[Implementation of morbidity and mortality conferences in French intensive care units: a survey]

Are morbidity and mortality case review practices in Scottish intensive care units aligned to national standards?

INTRODUCTION

Both Scottish and UK standards guidelines recommend that intensive care units should hold regular, structured, multidisciplinary morbidity and mortality meetings. The aim of this survey was to ascertain the nature of current practice with regards to morbidity and mortality case reviews and meetings in all intensive care units in Scotland.

METHODS

Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with a consultant from all Scottish intensive care units. A list of intensive care units in Scotland was obtained from the Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group annual report.

RESULTS

All 24 intensive care units (100%) in Scotland were surveyed. The interviews took an average of 20 min. The three cardiac intensive care units were excluded from analysis. All other intensive care units had morbidity and mortality meetings and 18 units had a morbidity and mortality clinical lead. Nineteen intensive care units held joint morbidity and mortality meetings, eight of which were regular. In all intensive care units, meetings were attended by consultants and trainees. In 14 intensive care units, meetings were attended by nurses, seven by allied health professionals, 1 by a manager and 11 by other professionals. All mortality cases in intensive care unit were discussed in 19 intensive care units, in the other two intensive care units, 10-20% of mortality cases were discussed.

CONCLUSION

There is a wide variation in the processes of reviewing mortality cases and significant events in intensive care units across Scotland, and in the way morbidity and mortality meetings are organised and held. Based on this survey, there is scope for improving the consistency of approach to morbidity and mortality case reviews and meetings in order to improve education and facilitate shared learning.

[French national survey on difficult intubation in intensive care units]

OBJECTIVES

Assessing the theoretical knowledge, practical experience of French intensivists, and their compliance with French Anesthesiology and Critical Care Society's difficult airway algorithms of the expert's SFAR conference of 2006.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective and descriptive national survey.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An anonymous questionnaire with 40 questions was emailed to physicians working in intensive care units in France.

RESULTS

Five hundred and eight intensivists answered the survey. Ninety-seven percent of physicians reported having a portable storage unit for difficult intubation. As for practical experience, 421 physicians (83 %) have set up less than 10 laryngeal mask airway, 257 (51 %) have performed less than 10 intubations under fibroscopy and 269 (53 %) have never performed a cricothyroidotomy on mannequin, and 331 (65 %) on a patient. In case of emergency intubation, 29 % of them do not use a rapid sequence induction. Three hundred physicians (59 %) use capnography as monitoring of the endotracheal position. Two hundred and nine (42 %) consider they have not been trained to difficult intubation and 443 (87 %) would like to participate in high fidelity simulations mannequin.

CONCLUSIONS

National airway management algorithm was insufficiently followed. Alternative techniques do not seem to be mastered by all physicians. French intensivists expect more training on difficult intubation, including high fidelity simulation.