Objective: Mortality after many procedures is lower in centers where more procedures are done. It is controversial whether this is true for intensive care units, too. We examined the relationship between the volume of activity of intensive care units (ICUs) and mortality by a measure of risk-adjusted volume of activity specific for ICUs.
Design: Prospective, multicenter, observational study.
Setting: Eighty-nine ICUs in 12 European countries.
Patients: During a 4-month study period, 12,615 patients were enrolled.
Interventions: Demographic and clinical statistics, severity at admission and a score of nursing complexity and workload were collected.
Results: Total volume of activity was defined as the number of patients admitted per bed per year, high-risk volume as the number of high-risk patients admitted per bed per year (selected combining of length of stay and severity of illness). A multi-step risk-adjustment process was planned. ICU volume corresponding both to overall [odds ratio (OR) 0.966] and 3,838 high-risk (OR 0.830) patients was negatively correlated with mortality. Relative mortality decreased by 3.4 and 17.0% for every five extra patients treated per bed per year in overall volume and high-risk volume, respectively. A direct relationship was found between mortality and the ICU occupancy rate (OR 1.324 and 1.351, respectively).
Conclusions: Intensive care patients, whatever their level of risk, are best treated where more high-risk patients are treated. Moreover, the higher the ICU occupancy rate, the higher is the mortality.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00134-003-2113-4 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Mathematics, Wollega University, 395, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Topological indices (TIs) of chemical graphs of drugs hold the potential to compute important properties and biological activities leading to more thoughtful drug design. Here, we considered certain drugs treating eye-related disorders, including cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration. By combining modeling and decision-makings approaches, this study presents a cost-effective way to comprehend the behavior of molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNPJ Syst Biol Appl
January 2025
Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Sciences (CIDS), Department Information Services and High-Performance Computing (ZIH), Dresden University of Technology, 01062, Dresden, Germany.
Predicting the biological behavior and time to recurrence (TTR) of high-grade diffuse gliomas (HGG) after maximum safe neurosurgical resection and combined radiation and chemotherapy plays a pivotal role in planning clinical follow-up, selecting potentially necessary second-line treatment and improving the quality of life for patients diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The current standard-of-care (SoC) for HGG includes follow-up neuroradiological imaging to detect recurrence as early as possible and relies on several clinical, neuropathological, and radiological prognostic factors, which have limited accuracy in predicting TTR. In this study, using an in-silico analysis, we aim to improve predictive power for TTR by considering the role of (i) prognostically relevant information available through diagnostics used in the current SoC, (ii) advanced image-based information not currently part of the standard diagnostic workup, such as tumor-normal tissue interface (edge) features and quantitative data specific to biopsy positions within the tumor, and (iii) information on tumor-associated macrophages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Cardiol
January 2025
Division of Biostatistics and Health Services Research, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Background: Systemic thromboxane A generation, which is readily assessed by quantifying thromboxane B metabolites (TXB-M) in the urine, is associated with impaired cardiac performance and mortality in aspirin (ASA) users with heart failure (HF).
Objectives: This study sought to determine the association of urinary TXB-M with the risk of developing HF in individuals without prior history of HF and with normal left ventricular function irrespective of ASA use.
Methods: Urine TXB-M were measured by immunoassay and adjusted to urine concentration and renal function (TXB-M) in 2,611 Framingham Heart Study participants (54.
Brain Behav
January 2025
Department of Health and Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Purpose: The prevalence of sedentary lifestyles (SL), which includes both high volumes of extended sitting behavior and a low volume of steps accumulated across the day, among older adults continues to rise contributing to increases in associated comorbidities and the loss of independence. The social, personal, and economic burdens are enormous. In recognition of the health implications of SL, current public health physical activity guidelines now emphasize the complimentary goals of sitting less by moving more.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, Collogue of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, PR China. Electronic address:
In this study, demethylated-acylated enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (DAEHL) with excellent solubility in castor oil and antioxidant activities were prepared via the tandem modification strategy. First, iodocyclohexane simultaneously achieved β-O-4 breakage and hydrogenation, which enhanced the antioxidant activity of lignin. Furthermore, the acylation reaction by palmitoyl chloride increased the alkyl content in the lignin, which can improve the solubility of lignin in castor oil.
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