Critical Care Commons^™

Assessing Clinician Preference For Redirection Of Care In Neonatal Tracheostomies, Gabriella Destefano, Alla Kushnir, Perri Donenfeld

Cooper Rowan Medical Journal

A spectrum of indications exists for the implementation of neonatal tracheostomies, ranging from short-term airway control to congenital airway anomalies. The decision to initiate long-term mechanical ventilation is multifaceted and can be influenced by factors such as physician preferences, caregivers’ attitudes, and comorbidities. It is important to have an ethical framework in place to guide the treatment of preterm neonates who may require long term mechanical ventilation. This study examines physician perspectives on the ethics of neonatal tracheostomy, focusing on the treatment of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. A mixed methods study, consisting of demographic information and 5 clinical vignettes centering …

Development Of A Longitudinal, Small-Group Pocus Curriculum For Internal Medicine Residents, Shah N. Mahmud Do, Ammar W. Bhatti Do, Ariq Rahman Md, Omar Al Qassab Md, Fraser Mackay Md

The Lahey Journal

Development of a Longitudinal, Small-Group POCUS Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents

Introduction

Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is integral for clinicians to enhance their diagnostic and procedural skills. Unlike Emergency Medicine or Anesthesia training programs, Internal Medicine programs often lack a structured and standardized curriculum. We thus developed a longitudinal and multi-pronged POCUS curriculum aimed at building trainee competency when utilizing ultrasound for diagnostic and procedural work-up.

Methods

The curriculum encompasses the following: basics of ultrasound, ultrasound-guided procedures, thoracic ultrasound/Bed Lung Ultrasound in Emergency (BLUE), and cardiac ultrasound/Focus-Assessed Transthoracic Echocardiography (FATE). These modules were integrated into the residents’ clinic blocks. We utilized …

Best Practices For A Competency-Based Curriculum In Critical Care Ultrasonography For Fellows, Paru Patrawalla, Frances West, Navitha Ramesh, Paul Mayo, Amik Sodhi

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

New guidelines from the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education for critical care ultrasound (CCUS) training went into effect on July 1, 2024, for critical care medicine and combined pulmonary and critical care medicine fellows. Fellowship programs will need to ensure that their fellows demonstrate competence in skills that are essential to CCUS, which currently encompasses applications in basic cardiac, lung/pleural, abdominal, and vascular ultrasonography (US). This may be a challenge for fellowship programs that have nascent CCUS curricula and limited faculty expertise. In this Perspective, we share expert and evidence-based recommendations on how to implement a competency-based curriculum in …

Evidence Based Quality Improvement For Prescribing Stewardship In Icu (Equips-Icu): Protocol For Type Iii Hybrid Implementation-Effectiveness Study, Duncan Wagstaff, John Amausi, Sumaiya Arfin, Diptesh Aryal, Mohd Basri Mat Nor, Joseph Bonney, Arjen Dondorp, David Dongelmans, Layoni Dullawe, Wangari Siika

Anaesthesiology, East Africa

Approximately half of all antimicrobial prescriptions in intensive care units (ICUs) may be inappropriate, including those prescribed when not needed, in unnecessary combinations or for longer durations than needed. Inappropriate prescribing is costly, exposes patients to unnecessary side-effects and drives population-level antimicrobial resistance, the prevalence and consequences of which are greatest in low- and middle-income countries. However, the implementation of interventions to improve the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing has been variable and requires further study..

Potential Mechanisms For New Onset Atrial Fibrillation In Covid-19 Patients, Raghav Gupta, Yara Assadi, Shaniece Nicole Lawrence, Erika Jeanie Pitsker, Michael Scott Bickford Jr., Victoria Amber Saniko

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Introduction: This study shows the prevalence of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in COVID-19 patients and highlights the most prevalent explanatory pathologic theories for the correlation.

Methods: The authors carried out a literature review over PubMed using the keywords “atrial fibrillation” and “long-term COVID.” 48 articles were reviewed. Articles relating to new onset of atrial fibrillation in COVID-19 patients were included while articles posted before 2020, not related to COVID and atrial fibrillation were excluded.

