Orthopaedic nursing
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Orthopaedic nursing · Sep 2005
Case ReportsMultiple organ dysfunction syndrome after multiple trauma.
Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is a serious, often fatal, sequel to multiple trauma. Prolonged shock states, severe sepsis, acute pancreatitis, acute renal failure, severe burns, ischemic conditions, and acute respiratory distress syndrome have been implicated in the development of MODS. Despite advances in critical care therapies and infection control practices, severe sepsis remains a major health problem, with an estimated mortality rate of 30-50% (Ely, Kleinpell, & Goyett, 2003). The purposes of this article are to describe the pathophysiologic changes that lead to the development of MODS and discuss strategies to prevent the development of MODS and to treat MODS if it develops.
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Orthopaedic nursing · Sep 2005
Historical ArticleThe evolution of orthopaedic nursing at the Hospital for Special Surgery: the first orthopaedic institution in the United States.
The history of nursing began in London in the late 1800s with the reform of unsanitary conditions by Florence Nightingale. During the same period, the United States was bitterly fighting the Civil War. Nursing had not developed as a profession, and most of the duties performed by nurses were conducted by men. ⋯ James Knight founded the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled in his home on Second Avenue. This would later become a world-renowned orthopaedic institution with exceptional nursing care. A historical analysis of nursing education and practice are reviewed, along with the evolution of the first orthopaedic hospital in the United States.
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Orthopaedic nursing · May 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialUse of nonpharmacologic interventions for pain and anxiety after total hip and total knee arthroplasty.
The purpose of this study was to compare pain and anxiety in orthopaedic patients scheduled for elective total hip or knee arthroplasty who have received a kit of nonpharmacologic strategies for pain and anxiety in addition to their regularly prescribed analgesics to those who receive the usual pharmacologic management alone. ⋯ Providing a kit of nonpharmacologic strategies can increase the use of these methods for postoperative pain and anxiety and decrease the amount of opioid taken. The influence of coping strategies in acute postoperative pain needs to be examined further.
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Orthopaedic nursing · Mar 2005
Attitudes toward advance directives and advance directive completion rates.
The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) (part of the ) requires that all healthcare institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds inform patients about their right to participate in healthcare decisions, including their right to have an advance directive. Advance directives (ADs) allow an individual to participate indirectly in future medical care decisions if he or she becomes decisionally incapacitated. Despite passage of this bill and mechanisms within most healthcare institutions to provide this information, the AD completion rate remains low. ⋯ Low completion rates of ADs among the majority of the population and even lower among ethnically diverse individuals despite favorable attitudes toward ADs suggest that there are factors beyond access to information that may influence the decision not to complete an AD. Results of this study are congruent with other research raising the question of whether ADs as currently designed are appropriate for all groups.
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Outcomes tracking provides a systematic method of monitoring treatment effectiveness and efficiency. A familiarity with outcome measures for the patient with low back pain is very important for clinicians working in orthopaedic settings, where patients with lumbar pain are prevalent. The clinician must be able to evaluate and choose appropriate measurement tools, and understand the clinical meaning of measurements to successfully employ these instruments. ⋯ The reliability, validity, sensitivity to change, and utility of common outcome measures are discussed. An overview of generic, disease-specific, and patient-specific tools is provided, with specific commentary on the use of the SF-36, SF-12, Oswestry, Roland Morris, and patient-specific tools. Practical guidelines for utilizing outcome measures in clinical practice and the overall benefits of outcomes tracking are highlighted.