AACN clinical issues
-
AACN clinical issues · May 2001
ReviewCare before and after lung transplant and quality of life research.
Lung transplantation is a growing surgical option for patients with end-stage lung and pulmonary vascular diseases. After completing an extensive evaluation and meeting the selection criteria, patients are listed for either single or bilateral-sequential lung transplantation. Immediate postoperative management requires detailed attention to fluid management, monitoring for infection, reperfusion injury, pulmonary hygiene, and pain management. ⋯ Newer immunosuppressive medications offer more options for treating and preventing rejection. Advanced practice nurses, such as coordinators, case managers, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists, are uniquely positioned to play key roles in coordinating the care of transplant patients across settings and both before and after the transplant procedure. The perioperative needs of lung transplant patients and the impact of this complex procedure on the recipients' and family's quality of life merit further investigation by clinicians and researchers.
-
AACN clinical issues · Nov 2000
ReviewNutrition for the critically ill child: enteral and parenteral support.
The requirements of growth and organ development create a challenge in nutrition management for the pediatric patient. The stress of critical illness further complicates the delivery of adequate nutrients. ⋯ Although feeding through the gastrointestinal tract is the preferred route for nutritional management, there are specific instances when PN as adjunctive or sole therapy is necessary to meet nutritional needs. With meticulous attention to fluid, caloric, protein, and fat requirements along with monitoring the metabolic status of the patient, it is possible to provide full nutritional support for the critically ill child within 24 to 48 hours of hospital admission.
-
Parenteral nutrition (PN) is one of the most sophisticated forms of intravenous therapy in use today. Intravenous feeding is a life-saving technology for patients unable to maintain their nutritional status using the gastrointestinal tract. ⋯ Optimal parenteral nutrition demands expertise in caring for vascular access devices. A collaborative approach to care minimizes the risks associated with PN and ensures positive patient outcomes.
-
Postpyloric placement of feeding tubes into the duodenum or jejunum is often recommended to support early feeding, improve tolerance of enteral nutrition, and decrease the risk of aspiration pneumonia. Achieving small bowel feeding tube placement can be a difficult, time-consuming, and costly process that may delay the initiation of enteral nutrition. Various bedside techniques, including air insufflation, pH assisted, and spontaneous passage with or without motility agents are available to facilitate transpyloric feeding tube passage. A discussion of these methods is presented in this article, including a hospital-based quality initiative project designed to facilitate early enteral nutrition.
-
AACN clinical issues · Nov 2000
Review Case ReportsUse of indirect calorimetry to optimize nutrition support and assess physiologic dead space in the mechanically ventilated ICU patient: a case study approach.
Indirect calorimetry (IC) is an accurate method of estimating a patient's energy expenditure, particularly the complex critically ill patient who benefits most from an individualized regimen of nutritional support. This bedside technique measures variables related to gas exchange and replaces assumptions about physiologic stress. When indirect calorimetry data are augmented by an arterial blood gas analysis of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), the dead space to tidal volume ratio (VD/VT) can be determined for an individual patient. ⋯ A case study approach to a 69-year-old man with acute respiratory distress syndrome and biliary sepsis will demonstrate the utility of this measurement. Attention to precise nutritional support and optimal gas exchange can influence the outcome of critically ill mechanically ventilated patients. This discussion highlights the potential benefits of indirect calorimetry for critical care nurses.