Endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation are lifesaving interventions that are commonly performed in the intensive care unit (ICU). The trauma of endotracheal intubation itself, the prolongued pressure exerted by the endotracheal tube on the larynx, and miscellaneous factors such as fluid overload can result in laryngeal edema (LE). Extubation of a patient with undiagnosed LE can results in respiratory failure secondary to an upper airway obstruction and may require reintubation. Respiratory failure requiring reintubation is associated with morbidity and mortality. The cuff leak test (CLT) is the only method intensivists use to predict the presence of LE. Despite the CLT's first description in 1988, the correct way to interpret the results (either qualitatively or quantitatively) is unknown, and its diagnostic accuracy has been called into question. In fact, the CLT could be detrimental to patients if it has a high false positive rate (i.e. no air leak is detected indicating LE when none actually exists). Incorrectly diagnosing patients with LE may result in prolongued mechanical ventilation that predisposes patients to barotrauma, ventilator-associated infections, exposure to systemic steroids, and a prolongued stay in the ICU. Given the paucity of data, the Cuff Leak and Airway Obstruction in Mechanically Ventilated ICU Patients (COMIC) research group is conducting a survey to understand international practice surround the use of the CLT prior to extubation, as well as a randomized controlled trial that will capture the accuracy of the test and determine the bet method to measure cuff leak.

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Background: Although recent international guidelines have been published on the management of critically ill patients with the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is a vital need to develop clinical practice guidelines tailored to the context of Saudi Arabia. Methods: The Saudi Critical Care Society (SCCS) is the sponsor for this guideline. The expert panel consisted of 19 members. All members completed the World Health Organization Conflict of Interest Form. The expert panel formulated questions on the management of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Panel members identified relevant studies. The panel used the categories of Grading Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the confidence in the evidence. Results: The SCCS expert panel issued 53 statements; of which 7 were strong recommendations, 9 were best practice statements, 32 were weak recommendations, and we were not able to issue recommendations in 5 instances. The statements covered different aspects of the critical illness in COVID-19 patients, including: infection control; therapeutic interventions; supportive care; and crisis management. Conclusion: The SCCS guidelines on the management of critically ill COVID-19 patients have been based on the best available evidence and tailored to the context of Saudi Arabia. These guidelines will be updated periodically to incorporate new evidence.

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Pressure injury (PI) is common in critically ill patients and is largely preventable. Prevention of PI in the intensive care unit (ICU) depends on routine risk assessment and implementation of preventive measures, such as adequate nutritional support, proper positioning and repositioning, mobilization, proper skin care, use of appropriate pressure-redistributing surfaces, and application of skin protective dressings. The available evidence suggests that a multifaceted approach is usually required. In addition, there is a need for high-quality studies to guide PI prevention in ICU patients.

