Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Experiences of critically ill patients are an important aspect of the quality of care in the intensive care (ICU). ⋯ Although the nurses' expertise and technical skills are considered important, caring behaviour, relieving the patient of fear and worries were experienced as most valuable in bedside critical care.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Oct 2008
ReviewIntermittent versus continuous renal replacement therapy: a matter of controversy.
Acute Renal Failure (ARF) requiring some form of replacement therapy is a frequent complication in the critically ill patient. Despite potential therapeutic advantages the expectation of an improvement in patient outcomes using Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) compared to conventional Intermittent Haemodialysis (IHD) remains controversial. ⋯ The decision to use IHD or CRRT should be guided by the therapeutic needs of the patient rather than the operational differences between the two techniques. The resources and expertise available at the organisation are also important in determining the mode best able to manage the critically ill patient at any stage and may change according to the severity of illness. The emergence of hybrid therapies provides a compromise option which encompasses many of the features of both systems, but does not embrace all options of either approach.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Oct 2008
Research activities and perceptions of barriers to research utilization among critical care nurses in Korea.
Research utilization is vital to promote evidence-based practice in the critical care area, where nursing practice continues to grow in complexity and nurses have greater responsibility and accountability for patient care. However, information about research activities and barriers to research utilization of critical care nurses is limited. ⋯ Research activities were relatively low. A lack of guidance for clinical implication and insufficient time to implement new ideas in the clinical area were identified as the highest-ranking barriers to use of research in this group. Perceptions of barriers to research utilization were significantly higher in those staff nurses with lesser clinical experience. The critical care nurses in this study shared a strong sense of valuing the contribution of research, but also shared perceptions on barriers for administrative aspects. Organizational support is crucial for critical care nurses to achieve evidence-based practice.