• Sean van Diepen, Wendy I Sligl, Jeffrey B Washam, Ian C Gilchrist, Rakesh C Arora, and Jason N Katz.
• Divisions of Critical Care and Cardiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Canadian VIGOUR Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: sv9@ualberta.ca.
• Can J Cardiol. 2017 Jan 1; 33 (1): 101-109.

AbstractOver the past half century, coronary care units have expanded from specialized ischemia arrhythmia monitoring units into intensive care units (ICUs) for acutely ill and medically complex patients with a primary cardiac diagnosis. Patients admitted to contemporary coronary intensive care units (CICUs) are at risk for common and preventable critical care complications, yet many CICUs have not adopted standard-of-care prevention protocols and practices from general ICUs. In this article, we (1) review evidence-based interventions and care bundles that reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia, excess sedation during mechanical ventilation, central line infections, stress ulcers, malnutrition, delirium, and medication errors and (2) recommend pragmatic adaptations for common conditions in critically ill patients with cardiac disease, and (3) provide example order sets and practical CICU protocol implementation strategies.Copyright © 2016 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

10 keywords...

hide…