American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
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Findings on outcomes of heart transplant patients who had diabetes mellitus before transplant are conflicting. ⋯ Heart transplant recipients with pretransplant diabetes fared just as well as patients without pretransplant diabetes in 7 of the 8 outcomes examined, except for the number of days hospitalized during the first 3 years after heart transplant. This study provides clinically important new information on the greater hospitalization time and the reasons for hospitalization during the first 3 years after heart transplant in patients with pretransplant diabetes.
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The cardiovascular and surgical intensive care units had the highest unit-acquired pressure injury rates at an institution. Patients in these units had multiple risk factors for pressure injuries. Various interventions had been used to minimize pressure injuries, with limited results. ⋯ Addressing the microclimate, friction, and shear by using specialty linens reduces the number of posterior pressure injuries. The use of specialty linens in addition to standard techniques for preventing pressure injuries can help prevent pressure injuries from developing in high-risk patients in intensive care units.
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The prognostic importance of subsyndromal delirium is unknown. ⋯ Subsyndromal delirium occurred in most critically ill patients, and its duration was an independent predictor of institutionalization. Routine monitoring of all delirium symptoms may enable detection of full and subsyndromal forms of delirium.