American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Multicenter Study
Standardizing Communication From Acute Care Providers to Primary Care Providers on Critically Ill Adults.
To increase the frequency of communication of patient information between acute and primary care providers. A secondary objective was to determine whether higher rates of communication were associated with lower rates of hospital readmission 30 days after discharge. ⋯ The frequency of communication episodes that provide value can be increased through standardized processes. The key aspects of this effective intervention were setting the expectation that communication should occur, documenting when communication has occurred, and reviewing that documentation during multiprofessional rounds.
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Self-report is the best indicator of pain; however, pain is more difficult to assess in noncommunicative patients who may be receiving mechanical ventilation or sedated and unable to report pain. ⋯ These pain scales commonly used in noncommunicative critically ill adult patients are valid and sensitive for capturing changes in pain response during suctioning in both communicative and noncommunicative patients. However, caution must be used when using the FACES scale because subjectivity may lead to overtreatment or undertreatment of pain.
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Anthropometric measurements are vital for safe care in pediatric intensive care units. ⋯ Barriers to obtaining anthropometric measurements exist in pediatric intensive care units; ordering providers and nurses have different perceptions of what constitutes a barrier.