Critical Care Nursing Commons^™

Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, Helena Walker

Symposium of Student Scholars

Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is the instance in which a patient acquires pneumonia more than forty-eight hours after intubation with mechanical ventilation. VAP is a serious medical issue that occurs frequently in intensive care unit patients. Not only does this condition increase the morbidity and mortality of a patient, it also increases the cost of the patient’s health care as well. Commonly as recent literature suggests, in an effort to prevent this infection from occurring, hospital staff have taken several approaches including antibiotic cycling, surveillance cultures, and de-escalation therapies. These methods do not always prevent the cases though. Currently, research …

Nursing Management To Reduce Hospital Readmissions After Percutaneous Coronary Interventions- Integrative Review, Jeena S. Daniel, Doreen Wagner

Master of Science in Nursing Final Projects

Abstract

Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) are considered life-saving techniques in the event of myocardial infarction and remain the standard of care for managing acute heart attack. Given the success of the procedures, decreased complications, and the economic advantage over open-heart surgery, coronary interventions continue to be the preferred treatment choice. However, amidst the growth and success of these procedures, readmissions after percutaneous coronary interventions have been identified and still prevail among hospitals. Hence, the goal was to conduct an integrative review to identify and synthesize literature on the interventions that help reduce readmissions after percutaneous coronary interventions and illuminate nurses' …

The Impact Of A 12-Hour Shift Compared To An 8-Hour Shift On Nurse Health And Safety, Matthew Kramer, Andrea Howell, Kayla Kloes, Emmy Lam, Brittney Levy

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Background: An international healthcare concern is extensive shift length among registered nurses and the negative factors associated with nurse burnout. Cognitive impairment, medical errors, sleep deprivation, job dissatisfaction, and overall declined health and safety of nurses have been associated to long shift work hours among registered nurses globally. However, there is limited published evidence about the difference between 8-hour and 12-hour shift work.

Objective: This systematic review summarized evidence on the impact that 12-hour shifts compared to 8-hour shifts has on the health and safety of registered nurses.

Methods: PubMed, SCOPUS, EBSCOHost, NCBI, Google Scholar, and …

Methods Leading To Best Outcomes For Elderly Patients Presenting With Chest Pain In Emergency Departments., Philip Choo, Seth Bristol, Jacob Sharer, Hannah Wilson

Symposium of Student Scholars

Abstract

Background: Hospitals today currently face many health disparities among patients. There are many factors that contribute to these health disparities such as the decision-making process. Objective: The goal of this systematic review was to identify how computerized risk prediction models compared to a set of decision rules influence health outcomes during emergency room stay of older adult patients with chest pain.

Method: We searched databases such as, CINAHL, EBSCOHost, and PubMed to identify barriers influencing health outcomes of older adults with chest pain in the emergency department.

Results: There were seven articles included in the review indicating the effectiveness …

Effect Of Fluid Resuscitation In Patients With Esrd And Sepsis Or Septic Shock: An Integrative Review, Luke Eady

Master of Science in Nursing Final Projects

In patients with ESRD, clinicians are tentative to initiate fluid resuscitation given the chance of negative outcomes associated with fluid overload. Given this, many ESRD patients with sepsis are severely under-resuscitated with fluids and experience a delay in receiving antibiotics (Abou Dagher et al. 2015). There is also controversy surrounding the type of fluid that should be used with patients with ESRD. The mainstay fluid for treatment is 0.9% sodium chloride solution (normal saline). Patient studies have found that this fluid could be harmful to the kidneys and should not be administered in patients with kidney disease (Rochwerg et al. …

Comparison Of The Behavioral Pain Scale And The Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool In Assessing Pain In Ventilated Critical Care Patients, John Weldon

Master of Science in Nursing Final Projects

Purpose: The study aimed to compare the Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) and the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) in their effectiveness to identify the presence of pain in nonverbal mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. Nurses’ evaluation with the feasibility, clinical relevance, and satisfaction of the tools were also gathered and compared.

Design: This study followed a non-experimental, correlational, comparative design.

Methods: Nurses were recruited from the surgical intensive care unit in a midsized community hospital in the Southeastern United States. After training, nurse participants obtained pain assessments on ventilated critically ill patients at rest, following a normal blood pressure …