Critical Care Nursing Commons^™

Local Anesthesia Toxicity, Nicole Mccleery

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Local anesthesia (LA) provides a way to relieve temporary pain in a small part of the body and has been used for over 100 years (Fencl, 2015). LA also prevents the passage of surgical stimuli into the central nervous system (CNS) making a surgical procedure less painful for the patient (Noble, 2015). According to Noble, “altering the passage of stimuli from smaller diameter neurons in a confined area with lower drug dosages is called LA, such as the injection of LA around a surgical incision” (Noble, 2015, p.325). LA can be used in a variety of settings, such as in …

Sepsis To Septic Shock, Seth Whitlow

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Abstract

The diagnosis of sepsis has long been part of medicine, however ambiguous definitions, treatment modalities, and research criteria have not provided a unified understanding of the disease. In 2016, international healthcare practitioners convened a panel of experts and developed criteria that defined sepsis as ‘life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by dysregulated host response to infection’. The pathogenesis of sepsis and septic shock is complex and make understanding physiological host response to infection difficult. Evidence shows that with each passing hour patient mortality is increased when treatment is withheld. Sepsis has proven an elusive diagnosis where one size does not fit …

Angioedema: Ace-Inhibitors Adverse Reaction, Jesse Vandyne

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

This is a poster presentation about angioedema caused by Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACEI or ACE Inhibitors). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) medications are one of the leading causes of angioedema in the United States, also known as ACEI-RA (Chan & Soliman, 2015, p. 207). ACE inhibitors are among the most commonly prescribed medications worldwide because they are indicated for the management of hypertension, congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, diabetic nephropathy, and chronic kidney disease (Chan & Soliman, 2015, p. 207).

Malignant Hyperthermia, Garrett Erickson

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Malignant hyperthermia is known as a pharmacogenetic disorder which manifests itself in the skeletal muscle (Heytens, Forget, Scholtès, & Veyckemans, 2015). When a susceptible patient, who carries the autosomal dominant trait, is exposed to volatile anesthetics and/or the neuromuscular blocker succinylcholine, a detrimental response can occur. This response is a hypermetabolic state with hypercapnia, hemodynamic instability, rigidity, hyperthermia, and signs of rhabdomyolysis (Heytens et al., 2015). MH is a rare condition with incidences between 1/5,000 and 1/50,000 (Nagelhout and Plaus, 2014, p. 829), and often occurs during the induction of anesthesia but can also occur intraoperatively or one hour post …

Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction, Miranda Shull

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

A poster project about Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction.

Malignant Hyperthermia, Aaron Roth

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Malignant hyperthermia is a rare disease trait and can take place in a variety of settings. If not treated in a timely manner, the consequences will be dire. It is recommended that nurses and other healthcare personnel be properly educated on MH crises. By detecting the signs and symptoms associated with the disease, providers can efficiently remedy the crisis and save patient lives (Seifert, 2014). Since the discovery of dantrolene in 1975 and the advancement of genetics regarding MH, death rates dropped from about 80% to about 5% (Schneiderbanger et al., 2014). Today there is a MH group called the …

Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Tyler B. Skelton

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Guillain-Barre Syndrome consists of a group of neuropathic conditions characterized by progressive weakness and diminished or absent myotatic reflexes. The estimated annual incidence in the United States is 1.65 to1.79 per 100,000 persons (Walling & Dickson, 2013). Understanding how this condition progresses and the affects it has on a patient will assistant in providing optimal patient care as a future nurse anesthetist. As stated by Turakhia, P., Barrick, B., and Berman, J. (2013) “the anesthetic implications for the various comorbidities are varied and can be profound” (p.1). An individual who suffers from Guillain-Barre is a patient who certainly requires critical …

Septic Shock, Lacey Lauer

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Sepsis is a frequently seen diagnosis in hospital settings, which when left untreated can progress to severe sepsis and septic shock. Septic shock occurs in more than 230,000 patients in the United States annually and is the cause of more than 40,000 deaths (Seymour & Rosengart, 2015). It is very important for hospital staff members to quickly and accurately identify signs of sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock so that patients can undergo treatment as quickly as possible. Studies have shown that the early treatment of sepsis may lead to decreased sepsis-related mortality (Benedict, 2015).

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Brian Flowers

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

In healthcare, there are many interesting and intriguing conditions that are vital to understand from both a clinical and a pathophysiological standpoint. Comprehending and knowing how to treat these conditions effectively, ultimately leads to the best care and patient outcomes. As a current critical care nurse and future advanced practice nurse, it was important to select a research topic of interest to explore that would benefit a high risk group of patients. Based on this precedent, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was chosen. As a critical care nurse, exposure to respiratory conditions and mechanical ventilation management is something nurses are …

Assessment Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury By Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, Mary Lou Garey

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the knowledge about assessing mild traumatic brain injured patient by the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) as reflected in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Acute Concussion Evaluation (ACE) Tool Kit. A descriptive cross-sectional survey research design was used to assess knowledge about the evidenced based assessment of APRNs practicing in an urgent care setting as established by the CDC for the evaluation of acute concussion. Specifically the history and physical assessment practices of the APRNs for the mild traumatic brain injured patient (MTBI) were evaluated in relationship to the CDC / …