American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Five-Layered Soft Silicone Foam Dressing to Prevent Pressure Ulcers in the Intensive Care Unit.
In critically ill patients, prevention of pressure ulcers is a challenge because of the high risk for multiple comorbid conditions, immobility, hemodynamic instability, and increased use of medical devices. ⋯ Use of a soft silicone foam dressing combined with preventive care yielded a statistically and clinically significant benefit in reducing the incidence rate and severity of HAPUs in intensive care patients. This novel, cost-effective method can reduce HAPU incidence in critically ill patients.
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Comment Letter
"Getting Used to It," Helps Prevent Burnout and Distress.
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Review Case Reports
The Evolving Paradigm of Individualized Postresuscitation Care After Cardiac Arrest.
The postresuscitation period after a cardiac arrest is characterized by a wide range of physiological derangements. Variations between patients include preexisting medical problems, the underlying cause of the cardiac arrest, presence or absence of hemodynamic and circulatory instability, severity of the ischemia-reperfusion injury, and resuscitation-related injuries such as pulmonary aspiration and rib or sternal fractures. Although protocols can be applied to many elements of postresuscitation care, the widely disparate clinical condition of cardiac arrest survivors requires an individualized approach that stratifies patients according to their clinical profile and targets specific treatments to patients most likely to benefit. This article describes such an individualized approach, provides a practical framework for evaluation and triage at the bedside, and reviews concerns specific to all members of the interprofessional postresuscitation care team.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Family Navigator: A Pilot Intervention to Support Intensive Care Unit Family Surrogates.
Communication problems between family surrogates and intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians have been documented, but few interventions are effective. Nurses have the potential to play an expanded role in ICU communication and decision making. ⋯ Having a fully integrated nurse empowered to facilitate decision making is a feasible intervention in an ICU and is well-received by ICU families and staff. A larger randomized controlled trial is needed to demonstrate impact on important outcomes, such as surrogates' well-being and decision quality.