Nursing activities score

Nursing Administration: Aspects that Can Facilitate and Hinder Care in a Coronary Unit

La asistencia de enfermería en la Unidad Coranariana requiere un equipo de cuidados de salud especializado, equipamientos de alta tecnología y un liderazgo atento a las facilidades y dificultades diarias del cuidado de enfermería. Objetivo: discutir los aspectos que facilitan y dificultan la administración de enfermería en la unidad coronariana. Métodos: se realizó una investigación bibliográfica en la base de datos SciELO y recolección de datos, utilizando un plan de entrevista semiestructurada con 6 enfermeras líderes del sector de la unidad coronaria del Hospital Universitario de la Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro. Resultados: acerca de los aspectos que facilitan la administración de enfermería, los estudios seleccionados y las enfermeras apuntaron factores objetivos y subjetivos, respectivamente, como el uso de instrumentos de la distribución del equipo y la buena comunicación y relación interpersonal. Sobre los aspectos que la dificultan, han señalado la mecanización de la enfermera, la complejidad de una unidad de cuidados críticos y la escasez de recursos materiales. Conclusiones: es deber de la administración de enfermería identificar estos factores, para permitir mejor desempeño de los profesionales y, en consecuencia, asistencia más eficaz y segura para los pacientes y sus familias.

Accounting for health-care outcomes: implications for intensive care unit practice and performance

The aim of this study was to understand the environment of health care, and how clinicians and managers respond in terms of performance accountability. A qualitative method was used in a tertiary metropolitan teaching intensive care unit (ICU) in Sydney, Australia, including interviews with 15 clinical managers and focus groups with 29 nurses of differing experience. The study found that a managerial focus on abstract goals, such as budgets detracted from managing the core business of clinical work. Fractures were evident within clinical units, between clinical units and between clinical and managerial domains. These fractures reinforced the status quo where seemingly unconnected patient care activities were undertaken by loosely connected individual clinicians with personalized concepts of accountability. Managers must conceptualize health services as an interconnected entity within which self-directed teams negotiate and agree objectives, collect and review performance data and define collective practice. Organically developing regimens of care within and across specialist clinical units, such as in ICUs, directly impact upon health service performance and accountability.

Dimensionamento de pessoal de enfermagem em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva para adultos

OBJETIVO: Analisar o dimensionamento do pessoal de enfermagem da Unidade de Terapia Intensiva de Adultos (UTI-A) através da aplicação do Nursing Activities Score (NAS) e da Resolução COFEN n.º 293/2004. MÉTODOS: Pesquisa descritiva, exploratória realizada na UTI-A de um hospital-escola do Paraná, entre novembro/2007 e maio/2008. A população constituiu-se de 107 pacientes que permaneceram mais de 24 horas nessa unidade. RESULTADOS: De acordo com os resultados, a média do NAS (697,3 pontos) aponta para alta carga de trabalho de enfermagem; a equipe de enfermagem do setor deve contar com 40 profissionais em ao invés de 28; a proporção de 35,7% de enfermeiros não corresponde com o recomendado que é de 52,5%. CONCLUSÃO: Apesar de algumas limitações do instrumento NAS para mensurar a carga de trabalho de enfermagem em UTI e do Índice de Segurança Técnica empírico, recomendado nacionalmente, concluiu-se que os dois métodos utilizados contribuem para um dimensionamento do pessoal de enfermagem mais adequado às necessidades desse serviço.

Clinical review: scoring systems in the critically ill

General illness severity scores are widely used in the ICU to predict outcome, characterize disease severity and degree of organ dysfunction, and assess resource use. In this article we review the most commonly used scoring systems in each of these three groups. We examine the history of the development of the initial major systems in each group, discuss the construction of subsequent versions, and, when available, provide recent comparative data regarding their performance. Importantly, the different types of scores should be seen as complementary, rather than competitive and mutually exclusive. It is possible that their combined use could provide a more accurate indication of disease severity and prognosis. All these scoring systems will need to be updated with time as ICU populations change and new diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic techniques become available.

Demand for nursing care for patients in intensive care units in Southeast Poland

BACKGROUND

The Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System is widely used in both Western Europe and the United States to assess the level of patients' need for nursing care. Poland currently has 3 types of intensive care according to a territorial division of the country and the scope of medical treatment offered: poviat, voivodeship, and clinical.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the need for nursing care for patients in the 3 types of intensive care units in southeastern Poland.

METHODS

The investigation was conducted at 6 intensive care units in southeastern Poland in 2005 and 2006. Two units were randomly selected from each type of intensive care unit. A total of 155 patients from the units were categorized according to scores on the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System 28.

RESULTS

Among the 3 types of units, patients varied significantly with respect to age, length of hospitalization, and scores on the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System 28. Nevertheless, demand for nursing care during night and day shifts was similar in all 3 types. On the basis of the patients' scores, all 3 types of units provided appropriate staffing levels necessary to meet the demands for nursing care. Most patients required category III level of care.

CONCLUSION

Need or demand for nursing care in intensive care units in Poland varies according to the type of intensive care unit and can be determined on the basis of scores on the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System 28.

Nursing workload and staff allocation in an intensive care unit: a pilot study according to Nursing Activities Score (NAS)

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study were to identify the daily nursing workload in an intensive care unit (ICU) and to analyse the adequacy of nursing staff in a six hour shift according to the Nursing Activities Score (NAS).

