Patient care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) inevitably takes place around the clock. As a result, the contrast between day and night, which is so pervasive and prominent outside the hospital, is virtually absent in the ICU. Moreover, organ support and supportive care are typically administered with little regard to the time of day. Despite such care activities being critical for patients, these conditions provide weak and conflicting timing cues to the circadian clock, the endogenous biological timekeeper that serves to optimally synchronize 24-hour rhythms in behavior and physiology.
Read More(t)raum
Modifications in ICU Design Affect Delirium & Circadian Melatonin /
We are thrilled to share that the first comprehensive research paper with data from the VITALITY study has been published in Critical Care Medicine. In this prospective observational cohort pilot study, we compared the outcome of 74 adult critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation with an expected ICU length of stay of at least 48 hours, treated in modified or standard rooms.
Read MoreLighting Therapy for ICU Patients /
A fundamental aspect of human physiology is its cyclical nature over a 24-h period, a feature conserved across most life on earth. Evidence is emerging that ICU delirium, a syndrome independently associated with increased mortality and long-term morbidity from critical illness, and affecting up to 80% of critically ill patients, is a clinical manifestation of circadian dysrhythmia. There is increasing research activity investigating the impact of lighting on human health.
Watch the clip to learn more about it - now available with subtitles in English :)
The full 45-minute report is available here for the next 12 months.
VITALITY-Study Results to be Presented at ESICM LIVES /
Together with our project partners ART+COM and GRAFT Architects we developed a new intensive care room concept to reduce patients' anxiety, helplessness, and stress. The patient's perceptions and needs were the starting point of this project. In 2013 we finished the renovation of 2 double ICU rooms. We hypothesised that the delirium incidence for patients treated in the modified rooms is significantly lower when compared to patients treated in the standard rooms.
Read More