Healthcare professionals’ experiences during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the intensive care unit : A qualitative study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic called for rapidly considerable changes in the healthcare system. Healthcare professionals from different departments within the hospital settings were enrolled in the emergency preparedness. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the healthcare professionals’ experiences attending the ICU-preparedness and caring for patients with COVID-19 during the initial stage of the pandemic. Methods: A descriptive explorative qualitative study was conducted by interviewing healthcare professionals during spring 2020, exploring their experiences as part of the ICU-preparedness team and caring for patients with COVID-19 in the ICU. Healthcare professionals from different departments were recruited by purposive sampling. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using content analysis. Findings: Sixteen nurses and four physicians from a university hospital in Denmark participated. The analysis revealed three main themes and eight sub-themes. The main themes were (1) Professionalism in work-life (adaption, the patient's welfare, insecurity, and security), (2) Community Spirit (responsibility and contribution), and (3) Institutional organisation (the role of management, loss of freedom, and information). Interpretation: Despite work specialities and professions, the participants reported a uniformity of similar experiences of uncertainties, but also a sense of community arose during the first phase of COVID-19. Recommendations: To ensure resilience and mental health, and well-being for the healthcare professionals, comprehensive support should be provided. Guidelines for interventions and training are necessary to promote preparedness and reduce psychological stress

Association between pre-morbid function and mortality: A one-year follow-up at selected sites of the AID-ICU trial

The objective of this study is to investigate the association between pre-morbid functional status of critically ill patients and 90-days and one-year mortality in the AID-ICU trial cohort at selected sites.

Functional status after delirium acquired in the ICU: A one-year follow-up at selected sites of the AID-ICU trial

The objective of this study is to assess differences in functional status between patients in the two interventions of the AID-ICU trial, i.e. haloperidol and placebo. Furthermore, to investigate the functional status of critically ill patients at one-year follow-up in patients included in the AID-ICU trial at selected sites

Long-term outcomes with haloperidol versus placebo in acutely admitted adult ICU patients with delirium

PurposeWe assessed long-term outcomes in acutely admitted adult patients with delirium treated in intensive care unit (ICU) with haloperidol versus placebo.MethodsWe conducted pre-planned analyses of 1-year outcomes in the Agents Intervening against Delirium in the ICU (AID-ICU) trial, including mortality and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by Euroqol (EQ) 5-dimension 5-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) index values and EQ visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) (deceased patients were assigned the numeric value zero). Outcomes were analysed using logistic and linear regressions with bootstrapping and G-computation, all with adjustment for the stratification variables (site and delirium motor subtype) and multiple imputations for missing HRQoL values.ResultsAt 1-year follow-up, we obtained vital status for 96.2% and HRQoL data for 83.3% of the 1000 randomised patients. One-year mortality was 224/501 (44.7%) in the haloperidol group versus 251/486 (51.6%) in the placebo group, with an adjusted absolute risk difference of - 6.4%-points (95% confidence interval [CI] - 12.8%-points to - 0.2%-points; P = 0.045). These results were largely consistent across the secondary analyses. For HRQoL, the adjusted mean differences were 0.04 (95% CI - 0.03 to 0.11; P = 0.091) for EQ-5D-5L-5L index values, and 3.3 (95% CI - 9.3 to 17.5; P = 0.142) for EQ VAS.ConclusionsIn acutely admitted adult ICU patients with delirium, haloperidol treatment reduced mortality at 1-year follow-up, but did not statistically significantly improve HRQoL.Peer reviewe

External validation of a core outcome set developed in Denmark for the general ICU patient – protocol amendment to an ongoing modified Delphi consensus process

We aim to externally validate a core outcome set for the general ICU patient that is currently under development. This is an amendment to the published protocol (DOI: 10.1111/aas.14024) The amendment is included as an PDF under “Supplemental files…”