Critical care medicine in the United States 2000-2005: an analysis of bed numbers, occupancy rates, payer mix, and costs

Intensive Care Unit Admission With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

BACKGROUND

There has been a dramatic increase in the use of intensive care units (ICUs) over the past 25 years. Greater use of validated measures of illness severity may better inform ICU admission decisions in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. This article examined predictors of ICU admission and hospitalization costs, including the pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65 (confusion, uremia, respiratory rate, blood pressure, age ≥65 years) scores.

METHODS

The study identified 422 patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia, ascertaining patient characteristics by chart review and extraction of administrative data. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to quantify the association of the PSI, CURB-65 and comorbidities with ICU admission. The predictors of cost were estimated using a generalized linear model.

RESULTS

Compared to 194 general medicine patients, certain clinical and radiographic findings were more common among 228 ICU patients. Compared to PSI reference group I/II/III, ICU admission was strongly associated with risk class IV (odds ratio [OR], 3.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63-5.72) and V (OR, 4.84; CI, 2.44-9.62), and also CURB-65 ≥3 (OR, 2.90; CI, 1.51-5.56). The relative increase in mortality among PSI risk class V (compared to IV) patients was 2.68 times higher in general medicine, compared with the ICU. Among ICU admissions, risk class V was associated with an additional cost of $14,548 (95% CI, $4,232 to $24,864).

CONCLUSIONS

Illness severity and chronic pulmonary disease are strong predictors of ICU admission. More extensive use of the PSI may optimize site-of-care decisions, thereby minimizing mortality and unnecessary resource utilization.

Critical Care Medicine Beds, Use, Occupancy, and Costs in the United States: A Methodological Review

This article is a methodological review to help the intensivist gain insights into the classic and sometimes arcane maze of national databases and methodologies used to determine and analyze the ICU bed supply, use, occupancy, and costs in the United States. Data for total ICU beds, use, and occupancy can be derived from two large national healthcare databases: the Healthcare Cost Report Information System maintained by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the proprietary Hospital Statistics of the American Hospital Association. Two costing methodologies can be used to calculate U.S. ICU costs: the Russell equation and national projections. Both methods are based on cost and use data from the national hospital datasets or from defined groups of hospitals or patients. At the national level, an understanding of U.S. ICU bed supply, use, occupancy, and costs helps provide clarity to the width and scope of the critical care medicine enterprise within the U.S. healthcare system. This review will also help the intensivist better understand published studies on administrative topics related to critical care medicine and be better prepared to participate in their own local hospital organizations or regional critical care medicine programs.

Perioperative medicine, interventions in surgical care: the role of replacing the late-night review with daytime leadership

As the ambitions of surgery have continued to develop, it has resulted in medical advancements that challenge the current paradigms of hospital medicine. Patients previously deemed unsuitable for surgery are now undergoing potentially lifesaving treatments, but are nonetheless still being managed within a model of care that fails to meet their individual needs. Termed 'high risk', these patients, who are frequently elderly or with multiple comorbidities, embark on a surgical journey that is often fragmented and disjointed. Such patients contribute a startlingly high mortality and morbidity rate for non-cardiac elective surgery during the perioperative period, and as a result provide an added demand on already strained hospital resources. 'Perioperative medicine' has been proposed as a possible solution to this problem as it attempts to create a bespoke patient-centric model of care from the moment the need for surgery is identified, through to patient recovery. It is envisaged that the role of a perioperative physician would be to oversee this journey, uniting varying specialties along the way to ensure the best possible patient outcomes.

Machine Learning and Decision Support in Critical Care

Clinical data management systems typically provide caregiver teams with useful information, derived from large, sometimes highly heterogeneous, data sources that are often changing dynamically. Over the last decade there has been a significant surge in interest in using these data sources, from simply re-using the standard clinical databases for event prediction or decision support, to including dynamic and patient-specific information into clinical monitoring and prediction problems. However, in most cases, commercial clinical databases have been designed to document clinical activity for reporting, liability and billing reasons, rather than for developing new algorithms. With increasing excitement surrounding "secondary use of medical records" and "Big Data" analytics, it is important to understand the limitations of current databases and what needs to change in order to enter an era of "precision medicine." This review article covers many of the issues involved in the collection and preprocessing of critical care data. The three challenges in critical care are considered: compartmentalization, corruption, and complexity. A range of applications addressing these issues are covered, including the modernization of static acuity scoring; on-line patient tracking; personalized prediction and risk assessment; artifact detection; state estimation; and incorporation of multimodal data sources such as genomic and free text data.

Mortality profile across our Intensive Care Units: A 5-year database report from a Singapore restructured hospital

Intensive care remains an area of high acuity and high mortality across the globe. With a rapidly aging population, the disease burden requiring intensive care is growing. The cost of critical care also is rising with new technology becoming available rapidly. We present the all-cause mortality results of 5 years database established in a restructured, large public hospital in Singapore, looking at all three types of Intensive Care Units present in our hospital. These include medical, surgical, and coronary care units.

Maternal critical care: 'one small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind'

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this study is to outline the challenges of looking after women who either become or are at a risk of becoming critically ill during pregnancy.

RECENT FINDINGS

In recent years, there has been an increased demand in the need for maternal critical care. This is partly due to women with complex medical conditions surviving to child-bearing age, coupled with improvements in foetal medicine resulting in more high-risk pregnancies reaching term.

SUMMARY

In this review, we identify the need for maternal critical care, explore different models of its provision and outline possible benefits and barriers to its future implementation.

Rising Billing for Intermediate Intensive Care among Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries between 1996 and 2010

RATIONALE

Intermediate care (i.e., step-down or progressive care) is an alternative to the intensive care unit (ICU) for patients with moderate severity of illness. The adoption and current use of intermediate care is unknown.

OBJECTIVES

To characterize trends in intermediate care use among U.S. hospitals.

METHODS

We examined 135 million acute care hospitalizations among elderly individuals (≥65 yr) enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare (U.S. federal health insurance program) from 1996 to 2010. We identified patients receiving intermediate care as those with intensive care or coronary care room and board charges labeled intermediate ICU.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

In 1996, a total of 960 of the 3,425 hospitals providing critical care billed for intermediate care (28%), and this increased to 1,643 of 2,783 hospitals (59%) in 2010 (P < 0.01). Only 8.2% of Medicare hospitalizations in 1996 were billed for intermediate care, but billing steadily increased to 22.8% by 2010 (P < 0.01), whereas the percentage billed for ICU care and ward-only care declined. Patients billed for intermediate care had more acute organ failures diagnoses codes compared with general ward patients (22.4% vs. 15.8%). When compared with patients billed for ICU care, those billed for intermediate care had fewer organ failures (22.4% vs. 43.4%), less mechanical ventilation (0.9% vs. 16.7%), lower mean Medicare spending ($8,514 vs. $18,150), and lower 30-day mortality (5.6% vs. 16.5%) (P < 0.01 for all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS

Intermediate care billing increased markedly between 1996 and 2010. These findings highlight the need to better define the value, specific practices, and effective use of intermediate care for patients and hospitals.

