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A strategy of defining and checking explicitly formulated patient-specific treatments targets or "daily goals" in the intensive care unit has been associated with improved communication. We investigated the effect of incorporation of daily goals into daily care planning on length of stay in the intensive care unit. Furthermore, the type of daily goals and deviations from daily goals in daily care with or without documented reason were evaluated. Four university hospitals in the Netherlands, of which 2 study "daily goal" hospitals and 2 control hospitals, participated in a prospective before-after study. During the before phase of the study, daily goals were formulated by the attending physician but kept blinded from doctors and nurses caring for the patient. During the after phase of the study, daily goals were integrated in the care plan for patients admitted to the 2 study hospitals but not for patients admitted to the control hospitals. The implementation of daily goals was, after case-mix correction, not associated with a change in intensive care unit length of stay. However, this study showed that an improved administrative discipline, that is, the recording of the reason why a daily goal or standard protocol was not accomplished, is in favor of the daily goal implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: It remains uncertain whether nebulization of mucolytics with bronchodilators should be applied for clinical indication or preventively in intensive care unit (ICU) patients receiving invasive ventilation.Objective: To determine if a strategy that uses nebulization for clinical indication (on-demand) is noninferior to one that uses preventive (routine) nebulization.Design, Setting, and Participants: Randomized clinical trial enrolling adult patients expected to need invasive ventilation for more than 24 hours at 7 ICUs in the Netherlands.Interventions: On-demand nebulization of acetylcysteine or salbutamol (based on strict clinical indications, n = 471) or routine nebulization of acetylcysteine with salbutamol (every 6 hours until end of invasive ventilation, n = 473).Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the number of ventilator-free days at day 28, with a noninferiority margin for a difference between groups of -0.5 days. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, mortality rates, occurrence of pulmonary complications, and adverse events.Results: Nine hundred twenty-two patients (34% women; median age, 66 (interquartile range [IQR], 54-75 years) were enrolled and completed follow-up. At 28 days, patients in the on-demand group had a median 21 (IQR, 0-26) ventilator-free days, and patients in the routine group had a median 20 (IQR, 0-26) ventilator-free days (1-sided 95% CI, -0.00003 to ∞). There was no significant difference in length of stay or mortality, or in the proportion of patients developing pulmonary complications, between the 2 groups. Adverse events (13.8% vs 29.3%; difference, -15.5% [95% CI, -20.7% to -10.3%]; P < .001) were more frequent with routine nebulization and mainly related to tachyarrhythmia (12.5% vs 25.9%; difference, -13.4% [95% CI, -18.4% to -8.4%]; P < .001) and agitation (0.2% vs 4.3%; difference, -4.1% [95% CI, -5.9% to -2.2%]; P < .001).Conclusions and Relevance: Among ICU patients receiving invasive ventilation who were expected to not be extubated within 24 hours, on-demand compared with routine nebulization of acetylcysteine with salbutamol did not result in an inferior number of ventilator-free days. On-demand nebulization may be a reasonable alternative to routine nebulization.Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02159196. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To study the impact of hypothermia upon admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on early and late mortality and to develop a prediction model for late mortality in severely injured trauma patients. Materials and Methods: A multicenter retrospective cohort study was performed in adult trauma patients admitted to the ICU of two Level-1 trauma centers between 2007 and 2012. Hypothermia was defined as a core body temperature of ≤35° Celsius. Logistic regression analyses were performed to quantify the effect of hypothermia on 24-hour and 28-day mortality and to develop a prediction model. Results: A total of 953 patients were included, of which 354 patients had hypothermia (37%) upon ICU admission. Patients were divided into a normothermic or hypothermic group. Hypothermia was associated with a significantly increased mortality at 24 hours and 28 days (OR 2.72 (1.18-6.29 and OR 2.82 (1.83-4.35) resp.). The variables included in the final prediction model were hypothermia, age, APACHE II score (corrected for temperature), INR, platelet count, traumatic brain injury and Injury Severity Score. The final prediction model discriminated between survivors and non-survivors with high accuracy (AUC = 0.871, 95% CI 0.844-0.898). Conclusions: Hypothermia, defined as a temperature ≤35° Celsius, is common in critically ill trauma patients and is one of the most important physiological predictors for early and late mortality in trauma patients. Trauma patients admitted to the ICU may be at high risk for late mortality if the patient is hypothermic, coagulopathic, severely injured and has traumatic brain injury or an advanced age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Serum levels of N-terminal proB-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are elevated in patients acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Recent studies showed a lower incidence of acute cor pulmonale in ARDS patients ventilated with lower tidal volumes. Consequently, serum levels of NT-proBNP may be lower in these patients. We investigated the relation between serum levels of NT-proBNP and tidal volumes in critically ill patients without ARDS at the onset of mechanical ventilation. Methods: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of lower versus conventional tidal volumes in patients without ARDS. NT-pro BNP were measured in stored serum samples. Serial serum levels of NT-pro BNP were analyzed controlling for acute kidney injury, cumulative fluid balance and presence of brain injury. The primary outcome was the effect of tidal volume size on serum levels of NT-proBNP. Secondary outcome was the association with development of ARDS. Results: Samples from 150 patients were analyzed. No relation was found between serum levels of NT-pro BNP and tidal volume size. However, NT-proBNP levels were increasing in patients who developed ARDS. In addition, higher levels were observed in patients with acute kidney injury, and in patients with a more positive cumulative fluid balance. Conclusion: Serum levels of NT-proBNP are independent of tidal volume size, but are increasing in patients who develop ARDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Manual hyperinflation (MH), a frequently applied maneuver in critically ill intubated and mechanically ventilated patients, is suggested to mimic a cough so that airway secretions are mobilized toward the larger airways, where they can easily be removed. As such, MH could prevent plugging