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Background: There is a wide range of conditions requiring a patient to have tracheostomy tube insertion. The use of tracheostomy tubes in hospitals has increased among patients with both stable and critical conditions. Respiratory illness may make it necessary for patients to have an alternative breathing system (apart from the mouth or nose) whether as a temporary or permanent procedure. Patients have different experiences of tracheostomy tube insertion. Aims: This study aims to perform a systematic review of qualitative research into the experiences of patients treated with a tracheostomy tube. Objective: The objective of this study is to systematically appraise qualitative evidence on the experience of adult patients having a tracheostomy tube in situ. The report seeks to answer the following question: What are the experiences faced by adult patients with a tracheostomy tube in situ? Inclusion Criteria: Types of Participants: This review included any research that used qualitative methods to investigate the experiences of adult patients with tracheostomy tube insertion. Phenomenon of Interest: The phenomenon of interest was the experience of patients with a tracheostomy tube in situ either as a temporary or permanent procedure, either in hospital or in the community. Types of Studies: This review deliberated on studies that concentrated on qualitative data. The review included all study designs; for instance, phenomenology, action research, grounded theory, feminist research, and ethnography. Search Strategy: The review included all relevant studies published in Arabic and English obtained from the following databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE (PubMed), and Scopus and reference lists. There was no limitation on year of publication, and reference list items were searched along with keywords in the heading, abstract, and topic descriptors. Methodological Quality: The methodological quality of each study was assessed by applying the Joanna Briggs Institute's Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument. Data Collection: The study included adult patients treated with a tracheostomy tube. The research literature was searched using the standard methodology of qualitative research. The two reviewers then applied inclusion and exclusion criteria to the studies and evaluated the findings that met the inclusion criteria on the same subject. Data Synthesis: Synthesis of all data enabled a statement to be created that explains the experiences of adult patients with a tracheostomy tube in situ in the hospital or community. The data were then characterized according to the quality of findings and the similarity of meaning. Results: Four studies met the study selection criteria and were included in the systematic review that determined the experience of patients with a tracheostomy tube in situ. There were 18 findings extracted from the included studies. These were synthesized and then grouped into seven categories in relation to similarity of meaning. The seven categories remaining were then synthesized in a meta-synthesis that produced four outcomes linked to the experiences of participants having a tracheostomy tube in situ: (i) Communication is fundamental. (ii) The experience has both physical and psychological impacts. (iii) There are long-term consequences. (iv) Staff and patients work together to achieve positive outcomes. Conclusions: In the studies appraised by the reviewers, the importance of understanding the experiences of adult patients with tracheostomy tubes in situ was clarified. Patients have a right to experience correct practices that may help them to adapt to a new lifestyle with a tracheostomy. Implications for Practice: Patients should be given support physically, psychosocially, and emotionally after tracheostomy tube insertion. In addition, nurses' awareness about patients' educational needs regarding tracheostomy care, before discharge from hospital, needs to be increased. Implications for Further Research: Further research is required to identify the ways to reduce patients' negative experiences after having a tracheostomy tube in situ.

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Aims: A systematized review aimed to identify the impact of basic electrocardiogram (ECG) training courses on qualified nurses. Background: ECG plays a crucial role in helping to diagnose, follow-up, and detect any abnormalities in patients' conditions. Nurses often work on the frontline in hospitals and are the ones who initially assess patients' conditions. According to the British Heart Foundation (n. d), 26% of all mortality in the UK is attributable to heart and circulatory diseases. Methodology: A comprehensive, systematized review was undertaken using the AMED, EMBASE, CINAHL, and MEDLINE databases. Thematic analysis was then used to synthesis the findings from the studies selected. Ten papers were selected following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Conclusion: Basic ECG training courses were found to improve nurses' knowledge, compared to those who did not possess ECG training, the quality of care was seen better among nurses who had received ECG courses, and even patient outcomes were improved in the total number of myocardial infarction events in hospital which was decreased compared to before the intervention. Cardiac care nurses had better ECG interpretation skills than other nurses regardless if they took ECG courses or not.

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Objective: Pressure ulcers present a major health challenge worldwide, and critically ill patients are considered to be at the greatest risk for pressure ulcer development. A study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of pressure ulcer prevention measures (“PRESSURE bundle”) compared with standard care in reducing the incidence and prevalence of sacral pressure ulcers in critically ill patients in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Patients were assigned to the standard care group (n = 330) or the “PRESSURE bundle” group (n = 360). The follow-up period for both treatment groups was 2 months. A pre-post study design was used where data were collected in two samples. Patients were aged 16 years or over and included all new patients admitted to the ICU who did not have but were considered at risk of developing, sacral pressure ulcers (Braden scale score <18). Results: In the PRESSURE care bundle group, there was a significant reduction (P < 0.001) in the incidence of newly developed sacral pressure ulcers in the 2 months treatment period (n = 1, 0.3%) compared with the standard care group (n = 16, 4.6%). There was also a significant reduction (P < 0.001) in the prevalence of sacral pressure ulcers in the PRESSURE care bundle group (4.75%) compared with the standard care group (22.7%) when prevalence figures were compared at the end of the treatment periods. Conclusion: The application of a group of pressure ulcer prevention measures (“PRESSURE bundle”) coincided with a reduction in incidence and prevalence of sacral pressure ulcers in critically ill patients who are at risk for developing pressure ulcers.