Critical Care Organizations in Academic Medical Centers in North America: A Descriptive Report

OBJECTIVES

With the exception of a few single-center descriptive reports, data on critical care organizations are relatively sparse. The objectives of our study were to determine the structure, governance, and experience to date of established critical care organizations in North American academic medical centers.

DESIGN

A 46-item survey questionnaire was electronically distributed using Survey Monkey to the leadership of 27 identified critical care organizations in the United States and Canada between September 2014 and February 2015. A critical care organization had to be headed by a physician and have primary governance over the majority, if not all, of the ICUs in the medical center.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

We received 24 responses (89%). The majority of the critical care organizations (83%) were called departments, centers, systems, or operations committees. Approximately two thirds of respondents were from larger (> 500 beds) urban institutions, and nearly 80% were primary university medical centers. On average, there were six ICUs per academic medical center with a mean of four ICUs under critical care organization governance. In these ICUs, intensivists were present in-house 24/7 in 49%; advanced practice providers in 63%; hospitalists in 21%; and telemedicine coverage in 14%. Nearly 60% of respondents indicated that they had a separate hospital budget to support data management and reporting, oversight of their ICUs, and rapid response teams. The transition from the traditional model of ICUs within departmentally controlled services or divisions to a critical care organization was described as gradual in 50% and complete in only 25%. Nearly 90% indicated that their critical care organization governance structure was either moderately or highly effective; a similar number suggested that their critical care organizations were evolving with increasing domain and financial control of the ICUs at their respective institutions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey of the very few critical care organizations in North American academic medical centers showed that the governance models of critical care organizations vary and continue to evolve. Additional studies are warranted to improve our understanding of the factors that can foster the growth of critical care organizations and how they can be effective.

Health care resource use and costs of two-year survivors of acute lung injury. An observational cohort study

RATIONALE

Survivors of acute lung injury (ALI) require ongoing health care resources after hospital discharge. The extent of such resource use, and associated costs, are not fully understood.

OBJECTIVES

For patients surviving at least 2 years after ALI, we evaluated cumulative 2-year inpatient admissions and related costs, and the association of patient- and intensive care unit-related exposures with these costs.

METHODS

Multisite observational cohort study in 13 intensive care units at four academic teaching hospitals evaluating 138 two-year survivors of ALI.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Two-year inpatient health care use data (i.e., admissions to hospitals, and skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities) were collected for patients surviving at least 2 years, via (1) one-time retrospective structured interview with patient and/or proxy, (2) systematic medical record review for nonfederal study site hospitals, and (3) inpatient medical record review for non-study site hospitals, as needed for clarifying patient/proxy reports. Costs are reported in 2013 U.S. dollars. A total of 138 of 142 (97%) 2-year survivors completed the interview, with 111 (80%) reporting at least one inpatient admission during follow-up, for median (interquartile range [IQR]) estimated costs of $35,259 ($10,565-$81,166). Hospital readmissions accounted for 76% of costs. Among 12 patient- and intensive care unit-related exposures evaluated, baseline comorbidity and intensive care unit length of stay were associated with increased odds of incurring any follow-up inpatient costs. Having Medicare or Medicaid (vs. private insurance) was associated with median estimated costs that were 85% higher (relative median, 1.85; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.45; P=0.045).

CONCLUSIONS

In this multisite study of 138 two-year survivors of ALI, 80% had one or more inpatient admission, representing a median (IQR) estimated cost $35,259 ($10,565-$81,166) per patient and $6,598,766 for the entire cohort. Hospital readmissions represented 76% of total inpatient costs, and having Medicare or Medicaid before ALI was associated with increased costs. With the aging population and increasing comorbidity, these findings have important health policy implications for the care of critically ill patients.

Hospital variation in admission to intensive care units for patients with acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

The treatment for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was transformed by the introduction of intensive care units (ICUs), yet we know little about how contemporary hospitals use this resource-intensive setting and whether higher use is associated with better outcomes.

METHODS

We identified 114,136 adult hospitalizations for AMI from 307 hospitals in the 2009 to 2010 Premier database using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification. Hospitals were stratified into quartiles by rates of ICU admission for AMI patients. Across quartiles, we examined in-hospital risk-standardized mortality rates and usage rates of critical care therapies for these patients.

RESULTS

Rates of ICU admission for AMI patients varied markedly among hospitals (median 48%, Q1-Q4 20%-71%, range 0%-98%), and there was no association with in-hospital risk-standardized mortality rates (6% all quartiles, P = .7). However, hospitals admitting more AMI patients to the ICU were more likely to use critical care therapies overall (mechanical ventilation [from Q1 with lowest rate of ICU use to Q4 with highest rate 13%-16%], vasopressors/inotropes [17%-21%], intra-aortic balloon pumps [4%-7%], and pulmonary artery catheters [4%-5%]; P for trend < .05 in all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS

Rates of ICU admission for patients with AMI vary substantially across hospitals and were not associated with differences in mortality, but were associated with greater use of critical care therapies. These findings suggest uncertainty about the appropriate use of this resource-intensive setting and a need to optimize ICU triage for patients who will truly benefit.

Cost comparison of mechanically ventilated patients across the age span

OBJECTIVE

To compare the use of mechanical ventilation and hospital costs across ventilated patients of all ages, preterm through adults, in a nationally representative sample.

STUDY DESIGN

Secondary analysis of the 2009 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality National Inpatient Sample.

RESULTS

A total of 1 107 563 (2.8%) patients received mechanical ventilation. For surviving ventilated patients, median costs for infants ⩽32 weeks' gestation were $51000 to $209 000, whereas median costs for older patients were lower from $17 000 to $25 000. For non-surviving ventilated patients, median costs were $27 000 to $39 000 except at the extremes of age; the median cost was $10 000 for <24 week newborns and $14 000 for 91+ year adults. Newborns of all gestational ages had a disproportionate share of hospital costs relative to their total volume.

CONCLUSION

Most intensive care unit resources at the extremes of age are not directed toward non-surviving patients. From a perinatal perspective, attention should be directed toward improving outcomes and reducing costs for all infants, not just at the earliest gestational ages.