METHOD

The sample consisted of 68 patients from a general 25-bed adult ICU in a private hospital with 250 beds in São Paulo, Brazil. The nursing workload of all patients admitted in the ICU over a one month period in 2004 were measured daily according to the NAS. For the analysis of nursing staff it was considered the number of nurses available in a six hour shift. Data were submitted to descriptive analyses.

RESULTS

Most patients were elderly and remained on average 12 (+/-16.4) days in the ICU. The mean NAS was 63.7 (+/-2.4%) and remained above 58.5% throughout the month. Apart from the 16th day of data collection there was an excess of nursing professionals in a six hour shift during the study period (range from 0.8 to 4.8 professionals).

CONCLUSIONS

The study results show the importance of nursing staff adequacy to workload fluctuations for reducing ICU costs.

Carga de trabalho de enfermagem requerida por adultos, idosos e muito idosos em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a carga de trabalho de enfermagem requerida pelos pacientes adultos, idosos e muito idosos, incluindo nas análises as intervenções realizadas e a evolução da carga de trabalho entre admissão e alta. Estudo prospectivo, longitudinal, realizado em UTIs gerais de quatro hospitais do Município de São Paulo. Os resultados apontaram que, independente da idade, houve similaridade da carga de trabalho de enfermagem na admissão, bem como na evolução das demandas de cuidados dos pacientes. Diferenças entre os grupos foram observadas no NAS na alta da UTI e nos seguintes itens desse instrumento: Monitorização e controles e Procedimentos de higiene, na admissão, Suporte respiratório e Hiperalimentação intravenosa na alta e Mobilização e posicionamento tanto na alta como na admissão. Concluiu-se, portanto, que a idade interferiu somente em aspectos específicos da carga de trabalho de enfermagem requeridas por pacientes internados em UTIs.

Nursing workload at a gastroenterology unit

One of the biggest challenges nurses face is the need to justify the quantity and quality of staff for care delivery. For this, management instruments are available which help them to determine the staff needed in the nursing team. This descriptive study aims to evaluate the nursing workload at a specialized clinical and surgical gastroenterology unit. To collect data, the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) was used during 30 consecutive days, with 1080 comments, obtained from the records of 149 patients. The mean NAS score was 34.9% and, considering that each point of NAS corresponds to 0.24 hour, on the average, 8.4 hours of nursing care were required within 24 hours. This means that this profile is of patients who demand intermediate and semi-intensive care, which suggests that the NAS study can be used to evaluate the workload of nurses at that unit.

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O estudo teve como objetivos adaptar para o português e avaliar as propriedades psicométricas do Nursing Activities Score (NAS), instrumento de medida de carga de trabalho de enfermagem em UTI. Após o processo de adaptação cultural, o NAS foi aplicado em uma amostra de 200 pacientes adultos internados em UTIs. A análise da consistência interna pelo coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach revelou que o NAS possui 23 medidas independentes que não comportam consolidação ou redução. A avaliação da confiabilidade interobservadores demonstrou alta concordância (99,8%) e índice Kappa médio de 0,99. A validade concorrente foi demonstrada pela correlação estatisticamente significativa entre o TISS-28 e o NAS (r=0,67; p<0,0001), assim como pela análise de regressão multivariada (R²=94,4%; p<0,0001). Na avaliação da validade convergente, a regressão multivariada mostrou associação estatisticamente significativa entre o NAS e o SAPS II, quando ajustada pela idade (R²=99,8%; p<0,0001). Pelos resultados obtidos, o NAS mostrou-se um instrumento confiável e válido para mensurar carga de trabalho de enfermagem em UTIs brasileiras.

Aplicativo informatizado com o nursing activities score: instrumento para gerenciamento da assistência em unidade de terapia intensiva

A gravidade do paciente ou o número de intervenções nem sempre serão proporcionais à carga de trabalho de enfermagem. Este estudo descritivo teve como objetivo demonstrar a trajetória da construção de um aplicativo (software) com o conteúdo do Nursing Activities Score e suas características operacionais. Foi realizado um teste piloto com 12 pacientes seguindo-se a coleta de dados por 90 dias consecutivos em 123 pacientes. Houve compatibilidade na transmissão de dados do Personal Digital Assistent para o computador de mesa, via wireless. A construção do aplicativo resultou em um sistema com coleta e administração de dados e permitiu realizar a interface gráfica. A utilização do aplicativo possibilita o uso de um sistema tecnológico para aplicação diária, com alimentação de um banco de dados sobre as características dos cuidados requeridos. Conhecendo a evolução destas variáveis durante a internação, o enfermeiro poderá planejar, intervir e avaliar a qualidade do cuidado.

Nurses' leadership styles in the icu: association with personal and professional profile and workload

This study aims to explore the association between nurses' leadership styles and personal and professional nursing profile and workload. The sample consisted of seven nurses and seven nursing technicians who were grouped into pairs. At the end of three months, nurses were queried regarding what leadership style would be adopted when the nursing technician under their evaluation delivered care to patients admitted to the ICU. Relevant data was analyzed by applying descriptive statistics, Tukey's multiple comparison test and Student's t-test (p< 0.05). Nursing workload reached 80.1% on average. The personal and professional profile variables did not show any relation with the leadership styles chosen by nurses (p>0.05). The determine, persuade, and share leadership styles prevailed. However, whenever the nursing workload peaked, the determine and persuade styles were used (p<0.05).

