Inadequate initial treatment and delayed hemodynamic stabilization (HDS) may be associated with increased risk of death in severe sepsis patients.

Objective: To assess the impact of an intensive care unit diary on the psychological well-being of patients and relatives 3 and 12 months after intensive care unit discharge. Design: Prospective single-center study with an intervention period between two control periods. Setting: Medical-surgical intensive care unit in a 460-bed tertiary hospital. Patients: Consecutive patients from May 2008 to November 2009 and their relatives. Study inclusion occurred after the fourth day in the intensive care unit. Interventions: A diary written by both the patient’s relatives and the intensive care unit staff. Measurements and Main Results: Patients and relatives completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire 3 months after intensive care unit discharge, and completed the Impact of Events Scale assessing posttraumatic stress–related symptoms 12 months after intensive care unit discharge. Of the 378 patients admitted during the study period, 143 were included (48 in the prediary period, 49 in the diary period, and 46 in the postdiary period). In relatives, severe posttraumatic stress–related symptoms after 12 months varied significantly across periods (prediary 80%, diary 31.7%, postdiary 67.6%; p<.0001). Similar results were obtained in the posttraumatic stress–related symptom score after 12 months in the surviving patients (prediary 34.6 ± 15.9, diary 21 ± 12.2, and postdiary 29.8 ± 15.9; p = .02). Conclusions: The intensive care unit diary significantly affected posttraumatic stress–related symptoms in relatives and surviving patients 12 months after intensive care unit discharge.

Safety is a global concept that encompasses efficiency, security of care, reactivity of caregivers, and satisfaction of patients and relatives. Patient safety has emerged as a major target for healthcare improvement. Quality assurance is a complex task, and patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are more likely than other hospitalized patients to experience medical errors, due to the complexity of their conditions, need for urgent interventions, and considerable workload fluctuation. Medication errors are the most common medical errors and can induce adverse events. Two approaches are available for evaluating and improving quality-of-care: the room-for-improvement model, in which problems are identified, plans are made to resolve them, and the results of the plans are measured; and the monitoring model, in which quality indicators are defined as relevant to potential problems and then monitored periodically. Indicators that reflect structures, processes, or outcomes have been developed by medical societies. Surveillance of these indicators is organized at the hospital or national level. Using a combination of methods improves the results. Errors are caused by combinations of human factors and system factors, and information must be obtained on how people make errors in the ICU environment. Preventive strategies are more likely to be effective if they rely on a system-based approach, in which organizational flaws are remedied, rather than a human-based approach of encouraging people not to make errors. The development of a safety culture in the ICU is crucial to effective prevention and should occur before the evaluation of safety programs, which are more likely to be effective when they involve bundles of measures.

To examine perceptions by intensive care unit (ICU) workers of unrestricted visitation, to measure visiting times, and to determine prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in family members. Observational, prospective, single-center cohort. Medical-surgical ICU in a 460-bed tertiary-care hospital. Two hundred nine consecutive patients hospitalized >3 days were studied over the first 5 ICU days. None. Characteristics of patients (n = 209), families (n = 149), and ICU workers (n = 43) were collected. ICU workers reported their perceptions of unrestricted visitation, and family members completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Daily severity scores (Simplified Acute Physiology Score II and Logistic Organ Failure) and a workload score (Nine Equivalents of Nursing Manpower) were computed. Maximum median visit length was 120 mins per patient per day and occurred on days 4 and 5. No correlations were found among severity of illness, workload, and visit length. For 115 patients, both nurse and physician questionnaires were available; although several differences were noted, neither nurses nor physicians perceived open visitation as disrupting patient care. The median rating for delay in organizing care was "never" for physicians and "occasionally" for nurses. Nurses perceived more disorganization of care than physicians (p = .008). Compared with nurses, the physicians reported greater family trust (p = .0023), more family stress (p = .047), and greater unease when examining the patient (p = .02). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale indicated symptoms of anxiety in 73 (49%) family members and depression in 44 (29.5%). The 24-hr visitation policy was perceived favorably by families. It induced only moderate discomfort among ICU workers, due to the potential for care interruption, in particular for nurses.

Introduction: During the course of infection, natural killer (NK) cells contribute to innate immunity by producing cytokines, particularly interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). In addition to their beneficial effects against infection, NK cells may play a detrimental role during systemic inflammation, causing lethality during sepsis. Little is known on the immune status of NK cells in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) or sepsis in terms of cell surface markers expression and IFN-γ production. Methods: We investigated 27 sepsis patients and 11 patients with non-infectious SIRS. CD56^bright and CD56^dim NK cell subsets were identified by flow cytometry and Toll-like receptor (TLR)2, TLR4, TLR9, CX3CR1, CD16 and CD69 expression were analyzed, as well as ex vivo IFN-γ production by NK cells in whole blood samples. Results: We first showed that in NK cells from healthy controls, TLR2 and TLR4 expression is mainly intracellular, similarly to TLR9. Intracellular levels of TLR2 and TLR4, in both CD56^bright and CD56^dim NK cell subsets from sepsis patients, were increased compared to healthy subjects. In addition, the percentage of CD69⁺ cells was higher among NK cells of sepsis patients. No difference was observed for TLR9, CX3CR1, and CD16 expression. The ex vivo stimulation by TLR4 or TLR9 agonists, or whole bacteria in synergy with accessory cytokines (IL-15+IL-18), resulted in significant production of IFN-γ by NK cells of healthy controls. In contrast, for SIRS and sepsis patients this response was dramatically reduced. Conclusions: This study reports for the first time an intracellular expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in human NK cells. Surface TLR4 expression allows discriminating sepsis and SIRS. Furthermore, during these pathologies, NK cells undergo an alteration of their immune status characterized by a profound reduction of their capacity to release IFN-γ.