Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2010
Nursing workload and staff allocation in an intensive care unit: a pilot study according to Nursing Activities Score (NAS).
The objectives of the study were to identify the daily nursing workload in an intensive care unit (ICU) and to analyse the adequacy of nursing staff in a six hour shift according to the Nursing Activities Score (NAS). ⋯ The study results show the importance of nursing staff adequacy to workload fluctuations for reducing ICU costs.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2010
Are vital signs valid indicators for the assessment of pain in postoperative cardiac surgery ICU adults?
The aim of this study was to examine the discriminant and criterion validity of vital signs (mean arterial pressure [MAP], heart rate [HR], respiratory rate [HR], transcutaneous oxygen saturation [SpO(2)], and end-tidal CO(2)) for pain assessment in postoperative cardiac surgery ICU adults. A repeated-measure within-subject design was used. A convenience sample of 105 patients from a cardiology health center in Canada participated. ⋯ Some of the vital signs (HR, RR, and SpO(2)) were associated with the patients' self-reports of pain but were dependent on the patients' status (mechanically ventilated or not). Findings regarding the use of vital signs for pain assessment are not consistent and should be considered with caution. As recommended by experts, vital signs should only be used as a cue when behavioural indicators are no longer available in mechanically ventilated or unconscious patients.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2010
Serial evaluation of SOFA score in a Brazilian teaching hospital.
To evaluate the application of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) in describing the severity of organ dysfunctions and the associated mortality rates in critically ill patients at a teaching hospital. ⋯ Applying SOFA to critically ill patients effectively described the severity of organ dysfunctions, and higher SOFA scores had a positive association with mortality.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Apr 2010
Improving safety and documentation in intrahospital transport: development of an intrahospital transport tool for critically ill patients.
Transporting the critically ill patient is described within the literature as a high-risk procedure. Both guidelines and minimum standards are available to inform practice. However, a practical, clinically useful, and evidence-based document (tool) for the ICU nurse to use when transporting a critically ill patient was not identified in the literature. ⋯ This transport tool was designed to mitigate the risks associated with patient transport by providing the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse with an integrated documentation record, incorporating patient assessment with a procedural guideline. The result is a framework for the ICU nurse to use throughout intrahospital transfers, informing and supporting them to provide and document continuity of nursing care. The potential benefit of using this tool is enhanced patient outcomes through safer ICU intrahospital transport processes.