BACKGROUND:Predicting mortality has become a necessary step for selecting patients for clinical trials and defining outcomes. We examined whether stratification by tertiles of respiratory and ventilatory variables at the onset of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) identifies patients with different risks of death in the intensive care unit. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data from 220 patients included in 2 multicenter prospective independent trials of ARDS patients mechanically ventilated with a lung-protective strategy. Using demographic, pulmonary, and ventilation data collected at ARDS onset, we derived and validated a simple prediction model based on a population-based stratification of variable values into low, middle, and high tertiles. The derivation cohort included 170 patients (all from one trial) and the validation cohort included 50 patients (all from a second trial). RESULTS: Tertile distribution for age, plateau airway pressure (P plat ), and P aO 2 /F IO 2 at ARDS onset identified subgroups with different mortalities, particularly for the highest-risk tertiles: age (> 62 years), P plat (> 29 cm H 2 O), and P aO 2 /F IO 2 (< 112 mm Hg). Risk was defined by the number of coexisting high-risk tertiles: patients with no high-risk tertiles had a mortality of 12%, whereas patients with 3 high-risk tertiles had 90% mortality (P < .001). CON-CLUSIONS: A prediction model based on tertiles of patient age, P plat , and P aO 2 /F IO 2 at the time the patient meets ARDS criteria identifies patients with the lowest and highest risk of intensive care unit death.
Experience shows that high-quality audiovisual contact between remote health carers and patients facilitates a telemedicine service. However, the lack of broadband communication to the home usually prevents domestic televisiting. Deployment of cable networks in Spain has allowed the implementation of a home televisiting service designed for patients with chronic diseases. In a trial, 15 patients received televisits by three specialists and three nurses from the Severo Ochoa Hospital in Madrid. Five patients suffered from chronic pain, five were from the nephrology unit and five had been treated at the intensive-care unit after acute myocardial infarction. Each patient participated in three televisiting sessions, two provided by a specialist and the other by a nurse. The average length of a televisit was 12 min (range 5-21 min). The patients expressed their satisfaction with the service.
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