Prospectively defined indicators to improve the safety and quality of care for critically ill patients: a report from the Task Force on Safety and Quality of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM)

• Published in: Intensive care medicine Vol. 38; no. 4; pp. 598 - 605
• Main Authors: Rhodes, A., Moreno, R. P., Azoulay, E., Capuzzo, M., Chiche, J. D., Eddleston, J., Endacott, R., Ferdinande, P., Flaatten, H., Guidet, B., Kuhlen, R., León-Gil, C., Martin Delgado, M. C., Metnitz, P. G., Soares, M., Sprung, C. L., Timsit, J. F., Valentin, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.04.2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Advisory Committees; Agreements; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Anesthesiology; Biological and medical sciences; Care and treatment; Clinical death. Palliative care. Organ gift and preservation; Critical Care - standards; Critical Care Medicine; Critical Illness; Delphi Technique; Emergency Medicine; Europe; Hospitals; Humans; Intensive; Intensive care; Intensive care medicine; Medical care; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original; Pain Medicine; Patient Safety; Patients; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Prospective Studies; Quality Improvement; Quality Indicators, Health Care; Quality management; Safety and security measures; Task forces; Europe; France; United Kingdom; Paris France; Quality indicators; Intensive care medicine; ESICM Task Force; Human; Intensive care; Force; Critically ill; Resuscitation
• ISSN: 0342-4642; 1432-1238
• DOI: 10.1007/s00134-011-2462-3

Objectives To define a set of indicators that could be used to improve quality in intensive care medicine. Methodology An European Society of Intensive Care Medicine Task Force on Quality and Safety identified all commonly used key quality indicators. This international Task Force consisted of 18 experts, all with a self-proclaimed interest in the area. Through a modified Delphi process seeking greater than 90% consensual agreement from this nominal group, the indicators were then refined through a series of iterative processes. Results A total of 111 indicators of quality were initially found, and these were consolidated into 102 separate items. After five discrete rounds of debate, these indicators were reduced to a subset of nine that all had greater than 90% agreement from the nominal group. These indicators can be used to describe the structures (3), processes (2) and outcomes (4) of intensive care. Across this international group, it was much more difficult to obtain consensual agreement on the indicators describing processes of care than on the structures and outcomes. Conclusion This document contains nine indicators, all of which have a high level of consensual agreement from an international Task Force, which could be used to improve quality in routine intensive care practice.