American Journal of Critical Care

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: The effect of delirium on physical function in patients undergoing noncardiac thoracic surgery has not been well described and may differ from that in other surgical populations. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of delirium on muscle strength and functional independence. The primary end point was change in Medical Research Council sum score (MRC-SS) by delirium status. METHODS: A secondary analysis of data from a clinical trial involving English-speaking adults aged 18 years or older who were undergoing major noncardiac thoracic surgery...

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcomes are essential to understand the relationship between patients' perception of sedation and clinicians' assessments of sedation. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between sedation and agitation indexes and patient-reported outcomes of sedation and analgesia. METHODS: This prospective, single-center, observational study included adult patients who were continuously sedated for at least 24 hours in a medical or surgical/ trauma intensive care unit...

BACKGROUND: Professional quality of life is the quality a person feels in relation to work. For critical care nurses, it is composed of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Professional quality of life is affected by work environment. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has identified 6 standards for a healthy work environment. OBJECTIVE: To explore which of the AACN healthy work environment standards have the strongest impact on professional quality of life in critical care nurses...

BACKGROUND: Pain, agitation, and delirium are associated with negative outcomes in critically ill patients. Reducing variation in pain, agitation, and delirium management among institutions could improve care. OBJECTIVES: To define opportunities to improve pain, agitation, and delirium management in intensive care units in British Columbia, Canada. METHODS: A 13-item survey was developed to determine practices for assessing and managing pain, agitation, and delirium...

BACKGROUND: Standards for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) licensure in the United States require certification programs to analyze practice in order to document the knowledge and skills necessary for entry-level adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners (AGACNPs) and wellness-through-acute-care clinical nurse specialists (AGCNSs). The practice analysis done every 5 years by the AACN Certification Corporation provides research data for use in establishing test plans for certification of APRNs...

BACKGROUND: Management of delirium in intensive care units is challenging because effective therapies are lacking. Music is a promising nonpharmacological intervention. OBJECTIVES: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of personalized music (PM), slow-tempo music (STM), and attention control (AC) in patients receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit, and to estimate the effect of music on delirium. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was performed in an academic medical-surgical intensive care unit...

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea (breathing discomfort) is commonly experienced by critically ill patients and at this time is not routinely assessed and documented. Intensive care unit nurses at the study institution recently instituted routine assessment and documentation of dyspnea in all patients able to report using a numeric scale ranging from 0 to 10. OBJECTIVE: To assess nurses' perceptions of the utility of routine dyspnea measurement, patients' comprehension of assessment questions, and the impact on nursing practice and to gather nurses' suggestions for improvement...

BACKGROUND: Societal attitudes about end-of-life events are at odds with how, where, and when children die. In addition, parents' ideas about what constitutes a "good death" in a pediatric intensive care unit vary widely. OBJECTIVE: To synthesize parents' perspectives on end-of-life care in the pediatric intensive care unit in order to define the characteristics of a good death in this setting from the perspectives of parents. METHODS: A concept analysis was conducted of parents' views of a good death in the pediatric intensive care unit...

BACKGROUND: Physical restraints are frequently used for intensive care patients and are associated with substantial morbidity. The effects of common evidence-based critical care interventions on use of physical restraints remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To identify independent predictors of new-onset use of physical restraints in critically ill adults. METHODS: Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study involving 5 adult intensive care units in a tertiary care medical center in the United States...

BACKGROUND: Stress and burnout are plaguing critical care nurses across the globe and leading to high levels of turnover. Resilience-building strategies such as mindfulness, self-care, and well-being can help shield nurses from the negative effects of workplace stress. As the first line of defense, nursing schools could provide students with strategies that build resilience; however, little is known about the availability of such resources in nursing education. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of resources and curricula targeting resilience training and stress reduction at nursing schools across the United States...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.