Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Using Nurse-Driven Protocols to Eliminate Routine Gastric Residual Volume Measurements: A Retrospective Study.
Multiple critical care guidelines support the elimination of routine gastric residual volume monitoring in patients receiving enteral nutrition. However, transitioning nursing practice away from routine gastric residual volume assessments has proved challenging. ⋯ The findings of this study indicate that the elimination of routine gastric residual volume assessment does not increase the rate of adverse events and results in increased nutrition provision. Use of a protocol for practice change as well as mandatory in-service training may effect changes in nursing practice.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Minimizing Post-Intensive Care Syndrome to Improve Outcomes for Intensive Care Unit Survivors.
Post-intensive care syndrome is a collection of symptoms that more than half of patients who survive a critical illness, and their family caregivers, experience after the illness. Those symptoms include weakness/ fatigue, sleep disturbances/insomnia, cognitive dysfunction, posttraumatic stress disorder, other mental health conditions, and a lack of effective coping strategies. ⋯ This article describes patients who have a high risk of developing post-intensive care syndrome and interventions that are within nurses' purview.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Impact of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Preadmission Huddle on Perceptions of Interprofessional Communication About Patient Safety.
Preadmission discussions in the study institution's pediatric intensive care unit are not standardized and admission plans were thought to be disjointed, leading to a perceived lack of organization and preparation for the arrival of a critically ill child. ⋯ Future studies are needed to determine if this perceived improvement in communication significantly affects health care outcomes of critically ill children or if these results are generalizable to other pediatric intensive care unit settings.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Case ReportsImpact of COVID-19 on Patient-Provider Communication in Critical Care: Case Reports.
Communication impairment during mechanical ventilation and prolonged critical illness is extremely frustrating and frightening for patients and increases the risk for miscommunication, misinterpretation, and poor outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified patient communication impairment in intensive care units. This article presents 3 case examples from the experience of a team of hospital-based speech-language pathologists providing augmentative and alternative communication support resources and services to intensive care unit patients treated for COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. Cases were selected to illustrate the protracted and complex in-hospital and rehabilitative recovery of critically ill patients with COVID-19, necessitating creative problem-solving and nursing collaborations with speech-language pathologists to support patient-provider communication. ⋯ Evaluation by augmentative and alternative communication specialists and progressive intervention from speech-language pathologists in collaboration with intensive care unit nurses can greatly improve patient-provider communication during treatment for and recovery from COVID-19 and other prolonged critical illnesses.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Increasing Nurses' Knowledge of and Self-confidence With Family Presence During Pediatric Resuscitation.
Family presence during resuscitation is becoming more common, and pediatric critical care nurses regularly facilitate this process. However, most hospitals lack policies and education to support nurses in this practice. ⋯ Formalized and structured education on family presence during resuscitation appears to promote pediatric intensive care unit nurses' knowledge, increase their perception of benefits outweighing risks, and enhance their self-confidence in supporting family members. Providing information about family presence during resuscitation and how best to facilitate this practice should be a priority and included as part of standard educational support for pediatric intensive care unit nurses.