Dimensions of critical care nursing : DCCN
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialImpact of a Nurse Intervention to Improve Sleep Quality in Intensive Care Units: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Patients of adult intensive care units (ICUs) often suffer from a lack of sleep. Reducing anxiety by promoting adaptation to the ICU prior to admission may be an appropriate way to increase sleep quality. ⋯ A nurse intervention prior to ICU admission did not increase patients' sleep quality. In addition, the intervention could have incremented anxiety over the patients who used to sleep poorly at their homes.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyContinuous lateral rotation therapy for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure: the effect of timing.
Previous studies have indicated a positive impact of continuous lateral rotational therapy on nosocomial pneumonia, but have shown mixed results in decreasing length of stay or ventilator days. The objective of the study was to determine if the use of a continuous lateral rotational therapy protocol would decrease mortality and morbidity, mean ventilator days, and/or intensive care unit and hospital length of stay in patients with a pulmonary diagnosis. ⋯ Early initiation of continuous lateral rotational therapy resulted in significant decreases in ventilator days and intensive care unit length of stay. The therapeutic benefit of continuous lateral rotational therapy may be enhanced with early identification and treatment of appropriate patients.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Nov 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialMenstrual cycle-related variations in postoperative analgesia with the preemptive use of N-methyl D-aspartate antagonist ketamine: a pilot study.
Several studies have supported that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist can reduce the perception of postoperative pain. Hormonal fluctuations throughout the human menstrual cycle can influence pain pathways. In this pilot study, we evaluated postoperative pain in 22 female participants between the ages of 20 and 56 years undergoing laparoscopic abdominal procedures. ⋯ Total equipotent analgesic administration was also recorded. We found trends suggesting that women receiving ketamine and women in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle had lower visual analog scale scores upon arrival to the unit. Ketamine recipients also received less rescue analgesic medication in the unit.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · Sep 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialUsing evidence-based practice to develop a protocol for postoperative surgical intensive care unit patients.
Sixty adult postoperative patients from the surgical intensive care unit with core temperatures <35.4 degrees C, as measured by a pulmonary artery catheter, were randomly assigned to one of three treatment options for hypothermia. Results of this study confirmed findings in the literature that forced warm air generated quickest rewarming times. A rewarming protocol for hypothermic patients was developed and implemented. Performance improvement activity demonstrated high compliance rates with nurses using the rewarming protocol.
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Dimens Crit Care Nurs · May 1998
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialEnd-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring for weaning patients: a pilot study.
This research pilot study evaluates the usefulness of capnography for patients being weaned from mechanical ventilation in a medical intensive care unit (MICU). The hypothesis that capnography would allow for more rapid weaning from mechanical ventilation, and require fewer arterial blood gases (ABGs) during the process, was found to be untrue. Several implications for critical care nursing practices were derived from the literature review and findings of this study.