Using Electronic Health Records to Identify the Daily Primary Provider During Hospitalization.

Objectives: Providers vary in their impact on clinical outcomes, but this is rarely accounted for in healthcare research. By failing to identify the provider responsible for a patient's care, investigators miss an opportunity to account for nonrandom variation in outcomes. Prior methods of identifying responsible providers have relied on manual chart review, which is time-consuming and expensive, or analysis of claims data, which has been demonstrated to be inaccurate.

Racial differences in odds of asthma exacerbations among Aspergillus fumigatus-sensitized adults with asthma.

Background: Allergic sensitization to mold is a risk factor for poor asthma outcomes, but whether it accounts for disparities in asthma outcomes according to race or socioeconomic status is not well-studied.

Objective: To identify factors associated with allergic sensitization to molds and evaluate associations of sensitization to molds with asthma exacerbations after stratifying by race.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults with asthma who had an outpatient visit to a large health system between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2023 and received aeroallergen testing to Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium, Alternaria, and Cladosporium.

Programmatic Palliative Care Consultations in Pediatric Heart Transplant Evaluations.

Guidelines advocate for integrating palliative care into the management of heart failure (HF) and of children with life-limiting disease. The potential impact of palliative care integration into pediatric HF on patient-centered outcomes is poorly understood. The present study sought to assess the association of programmatic implementation of palliative care into the heart transplant evaluation process with hospital-free days (HFD) and end of life (EOL) treatment choices.

Associations of Race With Sedation Depth Among Mechanically Ventilated Adults: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: To evaluate the association of race with proportion of time in deep sedation among mechanically ventilated adults.

Design: Retrospective cohort study from October 2017 to December 2019.

Setting: Five hospitals within a single health system.

A Data-Driven Analysis of Ward Capacity Strain Metrics That Predict Clinical Outcomes Among Survivors of Acute Respiratory Failure.

Supply-demand mismatch of ward resources ("ward capacity strain") alters care and outcomes. Narrow strain definitions and heterogeneous populations limit strain literature. Evaluate the predictive utility of a large set of candidate strain variables for in-hospital mortality and discharge destination among acute respiratory failure (ARF) survivors.

Prediction of In-hospital Mortality Among Intensive Care Unit Patients Using Modified Daily Laboratory-based Acute Physiology Score, Version 2.

Background: Mortality prediction for intensive care unit (ICU) patients frequently relies on single ICU admission acuity measures without accounting for subsequent clinical changes.

Objective: Evaluate novel models incorporating modified admission and daily, time-updating Laboratory-based Acute Physiology Score, version 2 (LAPS2) to predict in-hospital mortality among ICU patients.

Research Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Association of Time of Day with Delays in Antimicrobial Initiation among Ward Patients with Hospital-Onset Sepsis.

Although the mainstay of sepsis treatment is timely initiation of broad-spectrum antimicrobials, treatment delays are common, especially among patients who develop hospital-onset sepsis. The time of day has been associated with suboptimal clinical care in several contexts, but its association with treatment initiation among patients with hospital-onset sepsis is unknown. Assess the association of time of day with antimicrobial initiation among ward patients with hospital-onset sepsis.

Prediction of in-hospital mortality among intensive care unit patients using modified daily Laboratory-based Acute Physiology Scores, version 2 (LAPS2).

Background: Mortality prediction for intensive care unit (ICU) patients frequently relies on single acuity measures based on ICU admission physiology without accounting for subsequent clinical changes.

Objectives: Evaluate novel models incorporating modified admission and daily, time-updating Laboratory-based Acute Physiology Scores, version 2 (LAPS2) to predict in-hospital mortality among ICU patients.

Research Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Wellness and Coping of Physicians Who Worked in ICUs During the Pandemic: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional North American Survey.

Objectives: Few surveys have focused on physician moral distress, burnout, and professional fulfilment. We assessed physician wellness and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Cross-sectional survey using four validated instruments.

Well-Being Among Respiratory Therapists in an Academic Medical Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Recent studies have revealed high rates of burnout among respiratory therapists (RTs), which has implications for patient care and outcomes as well as for the health care workforce. We sought to better understand RT well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to determine rates and identify determinants of well-being, including burnout and professional fulfillment, among RTs in ICUs.

Association of Unit Census with Delays in Antimicrobial Initiation among Ward Patients with Hospital-acquired Sepsis.

Patients with hospital-acquired sepsis (HAS) experience higher mortality and delayed care compared with those with community-acquired sepsis. Capacity strain, the extent to which demand for hospital resources exceeds availability, thus impacting patient care, is a possible mechanism underlying antimicrobial delays for HAS but has not been studied. Assess the association of ward census with the timing of antimicrobial initiation among ward patients with HAS.

Adherence to Lung Protective Ventilation in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Unlabelled: Prior studies have demonstrated suboptimal adherence to lung protective ventilation among patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. A common barrier to providing this evidence-based practice is diagnostic uncertainty. We sought to test the hypothesis that patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome due to coronavirus disease 2019, in whom acute respiratory distress syndrome is easily recognized, would be more likely to receive low tidal volume ventilation than concurrently admitted acute respiratory distress syndrome patients without coronavirus disease 2019.

Implementing nudges to promote utilization of low tidal volume ventilation (INPUT): a stepped-wedge, hybrid type III trial of strategies to improve evidence-based mechanical ventilation management.

Background: Behavioral economic insights have yielded strategies to overcome implementation barriers. For example, default strategies and accountable justification strategies have improved adherence to best practices in clinical settings. Embedding such strategies in the electronic health record (EHR) holds promise for simple and scalable approaches to facilitating implementation.

The impact of resource limitations on care delivery and outcomes: routine variation, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and persistent shortage.

Purpose Of Review: Resource limitation, or capacity strain, has been associated with changes in care delivery, and in some cases, poorer outcomes among critically ill patients. This may result from normal variation in strain on available resources, chronic strain in persistently under-resourced settings, and less commonly because of acute surges in demand, as seen during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Recent Findings: Recent studies confirmed existing evidence that high ICU strain is associated with ICU triage decisions, and that ICU strain may be associated with ICU patient mortality.

Deep learning to detect acute respiratory distress syndrome on chest radiographs: a retrospective study with external validation.

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common, but under-recognised, critical illness syndrome associated with high mortality. An important factor in its under-recognition is the variability in chest radiograph interpretation for ARDS. We sought to train a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to detect ARDS findings on chest radiographs.

Actions Taken by US Hospitals to Prepare for Increased Demand for Intensive Care During the First Wave of COVID-19: A National Survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic placed considerable strain on critical care resources. How US hospitals responded to this crisis is unknown.

Research Question: What actions did US hospitals take to prepare for a potential surge in demand for critical care services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Study Design And Methods: From September to November 2020, the chief nursing officers of a representative sample of US hospitals were surveyed regarding organizational actions taken to increase or maintain critical care capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.