Building a Foundation for High-Quality Health Data: Multihospital Case Study in Belgium.

Background: Data quality is fundamental to maintaining the trust and reliability of health data for both primary and secondary purposes. However, before the secondary use of health data, it is essential to assess the quality at the source and to develop systematic methods for the assessment of important data quality dimensions.

Objective: This case study aims to offer a dual aim-to assess the data quality of height and weight measurements across 7 Belgian hospitals, focusing on the dimensions of completeness and consistency, and to outline the obstacles these hospitals face in sharing and improving data quality standards.

A quality improvement program to reduce surgical site infections after cardiac surgery: A 10-year cohort study.

Objectives: To assess trends in surgical site infection (SSI) incidence in cardiosurgery following a quality improvement initiative in infection prevention and control (IP&C).

Methods: This is a historical cohort study encompassing a 10-year surveillance period (2014-2023) in a cardiosurgical department in a multi-organ transplant center. The study encompassed three periods: a baseline period (Phase_1: January 2014-December 2018); an implementation phase covering quality improvement initiatives targeting various aspects of IP&C including organizational factors, pre-operative, intra-operative, post-operative measures, and post-hospitalization care (Phase_2: January 2019-June 2021); a post-implementation phase (Phase_3: July 2021-September 2023).

A literature-based approach to predict continuous hospital length of stay in adult acute care patients using admission variables: A single university center experience.

Purpose: To review the existing literature on predicting length of stay (LOS) and to apply the findings on a Real World Data example in a single hospital.

Methods: Performing a literature review on PubMed and Embase, focusing on adults, acute conditions, and hospital-wide prediction of LOS, summarizing all the variables and statistical methods used to predict LOS. Then, we use this set of variables on a single university hospital and run an XGBoost model with Survival Cox regression on the LOS, as well as a logistic regression on binary LOS (cut-off at 4 days).

Risk factors for surgical site infection following cardiac surgery in a region endemic for multidrug resistant organisms.

Objectives: To identify risk factors for surgical site infections following cardiosurgery in an area endemic for multidrug resistant organisms.

Design: Single-center, historical cohort study including patients who underwent cardiosurgery during a 6-year period (2014-2020).

Setting: Joint Commission International accredited, multiorgan transplant center in Palermo, Italy.

The effect of late-onset sepsis on mortality across different gestational ages in a neonatal intensive care unit: A historical study.

Objectives: Late-onset sepsis is a frequent complication in neonatal intensive care units. This study aims to understand the effect of late-onset sepsis on mortality in hospitalised neonatal patients across different gestational ages.

Design: This is a single-centre, historical cohort study including neonates admitted to hospital during a 10-year period (2002 - 2011).

Application of NRS2002 to detect malnutrition in a tertiary care centre: agreement between nurse and dietician's screening steps and relation with clinical outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the agreement between nurse and dietician nutritional risk assessments when using the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS2002) protocol, and to explore the relations of falsely labeling patients 'not at risk' for malnutrition and the screening time difference (STD) between nurse and dietician with the length of stay (LoS).

Methods: Included are all patients hospitalized in a tertiary care center between January 2017 and December 2019 and screened for malnutrition by both a nurse and a dietician. The inter-rater reliability is evaluated using Cohen's Kappa.

Prevalence of skin pressure injury in critical care patients in the UK: results of a single-day point prevalence evaluation in adult critically ill patients.

Objectives: Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (PIs) are a source of morbidity and mortality, and many are potentially preventable.

Design: This study prospectively evaluated the prevalence and the associated factors of PIs in adult critical care patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) in the UK.

Setting: This service evaluation was part of a larger, international, single-day point prevalence study of PIs in adult ICU patients.

Poor timing and failure of source control are risk factors for mortality in critically ill patients with secondary peritonitis.

Purpose: To describe data on epidemiology, microbiology, clinical characteristics and outcome of adult patients admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) with secondary peritonitis, with special emphasis on antimicrobial therapy and source control.

Methods: Post hoc analysis of a multicenter observational study (Abdominal Sepsis Study, AbSeS) including 2621 adult ICU patients with intra-abdominal infection in 306 ICUs from 42 countries. Time-till-source control intervention was calculated as from time of diagnosis and classified into 'emergency' (< 2 h), 'urgent' (2-6 h), and 'delayed' (> 6 h).

International variation in length of stay in intensive care units and the impact of patient-to-nurse ratios.

Objective: To assess variation in ICU length of stay between countries with varying patient-to-nurse ratios; to compare ICU length of stay of individual countries against an international benchmark.

Design: Secondary analysis of the DecubICUs trial (performed on 15 May 2018).

Setting: The study cohort included 12,794 adult ICU patients (57 countries).

Epidemiology and age-related mortality in critically ill patients with intra-abdominal infection or sepsis: an international cohort study.

Objective: To describe epidemiology and age-related mortality in critically ill older adults with intra-abdominal infection.

Methods: A secondary analysis was undertaken of a prospective, multi-national, observational study (Abdominal Sepsis Study, ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT03270345) including patients with intra-abdominal infection from 309 intensive care units (ICUs) in 42 countries between January and December 2016.

Epidemiology and outcome of pressure injuries in critically ill patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A propensity score adjusted analysis.

Background: Pressure injuries are a frequent complication in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, especially in those with comorbid conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Yet no epidemiological data on pressure injuries in critically ill COPD patients are available.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of ICU-acquired pressure injuries in critically ill COPD patients and to investigate associations between COPD status, presence of ICU-acquired pressure injury, and mortality.

Heterogeneity hampers the identification of general pressure injury risk factors in intensive care populations: A predictive modelling analysis.

Objective: To determine risk factors for pressure injury in distinct intensive care subpopulations according to admission type (Medical; Surgical elective; Surgery emergency; Trauma/Burns).

Methodology/design: Predictive modelling using generalised linear mixed models with backward elimination on prospectively gathered data of 13 044 adult intensive care patients.

Settings: 1110 intensive care units, 89 countries worldwide.

Prediction of hospital bed capacity during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Background: Prediction of the necessary capacity of beds by ward type (e.g. ICU) is essential for planning purposes during epidemics, such as the COVID- 19 pandemic.

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

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.

Using structured pathology data to predict hospital-wide mortality at admission.

Early prediction of in-hospital mortality can improve patient outcome. Current prediction models for in-hospital mortality focus mainly on specific pathologies. Structured pathology data is hospital-wide readily available and is primarily used for e.