Training and implementation of Critical Care Ultrasonography (CCUS): a survey

The primary objective of this study is to get insight into the current status and experiences of CCUS use and certification. Secondary objective is to determine possible causes for the lack of implementation of CCUS.

This survey has been designed after consultation with the EDEC, Clinical Training and NEXT Committee of the ESICM and have their support.

With this survey we will provide an overview of the current status of CCUS use in the ICU for use and training. In addition, we want to determine which factors have the most influence on the (lack of) use of CCUS in clinical practice and certification.

Steering committee: Adrian Wong, Amne Mousa, Laura Galarza, Philippe Vignon, Pieter Roel Tuinman

The first objective is to describe participation rate (number and percentage) in post-ICU follow-up programs.
The second objective is to perform a comparative analysis of attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and practices related to patient follow-up between participants exposed to post-ICU follow-up and those who have not been exposed.The third objective is to assess how participation on ICU follow-up programs impacts physician’s perception of the significance of Quality of Life (QoL) post-ICU in decision-making and discussions with patients and their families.

Steering Committee:

Margaret Herridge. MSc MD FRCPC MPH. Professor of Medicine, Critical Care and Respiratory Medicine. Director of Critical Care Research, University of Toronto.
Karen E. A. Burns. MD, FRCPC, Msc, BA, BSc. Associate professor of Medicine University of Toronto. Associate Member of the Dept. Clin. Epidemiology at McMaster University. Unity Health Toronto. St. Michaels Hospital, Toronto.

Co-leaders:

Julia Tejero Aranguren MD. Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada.
Hannah Wozniak. MD. Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada.

Current clinical practice in using adjunctive extracorporeal blood purification in septic shock

Primary Objectives: To capture the current state of clinical practice in employing extracorporeal blood purification techniques in the adjunctive treatment of septic shock in a broad international spectrum of intensivists.

Secondary Objectives: To explore the current opinion on molecular rationale, clinical evidence and most promising future directions of extracorporeal blood purification techniques in the adjunctive treatment of septic shock.

The survey will show current state of praxis but also heterogeneity of personal opinions concerning evidence for existing and potential future blood purification therapies in the treatment of sepsis/septic shock.

The official ESICM journal ICM-x will open a collection on blood purification and we will publish the results of this survey in an opening editorial.

Survey on the management of patients admitted to ICU with severe diabetic ketoacidosis

The primary endpoint is to evaluate the management of fluid resuscitation in patients with severe diabetic ketoacidosis (nature of fluids, amount and rate of fluid administration). The secondary endpoints are to evaluate in patients with severe diabetic ketoacidosis:the criteria of admission to ICU, the management, of insulin infusion, the management of metabolic disorders and the management of biological monitoring.

This survey will provide a current state of the art on the management of patients with severe diabetic ketoacidosis. These results will support future randomized clinical trials on the management of these patients and especially on the management of fluid resuscitation.

Steering Committee:

Emmanuel Canet, Critical Care Medicine, Nantes University (France)
Alexandre Lautrette, Critical Care Medicine, Clermont Ferrand University (France)

Co-leaders:

Mathieu Jozwiak, Service de Médecine Intensive Réanimation
CHU l’Archet 1, CHU Nice (France)
Boris Jung, Service de Médecine Intensive et Réanimation, CHU Montpellier (France)

Reversal of anticoagulation in the Intensive Care Unit: An international online survey – the ROTATION survey

The aim of the survey is to collect baseline measurements of international policies and practices of anticoagulation reversal used in the Intensive Care Unit, including different types of anticoagulants, thresholds per diagnostic tests, choices of types anticoagulation reversal drugs and blood products. We hypothesized that in this patient population a large heterogeneity exists between and within different subpopulations.

This research could be helpful to monitor and guide future changes in anticoagulation reversal practices in the ICU (i.e. response to new international guidelines) or to identify knowledge gaps.

The steering committee includes: Prof. dr. Alexander Vlaar, Prof. dr. Nicole Juffermans, Dr. Marcella Müller, Drs. Maite van Haeren, Drs. Stefan van Wonderen

Perspectives of physicians and nurses on palliative and end-of-life care practices in ICU after the COVID-19 era: An explorative survey study in European ICUs

The aim of the study is to provide an overview of how palliative care is delivered in European ICUs and what is the impact on moral distress of ICU staff after the era of COVID-19. We focus on describing current palliative care practices and indentifying factors leading to moral distress associated with providing palliative care inEuropean ICUs.

We anticipate that the resulting data will help us understand how we, health care professionals, deliver palliative care after the pandemic and what are possible factors that affect moral distress while delivering palliative care. We would like to compare our results with data before the pandemic. These results may contribute to a safer environment in European ICUs.

We kindly invite you to this ideal opportunity to reflect anonymously on your experiences and possible burden associated with palliative care in the ICU. If you would like to receive the results of the study, please send an email to our contact person.

Steering committee includes: Tereza Prokopova – principal investigator (Czech Republic), Jan Hudec (Czech Republic), Kamil Vrbica (Czech Republic), Katerina Rusinova (Czech Republic), Jan Stasek (Czech Republic), Andrea Pokorna (Czech Republic), Petr Stourac (Czech Republic), Jos Latour – study consultant (United Kingdom), Jan Malaska – senior researcher (Czech Republic)

Despite efforts to achieve equity in the workplace, professional women face barriers to becoming recognized leaders.

There is no shortage of qualified women to fill leadership roles. Still, men are far more likely than women to take on the highest paying and prestigious leadership roles. The “qualities” of a leader are still largely based on an outdated male model that shuts women out.

Although decades of investment in women’s leadership programs, progress in promoting women has stalled. ESICM would like to bridge the gender leadership gap once and for all.

For this reason, ESICM NEXT Committee and The Diversity and Inclusiveness Monitoring group designed an observational survey for all health professionals involved in critical care to assess barriers to female leadership: Old Stereotypes, Fewer Connections, Bias and Discrimination and  Lack of Flexibility.