Aplicação do nursing activities score em pacientes de alta dependência de enfermagem

Este estudo, do tipo exploratório-descritivo, teve por objetivos avaliar a aplicabilidade do Nursing Activities Score como instrumento de medida da carga de trabalho na assistência aos pacientes da categoria de cuidados alta dependência de enfermagem e relacionar a pontuação média obtida com os tempos médios de assistência preconizados pelo Conselho Federal de Enfermagem. A coleta de dados para a determinação da pontuação do Nursing Activities Score ocorreu no período de 13 de julho a 01 de agosto de 2007, por meio de consulta aos prontuários dos pacientes internados na enfermaria de alta dependência de uma Unidade de Clínica Médica. A análise dos dados foi realizada mediante estatística descritiva e medida de variabilidade. O instrumento demonstrou ser aplicável a esses pacientes, sendo necessário o estabelecimento de diretrizes para a sua aplicação. Concluiu-se que o paciente classificado como alta dependência de enfermagem necessita, em média, de 12,3 horas de assistência nas 24 horas.

Carga de trabalho de enfermagem para quantificar proporção profissional de enfermagem/paciente em UTI cardiológica

Trata-se de estudo descritivo, cujos objetivos foram comparar a carga de trabalho de enfermagem em unidade de pós-operatório de cirurgia cardíaca indicada pelo NAS, TISS-28 e NEMS, e também verificara proporção profissional de enfermagem por paciente existente na unidade e a proporção necessária, segundo os índices utilizados. Os dados foram coletados em um hospital-escola de outubro a novembro de 2004. A amostra, constituída de 55 pacientes, totalizou 283 medidas de carga de trabalho. A carga de trabalho mensurada pelo NAS (73,7%) foi estatisticamente superior ao do TISS-28 (62,2%) e ao do NEMS (59,7%). A proporção média de profissionais de enfermagem por paciente, estimada pelo NAS (1,0:1), TISS-28 (0,8:1) e NEMS (0,8:1) foi inferior ao observado na unidade (1,2:1). Concluiu-se que o NAS quantificou maior carga de trabalho de enfermagem e apresentou uma relação profissional de enfermagem por paciente mais próxima ao observado na unidade estudada.

Pandemic influenza and excess intensive-care workload

In The Netherlands a major part of preparedness planning for an epidemic or pandemic consists of maintaining essential public services, e.g., by the police, fire departments, army personnel, and healthcare workers. We provide estimates for peak demand for healthcare workers, factoring in healthcare worker absenteeism and using estimates from published epidemiologic models on the expected evolution of pandemic influenza in relation to the impact on peak surge capacity of healthcare facilities and intensive care units (ICUs). Using various published scenarios, we estimate their effect in increasing the availability of healthcare workers for duty during a pandemic. We show that even during the peak of the pandemic, all patients requiring hospital and ICU admission can be served, including those who have non-influenza-related conditions. For this rigorous task differentiation, clear hierarchical management, unambiguous communication, and discipline are essential and we recommend informing and training non-ICU healthcare workers for duties in the ICU.

[Scoring systems for daily assessment in intensive care medicine. Overview, current possibilities and demands on new developments]

Scoring systems are a fixed element of modern diagnostics and are integrated in the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) billing system as well as quality assurance projects. The ongoing developments require classification according to the terms of use in order to maintain an overview of the numerous systems available. In the area of intensive care medicine scoring systems can be divided into admission scores and progress scores, whereby the scores for daily assessment can be further subdivided into five categories, depending on the target criteria: objective description of the grade of organ dysfunction, progression in intensive care therapy, evaluation of the degree of nursing care, determination of outcome/mortality risk, and grouping of patient collectives for clinical trials. In future developments it will be necessary to generate new strategies to adequately describe the progress of a patient. Not only will mortality be challenged as a target criterion but also the handling of missing data and the simplification of reality by categorization practised so far that can be found in all established scoring systems as far as calculation of predictive values regarding a defined result.

Predictors of nursing workload in elderly patients admitted to intensive care units

The age of patients is a controversial issue in admission to intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to compare severity and nursing workload of elderly patients with 60-69, 70-79, and e"80 years of age and to identify predictors of nursing workload in elderly patients. A cross sectional study was performed with a sample of 71 elderly patients admitted to three ICU in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil from October to November 2004. Data were prospectively collected using Nursing Activities Score (NAS) and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II). There was no significant difference in nursing workload among the elderly patients age subgroups (p=0.84). Multiple regression analysis indicated that the independent risk factors of high nursing workload were severity, age e"70 years, and to be a surgical ICU patient. Age as an isolated factor should not be discriminative for elderly patients admission to ICU.

Multicenter validation of a computer-based clinical decision support tool for glucose control in adult and pediatric intensive care units

INTRODUCTION

Hyperglycemia during critical illness is common, and intravenous insulin therapy (IIT) to normalize blood glucose improves outcomes in selected populations. Methods differ widely in complexity, insulin dosing approaches, efficacy, and rates of hypoglycemia. We developed a simple bedside-computerized decision support protocol (eProtocol-insulin) that yields promising results in the development center. We examined the effectiveness and safety of this tool in six adult and five pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) in other centers.

