Nursing Activities Score is increased in COVID-19 patients

• Published in: Intensive & critical care nursing Vol. 60; p. 102891
• Main Authors: Reper, P., Bombart, M.A., Leonard, I., Payen, B., Darquennes, O., Labrique, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Betacoronavirus; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Gender; Humans; Intensive care; Length of stay; Mortality; Nursing; Pandemics; Patients; Pneumonia, Viral; SARS-CoV-2; Septic shock; Workloads
• ISSN: 0964-3397; 1532-4036
• DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2020.102891

Dear Editor, Lucchini and colleagues recently demonstrated that the nursing workload in COVID-19 critically ill population assessed by the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) is dramatically increased in Covid 19 patients admitted in their ICU and suggested that the ideal nurse-to-patient ratio for these patients should be around 1:1.5 (Lucchini et al., 2020; Padilha et al., 2015; Miranda et al., 2003). Covid 19 patients developed more acute respiratory failure, septic shock and renal insufficiency compared with the ICU patients admitted during the same period in 2019 (14 March to 30 April 2020) but also compared with the global data of our ICU during one year (13 March 2019 to 13 March 2020). COVID-19 patients n = 31MD ± SD 03/2019 04/2019 ICU patients n = 71MD ± SD 03/2019 03/2020 ICU patients n = 549MD ± SD p value Age, years 63,97 ± 7 (49–81) 67,46 ± 12 67,69 ± 14 0.810* Gender, females (%) 35,48% 39,44% 48,45% 0.001# ICU length of stay, days 8,1 ± 7 5,5 ± 5 4,9 ± 4 <0.001* Pts with ventilatory support (%) 50% 23,70% 21,60% <0.001# NAS 81,83 ± 8,8 63,13 ± 9,61 67,12 ± 8,53 <0.001* ICU mortality (%) 18,80% 11,80% 10,70% <0.001# Table 1 Comparison of ICU patients characteristics (Age, gender, patients with artificial ventilator support), NAS results and mortality between Covid 19 patients (period between 14 March and 30 April 2020) and ICU patients (same period in 2019 (14 March and 30 April) and during one year between 13 MARCH 2019 and 13 March 2020).