Critical Care Monitoring: Time for Hospital-Wide Monitoring and Response Capabilities?
2024 17 May
Physiological monitoring has a rich 200-year history. In this article, the authors look into the components of an ideal monitoring system and highlight how advancements in modern technology could enable the development of an effective continuous monitoring and response system. The continuous monitoring of patient vital signs is a required...Read more
Taking Care of the Lung Donor: A Task For Every Hospital
2024 17 May
Every hospital can contribute to adequate lung donation. Learning and understanding the management of potential donors will allow them to receive proper care and be referred to save a life. Introduction Organ transplants are, in many cases, the only therapeutic option for patients with terminal diseases in different organs (Westphal...Read more
When Hospitals Shrink: Preventing Loss of Hospital Beds Through Effective Bed Management
2024 19 Apr
With an ageing population and more sophisticated treatments, hospitals must become more bed-efficient or risk contracting. Strategic management is needed since ineffective bed management can reduce bed availability. Introduction There are multiple challenges for healthcare institutions in the coming decades. Important demographic changes...Read more
Why Artificial Intelligence is Not Fixing the Problem of Sepsis in the Hospital
2023 13 Oct
The use of Artificial Intelligence in detecting sepsis, AI prediction/detection models and how these healthcare tools need to complement clinical expertise. The potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare has generated significant excitement and discussion. However, it's important to distinguish between the theoretical...Read more
Applying International Sepsis Guidelines by Screening High-Risk Hospitalised Patients With PSP
2023 13 Oct
Hospital and ICU nosocomial sepsis screening for acutely ill and high-risk patients and daily measurement of PSP to diagnose nosocomial sepsis three to five days before the onset of symptoms. Introduction Sepsis is a major public health threat and is responsible for 11 million deaths per year (Rudd et al. 2020) among 48.9 million cases....Read more
The Role of a Mortality Review Committee in a Paediatric and Maternity Hospital
2022 17 Feb
There is little information in the current literature on the organisation of mortality review committees in paediatric and maternity hospitals. This article aims to explain the objectives and function of the mortality review committee of our hospital, an articulated tool to improve the quality of patient care based on reviews of deaths in our centre....Read more
A French Hospital’s Journey Through the Pandemic
2021 22 Feb
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Foch Hospital in Suresnes, France adapted its medical strategy to manage high patient flow, limited resources and staff shortages to ensure efficient patient care. Here is an overview of how the hospital rose up to the challenge. H ow should we treat patients infected with a virus we know hardly anything...Read more
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest - Long-term Outcomes and their Predictors
2020 24 Nov
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) are associated with very high rates of mortality and poor cognitive outcome. This paper reviews long-term outcomes post OHCA and the pre-hospitalisation factors that predict them. Introduction Cardiac arrest is among the most common health emergencies worldwide, suffered by over a half million...Read more
Night Service in the Intensive Care Unit of a University Hospital
2020 11 Aug
This article draws attention to the extensive range of tasks and the stresses and strains during night duty in intensive care units. To this end, the range of activities of night duty nursing staff is presented using the example of the Hannover Medical School. Night Service - An Important Service in the Multiple-Shift System In...Read more
Redefining the role of hospitals - innovating in population health
2018 21 Aug
The 27th EAHM Congress looks at providing healthcare to a changing population and adapting to digitisation With the 27th European Association of Hospital Managers (EAHM) Congress being held in Cascais, Lisbon at the end of September, HealthManagement interviews Alexandre Lourenço, President of hosting organisation, the Portuguese Association...Read more
Is pre-hospital coagulation management in trauma feasible?