Intensivist-to-patient ratios in ICUs: is there a number?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Growth in critical care services has led to a dramatic increase in the need for ICU physicians. The supply of intensivists is not easily increased and there is pressure to solve this problem by increasing the number of patients per intensivist. There is a scarcity of published data addressing this issue, and until recently, there were no guidelines on appropriate ratios of intensivists to patients.

RECENT FINDINGS

In 2013, the Society of Critical Care Medicine formed a task force to address this issue and published written guidelines to aid hospitals in determining their intensivist staffing. This study reviews the published data which can aid these decisions and summarize the SCCM Taskforce's recommendations.

SUMMARY

The complex nature of critical care patients and ICUs make it difficult to provide one specific maximum intensivist-to-patient ratio, but common-sense rules can be applied. These recommendations are predicated on the principles that staffing can impact patient care as well as staff well-being and workforce stability. Also, that worsening patient outcomes, teaching, and workforce issues can be markers of inappropriate staffing. Finally, if the predicted daily workload of an intensivist exceeds the time of a work shift, then adjustments need to be made.

Engaging the Public to Identify Opportunities to Improve Critical Care: A Qualitative Analysis of an Open Community Forum

Objective

To engage the public to understand how to improve the care of critically ill patients.

Design

A qualitative content analysis of an open community forum (Café Scientifique).

Setting

Public venue in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Participants

Members of the general public including patients, families of patients, health care providers, and members of the community at large.

Methods

A panel of researchers, decision-makers, and a family member led a Café Scientifique, an informal dialogue between the populace and experts, over three-hours to engage the public to understand how to improve the care of critically ill patients. Conventional qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. The inductive analysis occurred in three phases: coding, categorizing, and developing themes.

Results

Thirty-eight members of the public (former ICU patients, family members of patients, providers, community members) attended. Participants focused the discussion and provided concrete suggestions for improvement around communication (family as surrogate voice, timing of conversations, decision tools) and provider well-being and engagement, as opposed to medical interventions in critical care.

Conclusions

Café participants believe patient and family centered care is important to ensure high-quality care in the ICU. A Café Scientifique is a valuable forum to engage the public to contribute to priority setting areas for research in critical care, as well as a platform to share lived experience. Research stakeholders including health care organizations, governments, and funding organizations should provide more opportunities for the public to engage in meaningful conversations about how to best improve healthcare.

Routine Admission to Intensive Care Unit After Cytoreductive Surgery and Heated Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: Not Always a Requirement

BACKGROUND

Routine postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) observation of patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is driven by historically reported morbidity and mortality data. The validity of this practice and the criteria for ICU admission have not been elucidated.

METHODS

A prospectively maintained database of 1146 CRS/HIPEC procedures performed from December 1991 to 2014 was retrospectively analyzed. Patients with routine postoperative ICU admission were compared with patients sent directly to the surgical floor. To test the safety of non-ICU care practice, patients with less than 48 h ICU admission were compared with patients directly admitted to the floor. Demographics, primary tumor site, comorbidities, estimated blood loss (EBL), extent of CRS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) status, and overall survival were analyzed.

RESULTS

Complete data were available for 1064 CRS/HIPEC procedures, of which 244 cases (22.93 %) did not require ICU admission. Multivariate logistic regression identified age [odds ratio (OR) 1.024; p = 0.02], EBL (OR 1.002; p < 0.0001), number of resected organs (OR 1.308; p = 0.01) and ECOG > 2 (OR 6.387; p = 0.003) as predictive variables of postoperative ICU admission. The cohort directly admitted to the floor demonstrated less minor grade I/II morbidity (29 vs. 47 %; p < 0.0001) and similar grade III/IV major morbidity (16.5 vs. 13.4 %; p = 0.3) than the patients admitted to the ICU for less than 48 h.

CONCLUSIONS

ICU observation is not routinely required for all patients treated with CRS/HIPEC. Selective ICU admission based on ECOG status, nutritional status, age, EBL, and CRS extent is safe, with potential implications for hospitalization cost for these complex cases.

County-Level Effects of Prehospital Regionalization of Critically Ill Patients: A Simulation Study

OBJECTIVE

Regionalization may improve critical care delivery, yet stakeholders cite concerns about its feasibility. We sought to determine the operational effects of prehospital regionalization of nontrauma, nonarrest critical illness.

SETTING

King County, Washington.

DESIGN

Discrete event simulation study.

PATIENTS

All 2006 hospital discharge data, linked to all adult, eligible patients transported by county emergency medical services agencies.

INTERVENTIONS

We simulated active triage of high-risk patients to designated referral centers using a validated prehospital risk score; we studied three regionalization scenarios: 1) up triage, 2) up and down triage, and 3) up and down triage after reducing ICU beds by 25%. We determined the effect on patient routing, ICU occupancy at referral and nonreferral hospitals, and emergency medical services transport times.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

A total of 119,117 patients were hospitalized at 11 nonreferral centers and 76,817 patients were hospitalized at three referral centers. Among 20,835 emergency medical services patients, 7,817 patients (43%) were eligible for up triage and 10,242 patients (57%) were eligible for down triage. At baseline, mean daily ICU bed occupancy was 61% referral and 47% at nonreferral hospitals. Up triage increased referral ICU occupancy to 68%, up and down triage to 64%, and up and down triage with bed reduction to 74%. Mean daily nonreferral ICU occupancy did not exceed 60%. Total emergency medical services transport time increased by less than 3% with up and down triage.

CONCLUSIONS

Regionalization based on prehospital triage of the critically ill can allocate high-risk patients to referral hospitals without adversely affecting ICU occupancy or prehospital travel time.

Five-Year Survival of Children With Chronic Critical Illness in Australia and New Zealand

OBJECTIVE

Outcomes for children with chronic critical illness are not defined. We examined the long-term survival of these children in Australia and New Zealand.

DESIGN

All cases of PICU chronic critical illness with length of stay more than 28 days and age 16 years old or younger in Australia and New Zealand from 2000 to 2011 were studied. Five-year survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meir estimates, and risk factors for mortality evaluated using Cox regression.

SETTING

All PICUs in Australia and New Zealand.

PATIENTS

Nine hundred twenty-four children with chronic critical illness.