METHODS

We required attending physicians of eligible patients to independently intend to use intravenous insulin to normalize blood glucose. We used eProtocol-insulin for glucose control for a duration determined by the clinical caregivers. Adults had an anticipated length of stay of 3 or more days. In pediatric ICUs, we also required support or intended support with mechanical ventilation for greater than 24 hours or with a vasoactive infusion. We recorded all instances in which eProtocol-insulin instructions were not accepted and all blood glucose values. An independent data safety and monitoring board monitored study results and subject safety. Bedside nurses were selected randomly to complete a paper survey describing their perceptions of quality of care and workload related to eProtocol-insulin use.

RESULTS

Clinicians accepted 93% of eProtocol-insulin instructions (11,773/12,645) in 100 adult and 48 pediatric subjects. Forty-eight percent of glucose values were in the target range. Both of these results met a priori-defined efficacy thresholds. Only 0.18% of glucose values were < or =40 mg/dl. This is lower than values reported in prior IIT studies. Although nurses reported eProtocol-insulin required as much work as managing a mechanical ventilator, most nurses felt eProtocol-insulin had a low impact on their ability to complete non-IIT nursing activities.

CONCLUSIONS

A multicenter validation demonstrated that eProtocol-insulin is a valid, exportable tool that can assist clinicians in achieving control of glucose in critically ill adults and children.

[Factors associated with nursing workload in adult intensive care units]

This study was aimed both at analyzing the nursing workload on the first day of admission of patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and the factors associated with it. This is a qualitative, retrospective, cross-section study that was carried out in April of 2002 and October of 2004. The data were taken from a database that gathered information from 5 ICUs from two private hospitals and the sample was comprised of 214 adult patients that remained in the ICU for at least 24 hours. The total Nursing Activities Score (NAS) average was 69.9%, and the median 68.0%. According to the median, it was verified that 109 (50.9%) individuals required heavy nursing attention and the remaining 105 (49.1%) required less attention. The severity of the illness, the patient's age and the kind of treatment were not factors associated with nursing workload in the first 24 hours at the ICU.

Patient severity as an indicator of nursing workload in the intensive care unit

The importance of measuring nursing workload in the intensive care unit (ICU) has been supported by both an increasing demand for nursing personnel and the relationship of nursing workload with patient safety. According to previous studies, the correlation between clinical severity of ICU patients and nursing workload measured by Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System has been estimated to be particularly high. The aim of this study was to investigate whether clinical severity of ICU patients can be used for the prediction of nursing workload on a daily basis. All patients admitted in the ICU of the General University Hospital of Patras for a 5-month period were enrolled in the study. Projet de Recherche en Nursing (PRN) Réa and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores of patients were calculated, the first on a daily basis and the second on the day of admission. Simple linear regression was used for statistical analysis of data. One hundred thirty-eight patients were studied. A progressive increase in mean daily PRN Réa of patients all along the amplitude of APACHE II values was shown. APACHE II could predict 25.6% (p < 0.01) of the daily variability of PRN Réa of patients. Regarding categories of PRN Réa, respiration, communication, diagnostic methods and treatments were significantly predicted by APACHE II. APACHE II explained higher proportions of PRN Réa in medical male patients aged >60 years. Clinical severity of the ICU patients measured by APACHE II is an important early indicator of daily nursing workload, especially of care demands associated with respiration, diagnostic methods and treatments.

Nursing activities score: estudo comparativo da aplicação retrospectiva e prospectiva em unidade de terapia intensiva

OBJETIVOS: Analisar o desempenho do Nursing Activities Score (NAS) para a medida prospectiva de carga de trabalho de enfermagem em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) e comparar os valores do NAS obtidos na aplicação prospectiva e retrospectiva do instrumento, além de verificar o grau de concordância nos itens que o compõem aplicados na forma prospectiva e retrospectiva. MÉTODOS: O NAS foi aplicado prospectiva e retrospectivamente. Para verificar a correlação e homogeneidade utilizou-se o t-student, Coeficiente de Pearson e Correlação Intraclasse (ICC). Para a concordância entre cada item utilizou-se o Kappa. RESULTADOS: Houve diferença (p< 0,001) entre as médias do NAS prospectivo e retrospectivo (Pearson 0,65 e ICC 0,623). Em 11 itens não foi aplicado o Kappa devido a elevada porcentagem de concordância em uma única categoria de resposta. Dez itens (47,6%) apresentaram concordância igual ou maior do que moderada. Itens com concordância muito forte e forte referiram-se a dados objetivos que geralmente não apresentam discordâncias. Já os itens com sub-itens apresentaram concordâncias mais fracas. CONCLUSÕES: O NAS prospectivo apresentou bom desempenho para a medida de carga de trabalho de enfermagem na UTI.

Nursing activities score (NAS): A proposal for practical application in intensive care units

For over 30 years in an attempt to demonstrate the cost-benefit ratio of the intensive care unit (ICU) a variety of tools have been developed to measure not only the severity of illness of the patient but also to capture the true cost of nursing workload. In this context, the nursing activities score (NAS) was developed as a result of modifications to the therapeutic interventions scoring system-28 (TISS-28). The NAS is a tool to measure nursing workload ICU and it has been shown to be twice as effective in measuring how nurses spend their time caring for critically ill patients than the TISS-28. This paper discuss the introduction of the NAS into everyday use in an intensive care unit in Brazil and highlights the challenges of standardisation of operational definitions, training requirements and accurate completion of the documentation when using such a tool. The rationale and steps undertaken to achieve this are outlined and the benefits of such a process are highlighted.

[Is the NEMS scale useful to describe homogeneously a population of patients in Intensive Care?]

