Accuracy of the combined method (auscultation and pH measurement) and ultrasonography for confirmation of gastric tube placement: a study protocol for a prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Patients using a nasogastric tube (NGT) are vulnerable to adverse events, therefore proper assessment of these patients, verification of the correct tube placement and constant monitoring by the nursing staff are strategies that can reduce adverse events and risks associated with the care. The aim of this study will be to assess the accuracy of the combined method (auscultation and pH measurement) and ultrasonography for confirmation of gastric tube placement compared with the X-ray method. A further aim will be to measure and provide evidence for the direct costs of each method of confirming NGT placement and to evaluate the impact of each method on the mean direct cost of the patient. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a prospective, single-centre study of diagnostic accuracy. Data will be collected in the clinical and surgical wards, intensive care unit and coronary care unit of a Brazilian teaching hospital. The sample will consist of 385 assessments, performed in adult patients that agree to participate in the study and that receive an NGT. The combined method and the ultrasound will be the index tests and will be performed on all study participants for later comparison with an X-ray examination, considered the reference standard and the gold standard to distinguish between gastric and pulmonary placement. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value will be calculated to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the methods investigated in this study, with Cohen's kappa analysis used to evaluate the degree of concordance. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, registration number: 83087318.4.0000.5393. The findings will be reported through academic journals, seminars and conference presentations, social media, print media, the internet and community/stakeholder engagement activities.

The use of APACHE II, SOFA, SAPS 3, C-reactive protein/albumin ratio, and lactate to predict mortality of surgical critically ill patients: A retrospective cohort study.

Several prognostic indices have been employed to predict the outcome of surgical critically ill patients. Among them, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) and simplified acute physiology score (SAPS 3) are widely used. It seems that biological markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, and blood lactate levels correlate with the degree of inflammation during the immediate postoperative phase and could be used as independent predictors. The objective of this study is to compare the different predictive values of prognostic indices and biological markers in the outcome of 847 surgical patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in the postoperative phase.The patients were divided into survivors (n = 765, 57.4% males, age 61, interquartile range 51-71) and nonsurvivors (n = 82, 57.3% males, age 70, interquartile range 58-79). APACHE II, APACHE II death probability (DP), SOFA, SAPS 3, SAPS 3 DP, CRP, albumin, and lactate were recorded on ICU admission (first 24 hours). The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were used to measure the index accuracy to predict mortality.The AUROC and 95% CI for APACHE II, APACHE II DP, SOFA, SAPS 3, SAPS 3 DP, CRP/albumin ratio, CRP, albumin, and lactate were 0.850 (0.824-0.873), 0.855 (0.829-0.878), 0.791 (0.762-0.818), 0.840 (0.813-0.864), 0.840 (0.813-0.864), 0.731 (0.700-0.761), 0.708 (0.676-0.739), 0.697 (0.665-0.728), and 0.601 (0.567-0.634), respectively. The ICU and overall in-hospital mortality were 6.6 and 9.7%, respectively. The APACHE II, APACHE II DP, SAPS 3, SAPS 3 DP, and SOFA scores showed a better performance than CRP/albumin ratio, CRP, albumin, or lactate to predict in-hospital mortality of surgical critically ill patients.Even though all indices were able to discriminate septic from nonseptic patients, only APACHE II, APACHE II DP, SOFA and to a lesser extent SAPS 3, SAPS 3 DP, and blood lactate levels could predict in the first 24-hour ICU admission surgical patients who have survived sepsis.

The use of SAPS 3, SOFA, and Glasgow Coma Scale to predict mortality in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage: A retrospective cohort study.

Guidelines for patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) management and several grading systems or prognostic indices have been used not only to improve the quality of care but to predict also the outcome of these patients. Among them, the gold standards Fisher radiological grading scale, Hunt-Hess and the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) are the most employed. The objective of this study is to compare the predictive values of simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) 3, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in the outcome of patients with aneurysmal SAH.Fifty-one SAH patients (33% males and 67% females; mean age of 54.1 ±â€Š10.3 years) admitted to the intensive care units (ICU) in the post-operative phase were retrospectively studied. The patients were divided into survivors (n=37) and nonsurvivors (n = 14). SAPS 3, Fischer scale, WFNS, SOFA, and GCS were recorded on ICU admission (day 1 - D1), and 72-hours (day 3 - D3) SOFA, and GCS. The capability of each index SAPS 3, SOFA, and GCS (D1 and D3) to predict mortality was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) and the respective confidence interval (CI) were used to measure the index accuracy. The level of significance was set at P < .05.The mean SAPS 3, SOFA, and GCS on D1 were 13.5 ±â€Š12.7, 3.1 ±â€Š2.4, and 13.7 ±â€Š2.8 for survivors and 32.5 ±â€Š28.0, 5.6 ±â€Š4.9, and 13.5 ±â€Š1.9 for nonsurvivors, respectively. The AUC and 95% CI for SAPS 3, SOFA, and GCS on D1 were 0.735 (0.592-0.848), 0.623 (0.476-0.754), 0.565 (0.419-0.703), respectively. The AUC and 95% CI for SOFA and GCS on D3 were 0.768 (0.629-0.875) and 0.708 (0.563-0.826), respectively. The overall mortality was 37.8%.Even though SAPS 3 and Fischer scale predicted mortality better on admission (D1), both indices SOFA and GCS performed similarly to predict outcome in SAH patients on D3.