Analgosedation and delirium practices in critically ill patients in the Pan-American and Iberian setting, and factors associated with oversedation after the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the PANDEMIC study.

Oversedation has adverse effects on critically ill patients. The Analgosedation and Delirium Committee of the FEPIMCTI (Pan-American and Iberian Federation of Critical Care Medicine and Intensive Care) conducted a cross-sectional study through a survey addressed to ICU physicians: PANDEMIC (Pan-American and Iberian Study on the Management of Analgosedation and Delirium in Critical Care [fepImCti]). HYPOTHESIS: Worsening of these practices in the course of the pandemic and that continued afterwards, with further oversedation.

Quality improvement collaborative for improving patient care delivery in Argentine public health sector intensive care units.

Background: The demand for healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic was excessive for less-resourced settings, with intensive care units (ICUs) taking the heaviest toll.

Objective: The aim was to achieve adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) use in 90% of patient encounters, to reach 90% compliance with objectives of patient flow (OPF) and to provide emotional support tools to 90% of healthcare workers (HCWs).

Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental study with an interrupted time-series design in 14 ICUs in Argentina.

Clinical characteristics, respiratory management, and determinants of oxygenation in COVID-19 ARDS: A prospective cohort study.

Purpose: To identify determinants of oxygenation over time in patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); and to analyze their characteristics according to Berlin definition categories.

Materials And Methods: Prospective cohort study including consecutive mechanically ventilated patients admitted between 3/20/2020-10/31/2020 with ARDS. Epidemiological and clinical data on admission; outcomes; ventilation, respiratory mechanics and oxygenation variables were registered on days 1, 3 and 7 for the entire population and for ARDS categories.

[Structural capacity, technological human resources and mechanical ventilation requirements in 58 intensive care units in Argentina during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A SATICOVID-19 Study].

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was a marked requirement for critical care beds, supplies and trained professionals to assist patients with severe respiratory failure. The Argentine Society of Intensive Care (SATI) designed a study to characterize these aspects in intensive care units (ICUs). Multicenter, prospective cohort study; the participating ICUs completed a form at the end of the study (31/10/2020) on hospital characteristics, number of beds in pre- and intra-pandemic critical areas, incorporation of professionals, technological resources, and workload.

Nonintensivist Training to Increase the Staff Capacity of Intensive Care Units During COVID-19 Pandemic Surge in Argentina.

Objective: The aim of this study was to report the results of a nationwide critical-care course for non-intensivists to increase staff capacity of intensive care units (ICUs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Argentina.

Methods: Three academic organizations, with special funding from 55 private companies, developed a short virtual course comprised of Web-based videos, virtual tutorials, and a forum chat. Each state assigned scholarships to non-ICU staff from public hospitals.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 in Argentina (SATICOVID): a prospective, multicentre cohort study.

Background: Although COVID-19 has greatly affected many low-income and middle-income countries, detailed information about patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is still scarce. Our aim was to examine ventilation characteristics and outcomes in invasively ventilated patients with COVID-19 in Argentina, an upper middle-income country.

Methods: In this prospective, multicentre cohort study (SATICOVID), we enrolled patients aged 18 years or older with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 who were on invasive mechanical ventilation and admitted to one of 63 ICUs in Argentina.

Theory-driven, rapid formative research on quality improvement intervention for critical care of patients with COVID-19 in Argentina.

The challenges of implementing interventions in healthcare settings have been more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pre-implementation evaluation used a rapid qualitative approach to explore barriers and facilitators to an intervention in intensive care units in Argentina, aimed to promote the use of personal protection equipment, provide emotional support for professionals, and achieve patient flow goals. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with health professionals of 15 public hospitals in Argentina.

Consensus for the management of analgesia, sedation and delirium in adults with COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Objective: To propose agile strategies for a comprehensive approach to analgesia, sedation, delirium, early mobility and family engagement for patients with COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome, considering the high risk of infection among health workers, the humanitarian treatment that we must provide to patients and the inclusion of patients' families, in a context lacking specific therapeutic strategies against the virus globally available to date and a potential lack of health resources.

Methods: A nonsystematic review of the scientific evidence in the main bibliographic databases was carried out, together with national and international clinical experience and judgment. Finally, a consensus of recommendations was made among the members of the Committee for Analgesia, Sedation and Delirium of the Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva.