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Intensive care unit (ICU) cost analysis has not been extensively addressed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We have implemented cost analysis (2015–2016) at the largest polyvalent ICU of the Kingdom (King Saud Medical City). Our block model analysis assimilated both modified Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS) and Omega scoring points to evaluate the overall cost; while, specific utilization elements were included in such as medication, procedural, laboratory, radiology, physiotherapy, nursing/physician, and overhead/other costs. The overall cost (Saudi Riyals [SAR]/ICU patient/day) averaged for TISS/Omega scores and adjusted for 2015–2016 inflation rates was approximately 23.269 (TISS: 167 points; Omega: 173 points generating predictive costs scores which were approximating the aforementioned score [R² validated 0.91 and 0.90, respectively, all P < 0.005). Thereafter, we have applied effective antibiotic stewardship program and control of procedural supplies, novel administration policies, diversification of the ergonomy and clinical orientation, early mobilization of patients, increase of by-the-bed critical care ultrasound applications and decrease in the length of stay. The cost was reduced to 19.800 SAR (15%) in 2017–2018 that is comparable to international standards. Preliminary follow-up cost analysis (2019) is confirming projections of stabilizing the ICU cost <18.000 SAR (4790 USD)/patient/day. Our budget-cut policy has provided the department with a vital investment space to integrate new therapeutic technologies.

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Pressure ulcers are common in critically ill patients and are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and cost. Studies on pressure ulcer prevention and management indicate the need for multifaceted care and multidisciplinary involvement. However, there are obvious deficits in pressure ulcer prevention efforts and care worldwide. Studies on pressure ulcers acquired in the intensive care unit (ICU) in Saudi Arabia are scarce. We propose a study to determine in Saudi ICUs pressure ulcer prevalence, risk factors, management and outcomes to improve the related care processes.

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Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and internationally. They are associated with increased length of stay, mortality, antibiotics cost, and overall hospital cost. About 250,000 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) occur in the US yearly, with a rate of 0.8 per CL-days and attributed mortality of 12%–25%. CLABSI constitutes 14.2%–38.5% of HAIs in the Kingdom, with rates varying from 2.2 to 29.7/1000 CL-days and crude device-associated mortality of 16.8%–41.9%. This article highlights the scope of the problem and outlines preventive strategies.

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Background: During cardiopulmonary resuscitation, family members are usually pushed out of the resuscitation room. However, growing literature implies that family presence during resuscitation could be beneficial. Some health organizations worldwide such as American Heart Association and the Resuscitation Council in the UK supports family-witnessed resuscitation (FWR) and urge hospitals to develop policies to ease this process. The opinions on FWR vary widely among various cultures, and some hospitals are not applying such polices yet. This is the first study which explores the Saudi family members' opinion for family witness resuscitation in adult critical care setting. Objectives: To investigate whether patient's next of kin would like to have been present in the resuscitation room during attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of their relative and their experience or knowledge of what is involved in CPR. Subjects and Methods: A retrospective, descriptive telephone survey of families of patients who had admitted in critical cares areas from January 2016 to June 2016. A family presence survey was developed to determine the desires, beliefs, and concerns about FWR. Results: Out of the 235 respondents, 143 (60.9%) wanted to be present in the room of their loved one just before death while CPR was going on. One hundred and eighty-two (77.4%) of the respondents believed that the family members should be with their loved one before death. More than half, i.e., 141 (60.0%) of the respondents believed that their presence might have eased the suffering of the deceased. One hundred and fifty-seven (66.8%) of the family members thought that their presence with the deceased in their last moments could have helped their sorrows and sadness. Conclusion: Most relatives of patients requiring CPR would like to be offered the possibility of being in the resuscitation room; this could have several benefits, so this study suggests that institutions should consider establishing programs of witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for family members.

