Journal of perianesthesia nursing : official journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
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J. Perianesth. Nurs. · Feb 2012
Experiences of nurses related to prolonged-stay patients in a postanesthesia care unit in Karachi, Pakistan.
The role of the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) is to provide short-term monitoring of patients after surgery until recovery from anesthesia. The transfer of patients from the PACU to their designated units, however, may be delayed for various reasons. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to explore the experiences of six nurses working in the PACU at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. ⋯ An overarching theme that was derived from the content analysis was that of the factors impacting quality patient care. The content analysis generated a broad category of "general effects" and subcategories that included patients, families, and PACU nurses. The findings highlight the effects of prolonged PACU stays on patients, their families, and PACU nurses.
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J. Perianesth. Nurs. · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyPreventing inadvertent hypothermia: comparing two protocols for preoperative forced-air warming.
Preoperative forced-air warming is one way of preventing inadvertent perioperative hypothermia. There is scant evidence, however, on the best warming method or the acceptability of these methods to patients. This pilot study compared two warming protocols: one that commenced at maximum temperature and was titrated down as requested (A) and one that commenced at near body temperature and was titrated up as tolerated (B). ⋯ There was no difference in thermal comfort scores, participant temperature, or sweating between the two protocols. When asked, participants preferred protocol A to B (70% to 30%). Starting at higher device settings appears the more favorable of the two approaches.