INTERVENTION

None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Nine hundred twenty-four children were admitted to PICU for longer than 28 days on 1,056 occasions, accounting for 1.3% of total admissions and 23.5% of bed days. Survival was known for 883 of 924 patients (95.5%), with a median follow-up of 3.4 years. The proportion with primary cardiac diagnosis increased from 27% in 2000-2001 to 41% in 2010-2011. Survival was 81.4% (95% CI, 78.6-83.9) to PICU discharge, 70% (95% CI, 66.7-72.8) at 1 year, and 65.5% (95% CI, 62.1-68.6) at 5 years. Five-year survival was 64% (95% CI, 58.7-68.6) for children admitted in 2000-2005 and 66% (95% CI, 61.7-70) if admitted in 2006-2011 (log-rank test, p = 0.37). After adjusting for admission severity of illness using the Paediatric Index of Mortality 2 score, predictors for 5-year mortality included bone marrow transplant (hazard ratio, 3.66; 95% CI, 2.26-5.92) and single-ventricle physiology (hazard ratio, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.37-2.87). Five-year survival for single-ventricle physiology was 47.2% (95% CI, 34.3-59.1) and for bone marrow transplantation 22.8% (95% CI, 8.7-40.8).

CONCLUSIONS

Two thirds of children with chronic critical illness survive for at-least 5 years, but there was no improvement between 2000 and 2011. Cardiac disease constitutes an increasing proportion of pediatric chronic critical illness. Bone marrow transplant recipients and single-ventricle physiology have the poorest outcomes.

Identifying low-value clinical practices in critical care medicine: protocol for a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Reducing unnecessary, low-value clinical practice (ie, de-adoption) is key to improving value for money in healthcare, especially among patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) where resource consumption exceeds other medical and surgical populations. Research suggests that low-value clinical practices are common in medicine, however systematically and objectively identifying them is a widely cited barrier to de-adoption. We will conduct a scoping review to identify low-value clinical practices in adult critical care medicine that are candidates for de-adoption.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will systematically search the literature to identify all randomised controlled trials or systematic reviews that focus on diagnostic or therapeutic interventions in adult patients admitted to medical, surgical or specialty ICUs, and are published in 3 general medical journals with the highest impact factor (New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association). 2 investigators will independently screen abstracts and full-text articles against inclusion criteria, and extract data from included citations. Included citations will be classified according to whether or not they represent a repeat examination of the given research question (ie, replication research), and whether the results are similar or contradictory to the original study. Studies with contradictory results will determine clinical practices that are candidates for de-adoption.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Our scoping review will use robust methodology to systematically identify a list of clinical practices in adult critical care medicine with evidence supporting their de-adoption. In addition to adding to advancing the study of de-adoption, this review may also serve as the launching point for clinicians and researchers in critical care to begin reducing the number of low-value clinical practices. Dissemination of these results to relevant stakeholders will include tailored presentations at local, national and international meetings, and publication of a manuscript. Ethical approval is not required for this study.

Invasive Mechanical Ventilation in California Over 2000-2009: Implications for Emergency Medicine

INTRODUCTION

Patients who require invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) often represent a sequence of care between the emergency department (ED) and intensive care unit (ICU). Despite being the most populous state, little information exists to define patterns of IMV use within the state of California.

METHODS

We examined data from the masked Patient Discharge Database of California's Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development from 2000-2009. Adult patients who received IMV during their stay were identified using the International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision and Clinical Modification procedure codes (96.70, 96.71, 96.72). Patients were divided into age strata (18-34 yr, 35-64 yr, and >65 yr). Using descriptive statistics and regression analyses, for IMV discharges during the study period, we quantified the number of ED vs. non-ED based admissions; changes in patient characteristics and clinical outcome; evaluated the marginal costs for IMV; determined predictors for prolonged acute mechanical ventilation (PAMV, i.e. IMV>96 hr); and projected the number of IMV discharges and ED-based admissions by year 2020.

RESULTS

There were 696,634 IMV discharges available for analysis. From 2000-2009, IMV discharges increased by 2.8%/year: n=60,933 (293/100,000 persons) in 2000 to n=79,868 (328/100,000 persons) in 2009. While ED-based admissions grew by 3.8%/year, non-ED-based admissions remained stable (0%). During 2000-2009, fastest growth was noted for 1) the 35-64 year age strata; 2) Hispanics; 3) patients with non-Medicare public insurance; and 4) patients requiring PAMV. Average total patient cost-adjusted charges per hospital discharge increased by 29% from 2000 (from $42,528 to $60,215 in 2014 dollars) along with increases in the number of patients discharged to home and skilled nursing facilities. Higher marginal costs were noted for younger patients (ages 18-34 yr), non-whites, and publicly insured patients. Some of the strongest predictors for PAMV were age 35-64 years (OR=1.12; 95% CI [1.09-1.14], p<0.05); non-Whites; and non-Medicare public insurance. Our models suggest that by 2020, IMV discharges will grow to n=153,153 (377 IMV discharges/100,000 persons) with 99,095 admitted through the ED.

CONCLUSION

Based on sustained growth over the past decade, by the year 2020, we project a further increase to 153,153 IMV discharges with 99,095 admitted through the ED. Given limited ICU bed capacities, ongoing increases in the number and type of IMV patients have the potential to adversely affect California EDs that often admit patients to ICUs.

Assessing the Capacity of the US Health Care System to Use Additional Mechanical Ventilators During a Large-Scale Public Health Emergency

OBJECTIVE

A large-scale public health emergency, such as a severe influenza pandemic, can generate large numbers of critically ill patients in a short time. We modeled the number of mechanical ventilators that could be used in addition to the number of hospital-based ventilators currently in use.

METHODS

We identified key components of the health care system needed to deliver ventilation therapy, quantified the maximum number of additional ventilators that each key component could support at various capacity levels (ie, conventional, contingency, and crisis), and determined the constraining key component at each capacity level.

RESULTS

Our study results showed that US hospitals could absorb between 26,200 and 56,300 additional ventilators at the peak of a national influenza pandemic outbreak with robust pre-pandemic planning.

CONCLUSIONS

The current US health care system may have limited capacity to use additional mechanical ventilators during a large-scale public health emergency. Emergency planners need to understand their health care systems' capability to absorb additional resources and expand care. This methodology could be adapted by emergency planners to determine stockpiling goals for critical resources or to identify alternatives to manage overwhelming critical care need.

Patient and family perceptions of physical therapy in the medical intensive care unit

PURPOSE

Patient and family member perceptions of physical therapy (PT) in the intensive care unit and the factors that influence their degree of satisfaction have not been described.

METHODS

A panel of experts developed a questionnaire that assessed patient and family perceptions of PT. Critically ill patients and their family members were asked to complete the survey. Patient and family member scores were compared and stratified by age, sex, and mechanical ventilation for greater than 14 days compared to 14 days or less.

