Pediatric nursing
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Evidence of improved quality of life with pediatric palliative care.
Pediatric nurses provide holistic family-centered care for children with life-limiting illnesses while being sensitive to children's growth and developmental needs. To learn how pediatric palliative care programs benefit children and their families, the following clinical question was asked: Among children with a life-limiting illness, does the use of a palliative care program compared with not using a palliative care program improve quality of life for patients and their families? Evidence from two studies found that palliative care services improve quality of life for children with life-limiting illness and their families in the areas of the child's emotional well-being and parental perception of preparation for the child's end of life, resulting in a low grade for the body of evidence. ⋯ A reliable tool is needed that includes a spiritual component and sensitive indicators specific to children with a life-limiting illness. Future research using this tool will more fully answer how palliative care services improve children's quality of life.
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A large amount of research demonstrates the importance of key interventions in reducing mortality rates of pediatric patients with sepsis (Dellinger et al., 2008). Assessment and recognition of declining status must occur for interventions to be initiated. Of health care practitioners, nurses typically spend the most time with patients, and they must be knowledgeable in recognizing the systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis while also being aware of the importance of prompt intervention. The literature does not discuss pediatric nurses' knowledge of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/sepsis recognition. ⋯ It is recommended that an educational intervention be created for acute and critical care pediatric nurses to aid them in recognizing sepsis in its earlier stages.
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Pediatric nurses often use an inappropriate tool to assess pain in children younger than 36 months of age. ⋯ Educating staff nurses about the use of an appropriate pain assessment scale altered practice and improved the frequency of pain assessment of preverbal children.