality in shared decision-making (mean, 8.7/10 ± 1.5 vs. 8.0/10 ± 2.4), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: It is feasible to deploy an interactive web-based tool to support communication and shared decision-making for surrogates in ICUs. Surrogates and clinicians rated the tool as highly usable, acceptable, and effective.
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Rationale: The Epic Deterioration Index (EDI) is a proprietary prediction model implemented in over 100 U. S. hospitals that was widely used to support medical decision-making during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The EDI has not been independently evaluated, and other proprietary models have been shown to be biased against vulnerable populations. ⋯ Among the 286 patients hospitalized for at least 48 hours who had not experienced the composite outcome, 14 (13%) never exceeded an EDI of 37.9, with a negative predictive value of 90% and a sensitivity above this threshold of 91%. Conclusions: We found the EDI identifies small subsets of high-risk and low-risk patients with COVID-19 with good discrimination, although its clinical use as an early warning system is limited by low sensitivity. These findings highlight the importance of independent evaluation of proprietary models before widespread operational use among patients with COVID-19.
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Rationale: Patients with hematologic malignancies requiring mechanical ventilation have historically experienced poor outcomes. Objectives: We aimed to determine whether body composition characteristics derived from thoracic computed tomographic (CT) imaging were associated with time to liberation from mechanical ventilation. Methods: We evaluated mechanically ventilated patients with hematological malignancies admitted between 2014 and 2018. ⋯ Skeletal muscle CSA was not associated with time to liberation from ventilation (sHR, 1.08; 95% CI, -0.94 to 1.23). Conclusions: Body composition measurements based on thoracic CT scans were associated with time to liberation from ventilation. These could represent novel surrogate markers of physical frailty in patients with hematologic malignancies receiving mechanical ventilation.
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Ventilator-associated event (VAE) surveillance provides an objective means to measure and compare complications that develop during mechanical ventilation by identifying patients with sustained increases in ventilator settings after a period of stable or decreasing ventilator settings. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on VAE rates and characteristics is unknown. ⋯ VAE rates per 100 episodes of mechanical ventilation and per 1000 ventilator days were higher amongst Covid-19 positive versus negative patients. Over 50% of VAEs in Covid-19 patients were caused by progressive ARDS versus less than 15% in patients without Covid-19. These findings provide insight into the natural history of Covid-19 in ventilated patients and may inform targeted strategies to mitigate complications in this population.
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Observational Study
Noninvasive Ventilatory Support of Patients with COVID-19 outside the Intensive Care Units (WARd-COVID).
Rationale: Treatment with noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is frequent. Shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds led clinicians to deliver NIV also outside ICUs. Data about the use of NIV in COVID-19 is limited. ⋯ Conclusions: The use of NIV outside the ICUs was common in COVID-19, with a predominant use of helmet CPAP, with a rate of success >60% and close to 75% in full-treatment patients. C-reactive protein, PaO2/FiO2, and platelet counts were independently associated with increased risk of NIV failure. Clinical trial registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04382235).