Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2021
ReviewOral Care in Critically Ill Patients Requiring Noninvasive Ventilation: An Evidence-Based Review.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia commonly develops after 48 hours of hospitalization and can be divided into non-ventilator-acquired and ventilator-acquired pneumonia. Prevention of non-ventilator-acquired pneumonia requires a multimodal approach. Implementation of oral care bundles can reduce the incidence of ventilator-acquired pneumonia, but the literature on oral care in other populations is limited. ⋯ Oral care is a common preventive measure for non-ventilator-acquired pneumonia and may improve comfort. Adherence to oral care is lower for patients not receiving mechanical ventilation. Further research is needed to identify a standard of care for oral hygiene for patients receiving noninvasive ventilation and assess the risk of adverse events.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2021
Review Case ReportsGuillain-Barré Syndrome After Acute Hepatitis E Infection: A Case Report and Literature Review.
Guillain-Barré syndrome precipitated by hepatitis E virus infection is rare, yet its incidence is increasing. ⋯ Nurses and clinicians should obtain a thorough history and consider hepatitis E virus infection as a precipitating factor in patients with sensory and motor disturbances consistent with Guillain-Barré syndrome. The case gives insight into the diagnostic process for Guillain-Barré syndrome and highlights the vital role of bedside nurses in evaluating and treating these patients.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2021
Triggers and Interventions of Patients Who Require Medical Emergency Team Reviews: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Single Versus Multiple Reviews.
Medical emergency teams constitute part of the escalation protocol of early warning systems in many hospitals. The literature indicates that medical emergency teams may reduce hospital mortality and cardiac arrest. A greater understanding of pathways of patients who experience multiple medical emergency team reviews will inform clinical decision-making. ⋯ Patients requiring multiple medical emergency team reviews have higher mortality. Surgical patients have a higher risk of requiring multiple reviews. Hospitals need to include more details on surgical patients when auditing medical emergency team activation.
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Illness severity scoring systems are commonly used in critical care. When applied to the populations for whom they were developed and validated, these tools can facilitate mortality prediction and risk stratification, optimize resource use, and improve patient outcomes. ⋯ Critical care nurses must be aware of the strengths, limitations, and specific characteristics of severity scoring systems commonly used in intensive care unit patients to effectively employ these tools in clinical practice and critically appraise research findings based on their use.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2021
An Evidence-Based Initiative to Reduce Alarm Fatigue in a Burn Intensive Care Unit.
Alarm fatigue occurs when nurses are exposed to multiple alarms of mixed significance and become desensitized to alarms to the point that a critical alarm may receive no response or a delayed response. In burn intensive care units, reducing the risk of alarm fatigue is uniquely challenging because of the critically ill patient population and the nature of burn skin injuries. Nurses and the interdisciplinary team can become fatigued and desensitized to alarms, decreasing response rates for necessary interventions. ⋯ A quality improvement initiative based on evidence-based practice can contribute to a sustainable reduction in nonactionable and false alarms, ultimately improving patient safety.