Australasian emergency nursing journal : AENJ
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Aug 2015
ReviewSpinal immobilisaton in pre-hospital and emergency care: A systematic review of the literature.
Spinal immobilisation has been a mainstay of trauma care for decades and is based on the premise that immobilisation will prevent further neurological compromise in patients with a spinal column injury. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the evidence related to spinal immobilisation in pre-hospital and emergency care settings. ⋯ There are no published high-level studies that assess the efficacy of spinal immobilisation in pre-hospital and emergency care settings. Almost all of the current evidence is related to spinal immobilisation is extrapolated data, mostly from healthy volunteers.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Aug 2015
US emergency nurses' perceptions of challenges and facilitators in the management of behavioural health patients in the emergency department: A mixed-methods study.
Behavioural health patients often have longer lengths of stay in the emergency department compared with general medical patients, and their modalities of care are not well documented. This study's purpose is to describe US emergency nurses' estimates of lengths of stay for behavioural health patients, explore factors affecting length of stay, and assess nurses' perceptions of their skills, beliefs/attitudes, and confidence in caring for this population. ⋯ Participants note a lack of education, resources, and treatment options tailored to the delivery of safe, effective care for behavioural health patients. The use of trained specialists and additional guidelines/protocols may help move patients through the emergency department faster and with greater surety.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · Jun 2015
Epidemiology of early Rapid Response Team activation after Emergency Department admission.
Rapid Response Team (RRT) calls can often occur within 24h of hospital admission to a general ward. We seek to determine whether it is possible to identify these patients before there is a significant clinical deterioration. ⋯ Patients that trigger RRT calls within 24h of admission have a fourfold increase in risk of in-hospital mortality. Such patients may be identified by greater tachycardia and tachypnoea in the ED.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · May 2015
Multicenter StudyFamily presence during resuscitation (FPDR): A survey of emergency personnel in Victoria, Australia.
Family presence during resuscitation (FPDR) has been endorsed internationally by resuscitation councils since the year 2000; however, the extent to which FPDR is practiced in emergency settings requires further investigation. ⋯ A family support person was highlighted as essential to the successful implementation of FPDR, together with the development of a comprehensive training the education program for emergency personnel. FPDR continues to be a significant issue and further investigation into FPDR practice and implementation in the ED is warranted.
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Australas Emerg Nurs J · May 2015
ReviewAssessing, monitoring and managing continuous intravenous sedation for critically ill adult patients and implications for emergency nursing practice: A systematic literature review.
Critically ill mechanically ventilated patients in ED have complex needs; chief among these is adequate sedation in addition to effective pain-relief. Emergency nurses are increasingly responsible sedation and analgesia for this complex cohort of patients. The aim of this review was to examine (1) the evidence around assessing, monitoring and managing continuous intravenous sedation for critically ill adult patients, and (2) the implications for emergency nursing practice. ⋯ Limited literature was found that directly addressed Australasian emergency nursing practices' in managing on-going intravenous sedation and analgesia for patients. Balancing patient sedation and analgesia requires highly complex knowledge, skills and expertise; the degree of education and training required is above that obtained during pre-registration nurse training. No state or national models of education or training were identified to support ED nurses' practices in managing sedation. Little research has addressed the safety of continuous sedation use in ED.