Critical care nurse
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2021
Favorable Outcomes After Implementing a Nurse-Driven Sedation Protocol.
In patients receiving mechanical ventilation, prolonged exposure to sedative and analgesic medications contributes to negative clinical outcomes. ⋯ These preliminary data suggest that implementation of a nurse-driven sedation protocol resulted in favorable outcomes by decreasing duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit length of stay, and duration of continuous sedation and increasing the number of spontaneous awakening trials performed.
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2021
ReviewUnderstanding Disorders of Consciousness: Opportunities for Critical Care Nurses.
Disorders of consciousness are powerful predictors of outcomes including mortality among critically ill patients. Encephalopathy, delirium, and coma are disorders of consciousness frequently encountered by critical care nurses but often classified incorrectly. ⋯ Paying close attention to neurological changes and monitoring them with standardized assessments are critical to implementing early measures to prevent complications.
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2021
Case ReportsNursing Management of a Patient With COVID-19 Receiving ECMO: A Case Report.
Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been recommended as an effective rescue therapy for select critically ill patients with COVID-19. This case report describes a first experience caring for a patient with COVID-19 who received venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and expands the literature by discussing relevant nursing management and operational considerations. ⋯ Caring for a patient with COVID-19 receiving venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation posed unprecedented challenges that required deviations from standards of care to optimize infection control measures and staff safety while providing quality care. This case report may inform, prepare, and guide other critical care nurses who will be caring for similar patients during this pandemic.