Aust Crit Care
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Review Case Reports
Hydrotherapy for the long-term ventilated patient: A case study and implications for practice.
Hydrotherapy of mechanically ventilated patients has been shown to be safe and feasible in both the acute stages of critical illness and in those requiring long term mechanical ventilation. This case study describes the hydrotherapy sessions of a 36 year old female, who after suffering complications of pneumococcal meningitis, became an incomplete quadriplegic and required long term mechanical ventilation. ⋯ These include staff resources and training, airway and ventilation management, patient preparation and safety procedures. Hydrotherapy can be safely utilised with mechanically ventilated patients, and may facilitate a patient's ability to participate in active exercise and rehabilitation.
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Multicenter Study
Post resuscitation management of cardiac arrest patients in the critical care environment: A retrospective audit of compliance with evidence based guidelines.
There is a clear relationship between evidence-based post resuscitation care and survival and functional status at hospital discharge. The Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) recommends protocol driven care to enhance chance of survival following cardiac arrest. Healthcare providers have an obligation to ensure protocol driven post resuscitation care is timely and evidence based. ⋯ Evidence-based context-specific guidelines for post resuscitation care that span the whole patient journey are needed. Reliance on national guidelines does not necessarily translate to evidence based care at a local level, so strategies to ensure effective guideline implementation are urgently required.
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Observational Study
Early neurological wake-up test in intubated brain-injured patients: A long-term, single-centre experience.
In prehospital setting, a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) requires tracheal intubation, sedation and mechanical ventilation pending the initial imagery. An early neurological wake-up test (ENWT), soon after the initial imaging assessment, allows a rapid neurological reassessment. This strategy authorises an initial clinical examination of reference with which will be compared the later examinations. The main objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of the patients who underwent an ENWT, and to determine its causes of failure. ⋯ The ENWT is achieved in 40% of patients, with a success rate of 60.5%. In presence of a subdural hematoma with a thickness >5mm or an initial GCS score <5, an ENWT failure may be expected.
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Early warning systems (EWS) were developed as a means of alerting medical staff to patient clinical decline. Since 85% of severe adverse events are preceded by abnormal physiological signs, the patient bed-side vital signs observation chart has emerged as an EWS tool to help staff identify and quantify deteriorating patients. There are three broad categories of patient observation chart EWS: single or multiple parameter systems; aggregated weighted scoring systems; or combinations of single or multiple parameter and aggregated weighted scoring systems. ⋯ There is low level quantitative evidence that EWS improve patient outcomes and strong anecdotal evidence that they augment the ability of the clinical staff to recognise and respond to patient decline, thus reducing the incidence of severe adverse events. Although aggregated weighted scoring systems are most frequently used, the efficiency of the specific EWS appears to be dependent on the patient cohort, facilities available and staff training and attitude. While the review demonstrates support for EWS, researchers caution that given the contribution of human factors to the EWS decision-making process, patient EWS charts alone cannot replace good clinical judgment.