Gastroenterology nursing : the official journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates
-
The purpose of this article is to explain the process used in the development and implementation of care pathways in a comprehensive cancer center in the Southwest. The pathways are a major component of the disease management process that defines a multidisciplinary standard of practice for a specific episode of care and measure outcomes as a basis for quality and cost improvement. Patients may be on several pathways as they progress through cancer treatment.
-
Practice Guideline Guideline
Sedation and analgesia. Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates.
-
Allergic reactions tend to be easily recognized and treated, but methemoglobinemia is a rare, life-threatening complication of topical anesthesia of which our staff was unaware until recently. Team work prevented a patient fatality. Directives to alert the staff to suspect methemoglobinemia in patients who develop cyanosis and decreased oxygen saturation levels after administration of topical anesthesia despite administration of oxygen will prevent fatalities in the future.
-
Celiac Sprue is a malabsorption disease (not to be confused with a food allergy or hypersensitivity to food products) that can occur at any age. This disease is characterized by changes in the mucosal lining of the small intestine. The mucosal lining is damaged by protein fragments of gliadin, which is found in gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats), and the small intestine is unable to carry out its main functions of digestion and absorption. ⋯ As the healing process continues, digestion and absorption resume. Celiac Sprue does not go away. A gluten-free diet must be maintained for the rest of one's life.
-
Droperidol may be used to bring about conscious sedation in therapeutic and diagnostic endoscopy. Droperidol is a neuroleptic tranquilizer that produces marked tranquilization and sedation. Droperidol may be used to allay apprehension and provide a state of mental detachment while maintaining reflex alterness necessary in endoscopic interventions. Adverse reactions to droperidol are generally self-limiting or readily managed with hydration to correct hypotension.