OBJECTIVES To describe the rationale, design and methodology for a trial of three novel interventions developed to improve sedation-analgesia quality in adult intensive care units (ICUs). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING 8 clusters, each a Scottish ICU. All mechanically ventilated sedated patients were potentially eligible for inclusion in data analysis. DESIGN Cluster randomised design in 8 ICUs, ...

The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database (ANZICS APD) is one of the largest databases of its kind in the world and collects individual admissions' data from intensive care units (ICUs) around Australia and New Zealand. Use of this database for monitoring and comparing the performance of ICUs, quantified by the standardised mortality ratio, poses several theor...

BACKGROUND Bloodstream infections from central venous catheters (CVC-BSIs) increase morbidity and costs in intensive care units (ICUs). Substantial reductions in CVC-BSI rates have been reported using a combination of technical and non-technical interventions. METHODS We conducted a 2-year, four-cluster, stepped non-randomised study of technical and non-technical (behavioural) interventions t...

BACKGROUND The provision of Intensive Care (IC) can lead to a health care provider's physical, psychological and emotional exhaustion, which may develop into burnout. We notice the absence of specific studies regarding this syndrome in Portuguese Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Our main objective is to study the incidence and risk factors of burnout in Portuguese ICUs. METHODS A self-fulfilment ...

Centralization of intensive care units (ICUs) is a concept that has been around for several decades and the OECD countries have led the way in adopting this in their operations. Singapore Hospital was built in 1981, before the concept of centralization of ICUs took off. The hospital’s ICUs were never centralized and were spread out across eight different blocks with the specialization they were...

OBJECTIVES Selective oropharyngeal decontamination (SOD) and selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) are associated with improved outcomes among patients in intensive care units (ICUs), but uncertainty remains about their long-term effects on resistance levels. We determined trends in antibiotic resistance among Gram-negative bacteria in 38 Dutch ICUs using and not using SOD/SDD....

OBJECTIVE To report the experience gained over 4 years in working with the German SARI project (Surveillance of Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Intensive Care Units), and to compare SARI with data from the Swedish STRAMA and the US AUR surveillance system. METHODS Prospective unit and laboratory based surveillance was carried out in 40 German ICUs from 2001 through 2004. WHO...

OBJECTIVE Cardiac surgery ICU characteristics and clinician staffing patterns have not been well characterized. We sought to describe Pennsylvania cardiac ICUs and to determine whether ICU characteristics are associated with mortality in the 30 days after cardiac surgery. DESIGN From 2012 to 2013, we conducted a survey of cardiac surgery ICUs in Pennsylvania to assess ICU structure, care prac...

Using three spatial network measures of "space syntax", this correlational study describes four interaction-related behaviors among three groups of users in relation to visibility and accessibility of spaces in four adult intensive care units (ICUs) of different size, geometry, and specialty. Systematic field observations of interaction-related behaviors show significant differences in spatial ...

OBJECTIVE To test the use of a human resources-based classification of levels of care of ICUs; to evaluate the match between planned vs operative levels of care on a large sample of European ICUs. DESIGN Analysis of the database of a multicentric, multinational, prospective cohort study, involving 89 ICUs from 13 European areas. SETTING Database of EURICUS-I. METHODS Provision of resource...