of the airways. Methods: We performed a search in the databases of Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from January 1990 to April 2012. We systematically reviewed the literature on evidence for postulated benefits and risks of MH in critically ill intubated and mechanically ventilated patients. Results: The search identified 50 articles, of which 19 were considered relevant. We included 13 interventional studies and six observational studies. The number of studies evaluating physiological effects of MH is limited. Trials differed too much to permit meta-analysis. It is uncertain whether MH was applied similarly in the retrieved studies. Finally, most studies are underpowered to show clinical benefit of MH. Use of MH is associated with short-term improvements in lung compliance, oxygenation, and secretion clearance, without changes in outcomes. MH has been reported to be associated with short-term and probably clinically insignificant side effects, including decreases in cardiac output, alterations of heart rates, and increased central venous pressures. Conclusions: Studies have failed to show that MH benefits critically ill intubated and mechanically ventilated patients. MH is infrequently associated with short-term side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by a pro-coagulant state. Heparin is an anticoagulant with anti-inflammatory properties. Unfractionated heparin has been found to be protective in experimental models of ALI. We hypothesized that an intravenous therapeutic dose of unfractionated heparin would favorably influence outcome of critically ill patients diagnosed with ALI. Methods: Patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a tertiary referral center in the Netherlands between November 2004 and October 2007 were screened. Patients who developed ALI (consensus definition) were included. In this cohort, the impact of heparin use on mortality was assessed by logistic regression analysis in a propensity matched case-control design. Results: Of 5,561 admitted patients, 2,138 patients had a length of stay > 48 hours, of whom 723 were diagnosed with ALI (34%), of whom 164 received intravenous heparin. In a propensity score adjusted logistic regression analysis, heparin use did not influence 28-day mortality (odds ratio 1.23 [confidence interval 95% 0.80-1.89], nor did it affect ICU length of stay. Conclusions: Administration of therapeutic doses of intravenous unfractionated heparin was not associated with reduced mortality in critically ill patients diagnosed with ALI. Heparin treatment did not increase transfusion requirements. These results may help in the design of prospective trials evaluating the use of heparin as adjunctive treatment for ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the relative importance of clinical and transport-related factors in physicians' decision-making regarding the interhospital transport of critically ill patients. The medical heads of all 95 ICUs in The Netherlands were surveyed with a questionnaire using 16 case vignettes to evaluate preferences for transportability; 78 physicians (82%) participated. The vignettes varied in eight factors with regard to severity of illness and transport conditions. Their relative weights were calculated for each level of the factors by conjoint analysis and expressed in β. The reference value (β = 0) was defined as the optimal conditions for critical care transport; a negative β indicated preference against transportability. The type of escorting personnel (paramedic only: β = –3.1) and transport facilities (standard ambulance β = –1.21) had the greatest negative effect on preference for transportability. Determinants reflecting severity of illness were of relative minor importance (dose of noradrenaline β = –0.6, arterial oxygenation β = –0.8, level of peep β = –0.6). Age, cardiac arrhythmia, and the indication for transport had no significant effect. Escorting personnel and transport facilities in interhospital transport were considered as most important by intensive care physicians in determining transportability. When these factors are optimal, even severely critically ill patients are considered able to undergo transport. Further clinical research should tailor transport conditions to optimize the use of expensive resources in those inevitable road trips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The assessment of critical nursing situations can be a valuable tool in the detection of weak elements in the safety of patients and the quality of care in the ICU. A critical nursing situation can be defined as any observable situation, which deviates from good clinical practice and which may potentially lead to an adverse event. The aim of our study was to establish the feasibility, reliability and validity of the Critical Nursing Situation Index (CNSI) as a tool for assessing the safety and the quality of nursing in the ICU.Design: We described the deviations from standards and protocols in daily ICU nursing care, selected those with an implicit, clear risk for the patients and translated them into explicitly observable items. If an item was applicable during observation of the ICU practice, a critical nursing situation could be recorded as either true or false. The reliability of the CNSI was defined in terms of inter-observer agreement. The validity was assessed by exploring the relationship between the nursing time available (more or less than 30 min per patient per hour) and the incidence of critical nursing situations.Setting: The study was performed in the ICU of a teaching hospital (30 IC beds) in which all disciplines, including cardiothoracic surgery and neurosurgery, were represented.Patients: The CNSI was randomly applied to 83 ICU patients over a period of 3 months (200 times).Measurements and Results: The reliability of the index was substantial (Kappa values in the range > or =0.70 to > 0.80). In terms of validity, less nursing time resulted in more critical situations (pooled relative risk (RR) 1.36; 95% confidence limits 1.11/1.67).Conclusion: The CNSI is simple to use and has encouraging metric properties, whereas the assessments are closely related to direct patient care. Moreover, the CNSI provides a tool for safety assessment by monitoring potentially dangerous situations that are generally regarded as needing to be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a retrospective multicenter study on the relationship between the dynamics of blood glucose level following hypoglycemia and intensive care unit mortality. The study was conducted in seven intensive care units (ICU) in the Netherlands. Based on the results, changes in blood glucose levels after hypoglycemia are linked to ICU mortality.

The article comments on the paper "Propagation prevention: A complementary mechanism for "lung protective" ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome," by J. Marini and L. Gattinoni. According to the authors, the researchers call attention to the theory of airway propagation and recommend positioning and ventilatory methods for its prevention. They note that some therapeutic maneuvers, such as manual hyperinflation, may have competing effects depending on the airway secretions' fluidity.