Mildly elevated lactate levels are associated with microcirculatory flow abnormalities and increased mortality: a microSOAP post hoc analysis

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMC via the DOI in this recordBACKGROUND: Mildly elevated lactate levels (i.e., 1-2 mmol/L) are increasingly recognized as a prognostic finding in critically ill patients. One of several possible underlying mechanisms, microcirculatory dysfunction, can be assessed at the bedside using sublingual direct in vivo microscopy. We aimed to evaluate the association between relative hyperlactatemia, microcirculatory flow, and outcome. METHODS: This study was a predefined subanalysis of a multicenter international point prevalence study on microcirculatory flow abnormalities, the Microcirculatory Shock Occurrence in Acutely ill Patients (microSOAP). Microcirculatory flow abnormalities were assessed with sidestream dark-field imaging. Abnormal microcirculatory flow was defined as a microvascular flow index (MFI)  1.5 mmol/L was independently associated with a MFI < 2.6 (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1-5.7, P = 0.027). CONCLUSIONS: In a heterogeneous ICU population, a single-spot mildly elevated lactate level (even within the reference range) was independently associated with increased mortality and microvascular flow abnormalities. In vivo microscopy of the microcirculation may be helpful in discriminating between flow- and non-flow-related causes of mildly elevated lactate levels. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01179243 . Registered on August 3, 2010

Non anti-coagulant factors associated with filter life in continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT): a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Optimising filter life and performance efficiency in continuous renal replacement therapy has been a focus of considerable recent research. Larger high quality studies have predominantly focussed on optimal anticoagulation however CRRT is complex and filter life is also affected by vascular access, circuit and management factors. We performed a systematic search of the literature to identify and quantify the effect of vascular access, circuit and patient factors that affect filter life and presented the results as a meta-analysis. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed by searching Pubmed (MEDLINE) and Ovid EMBASE libraries from inception to 29(th) February 2016 for all studies with a comparator or independent variable relating to CRRT circuits and reporting filter life. Included studies documented filter life in hours with a comparator other than anti-coagulation intervention. All studies comparing anticoagulation interventions were searched for regression or hazard models pertaining to other sources of variation in filter life. RESULTS: Eight hundred nineteen abstracts were identified of which 364 were selected for full text analysis. 24 presented data on patient modifiers of circuit life, 14 on vascular access modifiers and 34 on circuit related factors. Risk of bias was high and findings are hypothesis generating. Ranking of vascular access site by filter longevity favours: tunnelled semi-permanent catheters, femoral, internal jugular and subclavian last. There is inconsistency in the difference reported between femoral and jugular catheters. Amongst published literature, modality of CRRT consistently favoured continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHD-F) with an associated 44% lower failure rate compared to CVVH. There was a trend favouring higher blood flow rates. There is insufficient data to determine advantages of haemofilter membranes. Patient factors associated with a statistically significant worsening of filter life included mechanical ventilation, elevated SOFA or LOD score, elevations in ionized calcium, elevated platelet count, red cell transfusion, platelet factor 4 (PF-4) antibodies, and elevated fibrinogen. Majority of studies are observational or report circuit factors in sub-analysis. Risk of bias is high and findings require targeted investigations to confirm. CONCLUSION: The interaction of patient, pathology, anticoagulation, vascular access, circuit and staff factors contribute to CRRT filter life. There remains an ambiguity from published data as to which site and side should be the first choice for vascular access placement and what interaction this has with patient factors and timing. Early consideration of tunnelled semi-permanent access may provide optimal filter life if longer periods of CRRT are anticipated. There remains an absence of robust evidence outside of anti-coagulation strategies despite over 20 years of therapy delivery however trends favour CVVHD-F over CVVH

Quality indicators for the intensive care: indicators to measure quality of care in intensive care units

There is increasing interest in developing quality indicators for the Dutch health care system. The Dutch Health Care Inspectorate (IGZ) requested the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) to develop indicators for the quality of the intensive care to support their inspection activities. This study was carried out in close collaboration with the Dutch Society of Intensive Care Medicine (NVIC). To define quality indicators for Intensive Care Units (ICU), three steps were made. First, a literature search was carried out. Second, a selection of indicators was made by a panel of experts using a questionnaire and ranking in a consensus procedure. Third, a feasibility study was done for six months in eighteen ICU's to evaluate the feasibility of the use of the identified quality indicators. The literature search and the consensus procedure resulted in a set of twelve indicators. Finally, after the feasibility study, eleven indicators were selected. The following structure indicators were selected: availability of intensivist (hours per day), patient to nurse ratio, strategy to prevent medication errors, measurement of patient/family satisfaction. Four process indicators were selected: length of ICU stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, absolute number, proportion of days with all ICU beds occupied, and proportion of glucose measurement above 8.0 mmol/l or below 2.2 mmol/l. The selected outcome indicators are: standardised mortality (APACHE II), incidence of sore pressures, number of unplanned extubations. The time for registration varied from less than 30 minutes to more than one hour per day to collect the items. Among other factors, this variation in workload was related to the availability of computerised systems to collect the data. In this study a set of eleven quality indicators for intensive care was defined based on literature research, expert opinion, and testing. The set gives a quick view of the quality of care in individual ICUs. The availability of a computerised data-collection system is important for an acceptable workload.In Nederland is in toenemende mate aandacht voor de ontwikkeling van kwaliteitsindicatoren voor de gezondheidszorg. De Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg (IGZ) heeft opdracht gegeven aan het Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM) om indicatoren te ontwikkelen voor de intensive care (ic) om haar taak als toezichthouder te ondersteunen. Hierbij is intensief samengewerkt met de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Intensive Care (NVIC). Er zijn drie stappen gemaakt om te komen tot een set kwaliteitsindicatoren. In de eerste stap zijn indicatoren gezocht in de literatuur over de kwaliteit van zorg op de ic. De tweede stap was het maken van een selectie op basis van consensus tussen experts met behulp van een vragenlijst. In de derde stap is gedurende zes maanden een pilotstudie uitgevoerd op achttien ic-afdelingen om de haalbaarheid van de registratie te evalueren. Op basis van consensus is een selectie gemaakt van de indicatoren uit de literatuur en die aangedragen door experts. Dit resulteerde in een set van twaalf indicatoren. Na de pilotstudie worden uiteindelijk elf indicatoren aanbevolen voor landelijke implementatie. De volgende structuurindicatoren zijn geselecteerd: beschikbaarheid intensivist, verpleegkundige/patientratio, beleid ter voorkoming van medicatiefouten en het registreren van familie- en patienttevredenheid. Vier procesindicatoren zijn geselecteerd: ic-verblijfsduur, beademingsduur, glucoseregulatie en 100%-bezetting. De geselecteerde uitkomstindicatoren zijn: mortaliteit, decubitus incidentie en aantal ongeplande extubaties. De tijd voor het verzamelen van de gegevens varieerde van dertig minuten tot meer dan een uur per dag. Deze verschillen hadden te maken met het feit of er gebruikgemaakt werd van een registratiemodule. In deze studie is een set van elf indicatoren geselecteerd op basis van een literatuurstudie, expert opinion en een pilotstudie. De set geeft een snel overzicht van de kwaliteit van zorg op individuele ic-afdelingen. Om landelijke implementatie mogelijk te maken, is een elektronische dataverzameling van belang