Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2003
Editorial ReviewSevere sepsis--a major challenge for critical care.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2003
Multicenter StudyPredictors of backrest elevation in critical care.
Low backrest and supine positions are associated with increased mortality and ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). Data are not available across ICU settings about the level of backrest position used and its relationship to enteral feeding and hemodynamic status. The purpose of this descriptive study was to document the level of backrest elevation and position and identify factors associated with and predict positioning in a medical, surgical and neuroscience intensive care unit. ⋯ Differences in backrest elevation for intubated versus nonintubated patients approached significance (P=0.07) with intubated patients at lower backrest elevations. In summary, use of higher backrest elevations (>30 degrees ) is minimal, is not related to feeding and minimally related to hemodynamic status. Strategies to meet published recommendations for backrest elevation (30-45 degrees ) must include repeated feedback about nurse's use of backrest elevation and estimates of elevation.