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Introduction: High-fidelity simulation (HFS) has recently been used for undergraduate nursing students to simplify their learning. The aim of the current study was to explore Saudi novice nursing students perceptions of satisfaction and self-confidence with HFS and to determine if there is any correlation between participants' demographic characteristics and satisfaction and self-confidence learning scale. Methods: A descriptive quantitative study was performed to recruit Saudi participants through Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM). Data were collected over a 3-month period from February, 2017 to May, 2017 through online survey was posted on SACM's official Facebook page. The survey used the Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning tool. A total of (n = 76) Saudi undergraduate nursing students were participated. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The findings revealed that satisfaction and self-confidence had a high mean score which indicates that the majority of the students were satisfied and self-confidence with the HFS experience. No significant correlations were found between the demographic characteristics and student satisfaction and self-confidence except that those who are in the prelicensure program had a significantly higher satisfaction score (P = 0.03) than students who had a bachelor or other degrees. Furthermore, a strong correlation between students' satisfaction and self-confidence in learning was found (P < 0.0001) indicating that these factors were correlated. Conclusions: This study has further confirmed that satisfaction and self-confidence are associated with the HFS experience. HFS prepare novice nursing students for real-life experience and promote the transition to a professional career. Nurse educators should be trained in the use of simulation as a teaching strategy. In addition, nursing faculty needs to consider students perception about the simulation when designing, performing, and evaluating.

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Background: Saudi registered nurses (RNs) currently comprise 30% of Saudi Arabia's nursing workforce, and turnover/attrition rates remain problematic. No studies exploring Saudi RNs' experiences of acute care work and/or the factors that influence their decision to continue working were located. Purpose: To construct an insightful understanding of the acute care workplace experiences of female Saudi RNs and factors affecting retention. Methods: Snowball sampling was used to recruit 26 female acute care Saudi RNs who were interviewed about their workplace experiences. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to code and categorize data to construct a shared understanding reflective of the experiences of participants and the researcher as both constructing the meanings given. Results: Shared understandings of patients' culture, religion, and language were assisting Saudi RNs to feel competent in making a unique contribution to patient care. Although participants reported negative impacts from some workplace policies, they were able to create their own identity and to find their own place by creating a career identity as Saudi-Muslim nurses. Successfully creating this unique nursing identity enhanced their motivation, work commitment, and competence; however, difficulties were encountered in accommodating work conditions and working as a minority group within a workplace largely staffed by foreign nurses. Conclusion: Saudi nurses' acute care workplace experiences were found to be complex and challenging and significantly affected by the lack of supportive policies designed to help them to keep working clinically. Implications for Nursing Policy: Workplace retention of Saudi RNs is an organizational issue that needs wide discussion to enable continuing clinical work of Saudi female nurses.

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Introduction: Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative Coccobacillus and is a frequent cause of hospital-acquired infections. Because some strains of A. baumannii are resistant to many antibiotics (i.e., extensively drug-resistant A. baumannii, or XDRAB), selecting antibiotics to treat infected patients is challenging. Clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with XDRAB infections are poor. In this study, we evaluated the clinical effectiveness of colistin as monotherapy and in combination with other antibiotics. Patients and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed on 94 critically ill patients (age ≥18 years) to assess the clinical effectiveness of treating XDRAB infections with colistin, either in monotherapy or combination with tigecycline, meropenem, or both. Clinical and microbiological data were obtained from patient records. We included patients suffering from XDRAB ventilation-associated pneumonia (VAP), or ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis (VAT), or VAT with bacteremia. Results: The mean age of the patients was 53.3 years (±23.7 years), and the mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 22.7 (standard deviation = 7.1). VAP and VAT with bacteremia were found in 84% and 16% of patients, respectively. Half (51%) of patients achieved microbiological clearance. The median Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay was 29 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 17, 55) and the median mechanical ventilation (MV) duration was 21 days (IQR: 12, 42). MV duration and ICU length of stay were lower in the group of patients treated with colistin and meropenem than in those treated with colistin alone. Mortality was significantly lower in patients who received (colistin and tigecycline 30%) than in those who were treated with monotherapy (75%) with an odd ratio 0.03 (95% confidence interval: 0.00, 0.32; P < 0.01). Conclusions: Colistin-based combination treatment regimens mainly with tigecycline or with tigecycline and meropenem were associated with better treatment outcomes of XDRAB-induced VAP and VAT with bacteremia than colistin monotherapy.

