American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Receptive Music Therapy for Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit.
Live music therapy provided by a board-certified music therapist reduces anxiety, decreases pain, and improves the physiological response of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). ⋯ Live music therapy significantly reduced agitation and heart rate in adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation in the ICU. These findings provide further evidence for the benefits of music therapy in the ICU, including in intubated patients.
-
The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected health care professionals. Health care professionals have noted increased distress, psychiatric symptoms, and feelings of burnout during this time. Implementation of brief, easy-to-access psychosocial interventions might help health care professionals process stressful events, thus bolstering mental health. One such approach is the narrative expressive writing program, a 5-session cognitive behavioral writing intervention. ⋯ Preliminary data show that narrative expressive writing is an easy-to-access intervention that has the potential to decrease stress and depressive symptoms. Additional research on tailoring or augmenting the narrative expressive writing program may facilitate health care professionals' engagement and address other mental health domains (eg, burnout).
-
Intrapulmonary placements of feeding tubes inserted with use of an electromagnetic placement device (EMPD) continue to occur. ⋯ User error was a significant factor, which highlights the need for empirical data to clarify the amount of training needed to safely credential EMPD operators. Clearer information is needed about anatomical variations that may contraindicate use of an EMPD, as well as medical devices that may interfere with an EMPD. Use of follow-up radiographs, interpreted by qualified personnel, is supported to increase the probability of identifying intrapulmonary tube placements.
-
Nurse-led rounding checklists are a common strategy for facilitating evidence-based practice in the intensive care unit (ICU). To streamline checklist workflow, some ICUs have the nurse or another individual listen to the conversation and customize the checklist for each patient. Such customizations assume that individuals can reliably assess whether checklist items have been addressed. ⋯ Using a paper-based assessment tool, a single trained critical care nurse can reliably assess the discussion of elements of the ABCDEF bundle during multidisciplinary rounds.