Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2015
ReviewRehabilitation during mechanical ventilation: Review of the recent literature.
Mechanically ventilated patients are at increased risk of developing physical and psychological complications that are associated with prolonged weaning from mechanical ventilation, increased morbidity and mortality. These complications include intensive care unit acquired weakness, delirium and a loss of physical function that may persist well beyond ICU and hospital discharge. ⋯ Implementation of rehabilitation in mechanically ventilated patients has been demonstrated to be both safe and feasible and provide benefits in terms of physical and psychological function and assist with weaning from mechanical ventilation. The recent relevant literature on the role of rehabilitation interventions in the mechanically ventilated patient will be discussed.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2015
"Not being able to talk was horrid": A descriptive, correlational study of communication during mechanical ventilation.
The purpose of this study was to describe the patient experience of communication during mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Communication effectiveness impacts patients' sense of safety and well-being during mechanical ventilation. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on the development and integration of communication strategies into critical care nursing practice.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2015
Reliability and validity assessment of the Japanese version of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU).
Delirium may lead to adverse outcomes in patients with serious conditions, but is often under-diagnosed due to inadequate screening. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) is an established method for assessing delirium in the ICU. The validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the CAM-ICU has not, however, been verified, and we undertook this study to verify these parameters. ⋯ The Japanese version of the CAM-ICU has comparable validity and reliability as a delirium assessment tool in surgical patients in two Japanese ICUs. With training, CAM-ICU can be incorporated into daily clinical practice.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2015
The effectiveness of a patient at risk team comprised of predominantly ward experienced nurses: A before and after study.
Improving care to deteriorating ward patients require systems to trigger a response and a response team. This paper describes the effectiveness of a Patient at Risk team (PART) comprised predominantly of experienced ward nurses. ⋯ A PART comprising of experienced ward nurses was associated with reduced ward cardiac arrests but no change in the number of MET calls. This suggests this team composition may be effective in providing care to the deteriorating patient.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2015
The experience of communication difficulties in critically ill patients in and beyond intensive care: Findings from a larger phenomenological study.
Communication difficulties in intensive care units (ICU) with critically ill patients have been well documented for more than three decades. However, there is only a paucity of literature that has explored communication difficulties beyond the ICU environment. This paper discusses the experience of communication difficulties in critically ill patients in ICU and beyond as part of findings from a larger study that explored the lived experiences of critically ill patients in ICU in the context of daily sedation interruption (DSI). ⋯ However, not many studies have reported ongoing communication difficulties after ICU hospitalisation. Recommendations are made for new models of care and support to mitigate critically ill patients' communication concerns in ICU and for further research into the causes and treatment to benefit this group of patients. Most importantly, extra care is recommended not to damage vocal cords during intubation and cuff inflation in the course of mechanical ventilation.