Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Implementation of a pain management algorithm in intensive care units and evaluation of nurses' level of adherence with the algorithm.
To implement a pain management algorithm in intensive care units (ICU) and to evaluate nurses' level of adherence with the algorithm. ⋯ ICU nurses can use a pain management algorithm consistently. Findings from this study suggest that a pain management algorithm is a useful tool to increase ICU nurses' adherence with pain assessment.
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Multicenter Study
The number of mechanically ventilated ICU patients meeting communication criteria.
(1) Estimate the proportion of mechanically ventilated (MV) intensive care unit (ICU) patients meeting basic communication criteria who could potentially be served by assistive communication tools and speech-language consultation. (2) Compare characteristics of patients who met communication criteria with those who did not. ⋯ We estimate that half of MV patients in the ICU could potentially be served by assistive communication tools and speech-language consultation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Nurse and patient characteristics associated with duration of nurse talk during patient encounters in ICU.
Communication interactions between nurses and mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are typically brief. Factors associated with length of nurses' communication have not been explored. ⋯ Length of time the patient is intubated, and the patient's level of consciousness may influence duration of nurse communication in ICU.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
What keeps nurses from the sexual counseling of patients with heart failure?
We sought to examine the current practice of discussing sexual health by heart failure (HF) nurses, and to explore which barriers prevent nurses from discussing sexuality. ⋯ Although HF nurses feel responsible for discussing sexuality, this topic is rarely addressed in clinics. Several barriers were identified, relating to personal, patient, and organizational factors.
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Multicenter Study
Community trends in the use and characteristics of persons with acute myocardial infarction who are transported by emergency medical services.
Limited data exist on recent trends in ambulance use and factors associated with ambulance use in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), particularly from the more generalizable perspective of a community-wide investigation. This population-based prospective epidemiologic study describes the decade-long trends (1997-2007) in the use of emergency medical services (EMS) by residents of the Worcester, Massachusetts, metropolitan area who are hospitalized for AMI and the characteristics of patients with AMI who are transported to the hospital by EMS (n = 3789) compared with those transported by other means (n = 1505). ⋯ Our findings provide encouragement for the use of EMS in residents of a large central New England community hospitalized with AMI. Despite increasing trends in ambulance use, more research is needed to explore the reasons why patients with AMI do not use EMS in the setting of an acute cardiac emergency.