Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2014
ReviewIntroduction to complementary, alternative, and traditional therapies.
The use of complementary, alternative, and traditional therapies is increasing in the United States, and patients and their families are bringing these practices into the acute care setting. Acute and critical care nurses are in a unique and trusted position to advocate for their patients and to promote safe incorporation of complementary, alternative, and traditional therapies into the plan of care.
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2014
ReviewEnteral nutrition in the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers in adult critical care patients.
Prevention and healing of pressure ulcers in critically ill patients can be especially challenging because of the patients' burden of illness and degree of physiological compromise. Providing adequate nutrition may help halt the development or worsening of pressure ulcers. ⋯ Appropriate screenings for nutritional status and risk for pressure ulcers, early collaboration with a registered dietician, and administration of appropriate feeding formulations and micronutrient and macronutrient supplementation to promote wound healing are practical solutions to improve the nutritional status of critical care patients. Use of nutritional management and enteral feeding protocols may provide vital elements to augment nutrition and ultimately result in improved clinical outcomes.