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Background: Current guidelines recommend early enteral nutrition in the critically ill. Nutritional deficiencies in this population may result in unfavorable outcomes. However, enteral nutrition may be complicated with feeding intolerance, aspiration, pneumonia, and interruption of feeding. Objectives: We updated our systematic review and meta-analysis that compared the effect of postpyloric and gastric feeding on risk of pneumonia, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), Intensive Care Unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, aspiration, vomiting, and mortality. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and clinical registries for data through April 2017 without language or date of publication restrictions. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTS) comparing postpyloric feeding to gastric feeding. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for eligibility and extracted data in duplicate. Reviewers used the Cochrane Collaboration tool to assess the risk of bias, and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology to assess the quality of the evidence. We used trial sequential analysis (TSA) as a sensitivity analysis to adjust for sequential testing. Results: We included 21 RCTs (1573 patients). Postpyloric feeding reduced the risk of nosocomial pneumonia (relative risk [RR] 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57, 0.95; P = 0.02; I² = 11%; moderate quality), ventilator-associated pneumonia (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.57, 0.96; P = 0.02; I² = 10%, moderate quality), and duration of MV (mean difference [MD] - 2.10 days, 95% CI −3.93, −0.28; P = 0.02; I² = 67%, low quality), compared to gastric feeding. There was no difference in mortality (RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.90, 1.27; P = 0.44; I² = 0%, moderate quality), ICU LOS (MD - 1.01 days, 95% CI −3.32, 1.3; P = 0.39; I² = 84%, very low quality), aspiration (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.4, 1.60, P = 0.54; I² = 21%, very low quality), vomiting (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.70, 1.36, P = 0.87; I² = 33%, very low quality), and GI bleeding (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.56, 1.38; P = 0.56; I² = 0%, very low quality). Sensitivity analysis using TSA mirrored those of conventional analyses. Conclusions: Moderate quality evidence showed that postpyloric feeding may reduce the risk of pneumonia. Low-quality evidence yielded that duration of MV is shorter with pyloric compared to gastric feeding, with no significant impact on other outcomes. Although the results are promising further assessment in large clinical trials is warranted.

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Background: In recent years, patients' safety has become high priority for health-care organizations. It has been documented that poor knowledge and compliance of health-care providers toward hand hygiene have contributed to poor patient safety outcomes. College students of health sciences may not receive adequate education and training on hand hygiene best practices. Objectives: To assess the health profession students' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward hand hygiene and to investigate the factors associated with poor hand hygiene knowledge and practice. Methods: This cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive study was conducted at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences performing clinical rotations at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A proportional sampling was used to calculate the required proportions that reflect the size of student population form each of the three colleges. A total of 270 students including 140 medical, 83 nursing, and 47 respiratory therapy students who were selected using a simple random sampling method were included in the study. An adapted and validated knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire was used to assess four domains: general information, knowledge, self-reported compliance to the WHO 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene, and general satisfaction on received education. Results: The overall average of knowledge score was 81.13 points out of 100. The results revealed that the knowledge score of hand hygiene was higher for nursing school (84.22 ± 12.98), followed by medical school (81.71 ± 11.31) and then respiratory therapy program (75.53 ± 11.76). The results also showed that students who took courses covering hand hygiene scored higher in knowledge score (83.28 ± 11.3) as compared to students who did not take such courses (75.16 ± 12.89). In the compliance domain, the results showed that there were no significant differences in compliance of hand hygiene between students in all categories. In terms of overall student satisfaction with hand hygiene education and training, the results showed that nursing students have higher satisfaction score (72.7%) than their counterparts in medical school (48.3%) and respiratory therapy program (49.7%). Conclusion: Hand hygiene knowledge among students was generally good, and the highest was among nursing students and the lowest among respiratory therapy students. The compliance of students toward the WHO 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene did not vary across different colleges. Improved knowledge was found to be associated with improved compliance with hand hygiene best practices. Recommendations: Increasing the academic focus on hand hygiene in both the curriculum and clinical rotations with periodic standardized educational courses and focusing on hands-on workshops could have a positive impact on the knowledge and practice of hand hygiene for current health sciences students and future health-care providers. Future studies are needed to assess the hand hygiene KAP among students in hospital settings using observation of actual practice.

