Articles: critical-illness.
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Critical care nurse · Aug 2022
Case ReportsImpact of COVID-19 on Patient-Provider Communication in Critical Care: Case Reports.
Communication impairment during mechanical ventilation and prolonged critical illness is extremely frustrating and frightening for patients and increases the risk for miscommunication, misinterpretation, and poor outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified patient communication impairment in intensive care units. This article presents 3 case examples from the experience of a team of hospital-based speech-language pathologists providing augmentative and alternative communication support resources and services to intensive care unit patients treated for COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic. Cases were selected to illustrate the protracted and complex in-hospital and rehabilitative recovery of critically ill patients with COVID-19, necessitating creative problem-solving and nursing collaborations with speech-language pathologists to support patient-provider communication. ⋯ Evaluation by augmentative and alternative communication specialists and progressive intervention from speech-language pathologists in collaboration with intensive care unit nurses can greatly improve patient-provider communication during treatment for and recovery from COVID-19 and other prolonged critical illnesses.
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Critical care medicine · Aug 2022
Meta AnalysisProbiotics in Critical Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
To determine the safety and efficacy of probiotics or synbiotics on morbidity and mortality in critically ill adults and children. ⋯ Low certainty RCT evidence suggests that probiotics or synbiotics during critical illness may reduce VAP, HAP, ICU and hospital LOS but probably have no effect on mortality.