2018 01 Jun
Coagulation management remains a formidable challenge in severely bleeding trauma patients. A strong rationale suggests starting treatment of trauma-induced coagulopathy in the pre-hospital phase. The burden of trauma is increasing worldwide, particularly in less well-resourced nations. There are an estimated 5 million deaths per year, more...Read more
Emergency pre-hospital care challenges: Greece
2018 01 Jun
The ongoing economic crisis in Greece and inflow of refugees has led to changes to the pre-hospital emergency medicine services. Greece is a country of 10.1 million inhabitants, half of whom live in six cities: Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Patra, Larissa and Ioannina. In recent years the country drew media attention because of the financial...Read more
Results of antimicrobial stewardship programme implementation in multidisciplinary hospital
2018 01 Jun
The interventional single-centre with historical control study was conducted in a 600-bed multidisciplinary hospital to evaluate 4 years’ results of an antimicrobial stewardship programme. We found a significant reduction in average duration of courses of antimicrobial therapy, length of stay of patients with infection in ICU, mortality in patients...Read more
Study: Air pollution associated with ARDS hospitalisation in over 65s
2018 01 Jun
A comparison of hospital admissions of patients over 65 and air pollution in the USA has found an association between exposure to pollutants and admission for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society. The researchers analysed data by zip code from nearly 30 million...Read more
Sepsis code implementation at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital: rapid diagnostics key to success
2017 22 Nov
Implementation of a sepsis code, Código Sepsis, in October 2015 at the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona has led to better detection and a significant reduction in mortality. The hospital is the largest in Barcelona, with more than 1,100 beds and 7,000 employees. The objectives of Código Sepsis are to increase suspicion of sepsis and...Read more
Prehospital Care for Cardiac Arrest: How to Improve Outcome
2017 28 May
More patient lives have been saved after OHCA in recent years, but the numbers can improve further. Increased awareness, more education of laypersons and more first responders, in combination with reduced response times for the EMS and early defibrillation will save many lives The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)...Read more
Prognostication Following Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
2017 28 May
This article reviews the current evidence on prognostication after cardiac arrest. Post-resuscitation care has developed and evolved significantly since 2003, following recommendations by the Advanced Life Support task force of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation to implement therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in unconscious survivors...Read more
Denmark: Increased Bystander CPR, Decreased Mortality in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
2017 28 May
A registry study from Denmark has investigated the 1-year risk of anoxic brain damage or nursing home admission and of mortality among patients who survived to day 30 after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The risks were analysed according to whether bystander CPR or defibrillation was performed. The study is published in the New England Journal...Read more
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Bystander CPR Impact on Survival, Cost
2017 28 May
Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is crucial to successful resuscitation following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). New research shows that bystander CPR was positively associated with long-term survival and appears cost-effective, with an incremental costeffectiveness ratio of USD48,044 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY).The findings...Read more
Standardised, Hospital-Wide Airway Trolleys
2017 28 May
Inspired by the Difficult Airway Society Guidelines and the Vortex Cognitive Tool One of the main recommendations of the 4th National Audit Project of the UK Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Difficult Airway Society was that every intensive care unit (ICU) should have access to a difficult airway trolley, which should have the same content...Read more
Three Criteria Can Identify Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Patients for Potential Organ Donation
2016 27 Sep
Three objective criteria could identify out-of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients with zero chance of survival, who can be considered for organ donation. Prof. Xavier Jouven, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Paris, and colleagues, analysed data from two registries and a clinical trial, and found that there is essentially no chance...Read more
Chain of Survival after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
2016 30 May
The Final Link The "Chain of Survival" Concept After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest To overcome a time-sensitive and severe condition with a low survival rate—out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)—the following four links of the “chain of survival” concept were introduced by Newman in the 1980s (Newman 1989): Early access to emergency medical...Read more
Survey: In-Hospital Care of Critically Ill Patients in France
2015 31 Dec
When patients present with organ failure to French teaching hospitals, the receiving hospitals have very varied staffing and organisation, according to a survey by the French Society of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care - Sociéte française d’anesthésie et de réanimation (SFAR). The results have been published in the Society’s journal, Anaesthesia Critical...Read more
Why is Drug Traceability Important in a Hospital?
2015 22 May
Implementation at Hospital Alemán in Argentina The acute condition of hospital patients and the use of higher risk medication increases the consequences that counterfeit and illegitimate pharmaceutical products can have on them. Delivering the right and genuine product to the right patient is crucial. In our globalised economy, the risks of harming...Read more
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Centre:
2013 15 Aug
Author Amir Khorram-Manesh , MD,PhD Medical and Research Advisor, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Centre Gothenburg, Sweden [email protected] Per Ortenwall, MD , PhD Medical Director, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Centre Gothenburg, Sweden [email protected] Major incidents...Read more
Is Hospital Downsizing an Effective Way to Control Health Expenditure?
2013 15 Aug
Authors Massimiliano Piacenza Department of Economics Public Finance “G. Prato”, School of Economics University of Torino [email protected] Gilberto Turati Department of Economic Public Finance “G. Prato” School of Economics University of Torino [email protected] Hospital downsizing...Read more
The Greece Hospital System
2013 15 Aug
Author George J. Stathis Health Management Consultant President of GHSMA [email protected] The current hospital system in Greece is a direct result of Act 1397/1983 that established the National Health System (NHS). Laws that were later enforced brought about some changes, but did not modify the basic characteristics...Read more
There is Something in Hospital Air
2013 15 Aug
Author Mart Geraerts Senior Consultant: Indoor Air Quality in Medical Facilities Economist: Walsberghe NV - Europe [email protected] It is a known fact that tuberculosis, aspergillus, chicken pox, measles and MRSA-containing particles float around in the indoor air of most hospitals. Numerous publications...Read more
Changing the Organization of ICUs in American Combat Support Hospitals
2013 15 Aug
Authors LTC Kurt W Grathwohl, MD, FS, FCCP Anesthesiology Service Department of Surgery Brooke Army Medical Center Fort Sam Houston, USA [email protected] MAJ Jason Adyellote, MD Anesthesiology Service Brooke Army Medical Center and Department of Surgery Fort...Read more
A Multidisciplinary Approach in the Development of a Hospital-Based Sepsis Protocol
2013 15 Aug
Author M.Claire McManus, Pharm.D. Pharmacy Department, Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, USA [email protected] At Caritas St Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a multidisciplinary care group successfully devised and implemented a Sepsis Protocol for the hospital. Medical, pharmacy and nursing...Read more