Prognostic capability of the Maximum Acute Gastrointestinal Injury Score and of caloric intake in patients requiring vasopressors: A multicenter prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Our main objective was to use the Maximum Acute Gastrointestinal Injury Score (AGI) to evaluate the prognostic capability of gastrointestinal dysfunction (GID), on hospital mortality in patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) requiring vasopressors. A secondary goal was to analyze the relationship between AGI and vasopressor dosage with increasing caloric intake.

Materials And Methods: Prospective multicenter cohort study in ten ICUs across Argentina.

Gender disparity in ICU staffing in Argentina.

Purpose: Gender disparities in healthcare are striking, notwithstanding an increase in female students and physicians. Underrepresentation of women in leadership positions is well-documented; however, information from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is still sparse. The Argentinian Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SATI) aimed to characterize the gender composition in Argentine ICUs.

Nebulization of antimicrobial agents in mechanically ventilated adults in 2017: an international cross-sectional survey.

2017 ESCMID practice guidelines reported safety concerns and weak evidence of benefit supporting use of aerosolized antibiotics in mechanically ventilated patients. Our primary goal was to assess current patterns of aerosolized antibiotic prescription in mechanically ventilated patients. A sequential global survey was performed prior to the release of the ESCMID guidelines, from the 1st of February to the 30th of April 2017, using an electronic platform.

Reducing pressure ulcers in patients with prolonged acute mechanical ventilation: a quasi-experimental study.

Objective:: To determine the effectiveness of a quality management program in reducing the incidence and severity of pressure ulcers in critical care patients.

Methods:: This was a quasi-experimental, before-and-after study that was conducted in a medical-surgical intensive care unit. Consecutive patients who had received mechanical ventilation for ≥ 96 hours were included.

Symptom burden and health-related quality of life among intensive care unit survivors in Argentina: A prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Our goal was to describe the evolution of selected physical and psychologic symptoms and identify the determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge.

Methods: The study is a prospective cohort of consecutive adult patients admitted to a mixed ICU in a university-affiliated hospital, mechanically ventilated for more than 48 hours. During ICU stay, epidemiological data and events probably associated to worsening outcomes were recorded.

Pandemic 2009 influenza A in Argentina: a study of 337 patients on mechanical ventilation.

Rationale: The rapid spread of the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) around the world underscores the need for a better knowledge of epidemiology, clinical features, outcomes, and mortality predictors, especially in the most severe presentations.

Objectives: To describe these characteristics in patients with confirmed, probable, and suspected viral pneumonia caused by 2009 influenza A (H1N1) admitted to 35 intensive care units with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation in Argentina, between June 3 and September 7.

Methods: Inception-cohort study including 337 consecutive adult patients.

Incidence and clinical effects of intra-abdominal hypertension in critically ill patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiology and outcomes of intra-abdominal hypertension in a heterogeneous intensive care unit population.

Design: This was a prospective cohort study.

Setting: This study was conducted at a medical-surgical intensive care unit in a university hospital.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of obstetric patients requiring ICU admission.

Objectives: To review a series of critically ill obstetric patients admitted to our ICU to assess the spectrum of disease, required interventions, and fetal/maternal mortality, and to identify conditions associated with maternal death.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: Medical-surgical ICU in a university-affiliated hospital.

The distinct clinical profile of chronically critically ill patients: a cohort study.

Introduction: Our goal was to describe the epidemiology, clinical profiles, outcomes, and factors that might predict progression of critically ill patients to chronically critically ill (CCI) patients, a still poorly characterized subgroup.

Methods: We prospectively studied all patients admitted to a university-affiliated hospital intensive care unit (ICU) between 1 July 2002 and 30 June 2005. On admission, we recorded epidemiological data, the presence of organ failure (multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS)), underlying diseases (McCabe score), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and shock.

Safety and efficacy of colistin in Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas infections: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To assess renal dysfunction and outcome in patients treated exclusively with colistin vs. other antibiotics.

Design And Setting: Prospective cohort study in a mixed ICU in a university-affiliated hospital.

Shock on admission day is the best predictor of prolonged mechanical ventilation in the ICU.

Study Objectives: To determine the incidence of prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV), which is associated with increased health-care costs and risks of adverse events, and to identify its early predictors.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: A medical-surgical ICU in a university-affiliated hospital.