Worst case: rethinking tertiary triage protocols in pandemics and other health emergencies.

Crit Care

Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

Published: June 2013

Demand for critical care resources could vastly outstrip supply in an influenza pandemic or other health emergency, which has led expert groups to propose altered standards for triage and resource allocation. A pilot study by Christian and colleagues applied the Ontario, Canada draft critical care triage protocol to an actual retrospective cohort of intensive care unit patients. The findings are troubling. Patients who would have been triaged to expectant and designated for withdrawal of intensive care unit care and ventilator support in fact had substantial survival rates. Triage officers often disagreed and lacked confidence in their categorization decisions. These findings suggest that rationing paradigms which include categorical exclusion criteria and withdrawal of lifesaving resources should be reconsidered, and public input sought on nonclinical aspects.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2875493PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/cc8216DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

critical care
8
intensive care
8
care unit
8
care
5
worst case
4
case rethinking
4
rethinking tertiary
4
triage
4
tertiary triage
4
triage protocols
4

Similar Publications

Genetic and audiological determinants of hearing loss in high-risk neonates.

Braz J Otorhinolaryngol

January 2025

Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Hainan Branch of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Sanya, China; Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Objective: We aimed to investigate the correlation between prevalent risk factors for high-risk neonates in neonatal intensive care unit and their hearing loss, and to examine the audiological features and genetic profiles associated with different deafness mutations in our tertiary referral center. This research seeks to deepen our understanding of the etiology behind congenital hearing loss.

Methods: We conducted initial hearing screenings, including automated auditory brainstem response, distortion product otoacoustic emission, and acoustic immittance on 443 high-risk neonates within 7 days after birth and 42 days (if necessary) after birth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Our study aims to evaluate the characteristics of serum soluble PD-1 (sPD-1) and soluble PD-L1 (sPD-L1) levels and their correlations with immune status and prognosis in advanced lung cancer patients.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with advanced lung cancer based on histology or cytology in Peking University People's Hospital from July 2020 to November 2021 were enrolled. Clinicopathological data were recorded and analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The burden of severe asthma on patients, especially on those with concomitant chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), is substantial. Treatment intensification with oral corticosteroids is a common strategy for managing severe asthma exacerbations; however, prolonged exposure to systemic corticosteroids is associated with multisystem toxicity. This study aimed to quantify the association between oral corticosteroid use and annual asthma-related costs in patients with severe asthma with or without CRSwNP.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cost-utility analyses commonly use two primary methods to value productivity: the human capital approach (HCA) and the friction cost approach (FCA). Another less frequently used method is the willingness-to-pay (WTP) approach, which estimates the monetary value individuals assign to avoiding an illness. In the context of foodborne illnesses (FBI), productivity loss represents one of the most significant economic impacts, particularly in developed nations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Efficacy of Immunotherapy for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Narrative Review.

Curr Pain Headache Rep

January 2025

Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.

Purpose Of Review: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic condition characterized by disproportional pain typically affecting an extremity. Management of CRPS is centered around specific symptomatology, which tends to be a combination of autonomic dysfunction, nociceptive sensitization, chronic inflammation, and/or motor dysfunction. Targeting the autoimmune component of CRPS provides a way to both symptomatically treat as well as minimize progression of CRPS.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!