RESULTS

A total of 55 patients and 49 family members completed the survey. Patients and family members reported that PT was necessary and beneficial to recovery, despite associating PT with difficulty, exertion, and discomfort. Patient perceptions were similar regardless of age or sex. Family members underestimated a patient's enjoyment of PT (P = .03). For individuals who required prolonged mechanical ventilation (>14 days), patients reported that PT was more difficult (P = .03) and less enjoyable (P = .049), and family members reported PT as causing greater discomfort (P = .005). In addition, family members of patients who required prolonged mechanical ventilation felt that PT was less beneficial (P = .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Physical therapy is perceived as necessary and beneficial to recovery by critically ill patients and family members.

A Systematic Review: The Utility of the Revised Version of the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology Among Critically Ill Neonates

The revised version of the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology (SNAP-II) has been used across all birth weights and gestational ages to measure the concept of severity of illness in critically ill neonates. The SNAP-II has been operationalized in various ways across research studies. This systematic review seeks to synthesize the available research regarding the utility of this instrument, specifically on the utility of measuring severity of illness sequentially and at later time points. A systematic review was performed and identified 35 research articles that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. The majority of the studies used the SNAP-II instrument as a measure of initial severity of illness on the first day of life. Six studies utilized the SNAP-II instrument to measure severity of illness at later time points and only 2 studies utilized the instrument to prospectively measure severity of illness. Evidence to support the use of the SNAP-II at later time points and prospectively is lacking and more evidence is needed.

Association of Intensive Care Unit Admission With Mortality Among Older Patients With Pneumonia

IMPORTANCE

Among patients whose need for intensive care is uncertain, the relationship of intensive care unit (ICU) admission with mortality and costs is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the relationship between ICU admission and outcomes for elderly patients with pneumonia.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS

Retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries (aged >64 years) admitted to 2988 acute care hospitals in the United States with pneumonia from 2010 to 2012.

EXPOSURES

ICU admission vs general ward admission.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included Medicare spending and hospital costs. Patient and hospital characteristics were adjusted to account for differences between patients with and without ICU admission. To account for unmeasured confounding, an instrumental variable was used-the differential distance to a hospital with high ICU admission (defined as any hospital in the upper 2 quintiles of ICU use).

RESULTS

Among 1,112,394 Medicare beneficiaries with pneumonia, 328,404 (30%) were admitted to the ICU. In unadjusted analyses, patients admitted to the ICU had significantly higher 30-day mortality, Medicare spending, and hospital costs than patients admitted to a general hospital ward. Patients (n = 553,597) living closer than the median differential distance (<3.3 miles) to a hospital with high ICU admission were significantly more likely to be admitted to the ICU than patients living farther away (n = 558,797) (36% for patients living closer vs 23% for patients living farther, P < .001). In adjusted analyses, for the 13% of patients whose ICU admission decision appeared to be discretionary (dependent only on distance), ICU admission was associated with a significantly lower adjusted 30-day mortality (14.8% for ICU admission vs 20.5% for general ward admission, P = .02; absolute decrease, -5.7% [95% CI, -10.6%, -0.9%]), yet there were no significant differences in Medicare spending or hospital costs for the hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with pneumonia, ICU admission of patients for whom the decision appeared to be discretionary was associated with improved survival and no significant difference in costs. A randomized trial may be warranted to assess whether more liberal ICU admission policies improve mortality for patients with pneumonia.

The Deyo-Charlson and Elixhauser-van Walraven Comorbidity Indices as predictors of mortality in critically ill patients

OBJECTIVES

Our primary objective was to compare the utility of the Deyo-Charlson Comorbidity Index (DCCI) and Elixhauser-van Walraven Comorbidity Index (EVCI) to predict mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

SETTING

Observational study of 2 tertiary academic centres located in Boston, Massachusetts.

PARTICIPANTS

The study cohort consisted of 59,816 patients from admitted to 12 ICUs between January 2007 and December 2012.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME

For the primary analysis, receiver operator characteristic curves were constructed for mortality at 30, 90, 180, and 365 days using the DCCI as well as EVCI, and the areas under the curve (AUCs) were compared. Subgroup analyses were performed within different types of ICUs. Logistic regression was used to add age, race and sex into the model to determine if there was any improvement in discrimination.

RESULTS

At 30 days, the AUC for DCCI versus EVCI was 0.65 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.67) vs 0.66 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.66), p=0.02. Discrimination improved at 365 days for both indices (AUC for DCCI 0.72 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.72) vs AUC for EVCI 0.72 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.72), p=0.46). The DCCI and EVCI performed similarly across ICUs at all time points, with the exception of the neurosciences ICU, where the DCCI was superior to EVCI at all time points (1-year mortality: AUC 0.73 (95% CI 0.72 to 0.74) vs 0.68 (95% CI 0.67 to 0.70), p=0.005). The addition of basic demographic information did not change the results at any of the assessed time points.

CONCLUSIONS

The DCCI and EVCI were comparable at predicting mortality in critically ill patients. The predictive ability of both indices increased when assessing long-term outcomes. Addition of demographic data to both indices did not affect the predictive utility of these indices. Further studies are needed to validate our findings and to determine the utility of these indices in clinical practice.

Unplanned 3-day re-attendance rate at Emergency Department (ED) and hospital's bed occupancy rate (BOR)

Background

Unplanned re-attendance at the Emergency Department (ED) is often monitored as a quality indicator of the care accorded to patients during their index ED visit. High bed occupancy rate (BOR) has been considered as a matter of reduced patient comfort and privacy. Most hospitals in Singapore operate under BORs above 85 %. This study aims to explore factors associated with the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate and, in particular, if higher BOR is associated with higher 3-day unplanned ED re-attendance rate.

Methods

This was a multicenter retrospective study using time series data. Three acute tertiary hospitals were selected from all six adult public hospitals in Singapore based on data availability. Daily data from year 2008 to 2013 were collected from the study hospitals’ information systems. These included: ED visit date, day of week, month, year, public holiday, daily hospital BOR, daily bed waiting time (BWT) at ED (both median and 95th percentile), daily ED admission rate, and 3-day ED re-attendance rate. The primary outcome of the study was unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate from all reasons. Both univariate analysis and generalized linear regression were respectively applied to study the crude and adjusted association between the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate and its potential associated factors. All analyses were conducted using SPSS 18 (PASW 18, IBM).