Results: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in COVID patients is often reported to be around 17%, however 44% of patients within Intensive Care units (ICU) have atrial …

Issue 8: Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider, Bharat Bajantri Md, Sarah Ellsworth-Hoffman Mls, Caterina Elliott Np, Pa, Donna Cota Md

Critical Care & Pulmonary

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider Issue 8

Compiled by Bharat Bajantri, MD, and librarian Sarah Ellsworth, MLS for the clinicians of the Pulmonary and Critical Care team of Parkview.

The Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider newsletter was created by Dr. Bharat Bajantri, MD and Sarah Ellsworth, MLS in 2023 as a form of current awareness for current practice at our hospital, Parkview Health. The content resides within critical care and pulmonary related topics and this information is compiled into four main formats.

1. Original Study Summaries: New research publications are read, reviewed, then concisely summarized for clinical interpretation with professional …

Evidence-Based Practice For Terminal Extubation: A Guideline Development For Critical Care, Heather Marica

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: In the critical care unit it was identified that providers utilized various practices in managing patients who were to be terminally extubated (TE). The variations in TE practice resulted in healthcare providers engaging in the TE process feeling unsure of the care they were providing and questioning if best practice measures were being implemented.

PICOT: The PICOT question guiding this project was: “In acute care adult patients who are to be TE (P), how does the development of an evidence-based TE guideline (I) compared to current TE practices (C) improve critical care healthcare workers perception and ability to …

Issue 6: Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider, Bharat Bajantri Md, Sarah Ellsworth-Hoffman Mls

Critical Care & Pulmonary

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider Issue 6

Compiled by Bharat Bajantri, MD, and librarian Sarah Ellsworth, MLS for the clinicians of the Pulmonary and Critical Care team of Parkview.

The goal of this newsletter is to give a brief summary of the most pertinent articles to everyday practice and an attempt to keep up with literature as best as possible. Newsletters go out every 1-2 months.

Summaries/Topics in this issue:

Wasted Blood in Hospital Setting

Blood Transfusions

MINT Trial

Epinephrine related death

Non-invasive Airway Management of Comatose Poisoned Emergency Patients

Angiotensin II (AT2) and Vasopressors

Angiotensin II for the Treatment …

Point Of Care Ultrasound (Pocus) For Advanced Practice Providers (Apps), Crystal S. Rogers

DNP Projects

Background: Advanced practice providers (APPs) routinely lack the skillset to perform Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) because currently, there is not a standardized curriculum within scholarly programs (Santos et al., 2018) and/or inadequate hospital training to perform these competencies (Huang et al., 2021). The absence of a standard curriculum has limited the ability of APPs to practice with full scope, provide care that is comparable to physician partners in the acute care setting, and deliver highest quality of patient care. Implementing standard education to train APPs for POCUS addresses this identified gap.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to …

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider: Special Issue 5: 2023 In Review, Bharat Bajantri Md, Sarah Ellsworth-Hoffman Mls

Critical Care & Pulmonary

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider Issue 5: Special Issue

Compiled by Bharat Bajantri, MD, and librarian Sarah Ellsworth, MLS for the clinicians of the Pulmonary and Critical Care team of Parkview.

The goal of this newsletter is to give a brief summary of the most pertinent articles to everyday practice and an attempt to keep up with literature as best as possible. Newsletters go out every 1-2 months.

Cardiac Tamponade: Innovative Sternotomy Simulation Model For Training Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Team, Tolu Akinpelu, Mohammed Alhendy, Malarvizhi Thangavelu, Karen Weaver, Nicole Muller, James Mcelroy, Daniel Nento, Utpal Bhalala

Research Symposium

Introduction: Cardiac tamponade occurring after cardiac surgery is rare but life threatening and requires simultaneous resuscitation and emergent sternotomy by the intensive care team. A simulated scenario using innovative mannequin with sternotomy wound has the capability of reproducing cardiac arrest associated with postoperative tamponade. We evaluated the face validity of this innovative mannequin, the confidence level and crisis resource management skills of the team during sternotomy to manage postoperative cardiac tamponade.

