Aust Crit Care
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Critically ill pregnant and postnatal women admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) require highly specialised care, components of which many critical care nurses are unfamiliar with. There are no specialist critical care obstetric centres in Australia, with critically ill obstetric patients admitted to general ICUs. There are no published guidelines and little research that assist critical care nurses to care for such women. ⋯ The key areas of providing mechanical ventilation to pregnant women and assessment of fetal wellbeing are explored in detail. The most frequent conditions and their treatment, preeclampsia and obstetric haemorrhage, are also reviewed. The establishment of lactation is also considered as the critical carenurse is commonly involved in supporting the woman's endeavour to breastfeed.
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Review Case Reports
Sedation and analgesia management for mechanically ventilated adults: literature review, case study and recommendations for practice.
The quality of sedation management in mechanically ventilated patients has been a source of concern in recent years. This paper summarises the literature on the principles of optimal sedation, discusses the consequences of over and undersedation, highlighting the importance of appropriate pain management, and presents a case study using the results of an audit of 48 mechanically ventilated adults. As a result of the review and audit, we are implementing changes to practice. ⋯ A recommendation arising from our audit was the need to identify patients at high risk of oversedation and undersedation and adopt a proactive rather than reactive approach to management. The practice goal is to provide adequate and appropriate analgesia and anxiolysis for patients. This will improve patient comfort while reducing length of mechanical ventilation and minimising risk of complications.
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Review Comparative Study
Nasopharyngeal oxygen (NPO) as a safe and comfortable alternative to face mask oxygen therapy.
Nasopharyngeal oxygen (NPO) therapy is an emerging alternative to conventional face mask oxygen administration. It warrants consideration for treating hypoxaemia when face mask therapy is impractical or when patient intolerance or non-compliance regularly interrupt treatment. ⋯ Therefore, NPO, administered via a fine catheter advanced into the nasopharynx, should be considered when face masks (FMs) or nasal prongs (NPs) are impractical or poorly tolerated and, because of its effectiveness and improved comfort, in patients for whom traditional non-invasive oxygen therapy is indicated. Implications for resource utilisation and costs also exist.
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The study sought to investigate the perceptions and experiences of nurses practising in adult intensive care units (ICUs) with regard to medical futility. A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used, providing a framework which enabled information to be gathered on a relatively undefined phenomena. Data were gathered via semi-structured interviews with seven intensive care nurses. ⋯ Understanding patients' views about treatment limitation is important in deciding whether treatment is medically futile. To do this, an inclusive decision making process should be developed by ICUs which incorporates nursing and family input. Experienced ICU nurses can have a significant impact on the management of futile cases; they need to share their understanding of the processes surrounding medical futility and assist junior nurses in negotiating the difficult challenges encountered in decision making and treatment withdrawal.