American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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A collaboration led by the American Heart Association recently released the scientific statement "Prevention of Torsade de Pointes in Hospital Settings." Patients receiving proarrhythmic drugs, who have electrolyte disturbances, or who have bradyarrhythmias require QT-interval monitoring. Prior studies have demonstrated that physicians have a poor level of proficiency at calculating QT intervals. The ability of nurses at calculating QT intervals remains untested. ⋯ Our study results demonstrate that nurses' baseline ability to perform QT interval monitoring is extremely poor. An unacceptable amount of error persists after an educational intervention. Accurate computer-assisted methods are needed to reduce the error associated with manual QT-interval monitoring.
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To describe the relationships among sedation, stability in physiological status, and comfort during a 24-hour period in patients receiving mechanical ventilation. ⋯ Level of sedation most likely does not affect the stability of physiological status but does have an effect on comfort.
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Intravascular devices provide essential vascular access for management of critically ill patients but can be associated with bloodstream infections. ⋯ Colonization of intravascular devices was heaviest on proximal segments.
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The incidence of venous thromboembolism in children has increased dramatically, with most cases occurring in children with cancer, surgery, trauma, congenital heart disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Early assessment of risk factors present in children would minimize morbidity and mortality from these events. ⋯ Descriptive statistics show that the assessment tool displays strong reliability and validity. Results validated a significant relationship between the risk score and the incidence of venous thromboembolism. Findings suggest that use of the assessment tool could significantly reduce adverse outcomes associated with venous thromboembolism in children.