Survey of the current state of emergency care in Chennai, India

BACKGROUND：On July 21, 2009, the Medical Council of India officially recognized the specialty of emergency medicine in India. The city of Chennai with over six and a half million people is the fourth largest on the subcontinent and has already been a prominent city of interest in the specialty＇s development. However, there is no standardization of the resources found in the city＇s emergency departments. This study was to survey the equipment, training, and certification of Chennai area emergency departments and their staff. METHODS：We conducted a cross-sectional survey of emergency department staff from 38 Chennai area hospitals. The survey instrument contained 44 questions pertaining to hospital demographics, staff training and certification, and ED equipment and supplies. The items on the survey were specifically chosen to represent only the most basic and common resources necessary to practise emergency medicine. RESULTS： The survey found a majority of hospitals are privately operated but there is a wide range in terms of size and volume of patients. A minority of both doctors and nurses are certified in BLS, ACLS, PALS, and ATLS. While almost all departments surveyed had the basic code medications, a number of basic equipment items were lacking from a large percentage of the EDs surveyed. CONCLUSION：The newly established EP community in Chennai will have the responsibility to establish standards for both training and resources so that the specialty may grow and provide a higher standard of emergency care moving into the future.

Critical care practice in India:Results of the intensive care unit need assessment survey(ININ2018)

BACKGROUND A diverse country like India may have variable intensive care units(ICUs)practices at state and city levels.AIM To gain insight into clinical services and processes of care in ICUs in India,this would help plan for potential educational and quality improvement interventions.METHODS The Indian ICU needs assessment research group of diverse-skilled individuals was formed.A pan-India survey"Indian National ICU Needs"assessment(ININ 2018-I)was designed on google forms and deployed from July 23rd-August 25th,2018.The survey was sent to select distribution lists of ICU providers from all 29 states and 7 union territories(UTs).In addition to emails and phone calls,social medial applications-WhatsApp™,Facebook™and LinkedIn™were used to remind and motivate providers.By completing and submitting the survey,providers gave their consent for research purposes.This study was deemed eligible for category-2 Institutional Review Board exempt status.RESULTS There were total 134 adult/adult-pediatrics ICU responses from 24(83%out of 29)states,and two(28%out of 7)UTs in 61 cities.They had median(IQR)16(10-25)beds and most,were mixed medical-surgical,111(83%),with 108(81%)being adult-only ICUs.Representative responders were young,median(IQR),38(32-44)years age and majority,n=108(81%)were males.The consultants were,n=101(75%).A total of 77(57%)reported to have 24 h in-house intensivist.A total of 68(51%)ICUs reported to have either 2:1 or 2≥:1 patient:nurse ratio.More than 80%of the ICUs were open,and mixed type.Protocols followed regularly by the ICUs included sepsis care,ventilator-associated pneumonia(83%each);nutrition(82%),deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis(87%),stress ulcer prophylaxis(88%)and glycemic control(92%).Digital infrastructure was found to be poor,with only 46%of the ICUs reporting high-speed internet availability.CONCLUSION In this large,national,semi-structured,need-assessment survey,the need for improved manpower including;in-house intensivists,and decreasing patient-tonurse ratios was evident.Sepsis was the most common diagnosis and quality and research initiatives to decrease sepsis mortality and ICU length of stay could be prioritized.Additionally,subsequent surveys can focus on digital infrastructure for standardized care and efficient resource utilization and enhancing compliance with existing protocols.

Critical care practices in the world:Results of the global intensive care unit need assessment survey 2020

BACKGROUND There is variability in intensive care unit(ICU)resources and staffing worldwide.This may reflect variation in practice and outcomes across all health systems.AIM To improve research and quality improvement measures administrative leaders can create long-term strategies by understanding the nature of ICU practices on a global scale.METHODS The Global ICU Needs Assessment Research Group was formed on the basis of diversified skill sets.We aimed to survey sites regarding ICU type,availability of staffing,and adherence to critical care protocols.An international survey‘Global ICU Needs Assessment’was created using Google Forms,and this was distributed from February 17^(th),2020 till September 23^(rd),2020.The survey was shared with ICU providers in 34 countries.Various approaches to motivating healthcare providers were implemented in securing submissions,including use of emails,phone calls,social media applications,and WhatsApp^(TM).By completing this survey,providers gave their consent for research purposes.This study was deemed eligible for category-2 Institutional Review Board exempt status.RESULTS There were a total 121 adult/adult-pediatrics ICU responses from 34 countries in 76 cities.A majority of the ICUs were mixed medical-surgical[92(76%)].108(89%)were adult-only ICUs.Total 36 respondents(29.8%)were 31-40 years of age,with 79(65%)male and 41(35%)female participants.89 were consultants(74%).A total of 71(59%)respondents reported having a 24-h inhouse intensivist.A total of 87(72%)ICUs were reported to have either a 2:1 or≥2:1 patient/nurse ratio.About 44%of the ICUs were open and 76%were mixed type(medical-surgical).Protocols followed regularly by the ICUs included sepsis care(82%),ventilator-associated pneumonia(79%);nutrition(76%),deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis(84%),stress ulcer prophylaxis(84%),and glycemic control(89%).CONCLUSION Based on the findings of this international,multi-dimensional,needs-assessment survey,there is a need for increased recruitment and staffing in critical care facilities,along with improved patientto-nurse ratios.Future research is warranted in this field with focus on implementing appropriate health standards,protocols and resources for optimal efficiency in critical care worldwide.

