Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Apr 2022
Implementing Quantitative Electroencephalogram Monitoring by Nurses in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Nonconvulsive seizures occur frequently in pediatric intensive care unit patients and can be impossible to detect clinically without electroencephalogram monitoring. Quantitative electroencephalography uses mathematical signal analysis to compress data, monitoring trends over time. Nonneurologists can identify seizures with quantitative electroencephalography, but data on its use in the clinical setting are limited. ⋯ An education program for quantitative electroencephalogram interpretation by nurse providers is feasible yet complex, requiring multiple reeducation cycles.
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Critical care nurse · Apr 2022
Implementation of a Nurse-Driven Spontaneous Awakening Trial Protocol in a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
In patients receiving mechanical ventilation, spontaneous awakening trials reduce morbidity and mortality when paired with spontaneous breathing trials. However, spontaneous awakening trials are not performed every day they are indicated and little is known about spontaneous awakening trial protocol use in cardiac intensive care units. ⋯ Spontaneous awakening trial protocol implementation led to a higher trial completion rate and a shorter duration of continuous sedative infusion. Larger studies are needed to assess the impact of protocolized spontaneous awakening trials on cardiac intensive care unit patient outcomes.
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Critical care nurse · Apr 2022
Effects of an Electronic Health Record Tool on Team Communication and Patient Mobility: A 2-Year Follow-up Study.
Intensive care unit early mobility programs improve patients' functional status and outcomes. An electronic health record-based communication tool improved interprofessional communication within an early mobility program. Long-term sustainability of this communication tool has not been evaluated. ⋯ Nonsignificant changes in patient outcomes may indicate sustainment of the effect of the communication tool's original implementation. Employing appropriate sustainment techniques is essential to maintain practice change. The electronic health record-based communication tool can improve interprofessional communication within an intensive care unit early mobility program, improving patient outcomes and staff teamwork.