Enfermería intensiva
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Cardiac output (CO) is monitored in critically ill patients to maintain and improve cardiac function with the primary goal of adequate tissue perfusion. For a long time, this monitoring has been done using the pulmonary arterial catheter, which has been provoking increasing controversy. For some years, monitoring of CO has been evolving with the appearance of new invasive and non-invasive monitoring systems. ⋯ This system is based on the injection of a cold fluid bolus centrally in the vein. A thermistor located in the tip of the arterial catheter, usually femoral, is used to measure blood temperature changes. A thermodilution curve is created and the hemodynamic parameters obtained after its analysis.
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Enfermería intensiva · Jul 2008
[Validity study of the current risk assessment scale for pressure ulcers in intensive care (EVARUCI)].
Pressure ulcers (PU) are the most frequent injuries in critical patients whose management is the responsibility of the nurses. The first step for its prevention is to determine the patients at risk; however the usual risk assessment scales (Norton, Braden, etc.) do not have adequate specificity to do this. ⋯ The EVARUCI scale is valid to detect patients at risk of development PU in ICU.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been a subject of research in the recent decades since it was defined in the seventies. ARDS is now known to be triggered by pulmonary and non-pulmonary insults which allow chemical agents to be released in the lungs. The resulting damage to the alveolar-capillary membrane causes an impaired ventilation and oxygenation. ⋯ The results of the studies reviewed revealed that 50-80% of the patients experienced significant improvement of oxygenation with the prone position. However, no study has shown that the prone position significantly reduces mortality. It is concluded that further investigations are necessary to understand how the prone position affects the lungs, what group of patients respond to this treatment, what duration and frequency of proning is most beneficial to reduce mortality, and how to effectively nurse patients who are in the prone position.
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Enfermería intensiva · Jan 2008
Comparative Study[Comparative study of burnout in Intensive Care and Emergency Care nursing staff].
To assess and compare the burnout level between Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Unit, and study its association with the sociodemographic and work characteristics of the professionals surveyed. ⋯ The burnout levels are moderate to high among the nursing professionals studied. A total of 5.15% of the sample studied achieves a high score in the three dimensions of the burnout syndrome. The intensive care professionals are the most vulnerable to suffering high levels of emotional exhaustion, and the masculine gender is more susceptible to depersonalization attitudes.
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Enfermería intensiva · Oct 2007
Comparative Study[Stressful environmental events in the Intensive Care Unit].
The high standard of specialization of the Intensive Care Units (ICU) creates a stressful setting that generates anxiety and stress for the patients. This has been related to delirium or acute confusional syndrome. ⋯ As in previous investigations, ICU patiens, who did not suffered from delirium, perceived phisycal needs as most streesfull events.