Journal of perianesthesia nursing : official journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses
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Children undergoing tonsillectomy remain at risk for postoperative pain, respiratory depression, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), presenting unique challenges for the postanesthesia nurse. This prospective, observational study examined the relationships between and factors contributing to these outcomes in 102 children after tonsillectomy. All children received an intraoperative opioid and one or more antiemetics. ⋯ Respiratory events were not associated with age, sleep-disordered breathing, or opioid use. This study suggests that children undergoing tonsillectomy experience significant pain and respiratory events. Further study examining nonopioid treatments are warranted to determine the best practices for this high-risk group of children.
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J. Perianesth. Nurs. · Apr 2011
ReviewUse of intravenous acetaminophen in the treatment of postoperative pain.
Pain management is a crucial component in the care of the postoperative patient. Although there have been innovative advances in pain management and new analgesic modalities, a need still exists for safer and more tolerable analgesics for the management of pain in the postoperative setting. ⋯ Intravenous acetaminophen may help reduce the consumption of opioid analgesics and has a safety and tolerability profile comparable to placebo. This review will discuss the novel characteristics of intravenous acetaminophen that may make it an attractive choice for the management of acute pain in the postoperative period.
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J. Perianesth. Nurs. · Feb 2011
Preprocedure warming maintains normothermia throughout the perioperative period: a quality improvement project.
Research supports the practice of preprocedure warming as a method to prevent the development of unplanned perioperative hypothermia. ASPAN defines hypothermia as a core temperature lower than 36°C. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to explore the idea that preprocedure warming maintains perioperative normothermia. ⋯ Before the institution of warming, about 50% of the patients received in the PACU were hypothermic. After the warming was instituted, only 12% of patients were received in a hypothermic state in the PACU. Concepts discussed in this paper include preprocedure warming, postprocedure hypothermia, and complications associated with hypothermia.