Defining needs and goals of post-ICU care for trauma patients: preliminary study

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term physical and psychological disabilities and their economic impact in severe trauma survivors. Methods: adult patients with injury severity score >15 and Abbreviated Injury Scale ≤3 admitted to the ICU of a level 1 trauma centre in the lazio region and discharged alive from hospital underwent a structured interview 12-24 months after the event. self-reported somatic symptoms, autonomy, anxiety and depression were evaluated using a Likert-type Scale, Barthel Index and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS), respectively. Patients’ working and economic status were also investigated. Results: A total of 32/58 patients matching the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. eighteen patients (56%) reported at least a partial restriction in daily activities. Most common symptoms included muscle or joint pain, fatigue, and headache. All patients were receiving rehabilitation 1-2 years after the event. Fifty-eight percent of the patients spent more than €3600/year from their family budget for rehabilitation and medical care, however only 25% were receiving financial support from regional social services and 44% were unemployed at the time of the interview. thirty patients (94%) had HADS Depression Score≥11. Conclusion: Survivors of severe trauma in our cohort had limited autonomy and need long-term rehabilitation. Most of them rely on private healthcare services with a significant financial impact on their family budget. Almost all patients had moderate to severe depression. Future post-ICU counseling services should facilitate access to rehabilitation and psychological support for these patient

Defining needs and goals of post-ICU care for trauma patients: preliminary study

The aim of this study was to assess the long-term physical and psychological disabilities and their economic impact in severe trauma survivors

Nota metodologica sulla ricerca I funerali religiosi a Bologna

Presentazione della metodologia utilizzata per lo svolgimento dell'indagine "I funerali religiosi a Bologna"

Development of a Mobile Application for Robust Tuning of One- and Two-Degree-of-Freedom PI and PID Controllers

This paper presents the development of a mobile application for Android systems devices, that helps in the control system design task. The application allows to compute the parameters of PID-type controllers. The controlled process can be represented by a first- or second-order plus dead-time model and from that, the application tunes 1DoF PI and PID controllers for servo and regulatory control operation, and 2DoF PI and PID controllers, using methods presented in Alfaro and Vilanova (2012a,b). It is shown the use of the application tool where it is possible to evaluate benefits for the control systems undergraduate students. This is one of the main contributions from the educational point of view.Universidad de Costa Rica/[731-B3-213]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[322-B4-218]/UCR/Costa RicaComisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología/[DPI2013-47825-C3-1-R]/CICYT/EspañaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ingeniería::Instituto Investigaciones en Ingeniería (INII)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ingeniería::Facultad de Ingeniería::Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctric

Taking Care of Relationships in the Intensive Care Unit : Positive Impact on Family Consent for Organ Donation

Background Organ donation refusal from relatives of potential donors with brain death significantly reduces organ availability. The need for organ donation has increased over time, but the shortage of available donors is the major limiting factor in transplantation. We analyzed the impact of a new systematic communication approach between medical staff and patients' relatives on the rate of consent to organ donation. Methods The study was conducted as a single-center, non-randomized, controlled, before-and-after study at an 18-bed intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital. We compared the rate of consent for organ donation before and after the introduction of the new communication approach. Results A total of 291 brain-dead patients were studied. The consent rate increased from 71% in the pre-intervention period (2007\u20132012) to 78.4% in the post-intervention period (2013\u20132015), with an 82.75% increase in the 2014 to 2015 period. During these periods, no significant variation of consent to organ donation was recorded at the national and regional levels. Conclusions The introduction of a new communication approach between medical staff and relatives of brain-dead patients was associated with a significant increase in the rate of consent to donation. Our results highlight the importance of empathy with relatives in the\ua0ICU

Taking Care of Relationships in the Intensive Care Unit: Positive Impact on Family Consent for Organ Donation

Background Organ donation refusal from relatives of potential donors with brain death significantly reduces organ availability. The need for organ donation has increased over time, but the shortage of available donors is the major limiting factor in transplantation. We analyzed the impact of a new systematic communication approach between medical staff and patients' relatives on the rate of consent to organ donation. Methods The study was conducted as a single-center, non-randomized, controlled, before-and-after study at an 18-bed intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital. We compared the rate of consent for organ donation before and after the introduction of the new communication approach. Results A total of 291 brain-dead patients were studied. The consent rate increased from 71% in the pre-intervention period (2007–2012) to 78.4% in the post-intervention period (2013–2015), with an 82.75% increase in the 2014 to 2015 period. During these periods, no significant variation of consent to organ donation was recorded at the national and regional levels. Conclusions The introduction of a new communication approach between medical staff and relatives of brain-dead patients was associated with a significant increase in the rate of consent to donation. Our results highlight the importance of empathy with relatives in the ICU. The need for organ transplants has increased over recent decades; nevertheless, the number of donors is insufficient [1]. The major factor limiting the number of donations from brain-dead potential donors is the low rate of consent from their families [2], [3], [4] and [5]