Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)
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Non-invasive ventilation techniques provide and enhance alveolar ventilation without the need for an endotracheal airway. These techniques are increasingly being used by nurses to manage patients with type 2 respiratory failure. The author outlines the advantages of, and criteria and contraindications for, using bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP).
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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) include aspirin, ibuprofen and diclofenac. They are widely prescribed to control pain and inflammation associated with disease or injury affecting joints and other tissues. The authors describe the clinical uses, mechanism of action and potential side effects. Paracetamol/acetaminophen is included in this discussion, although it is not an NSAID.
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Review Case Reports
The pressures felt by informal carers of people with dementia.
Caring for people with dementia is complex and demanding, and informal carers carry out much of the care. In this article, Madeline Armstrong outlines the different types of dementia and discusses the psychological approaches to care. Informal carers experience many stressors when caring for people with dementia and Admiral nurses play an important role in supporting carers.
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The start-up time is the delay between starting an infusion pump and the delivery of fluid at the set flow rate. Mechanical slack in syringe pumps can lead to start-up delays of an hour or more at low-flow rates. During this period no medication is delivered to the patient. The causes of the start-up time delay, its implications and methods of minimising the delay are explained.