The use of scales that quantify therapeutic effort and severity level is a common practice in Intensive Care Units (ICU). The NEMS and APACHE II scales allow us to objectively determine the therapeutic effort and severity level of the patients admitted to the unit. With the use of both scales, we aimed to control our work quality, comparing the results obtained with various measurements. In this way, we will discover what type of patients require a greater workload, and we will also be able to distribute them according to care levels. We designed a prospective study of 458 patients hospitalized in a 6-bed ICU of a community hospital. The obtained results demonstrate that there is a correlation in our unit between the NEMS and APACHE II scales. Due to the characteristics of our hospital, most of the patients we admit are classified into care level 2 (NEMS 18-30). Surgical patients have a greater NEMS than medical patients (p = 0.02). If we divide our patients according to diseases, it stands out that the highest score corresponds to cardiovascular surgery postoperative patients in a sub-acute period (NEMS 39.13 +/- 13) and the lowest one to traumatologic surgery postoperative patients (NEMS 20.66 +/- 3.72). It is concluded that the NEMS scale is easily applied and can reflect the effort of nursing care staff. With the data obtained through the application of the NEMS and APACHE II scales, we could objectively define our work and classify the patients we treated according to care levels.

Propuesta de una nueva escala de valoración de cargas de trabajo y tiempos de enfermería (VACTE©)

The scale Nine Equivalents of nursing Manpower use Score (NEMS) for the evaluation of the nursing care loads is the most well known and applied worldwide. Nevertheless, we have found a series of limitations: it does not reflect the "proper nursing activity" but only the cares related to the medical intervention. Furthermore, it is directly related to severity while integral attention to the patient implies an infinity of cares, which are not necessarily related to the severity. In addition, we understand that the planned personnel ratios may be unsuitable, with the consequent repercussions for the patient, nurses and the sanitary institution. The primary targets were: elaboration of a representative scale of all the cares and tasks made by the nurses (VACTE) in our unit, to determine if it is more precise and objective than NEMS for the measurement of the service loads and to calculate the operative ratio patient-nurse based on the new proposed scale. We made a descriptive and retrospective study on 91 patients admitted to the Intermediate Care Unit of the Fundación Hospital de Jove during the first three months of 2004. Previously we created scale VACTE, making real measurements of the time inverted in the execution of each one of the cares in 50 patients. Later, a comparison was made between the APACHE II, NEMS and VACTE scales, taking as reference the scores obtained in the same ones during the first 24 hours of the stay. The statistical analysis was made by SPSS 11.0, assuming a confidence level of 95% (p < 0.05): lineal analysis of simple regression to compare the different scales; the force of its correlation with Spearman's coefficient and we compared the independent dichotomize variables with the Mann-Whitney test. The main results determined after the study were the following: regarding the scale to evaluate seriousness applied to the patients, an average APACHE II score of 12.1 +/- 5.9 was obtained. The average value with the NEMS was 19.5 +/- 5.7 and the average one with VACTE was 365 +/- 91.2. Significant differences were found between APACHE II and the NEMS (p = 0.008) and VACTE (p < 0.001) scales. This relationship presented more force with VACTE (r = 0.43; p < 0.001) than with NEMS (r = 0.23; p = 0.002). The operative patient-nurse ratio calculated with VACTE was 2.01. Scale VACTE is representative of nursing activity and seems to be more effective than NEMS to determine service loads. The ratio planned in the unit duplicated the calculated operative ratio.

Nursing Activities Score (NAS) como instrumento para medir carga de trabalho de enfermagem em UTI adulto

Pesquisa de campo, prospectiva, quantitativa, descritiva-exploratória, realizada na UTI geral/adulto de um hospital privado do município de São Paulo. Objetivos: avaliar o NAS - Nursing Activities Score - como medida de carga de trabalho de enfermagem; sua aplicabilidade por turnos e sua correspondência com o quantitativo de enfermagem efetivo. Classificados 33 pacientes: idade média: 70,4 anos (+/-16,5), 66,7% do sexo masculino; permanência média na UTI: 17 dias (+/- 20,4); SAPSII: 41,7 (+/-17,9); risco de morte: (RM) 33,5% (+/- 26,8); 63,6% transferidos para Unidades de Cuidados Semi-Intensivos, 18,2% evoluíram a óbito. Obtiveram-se 396 medidas por turnos (134-manhã; 132-tarde; 130-noturno), média de 55,4 (+/-12,3) e 147 medidas de NAS de 24h, média de 69,6 (+/-18,2). O instrumento mostrou-se mais adequado à aplicação em 24 horas que por turnos, tendendo a refletir o número de profissionais efetivo, revelando-se interessante instrumento de classificação de pacientes e carga de trabalho de enfermagem em terapia intensiva.

Workload and patient safety among critical care nurses

Several dimensions of workload experienced by nurses working in ICUs are described in this article, including the physical workload related to patient handling. The effects of workload on various outcomes, such as the health, safety, and quality of working life of nurses, and the safety of care provided by ICU nurses are discussed. A systemic approach to the assessment of workload is proposed that is aimed at identifying the work system factors that contribute to the different facets of workload and the interdependencies among the various dimensions of workload.

