Sustained multimodal antimicrobial stewardship in an Australian tertiary intensive care unit from 2008-2015: an interrupted time-series analysis.

The long-term outcomes and sustainability of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in the intensive care unit (ICU) require evaluation. This study analysed the effect of a multimodal ICU AMS introduced in a 15-bed medical-surgical tertiary Australian adult ICU in November 2008, using interrupted time-series analysis of antibiotic usage, Gram-negative resistance and cost from November 2005 to October 2015, including national ICU average usage as a control. Overall ICU mortality, 30-day blood stream infection (BSI) mortality and length of stay (LOS) were compared over the same period.

Acute hospital-based services utilisation during the last year of life in New South Wales, Australia: methods for a population-based study.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe healthcare utilisation in the last year of life for people in Australia, to help inform health services planning. The methods and datasets that are being used are described in this paper.

Design/setting: Linked, routinely collected administrative health data are being analysed for all people who died in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state, in 2007.

Specialist respiratory physicians' attitudes to and practice of advance care planning in COPD. A pilot study.

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) is increasingly recognised as important in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Specialist respiratory physicians (RPs) are crucial in enabling ACP in patients with COPD. Accordingly, understanding their practice and attitudes regarding ACP is important.

Rapid response systems: a prospective study of response times.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the time taken for delivery of each component of care following patient deterioration and to assess the effect on response times of strategies implemented to improve the system.

Methods: A model identifying the sequence of organizational responses following a patient's unexpected clinical deterioration was developed. The time to key events and interventions from initial deterioration was measured for 3 months in 2005 and again in 2006 at a tertiary care hospital with a rapid response team (RRT) in place.

Continuing professional development programmes for rural nurses involved in palliative care delivery: an integrative review.

Purpose: To review published studies evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes on rural nurses palliative care capabilities in order to inform the development of targeted learning activities for this population.

Design: An integrative review.

Methods: Searches of key electronic databases and the World Wide Web was undertaken using key words, followed by hand searching for relevant articles.

Cancellation of operations on the day of intended surgery at a major Australian referral hospital.

Objective: To establish the rate of and reasons for cancellations of surgery on the scheduled day in an Australian hospital.

Design: Prospective survey.

Setting: Major metropolitan tertiary hospital, 13 May to 15 November 2002.