Results

The average age of patients who visited ED was 35 years old (SD = 2), 37 years old (SD = 2), and 40 years old (SD = 2) in hospitals A, B, and C respectively. The average 3-day unplanned ED re-attendance rate was 4.9 % (SE = 0.47 %) in hospital A, 3.9 % (SE = 0.35 %) in hospital B, and 4.4 % (SE = 0.30 %) in hospital C. After controlling for other covariates, the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rates were significantly associated with hospital, time trend, day of week, daily average BOR, and ED admission rate. Strong day-of-week effect on early ED re-attendance rate was first explored in this study. Thursday had the lowest re-attendance rate, while Sunday has the highest re-attendance rate. The patients who visited at ED on the dates with higher BOR were more likely to re-attend the ED within 3 days for hospitals A and B. There was no significant association between BOR and ED re-attendance rate in hospital C.

Conclusions

A study using time series data has been conducted to explore the factors associated with the unplanned 3-day ED re-attendance rate. Strong day-of-week effect was first reported. The association between BOR and the ED re-attendance rate varied with hospital.

Reduction of intensive care unit length of stay: the case of early mobilization

Bed rest or immobilization is frequently part of treatment for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) with critical illness. The average ICU length of stay (LOS) is 3.3 days, and for every day spent in an ICU bed, the average patient spends an additional 1.5 days in a non-ICU bed. The purpose of this research study was to analyze the effects of early mobilization for patients in the ICU to determine if it has an impact on the LOS, cost of care, and medical complications. The methodology for this study was a literature review. Five electronic databases were used, with a total of 26 articles referenced for this research. Early mobilization suggested a decrease in delirium by 2 days, reduced risk of readmission or death, and reduced ventilator-assisted pneumonia, central line, and catheter infections. Length of stay in the ICU was reduced with statistical significance in several studies examining early mobilization. Limited research on cost of ICU LOS indicated potential savings with early mobilization. When implementing early mobilization in the ICU, total costs were decreased and medical complications were reduced. Early mobilization should become a standard of care for critically ill but stable patients in the ICU.

Does Management of Diabetic Ketoacidosis with Subcutaneous Rapid-acting Insulin Reduce the Need for Intensive Care Unit Admission?

BACKGROUND

In the last 20 years, rapid-acting insulin analogs have emerged on the market, including aspart and lispro, which may be efficacious in the management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) when administered by non-intravenous (i.v.) routes.

CLINICAL QUESTION

In patients with mild-to-moderate DKA without another reason for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, is the administration of a subcutaneous (s.c.) rapid-acting insulin analog a safe and effective alternative to a continuous infusion of i.v. regular insulin, and would such a strategy eliminate the need for ICU admission?

EVIDENCE REVIEW

Five randomized controlled trials were identified and critically appraised.

RESULTS

The outcomes suggest that there is no difference in the duration of therapy required to resolve DKA with either strategy.

CONCLUSION

Current evidence supports DKA management with s.c. rapid-acting insulin analogs in a non-ICU setting in carefully selected patients.

Procalcitonin Kinetics in the First 72 Hours Predicts 30-Day Mortality in Severely Ill Septic Patients Admitted to an Intermediate Care Unit

Background

Severe sepsis and septic shock are leading causes of morbidity and mortality among critically ill patients, thus the identification of prognostic factors is crucial to determine their outcome. In this study, we explored the value of procalcitonin (PCT) variation in predicting 30-day mortality in patients with sepsis admitted to an intermediate care unit.

Methods

This prospective observational study enrolled 789 consecutive patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to a medical intermediate care unit between November 2012 and February 2014. Kinetics of PCT expressed as percentage were defined by the variation between admission and 72 hours, and 24 and 72 hours; they were defined as Δ-PCT0-72h and Δ-PCT24-72h, respectively.

Results

The final study group of 144 patients featured a mean age of 73 ± 14 years, with a high prevalence of comorbidities (Charlson index greater than 6 in 39%). Overall, 30-day mortality was 28.5% (41/144 patients). A receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) analysis identified a decrease of Δ-PCT0-72h less than 15% (area under the curve: 0.75; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.67 - 0.82) and a decrease of Δ-PCT24-72h less than 20% (area under the curve: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.74 - 0.92) as the most accurate cut-offs in predicting mortality. Decreases of Δ-PCT0-72h less than 15% (HR: 3.9, 95% CI: 1.6 - 9.5; P < 0.0001) and Δ-PCT24-72h less than 20% (HR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2 - 7.9; P < 0.001) were independent predictors of 30-day mortality.

Conclusions

Evaluation of PCT kinetics over the first 72 hours is a useful tool for predicting 30-day mortality in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to an intermediate care unit.

Healthcare utilization and costs associated with S. aureus and P. aeruginosa pneumonia in the intensive care unit: a retrospective observational cohort study in a US claims database

BACKGROUND

Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are major causes of pneumonia in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Limited data exist regarding the health economic impact of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa pneumonias in the ICU setting.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study using a 29.6 million enrollee US medical and pharmacy administrative claims database. ICU patients with S. aureus or P. aeruginosa infection per International Classification of Diseases, 9th ed. coding between 01/01/2007-8/31/2012 were compared with ICU patients without any pneumonia or infections of interest. Primary outcomes were costs in 2012 US dollars, healthcare utilization and all-cause mortality associated with hospital-acquired S. aureus or P. aeruginosa pneumonia, and the relative odds of incurring higher costs due to a comorbid condition.

RESULTS

Patients with S. aureus or P. aeruginosa pneumonia had longer mean hospital (37.9 or 55.4 vs 7.2 days, P < .001) and ICU stays (6.9 or 14.8 vs 1.1 days, P < .001), a higher rate of mechanical ventilation (62.6 % or 62.3 % vs 7.4 %, P < .001), higher mortality (16.0 % or 20.2 % vs 3.1 %, P < .001), and higher total mean hospitalization costs ($146,978 or $213,104 vs $33,851, P < .001) vs controls. Pneumonia survivors had significantly increased risk of rehospitalization within 30 days (27.2 % or 31.1 % vs 15.3 %, P < .001). Comorbid conditions were not associated with increased cost in the pneumonia cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

Healthcare costs and resource utilization were high among ICU patients with S. aureus or P. aeruginosa pneumonia. Reducing the incidence of these infections could lead to substantial cost savings in the United States.

