American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Early mobilization of patients in the intensive care unit can be beneficial, but evidence is insufficient to indicate whether allowing patients with an indwelling pulmonary artery catheter to walk is safe. ⋯ This study provides preliminary evidence that for hemodynamically stable patients with heart failure, ambulating with a pulmonary artery catheter is safe and enhances their sense of well-being. The presence of an indwelling pulmonary artery catheter should not preclude walking.
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Subjecting patients to stress has potentially detrimental effects on their physical and psychological recovery. ⋯ With pain, endotracheal intubation, and sleeplessness identified as highly distressing to patients, further research can be done to elicit interventions that could alleviate some of the stress involved with a postoperative stay in an intensive care unit.
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Although electrocardiographic monitoring is common in hospitalized patients, many patients receive unnecessary monitoring, contributing to patients' inconvenience, clinicians' alarm fatigue, and delayed admissions. ⋯ Implementation of the practice standards via an electronic order set was associated with a statistically significant increase in appropriate monitoring, with no increase in adverse events. Use of electronic order sets is an effective and safe way to enhance appropriate electrocardiographic monitoring.
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Resting Energy Expenditure and Oxygen Consumption in Critically Ill Patients With vs Without Sepsis.
Septic shock is one of the main causes of mortality in intensive care units worldwide. Nutritional support can affect the survival of patients with sepsis. ⋯ In clinical practice, patients with sepsis do not seem to require an increased energy supply. Additional studies are needed to confirm this conclusion.