AORN journal
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Does perioperative nursing include caring? Does it show evidence of a theoretical base of caring? Yes, most definitely. We touch; we listen; we hold; we act as advocates. The challenge is to articulate these actions in our body of knowledge and practice. What would an outcome statement on perioperative caring look like? As perioperative critical paths are developed, how will perioperative caring outcomes be expressed? These are the challenges perioperative nurses must meet to demonstrate the necessity of the perioperative nursing role in providing humanistic care in the OR.
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Comparative Study
Estimating the true costs of disposable and reusable instruments.
The real issue in the debate about reusable versus disposable surgical instruments is the true cost and efficacy of specific instruments. Each device needs to be scrutinized on its own merits and analytically compared to other instruments. The goal of this case study was not to promote one type of instrument over the other but to focus on some of the data elements and complex issues involved in determining true costs, cost-effectiveness, and efficacy of the reusable and disposable instruments.
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Comparative Study
Using a computerized scheduling system to predict procedure lengths.
To determine the effectiveness of our computerized OR scheduling system and database, we compared scheduled surgical procedure lengths to actual procedure lengths for a large, multispecialty sample (1,103 procedures in 14 surgical subspecialties). We were able to accurately predict procedure lengths, within 15 minutes, 65% of the time. The estimated procedure lengths were more accurate in some surgical subspecialties than others, and four specific factors accounted for a large percentage (ie, 84%) of all delayed start times.
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Surgery patients often become hypothermic during surgical procedures. The body's thermostat, the hypothalamus, strives to maintain a normal temperature; however, when a patient's temperature drops too low, the thermoregulatory processes are suppressed, and hypothermia occurs. ⋯ Hypothermia may cause complications such as protein catabolism, hypokalemia, and changes in glucose metabolism and glomerular filtration. Nursing interventions used intraoperatively to maintain a normothermic state include applying warm and temperature regulating blankets, decreasing the amount of skin exposure, and warming operating rooms.