ICU director data: using data to assess value, inform local change, and relate to the external world

Improving value within critical care remains a priority because it represents a significant portion of health-care spending, faces high rates of adverse events, and inconsistently delivers evidence-based practices. ICU directors are increasingly required to understand all aspects of the value provided by their units to inform local improvement efforts and relate effectively to external parties. A clear understanding of the overall process of measuring quality and value as well as the strengths, limitations, and potential application of individual metrics is critical to supporting this charge. In this review, we provide a conceptual framework for understanding value metrics, describe an approach to developing a value measurement program, and summarize common metrics to characterize ICU value. We first summarize how ICU value can be represented as a function of outcomes and costs. We expand this equation and relate it to both the classic structure-process-outcome framework for quality assessment and the Institute of Medicine's six aims of health care. We then describe how ICU leaders can develop their own value measurement process by identifying target areas, selecting appropriate measures, acquiring the necessary data, analyzing the data, and disseminating the findings. Within this measurement process, we summarize common metrics that can be used to characterize ICU value. As health care, in general, and critical care, in particular, changes and data become more available, it is increasingly important for ICU leaders to understand how to effectively acquire, evaluate, and apply data to improve the value of care provided to patients.

Outcomes and prognostic factors in patients with prolonged acute mechanical ventilation: A single-center study in Korea

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to evaluate outcomes and objective parameters related to poor prognosis in patients who were defined as prolonged acute mechanical ventilation (PAMV; ventilator care ≥96 hours) in the medical intensive care unit of a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital in Korea.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We analyzed retrospectively clinical data gathered from the medical records on day 4 of MV between 2008 and 2013. In total, 311 were categorized as PAMV.

RESULTS

Their median age was 67 years (range, 18-93 years), and 71.7% were male. The 28-day mortality rate after intensive care unit admission was 34.7%. Four variables on day 4 of mechanical ventilation (need for neuromuscular blockers [hazard ratio {HR}, 2.432; 95% confidence interval, 1.337-4.422], need for vasopressors [HR, 2.312; 95% confidence interval, 1.258-4.248], need for hemodialyses [HR, 1.913; 95% confidence interval, 1.018-3.595], and body mass index ≤21 kg/m(2) [HR, 1.827; 95% confidence interval, 1.015-3.288]) were independent factors associated with mortality based on a Cox proportional hazards model. As the number of these prognostic factors increased, the survival rate decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Four clinical factors (body mass index ≤21, requirement for neuromuscular blockers, vasopressors, and hemodialysis) on day 4 of mechanical ventilation were associated with 28-day mortality in PAMV patients.

The direct costs of intensive care management and risk factors for financial burden of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock

PURPOSE

The costs of severe sepsis care from middle-income countries are lacking. This study investigated direct intensive care unit (ICU) costs and factors that could affect the financial outcomes.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted in the medical ICU of a tertiary referral university teaching hospital in Thailand.

RESULTS

A total of 897 patients were enrolled in the study, with 683 (76.1%) having septic shock. Community-, nosocomial, and ICU-acquired infections were documented in 574, 282, and 41 patients, respectively. The median ICU costs per patient were $2716.5 ($1296.1-$5367.6) and $599.9 ($414.3-$948.6) per day. The ICU costs accounted for 64.7% of the hospital costs. In 2008 to 2011, the ICU costs significantly decreased by 40% from $3542.5 to $2124.9, whereas, the daily ICU costs decreased only 3.3% from $609.7 to $589.7. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, age, nosocomial or ICU infection, admission from the emergency department, number of organ failures, ICU length of stay, and fluid balance the first 72 hours were independently associated with ICU costs.

CONCLUSION

The ICU costs of severe sepsis management significantly declined in our study. However, the ICU costs were a financial burden accounting for two thirds of the hospital costs. It is essential for intensivists to contribute a high standard of care within a restricted budget.

The formation, elements of success, and challenges in managing a critical care program: Part I

Leaders of critical care programs have significant responsibility to develop and maintain a system of intensive care. At inception, those clinician resources necessary to provide and be available for the expected range of patient illness and injury and throughput are determined. Simultaneously, non-ICU clinical responsibilities and other expectations, such as education of trainees and participation in hospital operations, must be understood. To meet these responsibilities, physicians must be recruited, mentored, and retained. The physician leader may have similar responsibilities for nonphysician practitioners. In concert with other critical care leaders, the service adopts a model of care and assembles an ICU team of physicians, nurses, nonphysician providers, respiratory therapists, and others to provide clinical services. Besides clinician resources, leaders must assure that services such as radiology, pharmacy, the laboratory, and information services are positioned to support the complexities of ICU care. Metrics are developed to report success in meeting process and outcomes goals. Leaders evolve the system of care by reassessing and modifying practice patterns to continually improve safety, efficacy, and efficiency. Major emphasis is placed on the importance of continuity, consistency, and communication by expecting practitioners to adopt similar practices and patterns. Services anticipate and adapt to evolving expectations and resource availability. Effective services will result when skilled practitioners support one another and ascribe to a service philosophy of care.

The daily cost of ICU patients: A micro-costing study in 23 French Intensive Care Units

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the daily cost of intensive care unit (ICU) stays via micro-costing.

METHODS

A multicentre, prospective, observational, cost analysis study was carried out among 21 out of 23 French ICUs randomly selected from French National Hospitals. Each ICU randomly enrolled 5 admitted adult patients with a simplified acute physiology II score ≥ 15 and with at least one major intensive care medical procedure. All health-care human resources used by each patient over a 24-hour period were recorded, as well as all medications, laboratory analyses, investigations, tests, consumables and administrative expenses. All resource costs were estimated from the hospital's perspective (reference year 2009) based on unitary cost data.

RESULTS

One hundred and four patients were included (mean age: 62.3 ± 14.9 years, mean SAPS II: 51.5 ± 16.1, mean SOFA on the study day: 6.9 ± 4.3). Over 24 hours, 29 to 186 interventions per patient were performed by different caregivers, leading to a mean total time spent for patient care of 13:32 ± 05:00 h. The total daily cost per patient was € 1425 ± € 520 (95% CI = € 1323 to € 1526). ICU human resources represented 43% of total daily cost. Patient-dependent expenses (€ 842 ± € 521) represented 59% of the total daily cost. The total daily cost was correlated with the daily SOFA score (r = 0.271, P = 0.006) and the bedside-time given by caregivers (r = 0.716, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

The average cost of one day of ICU care in French National Hospitals is strongly correlated with the duration of bedside-care carried out by human resources.

Critical Care Medicine and Infectious Diseases: An Emerging Combined Subspecialty in the United States

The recent rise in unfilled training positions among infectious diseases (ID) fellowship programs nationwide indicates that ID is declining as a career choice among internal medicine residency graduates. Supplementing ID training with training in critical care medicine (CCM) might be a way to regenerate interest in the specialty. Hands-on patient care and higher salaries are obvious attractions. High infection prevalence and antibiotic resistance in intensive care units, expanding immunosuppressed host populations, and public health crises such as the recent Ebola outbreak underscore the potential synergy of CCM-ID training. Most intensivists receive training in pulmonary medicine and only 1% of current board-certified intensivists are trained in ID. While still small, this cohort of CCM-ID certified physicians has continued to rise over the last 2 decades. ID and CCM program leadership nationwide must recognize these trends and the merits of the CCM-ID combination to facilitate creation of formal dual-training opportunities.