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Nursing research is a scientific method that provides evidence to support nursing practices. Investigation of the critical care nursing research in Saudi Arabia has not been well established. This review aims to examine the numbers, and the characteristics of PubMed-cited critical care nursing articles contributed from Saudi Arabia over the past decade. We conducted a PubMed search to analyze nursing publications in the field of critical care published or contributed in Saudi Arabia for over 10 years (2010–2019). We investigated the number of publications per year, specialty, study design, journal impact factor, and international collaboration. A total of 94 critical care nursing publications were included in this review. International collaborations were noted in 49 (52.1%) articles. The majority 53 (56.4%) of the critical care nursing publications were related to the nursing field and 66 (70.2%) of these articles were classified as clinical practice topics. Observation cohort study was the most used study design 64 (68.1%). The median impact factor for the journals of these publications was 1.76 (1.48, 2.52). Despite the lower rate of published researches, critical care nursing research in Saudi Arabia is increasing over the years. International collaborations had contributed dramatically in the published articles. Developing local strategy for critical care nursing research and promoting local and international collaboration to conduct and use research according to the critical care nursing priority are also warranted. More interventional nursing researches are needed in critical care settings in Saudi Arabia.

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Background: The value of critical care pharmacists (CCPs) in intensive care units (ICUs) has been well documented, and various studies have demonstrated the positive impacts of CCPs. Despite growing evidence supporting the contributions of clinical pharmacists in general and CCPs in particular in improving patient outcomes, many hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) still lack clinical pharmacy services. Most studies that have measured the impacts of CCPs in ICU settings have been conducted outside Saudi Arabia, with a significant gap in the literature related to CCP-related impacts, needs and obstacles in Saudi Arabia. Objective: To evaluate the current status of CCP services and the CCP services that are needed in Saudi Arabia as well as the barriers to establishing these services. Setting: Governmental and non-governmental hospitals in the western region of the KSA. Method: This was a cross-sectional survey-based study conducted in the western region of the KSA. The questionnaire included questions investigating current CCP services, which include clinical, educational, administrative and research services. Additional questions assessed the obstacles, needs and limitations related to the development of CCP services. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome is to describe the current status of ICU pharmacists in the KSA. Secondary outcomes of interest are the evaluation of the need for CCP services and the identification of the main barriers to establishing these services. Results: Of the 130 hospitals with ICUs to which surveys were emailed, 94 (72%) responded. Forty-three percent of responding hospitals had an ICU multidisciplinary team structure that included a pharmacist who visited the unit during medical rounds. Up to 54% of the hospitals with CCP services had one dedicated pharmacist present at bedside and during medical rounds. Approximately 78% of the ICU pharmacists performed one or more clinical activities. Training pharmacy interns was one of the major educational activities provided by ICU pharmacists. Clinical services (42%) were the most needed services, followed by educational (14%) activities. Limited job availability was the main barriers to having CCP services among hospitals. Conclusion: Critical care pharmacists in the western region of the KSA mainly provide fundamental clinical services, with limited engagement in desirable and optimal services such as research activities. The limited CCP services in the KSA are due to several barriers that warrant national efforts from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Saudi Commission for Health Specialists (SCFHS).

