Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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A recent large trial has shown that recombinant activated protein C reduced mortality in severe sepsis. This is the first real advance in the pharmacotherapy of sepsis since the introduction of antibiotics in the last century.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2001
ReviewNurse-led weaning from mechanical ventilation: where's the evidence?
Several authors have suggested clinical protocols as a means of shortening ventilation time and the important role of the nurse in reducing ventilation time has also been highlighted. Despite the many references in the literature to reducing weaning times using clinical protocols, it is not clear whether nurse-led weaning strategies hasten weaning from mechanical ventilation compared with physician-led care. ⋯ There is limited evidence suggesting that nurse-led weaning may reduce ventilation time; however, it is not clear whether it was the nurse-led aspect or the clinical protocol that produced the effect.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2001
The influence of focus group-oriented supervision on intensive care nurses' reflections on family members' needs.
The aim of this study was to explore intensive care nurses' experiences of focus group-oriented supervision with particular reference to family members' needs. In addition, the aim was to focus on the intensive care nurses' perceived change in their insight into caring for patients and family members in an intensive care unit. ⋯ In conclusion, focus group-oriented supervision increased the intensive care nurses' understanding of their role. This has consequences not only for the family members but also for the teamwork in the intensive care unit, where this type of work is common.