Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2009
Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation: an ABC approach for advanced nursing in emergency departments and acute care settings.
Noninvasive ventilation has become a widespread tool of treatment and support for patients in acute care settings. The treatment is used for various clinical conditions, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema. The utilization of a simple nursing care checklist allows treatment in a systematic fashion. This article discusses the respiratory features of this topic: criteria for noninvasive ventilation, choice of the interface for acute clinical conditions, ventilators and modes of ventilation in noninvasive ventilation, management of setting parameters, patient/ventilator interactions, and monitoring.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyContinuous lateral rotation therapy for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: the effect of timing.
Previous studies have indicated a positive impact of continuous lateral rotational therapy on nosocomial pneumonia, but have shown mixed results in decreasing length of stay or ventilator days. The objective of the study was to determine if the use of a continuous lateral rotational therapy protocol would decrease mortality and morbidity, mean ventilator days, and/or intensive care unit and hospital length of stay in patients with a pulmonary diagnosis. ⋯ Early initiation of continuous lateral rotational therapy resulted in significant decreases in ventilator days and intensive care unit length of stay. The therapeutic benefit of continuous lateral rotational therapy may be enhanced with early identification and treatment of appropriate patients.