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Introduction: Organization of intensive care units (ICUs) have a bearing on the quality of care rendered and outcome of care. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim to examine various ICUs for compliance against the different structural and organizational parameters prescribed by the standard national and international guidelines. Methodology: A descriptive and observational study was conducted from June 2011 to September 2012 in neonatal surgery ICU (NSICU), pediatric ICU, and medicine ICU (MICU) at a tertiary care teaching hospital of Northern India. Structural and organizational aspects of each ICU were studied against the Indian and international guidelines prescribed by concerned scientific organizations/bodies. These guidelines were selected in consultation with the domain experts. All parameters were assigned equal weightage, and scoring was done by assigning a score of 0, 5, and 10 to noncompliance, partial compliance, and compliance, respectively. Data were collected through direct observations, perusing hospital records, and unstructured interview of key informants. Results: NSICU assessment against the two international guidelines revealed the adherence of 42.52% and 37.80% toward different structural and organizational parameters. Similarly, low compliance to organizational and structural parameters were observed in pediatric (national –52.38% and international –49.39%) and MICUs (national –50.52% and international –39.01%). All the three ICUs under study have been created by carving out space from their respective inpatient admission area owing to patient care requirements, hence, does not score well against the structural/spatial parameters. Conclusion: Overall, low compliance of all three ICUs was observed when compared against the prescribed guidelines for organizational and structural parameters.

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High-flow oxygen therapy is a novel technology in the treatment of hypoxemic respiratory failure (HRF). The effect in neonatal and pediatric population is well known, but its efficiency in the adult patient group is not well proven. This review tried to discuss various aspects of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in terms of its components, effects, and the evidence available. High-flow nasal cannula is being used as the first choice of intervention in patients with acute HRF, especially in patients who does not have critical hypercapnia. Clinicians should be very selective while choosing the adult patients for HFNC.

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Fluid restriction strategies may reduce morbidity and mortality in critical care patients and are currently trending as preliminary data showed encouraging results. A positive fluid balance was related to increase morbidity and mortality in a variety of disorders (i.e., sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and postsurgical cases) as well as resulted in an increased rate of complications observed in the intensive care unit setting. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been managed thus far in terms of fluid resuscitation under the concept of general trauma resuscitation recommendations that favored euvolemia above all fluid balance states. Notwithstanding, scarce data exist to clarify details about fluid management strategies in TBI such as the desirable fluid balance per se and/or its impact on patients' outcomes. We, therefore, reviewed previously published data and concluded in an observational manner (by creating a visual display model) that a highly positive and/or a negative fluid balance may have a detrimental impact on the prognosis of TBI patients. Accordingly, well-designed randomized controlled trials are clearly required to investigate further and in detail the most efficacious fluid administration strategies in TBI contributing thus in the rapidly expanding field of neurocritical care.

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Background: Health-care professionals work long hours, handle demanding patient loads, and make important decisions under conditions of uncertainty. These uncertain conditions have been shown to be associated with negative emotional and psychological outcomes for health-care professionals. In addition, they have been shown to lead to anxiety, depression, and other psychological and interpersonal strains, ultimately compromising the quality of patient care. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mental health issues of health-care providers including anxiety, depression, behavioral control, positive effect, and general distress. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to health-care providers working at governmental and private health sectors in Saudi Arabia from January to April 2016. The questionnaire included a demographic survey and the Mental Health Inventory. Forty-five (45%) staff members completed the questionnaire. Results: Health-care professionals scored higher within the psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and loss of behavioral emotional control domains, indicating greater psychological distress. Females scored more on the depression domain than male participants. Further, physicians scored higher on the general positive effect domain than other health-care providers. Non-Saudi health-care providers scored higher on psychological distress scale than Saudi participants. Multiple regression analysis indicated that general positive effect, emotional ties, and life satisfaction were predictors of psychological well-being; on the other hand, anxiety, depression, and loss of behavioral/emotional control were predictors of psychological distress. Conclusion: High psychological distress may result from stressors associated with high work demands, workload, staff shortage, fear of infection, licensing board, fear of losing job, fear of reaction from leadership, peer, and patients and their families. Implication for Nursing Policy: Organizational supportive programs should be developed to enhance the psychological well-being of health-care professionals. These programs may decrease staff stress, anxiety, and depression and contribute to improve psychological well-being.