Intraoperative patient information handover between anesthesia providers

Currently,no reported studies have evaluated intraoperative handover among anesthesia providers.Studies on anesthetic handover in the US recovery room setting observed that handover processes are insufficient and,in many instances,significant intraoperative events are disregarded.An online survey tool was sent to anesthesia providers at US anesthesia residency programs nationwide（120 out of the 132 US programs encompassing around 4500 residents and their academic MDAs） and a smaller survey selection of CRNAs（10 institutions about 300 CRNAs in the metropolitan area of Detroit,MI,USA） to collect information on handover practices.The response rate to this survey（n=216） was comprised of approximately 5%（n = 71） of the resident population in US anesthesia programs,5%（n=87） of MDAs,and 20%（n=58） of the CRNAs.Out of all respondents（n=212）,49.1%had no hand-over protocol at their institution and 88%of respondents who did have institutional handover protocols believed them insufficient for effective patient handover.In addiiton,84.8%of all responders reported situations where there was insufficient information received during a patient handover.Only 7%of the respondents reported never experiencing complications or mismanagement due to poor or incomplete hand-overs.In contrast,60%reported rarely having complications,31%reported sometimes having complications,and 3%reported frequent complications.In conclusion,handover transition of patient care is a vulnerable and potentially life-threatening event in the operating room.Our preliminary study suggests that current intraoperatvive handover practices among anesthesia providers are suboptimal and that national patient handover guidelines are required to improve patient safety.

Utilization and quality assessment of digestive endoscopy in China:results from 5-year consecutive nationwide surveys

Background:Worldwide,the volume and availability of digestive endoscopy have undergone dramatic development in recent years,with increasing attention on quality assurance.We investigated the utilization and quality of digestive endoscopy in China from 2015 to 2019 and developed a quantitative quality evaluation tool for medical institutions.Methods:We invited all tertiary/secondary hospitals in Chinese mainland to participate in the survey annually.The questionnaires included the personnel,annual volume,and quality indicators of endoscopy.An endoscopy quality index(EQI)was developed based on recorded quality indicators using principal component analysis to determine the relative weight.Results:From 2015 to 2019,806,1412,2644,2468,and 2541 hospitals were respectively enrolled in this study.The average annual volume of endoscopy increased from 12,445 to 16,206(1.30-fold)and from 2938 to 4255(1.45-fold)in tertiary and secondary hospitals,respectively.The most obvious growth was observed in diagnostic colonoscopy(1.44-fold for all hospitals after standardization).The proportion of early cancer among all esophageal and gastric cancers during diagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy increased from 12.3%(55,210/448,861)to 17.7%(85,429/482,647)and from 11.4%(69,411/608,866)to 16.9%(107,192/634,235),respectively.The adenoma detection rate of diagnostic colonoscopy increased from 14.9%(2,118,123/14,215,592)to 19.3%(3,943,203/20,431,104).The EQI model included 12 quality indicators,incorporating 64.9%(7.792/12)of the total variance into one comprehensive index.According to the EQI measurements,the quality of endoscopy was higher in tertiary hospitals and hospitals in developed areas with higher volume or more endoscopists than that in other hospitals.Conclusions:Digestive endoscopy in China has developed considerably in recent years in terms of both volume and quality.The EQI is a promising tool to quantify the quality of endoscopy at different hospitals.

Patient Feedback for Acupuncture Practice Improvement:A Survey from Mayo Clinic

Objective： To understand patient satisfaction with acupuncture appointment duration for the first and subsequent appointments in the plan of care, time spent with the acupuncture provider, willingness to pay for longer duration appointments, and lack of insurance coverage. Methods： Patients who were referred for an acupuncture consult to the Center for Integrative Medicine at Mayo Clinic were asked to participate in the survey in August 2014. Patients were given paper survey at time of appointment check-in and entered into Research Electronic Data Capture Survey database tool to reveal patient-reported outcomes. Results： In total, 104 of 329 patients receiving acupuncture treatment responded to the survey with a 32% response rate. Insight and recommended changes to the duration of the initial and subsequent appointments were obtained. Most patients reported that time spent with the provider（76 cases, 74%） and appointment length（74 cases, 68%） were ＂just right＂. Seventy cases（70%） of respondents indicated that they wanted longer treatment. Patients reported return appointments with duration of 30 min was not enough. Fifty-three patients（62%） were willing to pay for additional costs not covered by insurance. Conclusions： We used patient feedback to assess the acupuncture practice in a complementary and integrative medicine program. Most patients referred for the acupuncture consult appeared to be satisfied with the current level of practice. These findings were used to establish a quality improvement plan that may be implemented to improve patient satisfaction with the acupuncture practice.