Estimating the effect of palliative care interventions and advance care planning on ICU utilization: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

We conducted a systematic review to answer three questions: 1) Do advance care planning and palliative care interventions lead to a reduction in ICU admissions for adult patients with life-limiting illnesses? 2) Do these interventions reduce ICU length of stay? and 3) Is it possible to provide estimates of the magnitude of these effects?

DATA SOURCES

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases from 1995 through March 2014.

STUDY SELECTION

We included studies that reported controlled trials (randomized and nonrandomized) assessing the impact of advance care planning and both primary and specialty palliative care interventions on ICU admissions and ICU length of stay for critically ill adult patients.

DATA EXTRACTION

Nine randomized controlled trials and 13 nonrandomized controlled trials were selected from 216 references.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Nineteen of these studies were used to provide estimates of the magnitude of effect of palliative care interventions and advance care planning on ICU admission and length of stay. Three studies reporting on ICU admissions suggest that advance care planning interventions reduce the relative risk of ICU admission for patients at high risk of death by 37% (SD, 23%). For trials evaluating palliative care interventions in the ICU setting, we found a 26% (SD, 23%) relative risk reduction in length of stay with these interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite wide variation in study type and quality, patients who received advance care planning or palliative care interventions consistently showed a pattern toward decreased ICU admissions and reduced ICU length of stay. Although SDs are wide and study quality varied, the magnitude of the effect is possible to estimate and provides a basis for modeling impact on healthcare costs.

Critical care bed growth in the United States. A comparison of regional and national trends

RATIONALE

Although the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in the United States is increasing, it is unknown whether this trend is consistent across all regions.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to better characterize regional variation in ICU bed changes over time and identify regional characteristics associated with these changes.

METHODS

We used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Census to summarize the numbers of hospitals, hospital beds, ICU beds, and ICU occupancy at the level of Dartmouth Atlas hospital referral region from 2000 to 2009. We categorized regions into quartiles of bed change over the study interval and examined the relationship between change categories, regional characteristics, and population characteristics over time.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

From 2000 to 2009 the national number of ICU beds increased 15%, from 67,579 to 77,809, mirroring population. However, there was substantial regional variation in absolute changes (median, +16 ICU beds; interquartile range, -3 to +51) and population-adjusted changes (median, +0.9 ICU beds per 100,000; interquartile range, -3.8 to +5.9), with 25.0% of regions accounting for 74.8% of overall growth. At baseline, regions with increasing numbers of ICU beds had larger populations, lower ICU beds per 100,000 capita, higher average ICU occupancy, and greater market competition as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (P < 0.001 for all comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS

National trends in ICU bed growth are not uniformly reflected at the regional level, with most growth occurring in a small number of highly populated regions.

Organisation and resource management in the intensive care unit: A critical review

Background/Aim:

Patients are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) for critical care not available to patients in the general wards, with the potential for reversible organ failure as a key admission criterion. The objective of this integrative review was to examine and discuss the literature pertaining to the environment of the ICU, including unit organisation, staffing and equipment, that underpins the provision of ICU services. This review also aimed to discuss current perspectives on ICU resources and utilisation.

Methods:

To prepare this integrated literature review, computer-assisted searches were conducted using the PubMed/Medline, CINAHL and EMBASE databases. An extensive search of library databases was undertaken using relevant keywords and related article searches. Studies were included if they were rated by a single investigator to have relevant content in these areas. Due to the breadth of the review, a structured approach was taken to integrate the relevant findings.

Results:

There was limited literature examining the relationships between these important areas. There was some evidence that a closed model of ICU care is associated with improved outcomes and less resource utilisation compared with an open model of ICU, although there was conflicting evidence for critical care delivered outside of the ICU. Critical care may be most effectively provided via a team model. The heterogeneity of the ICU setting, in particular the unique aspects of the delivery of ICU care in the Australasian model, hampered the ability to draw broad and clinically meaningful conclusions.

Conclusions:

Due to the increased demand for ICU services, ongoing evaluation of the long-term outcomes of ICU on the efficient use of resources to optimise patient outcomes is imperative. Results from the current evidence base suggest that rather than broad-based adjunctive services, refinement and subsequent evaluation of intensive care services in targeted and specific populations may be required, and that empirical evidence for the support of many organisational, structural, equipment and staffing aspects of ICU service delivery is lacking. Further research is needed to investigate the relationships between existing and conceptual models of care and direct patient outcomes.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus prevention strategies in the ICU: a clinical decision analysis*

OBJECTIVES

ICUs are a major reservoir of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Our aim was to estimate costs and effectiveness of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus prevention policies.

DESIGN AND INTERVENTIONS

We evaluated three up-to-date methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus prevention policies, namely, 1) nasal screening and contact precautions of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-positive patients; 2) nasal screening, contact precautions, and decolonization (targeted decolonization) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriers; and 3) universal decolonization without screening. We implemented a decision-analytic model with deterministic and probabilistic analyses. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections averted, quality-adjusted life years gained, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated. Cost-effectiveness planes and acceptability curves were plotted for various willingness-to-pay thresholds to address uncertainty.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

At base-case scenario, universal decolonization was the dominant strategy; it averted 1.31% and 1.59% of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections over targeted decolonization and screening and contact precautions, respectively, and saved $16,203/quality-adjusted life year over targeted decolonization and 14,562/quality-adjusted life year over screening and contact precautions. Results were robust in sensitivity analysis for a wide range of input variables. In probabilistic analysis, universal decolonization increased quality-adjusted life years by 1.06% (95% CI, 1.02-1.09) over targeted decolonization and by 1.29% (95% CI, 1.24-1.33) over screening and contact precautions; universal decolonization resulted in average savings of $172 (95% CI, $168-$175) and $189 (95% CI, $185-$193) over targeted decolonization and screening and contact precautions, respectively. With willingness-to-pay threshold per quality-adjusted life year gained ranging from $0 to $50,000, universal decolonization was dominant over targeted decolonization in 67.5-75.4% and dominant over screening and contact precautions in 66.0-75.4%.

CONCLUSIONS

In the ICU setting, universal decolonization outperforms the other two strategies and is likely to be cost-effective even at low willingness-to-pay thresholds. Assuming 700 annual ICU admissions in an average 12-bed ICU, the projected annual savings reach $129,500 to $135,100.