Articles: critical-illness.
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Critical care medicine · Dec 1994
Comparative Study Retracted PublicationIs continuous cardiac output measurement using thermodilution reliable in the critically ill patient?
Evaluation of continuous cardiac output monitoring based on the thermodilution technique in the critically ill. ⋯ Continuous monitoring of cardiac output using a modified pulmonary artery catheter with a heated filament has proven to be accurate and precise in the critically ill patient when compared with the "standard" intermittent bolus thermodilution technique. The continuous monitoring technique enhances our armamentarium for more intensive monitoring of these patients under a variety of circumstances.
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Ugeskrift for laeger · Nov 1994
[Patient categories and use of staff in transportation of patients between hospitals in Denmark].
Questions about how many and how far patients are transported from one hospital to another in Denmark were put to assistant matrons of anaesthesiological wards. They were also asked about what type of patients they accompanied on interhospital transports. ⋯ The patients are mostly neurosurgical and paediatric patients. Apart from the nurse from the anaesthesiological ward, there is usually also a doctor from another ward who accompanies the patient.
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The gastrointestinal tract is a major immunologic organ that must be maximally supported during critical illness. Gastrointestinal tissues require direct contact with nutrients to support their own rapid cellular turnover rate and carry out the multitude of metabolic and immunologic functions needed for successful adaptation to stress. ⋯ Early enteral nutrition has been shown to be a viable, economic, and physiologically beneficial way to support the gastrointestinal tract during critical illness. The fortification of enteral formulas with glutamine, arginine, or fiber is being studied to determine each one's unique role in the gut and immunologic changes that occur with severe stress.
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The recognition and treatment of malnutrition has been shown to improve the survival of patients. Current research to prevent and improve patient outcome with nutritional interventions in the critically ill is promising. Nurses are responsible for identifying the signs and symptoms of malnutrition, administering nutritional therapy while assessing for complications and side effects associated with these treatments, and monitoring the effectiveness of nutritional interventions. ⋯ Various feeding devices, products, and complications related to enteral nutrition are explained in detail. Comprehensive nursing care as related to the delivery of feeding products through various feeding devices is reviewed. Nursing research applicable to the practice of enteral nutrition in the intensive care unit is presented.