[Care work load in critical patients. Comparative study NEMS versus NAS]

INTRODUCTION

The systems of calculating care load have not yet reached the levels of generalized use which the systems of prognostic estimation of survival have. The reason for this is their potential defects of design (medical and not nursing conceptualization) and the sometimes confusing completion (TISS 76). The simplest ("nine equivalents of nurse manpower use score" [NEMS], care levels) add the difficulty of not being useful for the calculation of staff, because the design is not oriented towards nursing. The development of NAS (nursing activity score) by FRICE tries to solve all these problems. Our objective has been to verify to what degree the NEMS and NAS are correlated as systems of expression and calculation of care load.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

During the last quarter of 2004, NEMS and NAS have been used simultaneously by the nursing staff. During this period, 150 pairs of daily calculation values of NEMS-NAS and 150 pairs of calculation values by shift of NEMS-NAS have been collected. Comparison of means and linear correlation of values obtained and the analysis of the histograms of values of each series, their value ranges and analysis of their bias coefficients have been done. The analysis was done with the SPSS/PC 11.

RESULTS

During the period indicated, it has been verified that NEMS has a much narrower value range than NAS, both in regards to daily values (18-45 versus 29.70-84.50) and in regards to values by shift (18-45 versus 22.40-84.50). The bias analysis shows a deviation to the left of both series of values. Linear correlation between NEMS-NAS by shift shows a R2 of 0.1634 and becomes even poorer in the NEMS-NAS correlation per day with R2 of 0.2012. It should also be stressed that NEMS expresses its results in points while NAS does so in percentage of time occupied in the attention and care of the patient.

CONCLUSIONS

In this preliminary study, the better adaptation of NAS versus NEMS to real work loads of patients hospitalized in the ICU and the non-possible correlation between the values of both systems is affirmed.

Necessidade de cuidados de enfermagem e intervenções terapêuticas em UTI: estudo comparativo entre pacientes idosos e não idosos

OBJETIVOS: comparar as necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem e as intervenções terapêuticas realizadas em pacientes idosos e não idosos em UTI, segundo o Nursing Activities Score (NAS). MÉTODOS: Compuseram a amostra, 50 pacientes adultos admitidos na UTI de um Hospital Universitário do município de São Paulo, a partir de 26 de setembro de 2003. O teste de Mann-Whitney foi utilizado para a comparação entre as variáveis. RESULTADOS: Da amostra de pacientes, a média de idade foi de 70 anos. O mais freqüente tipo de tratamento foi clínico (78,0%), observando-se uma média de permanência de 3,5 dias e mortalidade de 38,0%. A pontuação média NAS foi de 66,57% (+ 9,15) permanecendo acima de 60,0% durante o período analisado. Não se observou diferença na média NAS de pacientes idosos (66,44%) e não idosos (66,33%), assim como não houve diferença entre as intervenções terapêuticas realizadas nos dois grupos de pacientes. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados mostram a necessidade de discussões sobre a indicação de UTI, frente às implicações éticas, econômicas e sociais inerentes à assistência intensiva.

The reliability and validity of the therapeutic activity index

PURPOSE

To assess the psychometric properties of the Simplified Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS 28) scale.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prospective observational design was used. Patients were recruited from a medical-surgical intensive care unit (ICU) and 4 rehabilitation wards of 2 university-affiliated hospitals in Hong Kong.

RESULTS

Data necessary for the calculation of the TISS 28, the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS 76), and severity of illness scoring system (Simplified Acute Physiology Score [SAPS II]) were recorded for each patient during the first 24 hours after his/her admission to an ICU. A significant positive correlation was found between the TISS 76 and the TISS 28 scores as well as the TISS 28 and the SAPS II scores. There was a significant difference between the TISS 28 scores among ICU patients and patients in rehabilitation wards. A significant correlation was found between the TISS 28 scores of the first and second set of TISS 28 scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the findings supported the validity and reliability of the TISS 28, there were limitations of the TISS 28 in measuring nursing workload in ICUs. Hence, continued amendment and validation of the TISS 28 on larger samples in different ICUs would be required so as to provide clinical nurses with a valid and reliable assessment of nursing workload.

Necessidades de cuidados de enfermagem em Terapia Intensiva: evolução diária dos pacientes segundo o Nursing Activities Score (NAS)

O estudo teve como objetivos caracterizar os pacientes internados na UTI quanto aos dados bio-sociais e de internação, e verificar as necessidades diárias de cuidados de enfermagem, segundo o NAS. A amostra foi constituída por 50 pacientes adultos admitidos consecutivamente na UTI de um Hospital Universitário do município de São Paulo. Concluiu-se que a maioria dos pacientes tinha idade acima de 60 anos, permaneceu, em média, 3,5 dias na UTI, foi procedente do Pronto Socorro e recebeu alta para a Unidade Semi-Intensiva. A média do NAS foi de 66,5% (± 9,1), constatando-se que permaneceu acima de 50,0% no decorrer de toda internação na UTI.

Noninvasive vs conventional mechanical ventilation in acute respiratory failure: a multicenter, randomized controlled trial

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) is beneficial for patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) when added to medical treatment. However, its role as an alternative to conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) remains controversial. Our aim was to compare the efficacy and resource consumption of NIMV against CMV in patients with ARF.

DESIGN

A randomized, multicenter, controlled trial.

SETTING

Seven multipurpose ICUs.

PATIENTS

Sixty-four patients with ARF from various causes who fulfilled criteria for mechanical ventilation.

