Objective To investigate the correlation between monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and intensive care unit (ICU) results in ICU hospitalized patients. Methods Clinical data were extracted from Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Ⅲ database, which contained health data of more than 50000 patients. The main result was 30-day mortality, and the secondary result was 90-day mortality. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to reveal the association between MLR and ICU results. Multivariable analyses were used to control for confounders. Results A total of 7295 ICU patients were included. For the 30-day mortality, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the second (0.23≤MLR<0.47) and the third (MLR≥0.47) groups were 1.28 (1.01, 1.61) and 2.70 (2.20, 3.31), respectively, compared to the first group (MLR<0.23). The HR and 95%CI of the third group were still significant after being adjusted by the two different models [2.26 (1.84, 2.77), adjusted by model 1; 2.05 (1.67, 2.52), adjusted by model 2]. A similar trend was observed in the 90-day mortality. Patients with a history of coronary and stroke of the third group had a significant higher 30-day mortality risk [HR and 95%CI were 3.28 (1.99, 5.40) and 3.20 (1.56, 6.56), respectively]. Conclusion MLR is a promising clinical biomarker, which has certain predictive value for the 30-day and 90-day mortality of patients in ICU.
Objective To investigate the predictors for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CR-AEP) as the pathogens of bloodstream infection (BSI) for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods A retrospective case-control study based on ICU- healthcare-associated infection (HAI) research database was carried out. The patients who have been admitted to the central ICU between 2015 and 2019 in the ICU-HAI research database of West China Hospital of Sichuan University were selected. The included patients were divided into two groups, of which the patients with ICU-acquired BSI due to CR-AEP were the case group and the patients with BSI due to the pathogens other than CR-AEP were the control group. The clinical features of the two groups of patients were compared. Logistic regression model was used to identify the predictors of BSI due to CR-AEP.ResultsA total of 197 patients with BSI were included, including 83 cases in the case group and 114 cases in the control group. A total of 214 strains of pathogenic bacteria were isolated from the 197 BSI cases, including 86 CR-AEP strains. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that previous use of tigecycline [odds ratio (OR)=2.490, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.141, 5.436), P=0.022] was associated with higher possibility for CR-AEP as the pathogens of BSI in ICU patients with BSI, while previous use of antipseudomonal penicillin [OR=0.497, 95%CI (0.256, 0.964), P=0.039] was associated with lower possibility for that. Conclusion Previous use of tigecycline or antipseudomonal penicillin is the predictor for CR-AEP as the pathogens of BSI in ICU patients with BSI.
Objective To identify the predictors for readmission in the ICU among cardiac surgery patients. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 2 799 consecutive patients under cardiac surgery, who were divided into two groups including a readmission group (47 patients, 27 males and 20 females at age of 62.0±14.4 years) and a non readmission group (2 752 patients, 1 478 males and 1 274 females at age of 55.0±13.9 years) in our hospital between January 2014 and October 2016. Results The incidence of ICU readmission was 1.68% (47/2 799). Respiratory disorders were the main reason for readmission (38.3%).Readmitted patients had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality compared to those requiring no readmission (23.4% vs. 4.6%, P<0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that pre-operative renal dysfunction (OR=5.243, 95%CI 1.190 to 23.093, P=0.029), the length of stay in the ICU (OR=1.002, 95%CI 1.001 to 1.004, P=0.049), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in the first postoperative day (OR=1.000, 95%CI 1.000 to 1.001, P=0.038), acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ (APACHEⅡ) score in the first 24 hours of admission to the ICU (OR=1.171, 95%CI 1.088 to1.259, P<0.001), and the drainage on the day of surgery (OR=1.001, 95%CI1.001 to 1.002, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for readmission to the cardiac surgery ICU. Conclusion The early identification of high risk patients for readmission in the cardiac surgery ICU could encourage both more efficient healthcare planning and resources allocation.
Objective To verify the association between admission serum phosphate level and short-term (<30 days) mortality of severe pneumonia patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) / respiratory intensive care unit (RICU). Methods Severe pneumonia patients admitted to the ICU/RICU of Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University from November 2019 to September 2021 were included in the study. Serum phosphate was demonstrated as an independent risk factor for short-term mortality of severe pneumonia patients admitted to ICU/RICU by logical analysis and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. The patients were further categorized by serum phosphate concentration to explore the relationship between serum phosphate level and short-term mortality. Results Comparison of baseline indicators at admission between the survival group (n=54) and the non survival group (n=46) revealed that there was significant difference in serum phosphate level [0.9 (0.8, 1.2) mmol/L vs. 1.2 (0.9, 1.5) mmol/L, P<0.05]. Logical analysis showed serum phosphate was an independent risk factor for short-term mortality. ROC curve showed that the prediction ability of serum phosphate was close to pneumonia severity index (PSI). After combining serum phosphate with PSI score, CURB65 score, and sequential organ failure score, the predictive ability of these scores for short-term mortality was improved. Compared with the normophosphatemia group, hyperphosphatemia was found be with significantly higher short-term mortality (85.7% vs. 47.3%, P<0.05), which is absent in hypophosphatemia (25.8%). Conclusions Serum phosphate at admission has a good predictive value on short-term mortality in severe pneumonia patients admitted to the ICU/RICU. Hyperphosphatemia at admission is associated with a higher risk of short-term death.
