Critical care nursing clinics of North America
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Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am · Mar 1996
ReviewProtecting the skin of the elderly patient in the intensive care unit.
This article summarizes the ways in which factors in the ICU setting can affect skin breakdown in the elderly patient. The effects of aging, the presence of underlying chronic factors, and the imposition of critical illness may affect the skin of the elderly patient in ways not experienced in a younger patient population. It is important that ICU nurses recognize the unique differences and challenges in maintaining the skin integrity of the elderly, critically ill patient. Even though not all pressure ulcers in this population will be preventable in the ICU setting, an awareness of special risk factors in the geriatric patient will enable the ICU nurse to maintain the highest level of skin care for the geriatric patient.
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Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am · Mar 1996
ReviewDelirium in hospitalized elderly patients: off track.
Delirium in the hospitalized elderly patient is highly prevalent and has severe consequences. Critically ill elderly individuals are at particular risk for delirium because of impaired physical and mental defense mechanisms. ⋯ Although nursing care and nursing research have contributed much to our current knowledge of this complex condition, more will be contributed toward its understanding and management during the next decade. It is imperative that nurses attempt to keep abreast of this progress to provide the quality and cost-effective care that can keep older patients "on track."