INTERVENTION

The noninvasive group received ventilation through a face mask in pressure-support mode plus positive end-expiratory pressure; the conventional group received ventilation through a tracheal tube.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Avoidance of intubation, mortality, and consumption of resources were the outcome variables. Thirty-one patients were assigned to the noninvasive group, and 33 were assigned to the conventional group. In the noninvasive group, 58% patients were intubated, vs 100% in the conventional group (relative risk reduction, 43%; p < 0.001). Stratification by type of ARF gave similar results. In the ICU, death occurred in 23% and 39% (p = 0.09) and complications occurred in 52% and 70% (p = 0.07) in the noninvasive and conventional groups, respectively. There were no differences in length of stay. The Therapeutic Intervention Score System-28, but not the direct nursing activity time, was lower in the noninvasive group during the first 3 days.

CONCLUSIONS

NIMV reduces the need for intubation and therapeutic intervention in patients with ARF from different causes. There is a nonsignificant trend of reduction in ICUs and hospital mortality together with fewer complications during ICU stay.

Nursing Activity Score (NAS). Nuestra experiencia con un sistema de cómputo de cargas de enfermería basado en tiempos

INTRODUCTION

The load calculation systems of nursing work in the ICU has not had the same success in its introduction as the prognostic survival estimation systems. It causes may be: a medical design not oriented towards nursing (Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System--TISS in all its versions), lack of adaptation to the calculating of staff (Nursing Manpower Use Score--NEMS, care levels) and demand for permanent technological up-dating. In 2003, NAS was published in an attempt to obviate all the problems expressed. Its result expresses the percentage of nursing work time required for attention to each patient. Our objective has been to apply the method in our ICU and evaluate its results.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

During the last quarter of 2004, NAS was systematically applied to all the patients admitted to our ICU, regardless of the reason for admission and stay time in the Unit. The analysis of this application was done by SPSS/PC 11.

RESULTS

NAS calculations of 350 patients, which represents 1880 total registers, were collected during the mentioned period. The NAS result of the first day was analyzed, 40.8 +/- 14.1, comparing it with its evolution during all the stay days of each patient, until reaching the ICU discharge date (39.3 +/- 12.7). The mean stay of our series has been 4.3 +/- 5.4 days during this period and the total accumulated NAS per patient was 196.2 +/- 279.8. There was no good correlation (R2: 0.273) between the NAS score on the first day of stay in the ICU but there was between total NAS and total stay of each case (R2: 0.958). Translated into times, this implies that one nurse can care for (by shift and average) 2.5 patients in our ICU.

CONCLUSIONS

This system adapts, without demands of periodic up-dating, to the real nursing work in the ICU. Its design is oriented to nursing work, regardless of the disease that justifies admission to the ICU. It is useful to adequately evaluate the nursing staff in the conventional ICU.

A human factors engineering conceptual framework of nursing workload and patient safety in intensive care units

In this paper, we review the literature on nursing workload in intensive care units (ICUs) and its impact on patient safety and quality of working life of nurses. We then propose a conceptual framework of ICU nursing workload that defines causes, consequences and outcomes of workload. We identified four levels of nursing workload (ICU/unit level, job level, patient level, and situation level), and discuss measures associated with each of the four levels. A micro-level approach to ICU nursing workload at the situation level is proposed and recommended in order to reduce workload and mitigate its negative impact. Performance obstacles are conceptualized as causes of ICU nursing workload at the situation level.

Cost calculation and prediction in adult intensive care: a ground-up utilization study

The ability of various proxy cost measures, including therapeutic activity scores (TISS and Omega) and cumulative daily severity of illness scores, to predict individual ICU patient costs was assessed in a prospective "ground-up" utilization costing study over a six month period in 1991. Daily activity (TISS and Omega scores) and utilization in consecutive admissions to three adult university associated ICUs was recorded by dedicated data collectors. Cost prediction used linear regression with determination (80%) and validation (20%) data sets. The cohort, 1333 patients, had a mean (SD) age 57.5 (19.4) years, (41% female) and admission APACHE III score of 58 (27). ICU length of stay and mortality were 3.9 (6.1) days and 17.6% respectively. Mean total TISS and Omega scores were 117 (157) and 72 (113) respectively. Mean patient costs per ICU episode (1991 dollar AUS) were dollar 6801 (dollar 10311), with median costs of dollar 2534, range dollar 106 to dollar 95,602. Dominant cost fractions were nursing 43.3% and overheads 16.9%. Inflation adjusted year 2002 (mean) costs were dollar 9343 (dollar AUS). Total costs in survivors were predicted by Omega score, summed APACHE III score and ICU length of stay; determination R2, 0.91; validation 0.88. Omega was the preferred activity score. Without the Omega score, predictors were age, summed APACHE III score and ICU length of stay; determination R2, 0.73; validation 0.73. In non-survivors, predictors were age and ICU length of stay (plus interaction), and Omega score (determination R2, 0.97; validation 0.91). Patient costs may be predicted by a combination of ICU activity indices and severity scores.

Recommendations for the structure, organization, and operation of intensive cardiac care units

Two major changes in patient characteristics and management occurred recently that demand distinctive alterations in the function of the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU). These changes include the introduction of an early invasive strategy for the treatment of acute coronary syndromes, enabling early recuperation and shorter need for intensive care on the one hand, while the number of older and sicker patients requiring prolonged and more complex intensive care is steadily increasing. A task force of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Acute Cardiac Care was set to give a modern updated comprehensive recommendations concerning the structure, organization, and function of the modern ICCUs and intermediate cardiac units. These include the statement that specially trained cardiologists and cardiac nurses who can manage patients with acute cardiac conditions should staff the ICCUs. The optimum number of physicians, nurses, and other personal working in the unit is included. The document indicates the desired architecture and structure of the units and the intermediate cardiac unit and their relations to the other facilities in the hospital. Specific recommendations are also included for the minimal number of beds, monitoring system, respirators, pacemaker/defibrillators, and necessary additional equipment. The desired function is discussed, namely, the patients to be admitted, the length of stay, and the relocation policy. A uniformed electronic chart for ICCUs is advised, anticipating a common European database.

