AORN journal
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Anesthetic agents were developed in the 1700s, and nitrous oxide was first used in 1884. Research on the effects of waste anesthetic gas exposure started appearing in the literature in 1967. ⋯ Health care facilities are required to develop, implement, measure, and control practices to reduce anesthetic gas exposure to the lowest practical level. Exposure levels must be measured every six months and maintained at less than 25 parts per million for nitrous oxide and 2 parts per million for halogenated agents to be compliant with Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.
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Intercostal drainage tubes (ie, chest tubes) are inserted to drain the pleural cavity of air, blood, pus, or lymph. The water-seal container connected to the chest tube allows one-way movement of air and liquid from the pleural cavity. ⋯ This entails monitoring the chest-tube position, controlling fluid evacuation, identifying when to change or empty the containers, and caring for the tube and drainage system during patient transport. This article provides an overview of indications, insertion techniques, and management of chest tubes.
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Errors in nursing practice pose a continuing threat to patient safety. A descriptive, correlational study was conducted to examine the definitions, circumstances, and perceived causes of intraoperative nursing errors; reactions of perioperative nurses to intraoperative nursing errors; and the relationships among coping with intraoperative nursing errors, emotional distress, and changes in practice made as a result of error. ⋯ Seeking social support and planful problem solving emerged as significant predictors of constructive changes in practice. Most predictive of defensive changes was the strategy of escape/avoidance.