Articles: critical-care.
-
Critically ill patients require continuous assessment of their need for sedation and pain management. The purpose of this study was to develop a consistent categorization of patient's symptoms and to identify actions that yield effective patient outcomes. Nurses in this study described patients with sedation problems as those who were disoriented or aggressively acting out, fearful and restless, or manifesting changes in orientation, memory loss, or mental status. ⋯ Nurses identified separate subjective and objective cues for patients' anxiety, agitation, and confusion. The most frequently identified nursing actions were assessment to differentiate between pain, anxiety, agitation, and confusion; personal reassurances, relaxation and other physical comfort techniques; administer prescribed medication; collaborate with a physician to identify cause; and give additional prescribed medication. Effective outcome measures included stable vital signs, normal oxygen saturation, progression with ventilator weaning if appropriate, return to normal level of orientation, and a quiet yet arousable state.
-
Critical care clinics · Jan 1996
Case ReportsEthical dilemmas faced by critical care nurses in clinical practice: walking the line.
The experience of the critical care nurse includes frequent ethical dilemmas, both in patient care and in professional relationships. The moral development of the critical care nurse is presented in terms of learning theory, perceptive transformation, and ethical theory as it applies to the predominantly female profession of nursing. Four case studies and verbatim accounts of the experiences of critical care nurses illustrate moral development.
-
The paper reviews intensive, complex therapeutical procedure introduced in 19 critically ill puerperal women due to severe sepsis. In 6 cases only the generative organ was the primary source of infection. It is underlined that sepsis can predispose to various complications and multiorgan failure.