Objective To systematically assess the risk factors for the occurrence of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections in general intensive care units (ICU). Methods A computerized search was conducted to identify literature on the risk factors for MDRO infection in ICUs in the Chinese Biomedical Literature Service system, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases from January 1, 2012, to June 1, 2024. The literature meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria was subjected to two-person data extraction and quality evaluation, and then meta-analysis was conducted by using Revman5.4 software. Results A total of 25 articles were included, with a cumulative total of 19 280 patients, including 3 945 patients with MDRO infection (20.5%). Twenty-four risk factors were analyzed, and the difference between 19 of them was statistically significant (P<0.050). The risk factors for MDRO infection included: (1) three general factors: length of hospital stay, ICU length of stay, and APACHE Ⅱ score; (2) seven invasive operation-related factors: mechanical ventilation, duration of mechanical ventilation, fiberoptic bronchoscopy, arterial intubation , length of venous catheterization, ureteral intubation, and urinary catheter retention; (3) four antibiotic-related factors: use of antimicrobials prior to ICU admission, concomitant antimicrobials, antimicrobial species, and duration of antimicrobials use; (4) five factors related to the underlying diseases: hypoproteinemia, pulmonary diseases, combined underlying diseases, number of combined underlying diseases, and mixed infections. Conclusions The current research evidence suggests that multiple factors are associated with the occurrence of MDRO infections in patients in general ICU, which may provide a basis for early screening of patients at risk for MDRO infections by ICU healthcare professionals.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic value of various severity assessment scoring systems for sepsis after cardiac surgery and the predictive value for long-term prognosis.MethodsThe clinical data of patients who underwent cardiac sugeries including coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and (or) valve reconstruction/valve replacement were extracted from Medical Information Mark for Intensive Care-Ⅲ (MIMIC-Ⅲ). A total of 6 638 patients were enrolled in this study, including 4 558 males and 2 080 females, with an average age of 67.0±12.2 years. Discriminatory power was determined by comparing the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for each scoring system individually using the method of DeLong. An X-tile analysis was used to determine the optimal cut-off point for each scoring system, and the patients were grouped by the cut-off point, and Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test were applied to analyze their long-term survival.ResultsCompared with the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, acute physiology score-Ⅲ (APS-Ⅲ, P<0.001), the simplified acute physiology score-Ⅱ (SAPS-Ⅱ, P<0.001) and logistic organ dysfunction score (LODS, P<0.001) were more accurate in distinguishing sepsis. Compared with the non-septic group, the 10-year overall survival rate of the septic group was lower (P<0.001). Except for the systemic inflammation response score (SIRS) system, the 10-year overall survival rates of patients in the high risk layers of SOFA (HR=2.50, 95%CI 2.23-2.80, P<0.001), SAPS (HR=2.93, 95%CI 2.64-3.26, P<0.001), SAPS-Ⅱ (HR=2.77, 95%CI 2.51-3.04, P<0.001), APS-Ⅲ (HR=2.90, 95%CI 2.63-3.20, P<0.001), LODS (HR=2.17, 95%CI 1.97-2.38, P<0.001), modified logistic organ dysfunction score (MLODS, HR=2.04, 95%CI 1.86-2.25, P<0.001) and the Oxford acute severity of illness score (OASIS, HR=2.37, 95%CI 2.16-2.60, P<0.001) systems were lower than those in the low risk layers.ConclusionCompared with SOFA score, APS-Ⅲ score may have higher value in the diagnosis of sepsis in patients who undergo isolated CABG, a valve procedure or a combination of both. Except for SIRS scoring system, SOFA, APS-Ⅲ, SAPS, SAPS-Ⅱ, LODS, MLODS and OASIS scoring systems can be applied to predict the long-term outcome of patients after cardiac surgery.
Objective To compare the bacterial spectrums of respiratory intensive care unit (RICU) patients derived from traditional bacterial culture and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay. To analyze the relationship between clinical factors and clinical outcome of patients. Methods Data of patients in RICU with lower respiratory tract infection from October 2018 to December 2020 was collected. The bacterial spectrums obtained by traditional culture method and LAMP-based method were compared. Clinical factors were divided into two categories and taken into analysis of variance for assessing their relevance with clinical outcomes. Those with significances in analysis of variance were taken into binary logistic regression. Results A total of 117 patients were included. The ratio of patients with positive bacterial culture results was 39.13% (n=115), and that with positive LAMP assay results was 72.65% (n=117). The ratios of patients with at least two positive results for culture and LAMP were 8.70% (n=115) and 36.75% (n=117), respectively. According to chi-squared test, mechanical ventilation (χ2=5.260, P=0.022), and patients with two or more bacteria positive for LAMP assay (χ2=8.227, P=0.004) were related to higher risk of death. Mechanical ventilation and patients with two bacteria positive for LAMP assay were included in binary logistic regression. The odds ratio for death was 4.789 in patients with two or more bacteria positive by LAMP assay (95% confidence interval 1.198 - 19.144, P=0.027). Conclusions LAMP-based method is helpful in detecting more bacteria from respiratory tract specimens of RICU patients, which will be a contributor to precision medicine. Patients with at least two bacteria positive based on LAMP assay have higher risk of death.
