Background: Information about a critically ill patient's prognosis is important to the shared decision-making process. The factors that physicians and nurses consider when generating their prognoses are not well understood.
Objective: To explore the factors that intensive care unit clinicians consider when prognosticating for their patients.
Methods: Intensive care unit clinicians (physicians and nurses) were asked to predict 6-month survival and describe the patient-related factors that they considered in their prognoses. The reported factors were tallied and compared with predictions of 6-month survival or death and with correct and incorrect predictions.
Results: Physicians and nurses completed 254 and 286 surveys, respectively, for 303 patients. Of 23 factors identified, the 3 most frequently reported were acute conditions, medical history and comorbid conditions, and trajectory. For patients predicted to be alive at 6 months, physicians commonly mentioned the factors procedures and age; nurses mentioned behavior patterns, previous experiences, and social support. For patients predicted to be dead at 6 months, both groups commonly mentioned cancer. Factors with the highest ratios of correct to incorrect predictions reported by physicians were procedures and definitive treatment; those reported by nurses were procedures, behavior patterns, and current functional status.
Conclusions: Intensive care unit clinicians use various patient factors to inform their prognoses. Clinicians use different factors when predicting survival than when predicting death. Some factors are reported more frequently for correct predictions than for incorrect predictions.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2018100 | DOI Listing |
J Clin Invest
January 2025
Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States of America.
Hypoxia is a major cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH) worldwide, and it is likely that interstitial pulmonary macrophages contribute to this vascular pathology. We observed in hypoxia-exposed mice an increase in resident interstitial macrophages, which expanded through proliferation and expressed the monocyte recruitment ligand CCL2. We also observed an increase in CCR2+ macrophages through recruitment, which express the protein thrombospondin-1 that functionally activates TGF-beta to cause vascular disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonology
December 2025
Sorbonne Université, INSERM, UMRS1158 Neurophysiologie Respiratoire Expérimentale et Clinique, Paris, France.
Background: Nasal high flow (NHF) has been proposed to sustain high intensity exercise in people with COPD, but we have a poor understanding of its physiological effects in this clinical setting.
Research Question: What is the effect of NHF during exercise on dynamic respiratory muscle function and activation, cardiorespiratory parameters, endurance capacity, dyspnoea and leg fatigue as compared to control intervention.
Study Design And Methods: Randomized single-blind crossover trial including COPD patients.
Pulmonology
December 2025
Department of Emergency and Intensive Care, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei tintori, Monza, Italy.
Background: Non-invasive helmet respiratory support is suitable for several clinical conditions. Continuous-flow helmet CPAP systems equipped with HEPA filters have become popular during the recent Coronavirus pandemic. However, HEPA filters generate an overpressure above the set PEEP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPulmonology
December 2025
Alma Mater Studiorum, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Nasal high flow (NHF) therapy is an established form of non invasive respiratory support used in acute and chronic care. Recently, a new high flow nasal cannula with asymmetric prongs was approved for clinical use. The clinical benefits of the new cannula have not yet been defined and no evidence are available on the use of asymmetric NHF support in patient with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Prim Care Community Health
January 2025
University of California, Davis, Division of Hospital Medicine, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Introduction: Nadezhda Clinic is a free student-run health clinic that provides culturally sensitive primary care services to the underserved Russian-speaking population of the greater Sacramento area. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinic suspended in-person services and solely offered telemedicine visits. Most patients were hesitant to utilize telemedicine due to poor technological literacy, privacy concerns, and a preference for in-person care.
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