Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Ceramic cooking dishes in the prehistoric Aegean: an exploration of their variability and uses

International audienc

The discovery of the earliest specialised Middle Neolithic pottery workshop in western Thessaly, central Greece

Disparity in recorded Neolithic activity between the eastern and western Thessaly plain in central Greece is being redressed by the ‘Long Time No See’ landscape project. A recently discovered pottery kiln complex at Magoula Rizava tell site offers exciting new evidence for intra-regional pottery production and circulation during the Middle Neolithic period

Fusion cuisine in the shadow of Mount Olympus: an integrated study of Middle and Late Bronze Age cooking pots

International audienceThis paper explores the relations developed between Mycenaeans and their northern neighbours through the study of cooking assemblages from four sites in the region of Pieria, in present-day Greek Central Macedonia. A strong connection with the Mycenaean sphere in the 13th -12th century BC has already been indicated through archaeological evidence from graves, but it is the first time that this connection is explored through domestic utensils. Moreover, the four sites cover chronologically the entire Middle and Late Bronze Age – i.e., a time interval corresponding to the whole of the Mycenaean period and the centuries immediately preceding it, c.2000–1100 BC – providing both wide contexts and great time depth. Through a ‘longue durée’ investigation of food preparation using ceramic analysis and contextual associations, we evaluate local and traditional elements of the cooking apparatus vs. new and/or exogenous ones, and identify the time of their introduction. Based on our observations we discuss cultural interaction between the Mycenaean and northern Greek communities as expressed through food preparation, in other words, the transformation of cooking within the specific social and historical contexts of our case studies

Experimental investigation of ceramic technology and plant food cooking in Neolithic northern Greece

International audienceThe paper discusses aspects of cooking pottery technology and operation through observations made in a series of experiments, utilizing the results of archaeological ceramic analysis in Neolithic northern Greece. The first stage of experiments focused on the experimental manufacture of three types of cooking pots, following the Neolithic techniques, from raw material processing to firing. In the second stage the pots were used in cooking performances, using structures, fuel and contents identified in the archaeological record. The qualitative data generated allow for testing a series of archaeological assumptions on ceramic technology, particularly vessel building and firing, along with the effects of cooking on pots. Moreover, experimental cooking provided insight to the relations between the different participant parts, highlighting the pivotal relation of cooking pots to fuel and different cooking modes. This pilot study aspires to endorse ceramicists to refine protocols for future experiments and analyses on cooking technologies