Objective To explore the effect of “net bottom” management in the control of device-associated infections (DAIs) in elderly patients by setting infection monitoring doctors and nurses in the emergency intensive care unit (EICU). Methods Elderly patients who aged≥60 years old admitted to the EICU of the First People’s Hospital of Lianyungang between April 2018 and March 2021 were selected as the research subjects. A “net bottom” management mode was established and implemented for the purpose of infection prevention and control, taking medical and other departments as the coordination and management subjects, and infection monitoring doctors and nurses as the core. The effectiveness of the management intervention was evaluated by comparing the incidences of DAIs in elderly patients, the compliance rates of medical staff in hand hygiene, and the consumption of hand sanitizer per bed day in EICU among the primary stage (from April 2018 to March 2019), intermediate stage (from April 2019 to March 2020), and later stage (from April 2020 to March 2021). Results During the primary stage, intermediate stage, and later stage, there were 540, 497, and 507 elderly inpatients in EICU monitored, respectively, and the incidences of nosocomial infections were 7.22% (39/540), 5.84% (29/497), and 4.14% (21/507), respectively, showing a decreasing trend (χ2trend=4.557, P=0.033). The incidences of ventilator-associated pneumonia, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased from 4.82‰, 2.53‰, and 0.95‰, respectively in the primary stage, to 0.51‰, 1.01‰, and 0.53‰, respectively in the later stage, among which the difference in the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia was statistically significant (P<0.05). The hand hygiene compliance rate of EICU medical staff increased from 70.39% to 86.67% (P<0.05), and the consumption of hand sanitizer per bed day increased from 33.70 mL to 67.27 mL. The quarterly hand hygiene compliance rate was positively correlated with the quarterly consumption of hand sanitizer per bed day (rs=0.846, P=0.001), and negatively correlated with the quarterly incidence of nosocomial infections (rs=–0.769, P=0.003). Conclusion The “net bottom” management by setting up infection monitoring doctors and nurses in the EICU and multi-department collaboration can reduce the incidence of DAIs in elderly patients in EICU, which plays a positive role in promoting the hospital infection management and improving the quality of hospital infection management.
ObjectiveTo investigate the protein intake of patients in the general surgery intensive care unit (ICU) and to analyze the factors, both hindering and facilitating, that affecting protein intake from the perspective of healthcare professionals. MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used in this study, including a quantitative study and a qualitative study. The quantitative study was use to assess the protein intake in the ICU patients. The qualitative study was used to analyze the perspectives of healthcare professionals via semi-structured interviews. In the quantitative study, 32 variables were analyzed, and the sample size was estimated to be 10 times the number of study variables. The qualitative study employed the maximum difference sampling strategy, with the sample size determined by data saturation. The multiple linear regression was used to identify the risk factors affecting protein intake achievement, with a significance level of α=0.05. ResultsThe quantitative study included 459 patients, with a protein intake of (0.739±0.552) g/(kg·d). Of the patients, 90 (19.6%) had a protein intake of 1.2–2.0 g/(kg·d), 11 (2.3%) had 2.0 g/(kg·d) or more, and 358 (78.0%) had less 1.2 g/(kg·d). The multiple linear regression analysis identified several risk factors influencing protein intake attainment, including male, higher body mass index, elevated blood glucose levels upon ICU admission, early initiation of enteral nutrition (≤48 h), nasoenteric tube placement, and the only use of enteral nutrition feedings. In the qualitative study, three key themes relevant protein intake attainment were identified from the interviews: inadequate infrastructure, healthcare workers’ factors, and patient-related factors. ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest a substantial gap between the protein intake of general surgical ICU patients and the guideline-recommended intake. The study highlights patient groups at risk for inadequate protein intake based on identified risk factors. Future efforts should focus on improving the efficiency of protein supplementation, enhancing the nutritional status of patients, standardizing protein supplementation protocols, and increasing education for both healthcare workers and patients.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there have been numerous studies confirming that physiotherapy is an essential part of the comprehensive treatment during hospitalization and can facilitate recovery in COVID-19 patients. However, physiotherapy protocols for COVID-19 patients in intensive care units are still lacking. This article reviews the literature and incorporates practical experience around recommendations for the safe protection during physiotherapy, recommendations for evaluation criteria and intervention of physiotherapy, and future work for COVID-19 patients, so as to provide a standardized recommendation for physiotherapists working in intensive care units.