Methods: The simulation case scenario was developed using innovative sternotomy mannequin for children’s hospital cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) teams. The case involved a 3-year old male, intubated, mechanically …

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider: Issue 2, Bharat Bajantri Md, Sarah Ellsworth Mls

Critical Care & Pulmonary

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider Issue 2

Compiled by Bharat Bajantri, MD, and librarian Sarah Ellsworth, MLS for the clinicians of the Pulmonary and Critical Care team of Parkview.

The goal of this newsletter is to give a brief summary of the most pertinent articles to everyday practice and an attempt to keep up with literature as best as possible. Newsletters go out every 1-2 months.

Summaries/Topics in this issue:

• Spontaneous Breathing Trials
• Enteral feedings
• EFFORT Protein trial
• The NUTRIREA-3 trial
• Veno-venous extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (vv-ECCO2 R)
• Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF)
• Penicillin allergy
• PEN-FAST score
• Etomidate increases mortality …

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider: Issue 1, Bharat Bajantri Md, Sarah Ellsworth Mls

Critical Care & Pulmonary

Pulmonary & Critical Care Insider Issue 1

Compiled by Bharat Bajantri, MD, and librarian Sarah Ellsworth, MLS for the clinicians of the Pulmonary and Critical Care team of Parkview.

The goal of this newsletter is to give a brief summary of the most pertinent articles to everyday practice and an attempt to keep up with literature as best as possible. Newsletters go out every 1-2 months.

Summaries/Topics in this issue:

• Comparison of two commonly prescribed regimens of empiric antibiotics.
• Vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam (VPT)
• The efficacy and safety of Dupilumab in patients with COPD
• The BOREAS trial
• Simple aspiration versus chest …

Effect Of Confusion Assessment Scores On Identifying Delirium In Intensive Care Patients, Kayla Jacobs

Dissertations

Delirium in intensive care unit (ICU) patients can lead to increased length of stay in the hospital, increased risk of complications, increased polypharmacy, family distress and increased rate of mortality (Vasilevskis et al., 2018). Research has shown that addressing modifiable risk factors can improve survival rate by up to 15%, and routine screening for delirium in ICU patients leads to decreased patient anxiety, reduced in-hospital mortality, early recognition, and treatment of delirium (Krewulak et al., 2021 ; Vasilevskis et al., 2018). This quality improvement project used evidence-based intervention to increase accurate documentation of the confusion assessment method in the ICU …

Neurocope: A Novel Intervention To Increase Professional Fulfillment And Reduce Burnout By Connecting Neuro-Icu Healthcare Workers To Their Post-Recovery Patients, Angela Leclerc, Mary Sorcher, David Seder, Sara Penrod, Meghan Searight, Alison Daley, Sarah Hanken, Christine Lord, Whitney Trosper, Stephanie Chan, Jennifer Cote

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2023

Background:

Healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for patients with acute neurologic injury in the ICU rarely receive detailed information on the recovery of their patients. The missing connection between the period of acute neurologic injury and long-term outcomes is a psychological burden that contributes to moral fatigue and burnout.

We hypothesize that attending an Interprofessional conference series through which patients describe their acute brain injury and recovery to Neuro-ICU HCWs may ease moral fatigue, increasing professional fulfillment and reducing burnout.

External Validation Of A Laboratory Prediction Algorithm For The Reduction Of Unnecessary Labs In The Critical Care Setting, Linda T Li, Tongtong Huang, Elmer V Bernstam, Xiaoqian Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Unnecessary laboratory tests contribute to iatrogenic harm and are a major source of waste in the health care system. We previously developed a machine learning algorithm to help clinicians identify unnecessary laboratory tests, but it has not been externally validated. In this study, we externally validate our machine learning algorithm.

METHODS: To externally validate the machine learning algorithm that was originally trained on the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) III database, we tested the algorithm in a separate institution. We identified and abstracted data for all patients older than 18 years admitted to the intensive care unit …

Enhancing Diagnosis Through Technology: Decision Support, Artificial Intelligence, And Beyond, Robert El-Kareh, Dean F Sittig

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patient care in intensive care environments is complex, time-sensitive, and data-rich, factors that make these settings particularly well-suited to clinical decision support (CDS). A wide range of CDS interventions have been used in intensive care unit environments. The field needs well-designed studies to identify the most effective CDS approaches. Evolving artificial intelligence and machine learning models may reduce information-overload and enable teams to take better advantage of the large volume of patient data available to them. It is vital to effectively integrate new CDS into clinical workflows and to align closely with the cognitive processes of frontline clinicians.

