AACN clinical issues
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AACN clinical issues · Apr 2005
The changing face of critical care medicine: nurse practitioners in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Over the last 50 years, healthcare has undergone countless changes. Some of the important changes in recent years have been budget cuts, decreased resident work hours, and increased patient acuity. ⋯ To date, little has been published regarding the role of the nurse practitioners in intensive care units. This article outlines how one pediatric hospital has successfully utilized nurse practitioners in the intensive care unit.
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AACN clinical issues · Apr 2005
The use of common continuous monitoring parameters: a quality indicator for critically ill patients with sepsis.
Sepsis is a common source of morbidity and mortality among critically ill patients, and targeting measures to promote early recognition and treatment of sepsis is at the forefront of many critical care initiatives. Starting formally in 1992, with the publication of the definitions of sepsis, continuous monitoring of several common physiologic parameters, including electrocardiogram, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation, have been advocated as important in the early identification and treatment of patients with sepsis. The descriptive study detailed in this article was conducted to assess the perceptions and clinical continuous physiologic monitoring practices of experienced critical care clinicians with regard to their use of common physiologic monitoring parameters in the care of patients with sepsis. ⋯ Results indicated that the basic parameters of electrocardiogram, invasive blood pressure, pulmonary arterial catheter monitoring, and oxygen saturation all have value in the recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis. The majority of clinicians used these parameters routinely and felt they were necessary for patient care. These results indicate that clinical practice is in concordance with current practice recommendations.
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AACN clinical issues · Apr 2005
Outcomes of an infection prevention project focusing on hand hygiene and isolation practices.
Nosocomial infections are a major health problem for hospitalized patients and their families. Since the 1800s, hand hygiene has been recognized as the single best method to prevent the spread of pathogens and nosocomial infections. Despite this fact, many healthcare workers do not adhere to hand hygiene policies. ⋯ Consumption of alcohol-based foam disinfectant doubled from baseline. Findings are consistent with other published studies. The project will continue with further reinforcement and education over the second year.