The epidemiology of pediatric oncology and hematopoietic cell transplant admissions to U.S. intensive care units from 2001-2019.
Frontiers in oncology
Children with cancer or hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) frequently require ICU care. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's State Inpatient Databases from 21 U.S. states from 2001-2019. We included children <18 years with oncologic or HCT diagnosis and used ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes to identify diagnoses, comorbidities, and organ failures. We used generalized linear Poisson regression and Cuzick's test of trend to evaluate changes from 2001-2019. Among 2,157,991 total pediatric inpatient admissions, 3.9% (n=82,988) were among oncology patients and 0.3% (n=7,381) were among HCT patients. ICU admission prevalence rose from 13.6% in 2001 to 14.4% in 2019 for oncology admissions and declined from 23.9% to 19.5%, for HCT admissions. Between 2001-2019, the prevalence of chronic non-oncologic comorbidities among ICU patients rose from 44.3% to 69.1% for oncology patients (RR 1.60 [95% CI 1.46-1.66]) and from 41.4% to 81.5% (RR 1.94 [95% CI 1.61-2.34]) for HCT patients. The risk of Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome more than tripled for oncology (9.5% to 33.3%; RR 3.52 [95% CI 2.97-4.18]) and HCT (12.4% to 39.7%; RR 3.20 [95% CI 2.09-4.89]) patients. Mortality decreased most for ICU patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (14.6% to 8.5%) and oncology-related HCTs (15.5% to 9.2%). Critically ill pediatric oncology and HCT patients are increasingly medically complex with greater prevalence of chronic comorbidities and organ failure, but mortality did not increase. Pediatric ICUs may require increased financial and staffing support to care for these patients in the future.
10.3389/fonc.2024.1501977
[Post-Intensive Care Syndrome: functional impairments of critical illness survivors].
Die Anaesthesiologie
With a decrease in mortality of critically ill patients in recent years, intensive care medicine research has shifted its focus on functional impairments of intensive care units (ICU) survivors. ICU survivorship is characterized by long-term impairments of cognition, mental health, and physical health. Since 2012, these impairments have been summarized with the umbrella term Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). Mental health impairments frequently entail new are aggravated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Beyond impairments in the three PICS domains, critical illness survivors frequently suffer from chronic pain, dysphagia, and nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore, they have a higher risk for osteoporosis, bone fractures, and diabetes mellitus. Taken together, these sequelae reduce their health-related quality of life. Additionally, ICU survivors are challenged by social problems such as isolation, economic problems such as treatment costs and lost earnings, and return to previous employment. Yet, patients and caregivers have described post-ICU care as inadequate and fragmented. ICU follow-up clinics could improve post-ICU care, but there is insufficient evidence for their effectiveness. Thus far, large high-quality trials with multicomponent and interdisciplinary post-ICU interventions have mostly failed to improve patient outcomes. Hence, preventing PICS and minimizing risk factors by optimizing ICU care is crucial, e.g. by implementing the ABCDE bundle. Future studies need to identify effective components of post-ICU recovery interventions and determine which patient populations may benefit most from ICU recovery services.
10.1007/s00101-024-01483-5
Implementing an intensive care unit (ICU) diary program at a large academic medical center: Results from a randomized control trial evaluating psychological morbidity associated with critical illness.
General hospital psychiatry
BACKGROUND:Psychological morbidity in both patients and family members related to the intensive care unit (ICU) experience is an often overlooked, and potentially persistent, healthcare problem recognized by the Society of Critical Care Medicine as Post-intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). ICU diaries are an intervention increasingly under study with potential to mitigate ICU-related psychological morbidity, including ICU-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. As we encounter a growing number of ICU survivors, in particular in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, clinicians must be equipped to understand the severity and prevalence of significant psychiatric complications of critical illness. METHODS:We compared the efficacy of the ICU diary, written by family and healthcare workers during the patient's intensive care course, versus education alone in reducing acute PTSD symptoms after discharge. Patients with an ICU stay >72 h, who were intubated and mechanically ventilated over 24 h, were recruited and randomized to either receive a diary at bedside with psychoeducation or psychoeducation alone. Intervention patients received their ICU diary within the first week of admission into the intensive care unit. Psychological symptom screening with IES-R, PHQ-8, HADS and GAD-7 was conducted at baseline within 1 week of ICU discharge and at weeks 4, 12, and 24 after ICU discharge. Change from baseline in these scores was assessed using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. RESULTS:From September 26, 2017 to September 25, 2018, our team screened 265 patients from the surgical and medical ICUs at a single large academic urban hospital. 60 patients were enrolled and randomized, of which 35 patients completed post-discharge follow-up, (n = 18) in the diary intervention group and (n = 17) in the education-only control group. The control group had a significantly greater decrease in PTSD, hyperarousal, and depression symptoms at week 4 compared to the intervention group. There were no significant differences in other measures, or at other follow-up intervals. Both study groups exhibited clinically significant PTSD symptoms at all timepoints after ICU discharge. Follow-up phone interviews with patients revealed that while many were interested in getting follow-up for their symptoms, there were many barriers to accessing appropriate therapy and clinical attention. CONCLUSIONS:Results from psychological screening tools demonstrate no benefit of ICU diaries versus bedside education-alone in reducing PTSD symptoms related to the intensive care stay. However, our study finds an important gap in clinical practice - patients at high risk for PICS are infrequently connected to appropriate follow-up care. Perhaps ICU diaries would prove beneficial if utilized to support the work within a program providing wrap-around services and close psychiatric follow up for PICS patients. This study demonstrates the high prevalence of ICU-related PTSD in our cohort of survivors, the high barrier to accessing care for appropriate treatment of PICS, and the consequence of that barrier-prolonged psychological morbidity. TRIAL REGISTRATION:NCT04305353. GRANT IDENTIFICATION:GH-17-022 (Arnold P. Gold Foundation).
10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.06.017