[Improving shared decision-making for hospital patients: Description and evaluation of a treatment intensity assessment tool].

Background And Aim: Shared decision-making between patients and healthcare professionals is crucial to guarantee adequate coherence between patient values and preferences, caring aims and treatment intensity, which is key for the provision of patient-centred healthcare. The assessment of such interventions are essential for caring continuity purposes. To do this, reliable and easy-to-use assessment systems are required.

Relationship between volume and survival in closed intensive care units is weak and apparent only in mechanically ventilated patients.

Background: Recent studies have found an association between increased volume and increased intensive care unit (ICU) survival; however, this association might not hold true in ICUs with permanent intensivist coverage. Our objective was to determine whether ICU volume correlates with survival in the Spanish healthcare system.

Methods: Post hoc analysis of a prospective study of all patients admitted to 29 ICUs during 3 months.

Community-acquired respiratory coinfection in critically ill patients with pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Background: Little is known about the impact of community-acquired respiratory coinfection in patients with pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus infection.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational, multicenter study conducted in 148 Spanish ICUs.

Results: Severe respiratory syndrome was present in 645 ICU patients.