Predictive Ability of the Stability and Workload Index for Transfer Score to Predict Unplanned Readmissions After ICU Discharge

Objective: Unplanned readmission of hospitalized patients to an ICU is associated with an increased mortality and hospital length of stay. The ability to identify patients at risk, who would benefit from prolonged ICU treatment, is limited. The aim of this study is to validate a previously published numerical index named the Stability and Workload Index for Transfer in a heterogeneous group of ICU patients. Design: In this retrospective data analysis, the Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score was calculated for all patients, and the ability of the score to predict readmission was compared with the original publication. Setting: Four ICUs, one intermediate care unit, and one postanesthesia care unit of the department of anesthesia and intensive care of a university hospital. Patients: All consecutive patients treated in one of the units. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: Unplanned ICU readmissions or unexpected death within 7 days of ICU discharge. The data of 7,175 patients were included in the analysis. Five hundred ninety-six patients were readmitted or died within 7 days of discharge. The patients who are readmitted to the ICU are significantly older and have significantly higher scores that define the severity of disease at the time of admission and discharge of their first ICU stay. The source of admission for the initial ICU stay did not differ (p = 0.055), and the last Glasgow Coma Scale and the last Pao(2)/Fio(2) ratio before discharge from the ICU were higher in patients who did not need a readmission to the ICU. The performance of the Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score is poor with an area under the receiver operator curve of 0.581 (95% CI, 0.556-0.605; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Based on the data from our patients, the proposed Stability and Workload Index for Transfer score by Gajic et al is not ideal in aiding the clinician in the decision, if a patient can be discharged safely from the ICU and further research is necessary to define the patients at risk for readmission

Patient Empowerment Improved Perioperative Quality of Care in Cancer Patients Aged ≥ 65 Years - A Randomized Controlled Trial.

This randomized controlled, clinical prospective interventional trial was aimed at exploring the effect of patient empowerment on short- and long-term outcomes after major oncologic surgery in elderly cancer patients.This trial was performed from February 2011 to January 2014 at two tertiary medical centers in Germany. The study included patients aged 65 years and older undergoing elective surgery for gastro-intestinal, genitourinary, and thoracic cancer. The patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group, i.e. patient empowerment through information booklet and diary keeping, or to the control group, which received standard care. Randomization was done by block randomization in blocks of four in order of enrollment. The primary outcome were 1,postoperative length of hospital stay (LOS) and 2. long-term global health-related quality of life (HRQoL) one year postoperatively. HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ C30 questionnaire. Secondary outcomes encompassed postoperative stress and complications. Further objectives were the identification of predictors of LOS, and HRQoL at 12 months.Overall 652 patients were included. The mean age was 72 ± 4.9 years, and the majority of patients were male (68.6%, n = 447). The ^median of postoperative length of stay was 9 days (IQR 7-14 day). There were no significant differences between the intervention and the control groups in postoperative LOS (p = 0.99) or global HRQoL after one year (women: p = 0.54, men: p = 0.94). While overall complications and major complications occurred in 74% and 24% of the cases, respectively, frequency and severity of complications did not differ significantly between the groups. Patients in the intervention group reported significantly less postoperative pain (p = 0.03) than the control group. Independent predictors for LOS were identified as severity of surgery, length of anesthesia, major postoperative complications, nutritional state, and pre-operative physical functional capacity measured by the Timed Up and Go-test by multiple robust regressions.Patient empowerment through information booklet and diary keeping did not shorten the postoperative LOS in elderly onco-surgical patients, but improved quality of care regarding postoperative pain. Postoperative length of stay is influenced by pre-operative nutritional state, pre-operative functional impairment, severity of surgery, and length of anesthesia.Clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier NCT01278537

Major surgical trauma differentially affects T-cells and APC

Macrophages have been reported to initiate immunosuppression following trauma and hemorrhage, and recent experimental studies suggest a pivotal role of T-cells in maintaining immunosuppression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interaction of APC and T-cells in humans following major surgery. First, APC and T-cells from 14 surgical patients were isolated, counted and characterized by their specific surface marker profile 2 and 24 h postoperatively. Then, these cells were co-incubated with cells of the other type, which had been isolated pre-operatively. Chemokine secretion from pre-operative cells as measured by enzyme immunoassay served as a bioassay for the function of the stimulating postoperative cells. CD3+ T-cells and surface marker CD28 were markedly suppressed postoperatively, while CD3+CD25+CD127−Tregs were not suppressed. CD14+APC counts were increased with the most significant increase observed in CD14+HLA-DR− myeloid-derived suppressor cells. In co-cultures, APC showed increased postoperative secretion of TNF-α and IL-6 independently of whether they had been co-incubated with pre- or postoperative T-cells. T-cells incubated with CD14+ cells 2 h postoperatively secreted diminished amounts of IFN-γ. The results of the study suggest that T-cells play a pivotal role in mediating immunosuppression after major abdominal surgery

Study flow diagram.

<p>Study flow diagram.</p

Perioperative complications.

<p>Overall complications occurred in 74% of the patients. There was no difference between intervention and control group (p = 0.79). Major (Clavien Grade III and higher) perioperative complications occurred in 24% of the patients. There was no difference between the groups (p = 0.41).</p

Mortality within 30 days and within one year after surgery for intervention and control groups (p = 0.75 and p = 0.19 respectively).

<p>Within 30 days after surgery, 4 patients in the intervention and 3 patients in the control group had died (p = 0.75). One year after surgery, 45 patients in the intervention group compared to 58 patients in the control group had died (p = 0.19).</p

Median postoperative length of in-hospital stay.

<p><b>(A)</b> The median length of postoperative in-hospital stay was 9 (IQR 7) days in the intervention group and 9 (IQR 9) days in the control group (p = 0.99).</p

Kaplan Meier Estimation of Survival in intervention and control groups.

<p>Patients were followed up to one year after surgery. After 12 months 103 (15.8%) patients had died. Mortality did not differ between intervention and control groups (log rank p = 0.197).</p

Course of HRQoL.

<p>Comparing the baseline and follow-up values for health-related quality of life only for patients who survived and answered the 12 months questionnaire (n = 418), there were neither clinical relevant nor statistical significant differences between baseline and 12 months for HRQoL (intervention women: p = 0.58; men: p = 0.49; control women: p = 0.16; men = 0.29). Compared to age and gender-adjusted reference values for the German population [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0137824#pone.0137824.ref018" target="_blank">18</a>], men showed better global health-related quality of life than the reference population with clinical relevance. In contrast, women quoted a lower score of global HRQoL but without clinical relevance.</p