Examining discharge outcomes and health status of critically ill patients: some practical considerations

This prospective observational study examined the outcomes of 200 consecutive admissions to an adult tertiary level Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Eligible and consenting participants were also involved in a sub-study that examined health status at four measurement points from pre-illness to 6 months post-discharge. Of the 189 individual patients admitted, 23% died in ICU and 57% were discharged home. The health status sub-study enrolled 34 participants (39% of eligible patients) who were representative of the ICU population for demographic and clinical variables. Surviving participants returned to a similar, though not identical state of health at 6 months post-discharge, when compared to their pre-ICU health-state using the 15D and SF-36 instruments. Health status at ICU discharge was significantly impaired when compared to other measurement points, particularly for mobility, breathing, eating, usual activities and vitality. A number of methodological challenges were evident, particularly for the health status sub-study, including prospective subject recruitment and retention, losses to follow-up and instrument responsiveness. Despite the limitations noted, the study provided useful findings and recommendations for the continued development of methods to examine the health status of critically ill patients.

Nursing staff resources in direct patient care: comparison of TISS and ICNSS

BACKGROUND

The aim was to study the variation in the nursing workload and nursing staff resources in direct patient care.

METHODS

Nursing staff resources and the patient-nurse ratio (P/N) were compared between postoperative and mixed-type intensive care units (ICUs) using the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS) and the Intensive Care Nursing Scoring System (ICNSS) during a 4-month period.

RESULTS

A total of 832 patients were treated. In the postoperative ICU, the mean daily TISS score per nurse was 41.1, corresponding to a P/N of 1:1, and the mean ICNSS score was 33.8, corresponding to a P/N of 1:1.5. In the mixed-type ICU, the mean TISS score per nurse was 34.7, corresponding to a P/N of 2:1, and the mean ICNSS score was 27.7, corresponding to a P/N of 1:1. In the postoperative unit, 50.4% of the patients would have required a 1:1 P/N ratio based on their TISS scores and 47.5% would have required 1.5 or two nurses as estimated by the ICNSS score. In the mixed ICU 57.1% of the patients would have required a P/N ratio of 1:1 based on TISS scores and 61.3% a ratio of 1:1.5 or 1:2 according to the ICNSS score.

CONCLUSION

Intensive Care Nursing Scoring System gives additional information about the nursing staff resources and yields a higher number of nurses needed in direct patient care even when TISS scores show the number of nurses to be adequate.

Multicentre study of validity and interrater reliability of the modified Nursing Care Recording System (NCR11) for assessment of workload in the ICU

BACKGROUND

Reliable assessment of nursing workload is necessary for the quantitative approach to staffing of intensive care units. The Nursing Care Recording System (NCR11) scores both the nursing contribution to patient care and those related to medical procedures. The purpose of the present work was to compare NCR11 scoring with the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS) and Nine Equivalents of Nurse Manpower use Score (NEMS) and to examine the interrater reliability of NCR11 scoring.

METHODS

Bias and precision of workload scores (NCR11 vs. TISS or NEMS) were assessed for 6126 consecutive admissions (23910 ICU-days) at three intensive care units. Inter-rater reliability was analyzed by having nurses at nine ICUs score workload using NCR11 for three dummy intensive care patient cases presented over a 3-year period. Variability in scoring was analyzed using the coefficient of variation.

RESULTS

Agreement between NCR11 and TISS or NEMS was poor and limits of agreement were wide. Linear relationships between NCR11 and TISS or NEMS scores differed between units. Variability in NCR11 scoring decreased significantly from 10.4% to 5.9% between dummy cases 1 and 2 and remained low for patient case 3.

CONCLUSION

The NCR11 does not measure the same elements of workload in the ICU as do TISS and NEMS. Inter-rater reliability with NCR11 is good, showing little variation in scoring between nurses.

Enfermería de cuidados críticos y técnicas continuas de reemplazo renal en la Comunidad de Madrid

The continuous renal replacement techniques (CRRT) aim to substitute the altered renal function during a period of time, presenting advantages compared to conventional hemodialysis (CH). This study aims to determine the situation of the CRRT in the Intensive care units (ICU) of the Madrid Community (MC) using a survey distributed to nurses (n = 131) of 14 ICU. It evaluates four aspects of the CRRT: management model, knowledge, problems and degree of satisfaction. It identified four models, the most frequent is that in which ICU nurse and intensivist participate (60%). Self-evaluation of knowledge was fair in 55.7% of the cases and the mean of correct responses in an evaluation of 10 questions was 4.19 and 5.45 in those with previous courses. A total of 84.7% think that CRRT significantly increases the workloads and 62.6% believe that they should be done by the ICU nurses. The main problem is the lack of knowledge to resolve complications during the technique. We conclude that the ICU nursing can handle the CRRT, adapting the nurse/patient ratio; training programs should be established and the role of the teaching nurse defined in critical renal cares.