Association between ICU quality and in-hospital mortality of V-V ECMO-supported patients-the ECMO quality improvement action (EQIA) study: a national cohort study in China from 2017 to 2019.

This cohort study was performed to explore the influence of intensive care unit (ICU) quality on in-hospital mortality of veno-venous (V-V) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-supported patients in China. The study involved all V-V ECMO-supported patients in 318 of 1700 tertiary hospitals from 2017 to 2019, using data from the National Clinical Improvement System and China National Critical Care Quality Control Center. ICU quality was assessed by quality control indicators and capacity parameters. Among the 2563 V-V ECMO-supported patients in 318 hospitals, a significant correlation was found between ECMO-related complications and prognosis. The reintubation rate within 48 hours after extubation and the total ICU mortality rate were independent risk factors for higher in-hospital mortality of V-V ECMO-supported patients (cutoff: 1.5% and 7.0%; 95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.48 and 1.04-1.45; odds ratios: 1.25 and 1.23; P = 0.012 and P = 0.015, respectively). Meanwhile, the V-V ECMO center volume was a protective factor (cutoff of ≥ 50 cases within the 3-year study period; 95% confidence interval: 0.57-0.83, odds ratio: 0.69, P = 0.0001). The subgroup analysis of 864 patients in 11 high-volume centers further strengthened these findings. Thus, ICU quality may play an important role in improving the prognosis of V-V ECMO-supported patients.

Importance of clinical parameters for cultivation of critical care thinking by online teaching of critical care medicine.

BACKGROUND: The teaching of critical care medicine is a very important task, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The understanding of critical care parameters is the foundation and core, which is conducive to the formation of clinical thinking. This study is to evaluate the training effect of teaching of critical care parameters based on an online platform, and explore the teaching methods of critical care medicine that can help to cultivate trainees' clinical thinking and practical ability. METHODS: Questionnaires were released before and after the training through the official new media platform "Yisheng" application (APP) of China Medical Tribune involving 1109 participants. The trainees who filled in the questionnaire in APP and received training were randomly selected as the investigated population. Statistical description and analysis were carried out using SPSS 20.0 and Excel 2020. RESULTS: The trainees were mainly attending physicians in tertiary hospitals and above. Among all critical care parameters, trainees paid more attention to critical hemodynamics, respiratory mechanics, severity of illness scoring systems, critical ultrasound, and critical hemofiltration. The degree of satisfaction with the courses was high, especially the course of critical hemodynamics was scored the highest. The trainees believed that the course contents were of great help to clinical work. However, no significant difference was found in the trainees' understanding or cognition of the connotation of the parameters before and after the training. CONCLUSION: Teaching of critical care parameters based on an online platform is conducive to improving and consolidating the clinical care ability of trainees. However, it is still necessary to strengthen the cultivation of clinical thinking in critical care. In the future, the integration of theory with practice must be strengthened in clinical practice, ultimately achieving the homogeneous diagnosis and treatment of patients with critical illness.

Effect of Nurse-Led Goal-Directed Lung Physical Therapy on the Prognosis of Pneumonia in Sepsis Patients in the ICU: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia poses a significant burden on healthcare systems. However, few studies have focused on nurse-led goal-directed lung physical therapy (GDLPT) for pneumonia in sepsis patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the effects of nurse-led GDLPT on the prognosis of pneumonia in sepsis patients in the ICU. METHODS: We performed a prospective 2-phase (before-and-after) study over 3 years. After an observational phase (phase 1, n = 188), we designed, implemented, and evaluated a nurse-led GDLPT protocol (phase 2, n = 359) for pneumonia in sepsis patients in the ICU. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. RESULTS: We evaluated 742 critically ill patients with sepsis from January 2017 to January 2020. Among the 742 sepsis patients, 609 were diagnosed with pneumonia and 547 who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Compared with patients in phase 1, patients in phase 2 had significantly shorter mechanical ventilation duration (5 [4, 6] days vs. 5 [4, 8] days, p = 0.037), shorter ICU stay (9 [4, 16] days vs. 9 [6, 20] days, p = 0.010), lower ICU mortality (15.0% [54/359] vs. 25.5% [48/188], p = 0.003), and lower 28-day mortality (16.7% [60/359] vs. 27.1% ([51/188], p = 0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that nurse-led GDLPT (odds ratio 0.540, 95% confidence interval 0.345-0.846, p = 0.007), clinical pulmonary infection score (odds ratio 1.111, 95% confidence interval 1.012-1.221, p = 0.028), and ventilation day (OR 1.160, 95% CI, 1.058-1.240, p<0.001)were independent predictors of 28-day mortality for pneumonia in sepsis patients, and that nurse-led GDLPT was a protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-led GDLPT improved the outcomes of pneumonia in sepsis patients, and was particularly associated with shortened mechanical ventilation duration and ICU stay, and reduced ICU mortality and 28-day mortality.

Metal target detection method using passive millimeter-wave polarimetric imagery.

Polarization-based passive millimeter-wave imaging has been applied in several applications, including material clustering, pattern recognition, and target detection. We present here a general formulation of a metal target detection method called dual linear polarization discriminator (DLPD), utilizing passive millimeter-wave polarimetric imagery. Several potential discriminators are defined, and linear polarization difference ratio (LPDR) is selected and proposed to be a new feature discriminator that is sensitive to material composition and able to reduce ambient radiation effects when detecting target with different material and shape. Furthermore, the detection criterion is verified utilizing the threshold values determined by a statistical analysis of LPDR. Outdoor experiments demonstrate that the proposed detection method is highly effective for detecting a metal target in a complex background.