Advances in neonatal care : official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses
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The need for conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) is a common one in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The goals of CMV are to facilitate adequate gas exchange, minimize the risk of lung injury/damage, decrease the patient's work of breathing, and optimize the patient's comfort. Although time-cycled, pressure-limited ventilation remains the most common CMV modality, volume-cycled ventilation, assist-control ventilation, pressure-support ventilation, and pressure-control ventilation are sometimes used in the NICU. ⋯ Although CMV is frequently life saving, it can cause complications if improperly used. Nurses are responsible for the ongoing assessment and care of infants undergoing CMV and are becoming frequently more involved in the weaning process of CMV. This article provides an overview of conventional ventilation, with a focus on common modalities, and ventilation-related nursing interventions.
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To examine the satisfaction with and feasibility of a computer-based teaching module to teach healthcare professionals how to use and apply the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) to clinical scenarios. ⋯ Computer-based teaching is a feasible method for educating NICU healthcare professionals about the PIPP. Additional research is required to examine the effectiveness of this teaching method on relevant patient outcomes such as pain management.