Critical care nursing quarterly
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) remains a serious issue for global health, given widespread infectivity and a high contagion rate. A tremendous amount of data has been generated since it was first identified in December 2019. It is vital to keep up with these data from across the world at a time of uncertainty and continuously evolving guidelines and clinical practice. This review provides an update on recent developments concerning epidemiology, clinical presentation, treatment options, and scientific advancements to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Following this, there has been a rapid development in policies and strategies to contain and mitigate the pandemic. One of such strategies involves the development and utilization of testing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative organism of COVID-19. In this article, we explore the diagnostic modalities for COVID-19 based on the available information to date.
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Isolation requirements and subsequent need for personal protective equipment (PPE) are among the many challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolation of COVID-19-positive patients and the use of appropriate PPE by health care professionals are important parts of infection prevention, not only in the hospital setting but also in preventing community spread of the disease. This article addresses isolation requirements, appropriate PPE use, and strategies to overcome challenges such as PPE shortage.
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The management of critically ill patients is complicated and often involves complex devices including mechanical ventilators (MVs), which may be associated with many complications. Protective lung strategies (PLSs) are used to prevent complications associated with MVs, but nurses may not possess adequate knowledge to optimize the efficacy of PLSs. This article reports findings from what is thought to be the first study in Palestine that explores critical care nurses' knowledge about PLSs. ⋯ The sample included nurses who worked in intensive care units and cardiac care units and utilized a previously developed and validated questionnaire. The result of the study concludes that the majority of the Palestinian critical care nurses agree with the utilization or application of PLSs but have a severe lack of knowledge about the strategies. This highlights the need to provide additional educational programs related to the optimum use of mechanical ventilation.
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Much like other aspects of health care, nursing has become increasingly saturated with technology over the past several decades. Existing technology has advanced nursing in many ways and contributed to patient safety but at the cost of decreasing nurse-patient interaction. As health care technology progresses to the inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI), the future impact on nursing and direct patient care remains largely unknown, unexplored, and difficult to predict. ⋯ Nurses' abilities to intervene before patient deterioration, care for patients holistically, and manage various aspects of care will be heightened by the adoption of AI. Nurses should embrace AI technology, as we predict that it will decrease nurse workload and cognitive overload and allow for increased patient-nurse interaction. Current and future nurses should take the lead on determining how it augments nursing practice.