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Introduction: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global health problem, causing chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other chronic liver diseases. HBV infection is endemic in many parts of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Occult HBV infection (OBI) is a challenging clinical problem characterized by the absence of Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) and low viral DNA load. Aims: This study aim is to investigate an epidemiological survey for the prevalence of OBI among Saudi healthy general population and two of most common HBV infection risks, hemodialysis and HIV patients in Riyadh Regional Laboratory. Methods: Three groups of samples were tested. 5025 blood samples healthy group were collected from Saudi citizens for pre-marriage screening testing. Second group is comprised of 658 adult patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing regular hemodialysis. Third group is comprised from 479 patients who had been previously confirmed for HIV infection. Results: Of 5025 healthy people enrolled into the study, 212 (4.2%) seropositive for HBsAg and/or anti HBc. Of them, 114/212 (53.8%) resolved infection with detectable anti-HBs (>10 mIU/mL), and 58/212 (27.36 %) had active HBV infection with detectable HBsAg. While, 40/212 (18.9%) were defined as OBI and HBV DNA was detected in two OBI patients. In 658 hemodialysis (HD) patients, 196 (27.96%) seropositive for HBsAg and/or anti-HBc. Of them 122/196 (66.3%) resolved infection with detectable anti-HBs (>10 mIU/mL), and 17/196 (9.24%) with active HBV infection with detectable HBsAg. OBI only detected in 32/196 (17.4%), HBV DNA was detected in 3 patients. Lastly, in 479 HIV patients, 152 seropositive for HBsAg and/or anti HBc. Of them 11/152 (7.23%) had active HBV infection with detectable HBsAg and 78 (51.3%) resolved infection with detectable anti-HBs (>10 mIU/mL). OBI detected in 63/152 (41.4%) and only 6 patients showed HBV DNA was detected. There were no statistically significant differences in the OBI prevalence between healthy population and HD prevalence while showed significance difference in HIV OBI prevalence compared to healthy group. Conclusions: this study proof that OBI is frequently encountered among healthy and high risk group individuals in Saudi Arabia and more support should be provided for the vaccination especially of high-risk groups, such as HIV and HD patients.

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The case for patient safety is obvious; no one would argue in favor of harming patients. Since the launch of the paper To Err is Human, patient safety has been on the forefront of public health policymakers' priorities. Yet, 20 years later, while progress has been made, harm to patients is still a reality, daily, in health systems over the world. As countries reform their health systems, the national health programs must ensure not only the integration of universal health coverage (UHC) but also that the health coverage provided is safe. To this point, new models of care must be designed and implemented, and organizations should aim to achieve high-reliability care, similar to other industries that keep a solid safety record. This can be achieved by aiming for high-reliability organization principles, ensuring empowerment of patients as codesigners of health care, workforce safety to ensure safety of patients, and UHC without harm and proper regulation of digital health to avoid unintended adverse consequences. Since the past 20 years, the knowledge gap on patient safety has been shortened and therefore the health-care community holds a firm foundation for starting to implement evidence-based strategies that ensure safe care. The Jeddah Declaration on Patient Safety, 2019, is an actionable document that provides guidance to policy- and decision-makers globally that aim to achieve UHC free of harm. Nevertheless, given the high-level of complexity of health-care systems and its vulnerability to error, the question is what is the way forward toward a safer provision of care? How can the year 2019 be the watershed moment for the health-care industry?

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Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, and nonirritant gas; it is the most common cause of poisoning and poisoning-related death. The main mechanism of CO toxicity is ischemic hypoxia secondary to hypoxemia. The heart is the major target organ of acute CO poisoning. Cardiac failure is the most common cardiac presentation; however, other cardiovascular manifestations include arrhythmia, pulmonary edema, and myocardial infarction. Recovery time from CO-induced cardiomyopathy varies from 4 days to 6 weeks. To our knowledge, there are a limited number of reported cases that demonstrated successful extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in adult and pediatric patients with CO poisoning and multiple organ failure. We present our experience with a case we think that it is the first case to be published for a patient with acute CO poisoning received both circulatory and respiratory support (hybrid venoarterial-venous ECMO).

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