15 research outputs found

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

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    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

    Castleman's disease requiring repeat surgical excision

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    Castleman's disease is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disorder that can be found in both unicentric and multicentric forms. Although the multicentric form is typically seen in immunocompromised patients, the unicentric variety often presents as an asymptomatic mass in otherwise healthy patients. While these lesions are rare in the pediatric population, recognizing the potential diagnosis may help dictate pre- and intraoperative imaging and operative technique and approach

    Re-defining Environmental Harms: Green Criminology and the State of Canada’s Hemp Industry

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    Green criminology has been developing for more than 20 years as a field of criminological inquiry that grapples with defining and exploring environmental harms. This perspective includes approaches that look beyond legally defined environmental crimes, highlighting permissible activities that cause environmental deterioration, such as clear-cutting of forests, and prohibited activities that benefit the environment, such as pedicabs. Extending the criminological gaze helps green criminology identify unacknowledged environmental harms. The article draws from postmodernist/poststructuralist concepts to work past merely defining actions as either harmful or harmless, highlighting the complexity of socio-ecological effects and the importance of extending the conceptual boundaries of harm. Canada’s experiences with industrial hemp provide a fitting example. The heavily regulated Canadian hemp industry offers an important case for investigating the impacts of social constraints that limit the industry’s capacity to benefit the environment. Qualitative interviews reveal negative public perceptions, over-restrictive regulatory requirements, and insufficient technological capabilities as important obstacles to a fuller realization of hemp’s environmental benefits. Informed by constitutive criminology, chaos criminology, and Halsey’s important critique, the article adds to postmodernist/poststructuralist developments in green criminology
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