Allocation Plans For Crisis Triage: How Well Would They Actually Work?, David Oxman

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

COVID-19 has forced US state governments to create plans for rationing critical care resources that ensure the greatest population benefit. But a study by Jezmir and colleagues in this issue of Cell Reports Medicine raises doubts about whether these plans can distinguish those who would most benefit.

Impact Of Bowel Management Guidelines On Documentation And Patient Outcomes In The Intensive Care Unit, Alana Trottier, Paul Blakeslee, Kristiina Hyrkas

Costas T. Lambrew Research Retreat 2021

Introduction

• Bowel management (BM) is an inadvertently overlooked aspect of patient care for critically ill patients who have complex, immediate life-threatening health issues.

• Bowel dysfunction is common with the reported incidence of diarrhea between 3.3%-78% and constipation between 20-83%

• Studies suggest that BM guidelines can standardize care, improve documentation, and impact patient outcomes

• Use of BM guidelines has remained low, probably influenced by clinicians’ resistance to change, resulting in small to moderate improvements and difficulties sustaining new practices

• We anticipated that sustained changes require recognizing clinicians’ current practice, integrating modifications into existing workflow, and engaging …

Precision Drug Delivery For Vancomycin Efficacy And Safety In Critically Ill Patients, Alexander Flannery

Theses and Dissertations--Clinical and Translational Science

Vancomycin is the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for hospitalized patients. Despite this fact and decades of clinical use, clinicians remain challenged to meet dosing targets of this narrow therapeutic index drug as well as minimize the risks of therapy, primarily nephrotoxicity. These concerns are magnified in critically ill patients given their severity. Accordingly, in a series of five clinical studies, we sought to identify optimal methods of vancomycin administration in critically ill patients to maximize efficacy and minimize nephrotoxicity via three techniques: use of continuous versus intermittent infusion, use of first-dose pharmacokinetic calculations to guide dosing, and use of loading …

Hyperkalemia Secondary To Prophylactic Heparin Use In A Trauma Patient: Case Report, Marco Custodio, Errington C. Thompson

Marshall Journal of Medicine

This case report describes a complex trauma patient who develops hyperkalemia secondary to heparin. Heparin is a commonly used drug in trauma patients. Physicians need to be aware of this potentially harmful adverse reaction in these high-risk patients.

Opioid-Related Critical Care Resource Use In Us Children's Hospitals., Jason M. Kane, Jeffrey D. Colvin, Allison H. Bartlett, Matt Hall

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There has been a rapid increase in the rate of pediatric opioid-related hospitalizations. It is unknown how this increase has impacted the use of pediatric critical care. Our objective in this study was to assess the trends in pediatric hospitalization for opioid ingestions in a cohort of US children's hospitals and, specifically, to evaluate the impact on pediatric critical care resource use.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of the Pediatric Health Information System was performed to identify hospitalizations for opioid ingestions from 2004 to 2015. Admission to the PICU and the use of naloxone, vasopressors, and ventilation …

Interhospital Transfer Of Children In Respiratory Failure: A Clinician Interview Qualitative Study., Folafoluwa O. Odetola, Renee R. Anspach, Yong Y. Han, Sarah J. Clark

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

PURPOSE: To investigate the decision making underlying transfer of children with respiratory failure from level II to level I pediatric intensive care unit care.

METHODS: Interviews with 19 eligible level II pediatric intensive care unit physicians about a hypothetical scenario of a 2-year-old girl in respiratory failure: RESULTS: At baseline, indices critical to management were as follows: OI (53%), partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (Pao

CONCLUSION: Interhospital transfer of children in respiratory failure is triggered by poor response to escalation of locally available care modalities. This finding provides new insight into decision making underlying interhospital transfer of children …