Articles Tagged With: ICU
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Family Members Encouraged to Offer More Care for Loved Ones in ICU
Researchers provide guidance to worried family members who may not know how to act in the intimidating ICU setting.
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Sepsis Outcomes Improve, But Not at Minority-Serving Hospitals
ICU deaths declined 2% steadily annually at non-minority hospitals, according to a recent report. This was not true of minority-serving hospitals. Those hospitals also reported longer lengths of stay and more critical illness than non-minority hospitals.
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ICU Length of Stay Linked to Burnout in Critical Care Nurses
Considering longer length of stay is a possible consequence of burnout, there is an ethical concern that patients are harmed when exposed to healthcare systems with high rates of clinical staff burnout.
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Establishing the Right Policies on Decision-Making for Unrepresented ICU Patients
A new policy statement recommends institutions prevent patients from becoming unrepresented in the first place by offering advance care planning. Conduct thorough capacity assessments and search for potential surrogates before assuming patients are unrepresented.
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Some Hospitalized Patients Admitted to ICU, Contrary to Stated Wishes
Research has demonstrated that completed Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms can help people with chronic illness avoid unwanted hospitalizations and CPR. However, there is more to learn about what happens when patients with POLST forms are admitted to the hospital near the end of life.
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Families’ Surprising Opinions on End-of-Life ICU Care
Intensive care units may be associated with poor-quality end-of-life care. A recent study’s findings call that assumption into question — at least from the family’s perspective.
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ICU Team Members’ Ethics Knowledge Varies Widely
ICU team members may lack a common language to talk about ethical problems. These differences shape how ICU professionals think about an ethical dilemma — or even whether something is viewed as an ethical dilemma at all.
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When should case be sent for external peer review?
Imagine being in the position of publicly critiquing a competing hospital's compliance with Joint Commission requirements. Would you be able to be completely objective? Even if you were, would your colleagues really trust your ability to be impartial? -
HIV+ patients still need PCP prophylaxis
Prophylaxis against pcp remains the single most cost-effective intervention in HIV+ patients at risk. But treatment has, in some ways, become a moving target in some patients, as their CD4 count rises and falls with newer HIV therapies, medication side effects, and variable compliance.