TY - JOUR T1 - Donor referral from outside the intensive care unit: A multidisciplinary cooperation model using communication apps and redefining refereal criteria JO - Medicina Intensiva T2 - AU - Sandiumenge,A. AU - Ramírez-Estrada,S. AU - Mazo,C. AU - Rubiera,M. AU - Boned,S. AU - Domínguez-Gil,B. AU - Pont,T. SN - 02105691 M3 - 10.1016/j.medin.2018.08.009 DO - 10.1016/j.medin.2018.08.009 UR - https://medintensiva.org/es-donor-referral-from-outside-intensive-articulo-S0210569118302651 AB - ObjectiveWe evaluate the impact of a web-based collaborative system on the referral of possible organ donors from outside of the intensive care unit (ICU). Study designCohort prospective study. SettingsUniversity hospital. Patients and interventionIn 2015 a virtual collaborative system using a cross-platform instant messaging application replaced the previous 2014 protocol for the referral of patients outside of the ICU with a severe brain injury in whom all treatment options were deemed futile by the attending team to the donor coordination (DC). Once the DC evaluated the medical suitability and likelihood of progression to brain death (BD), the option of intensive care to facilitate organ donation (ICOD) was offered to the patient's relatives. This included admission to the ICU and elective non-therapeutic ventilation (ENTV), where appropriate. ResultsA two-fold increase of referrals was noted in 2015 [n=46/74; (62%)] compared to 2014 [n=13/40; (32%)]; p<0.05. Patients were mostly referred from the stroke unit (58.6%) in 2015 and from the emergency department (69.2%) in 2014 (p<0.01). Twenty (2015: 42.5%) and 4 (2014: 30.7%) patients were discarded as donors mostly due to medical unsuitability. Family accepted donation in 16 (2015: 62%) and 6 (2014: 66%) cases, all admitted to the ICU and 10 (2015: 62.5%) and 3 (50%) being subject to ENTV. Ten (2015: 66.6%) and 5 (2014: 83.3%) patients progressed to BD, 60.5±20.2 and 44.4±12.2h after referral respectively. Nine (2015) and 4 (2014) of these patients became utilized donors, representing 29.0% (2015) and 13.0% (2014) of the BD donors in the hospital during the study period (p<0.05). ConclusionThe implementation of a virtual community doubled the number of patients whose families were presented with the option of donation prior to their death. ER -