The concept of a surrogate is ill adapted to intensive care: Criteria for recognizing a reference person

IF 2.445; International audience; Purpose: In the intensive care unit (ICU), caregivers may find it difficult to identify a suitable person in the patient's entourage to serve as a reference when there is no official surrogate.Methods: We developed a 12-item questionnaire to identify factors potentially important for caregivers when identifying a reference person. Each criterion was evaluated as regards its importance for the role of reference. Responses were on a scale of 0 (not important) to 10 (extremely important). We recorded respondent's age, job title, and number of years' ICU experience. The questionnaire was distributed to all health care professionals in 2 French ICUs.Results: Amo…

Weaning from mechanical ventilation in intensive care units across 50 countries (WEAN SAFE)

Background: Current management practices and outcomes in weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation are poorly understood. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, management, timings, risk for failure, and outcomes of weaning in patients requiring at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation. Methods: WEAN SAFE was an international, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study done in 481 intensive care units in 50 countries. Eligible participants were older than 16 years, admitted to a participating intensive care unit, and receiving mechanical ventilation for 2 calendar days or longer. We defined weaning initiation as the first attempt to separate a patient from the ventila…

Proceedings of Réanimation 2017, the French Intensive Care Society International Congress