Articles: intensive-care-units.
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Critical care medicine · Mar 1995
Practice Guideline GuidelineGuidelines for intensive care unit design. Guidelines/Practice Parameters Committee of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Critical Care Medicine.
To develop guidelines that can serve as a reference for healthcare institutions wishing to design a new intensive care unit (ICU) or modify an existing ICU. ⋯ ICU design should reflect a multidisciplinary team approach by physician, nursing, administrative, and technical personnel. An optimum ICU design is described herein. Acceptable variations are indicated and essential aspects are emphasized.
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Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. · Mar 1995
Stress and mental health in neonatal intensive care units.
The views of 34 neonatologists (a 78% response rate) and 192 neonatal intensive care nurses (a 66% response rate) were obtained on work, stress, and relationships in neonatal intensive care units. The survey was conducted by post and included Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). A comparison of the responses of neonatologists and nurses to 21 identical statements showed significant differences in 12. ⋯ However, the nurses' responses differed significantly in these areas, suggesting that the neonatologists may have a more rosy view of life in the neonatal intensive care unit than their nurse colleagues. Twenty seven per cent of neonatologists and 32% of nurses had GHQ scores indicating psychological dysfunction. The neonatologists who had dysfunctional scores differed from their colleagues in only one area surveyed--a higher proportion experienced conflict between the demands of their work and their personal lives.
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This article describes the unit-based advanced practice nurse (APN). A review of the literature provides historic development of the concept. ⋯ A case example demonstrates the success of the role in terms of patient outcomes. Future trends for the APN are also explored.
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To develop customized versions of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II) and the 24-hour Mortality Probability Model II (MPM II) to estimate the probability of mortality for intensive care unit patients with early severe sepsis. ⋯ Customization provides a simple technique to apply existing models to a subgroup of patients. Accurately assessing the probability of hospital mortality is a useful adjunct for clinical trials.