American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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In response to the coronavirus pandemic, New York State mandated that all hospitals double the capacity of their adult intensive care units In this facility, resources were mobilized to increase from 104 to 283 beds. ⋯ Program evaluation is ongoing. As recovery and restoration proceed and normal operations resume, detailed feedback from program participants and patient care managers will help the institution maintain high operational readiness should a second wave of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 be admitted.
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Nurses in intensive care units are exposed to hundreds of alarms during a shift, and research shows that most alarms are not clinically relevant. Alarm fatigue can occur when a nurse becomes desensitized to alarms. Alarm fatigue can jeopardize patient safety, and adverse alarm events can lead to patients dying. ⋯ Managing clinical alarms is a main issue in terms of both patient safety and staff workload management. The results of this study demonstrate that a relatively simple process-oriented strategy can decrease the number of alarms.
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Observational Study
Grief Reactions of Potential Organ Donors' Bereaved Relatives: An Observational Study.
Most family members of potential organ donors experience the death of their relative in an intensive care unit. While under an emotional burden, bereaved relatives must make a decision that will affect the life of other patients. A better understanding of grief within the context of organ donation will help intensive care unit staff better support families during this process. ⋯ Observation and analysis of the factors studied may help hospital staff members anticipate bereaved relatives' emotional reactions and provide better support during the grieving process, increasing family members' well-being and facilitating a better-informed organ donation decision.
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Outcomes in pediatric critical care research are typically selected by the researcher. ⋯ Functioning and quality of life are key patient-centered outcomes during recovery from critical illness. These are not well captured by end points typically used in PICU studies. These results justify the importance of patient- and family-centered outcomes in PICU research and a need to determine how these outcomes can be comprehensively measured.