Recent favorable outcomes in critically ill patients with cancer may mitigate historic acquiescent optimism in critical care unit therapy*

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 293-294
Author(s):  
Amar Safdar
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Patients With Cancer

scholarly journals Febrile neutropenia in intensive care: a challenge for the modern day intensivist

2019 ◽  
pp. S102-S105
Author(s):  
Saad Ur Rehman ◽  
Ahsun Waqar Khan
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Prognostic Factors ◽  
Febrile Neutropenia ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Optimal Management ◽  
Common Complication ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Organ Specific

Febrile Neutropenia (FN) is a fairly common complication of cancer chemotherapy. It leads to delays in cancer treatment and worsens prognosis. Patients with FN are frequently admitted to intensive care with organ specific complications of FN. The optimal management of critically ill patients with FN necessitates expertise in oncology, critical care, and infectious diseases. Intensive care specialists therefore have to be familiar with key principles of care for critically ill patients with cancer and FN. This review provides an overview of the pathophysiology, definition, management and prognostic factors of critically ill patients with FN.Citation: Rehman SU, Khan AW. Febrile neutropenia in intensive care: a challenge for the modern day intensivist. Anaesth Pain & Intensive Care 2018;22 Suppl 1:S102-S105

Professional nurse caring as perceived by critically ill patients: a phenomenologic study

1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
SN Burfitt ◽  
DS Greiner ◽  
LJ Miers ◽  
MR Kinney ◽  
ME Branyon
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Shared Experience ◽  
Caring Behaviors ◽  
Nurse Caring ◽  
Professional Nurses

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients have received little attention in the caring literature and yet are a population for whom caring behaviors are particularly important. OBJECTIVES: To describe patients' perceptions of caring exhibited by professional nurses in a critical care unit and to describe the meaning to the patients of these demonstrations of caring. METHODS: We used a phenomenologic approach for this descriptive study, which was conducted on 13 patients hospitalized in a critical care unit for at least 48 hours within 48 hours of their transfer from the unit. We asked them to respond to two open-ended questions and recorded all interviews on audio tapes that were transcribed verbatim. RESULTS: Caring in a critical care unit is attentive, vigilant behavior on the part of the nurse. This vigilance embodies nurturance and incorporates highly skilled, technical practices, as well as basic nursing care and beyond. Caring is a healing process of which lifesaving actions by the nurse are a part. Identifying the characteristics of the individuals involved in this healing process was one way of describing caring. Personal attributes of nurses, family members, and patients themselves are important in the descriptions of the caring process. These attributes are incorporated into the concept of mutuality. CONCLUSIONS: Caring is descriptive of a mutual process in which intentions are joined to form a shared experience. In this mutual process, healing is an outcome that might otherwise be elusive.

Perception of nurses regarding family needs of critically ill patients in a tertiary hospital of Kathmandu: A cross-sectional study

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-12
Author(s):  
Sabita Pandey ◽  
Roshanee Shrestha ◽  
Narayani Paudel
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Family Needs ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background: Getting serious illness and being admitted in critical care unit is always stressful to patient and family members. Meeting the needs of family members of patients in the intensive care unit is a primary responsibility of intensive care unit staff and an important criterion in assessment of quality of care. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the family members’ needs of critically ill patients as perceived by nurses. Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 50 nurses from different critical care unitsof Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital using purposive sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was developed by referring to “Critical Care Family Needs Inventory”in our context for data collection and collected data was analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 24.98 ± SD 2.77.Regarding education and experience, 58% respondents had proficiency certificate level and 42% had bachelor level education and mean working experience in critical care unit was 37.54 months. Regarding the importance of family needs, 86% nurses perceived “explanation about the critical care unit environment before admitting the patient in critical care unit” as very important need for the relatives. Likewise, 58% nurses perceived “to know which staff members could give what type of information” and “to be alone at any time” as the least important needs. Conclusion: The study found that clear explanation about the critical care environment to the relatives is very important to gain co-operation from them in treatment of critically ill patients. Hence, staff of critical care unit needs to be aware in meeting the needs of relatives.

scholarly journals Optical coherence tomography (OCT) in unconscious and systemically unwell patients using a mobile OCT device: a pilot study

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e030882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxuan Liu ◽  
Aditya Uday Kale ◽  
Nicholas Capewell ◽  
Nicholas Talbot ◽  
Sumiya Ahmed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Coherence Tomography ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Consecutive Series ◽  
Optical Coherence ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Clinical Value ◽  
Ocular Complications

ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the feasibility of retinal imaging in critical care using a novel mobile optical coherence tomography (OCT) device. The Heidelberg SPECTRALIS FLEX module (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) is an OCT unit with a boom arm, enabling ocular OCT assessment in less mobile patients.DesignWe undertook an evaluation of the feasibility of using the SPECTRALIS FLEX for undertaking ocular OCT images in unconscious and critically ill patients.SettingThis study was conducted in the critical care unit of a large tertiary referral unit in the United Kingdom.Participants13 systemically unwell patients admitted to the critical care unit were purposively sampled to enable evaluation in patients with a range of clinical states.Outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the feasibility of acquiring clinically interpretable OCT scans on a consecutive series of patients. The standardised scanning protocol included macula-focused OCT, OCT optic nerve head (ONH), OCT angiography (OCTA) of the macula and ONH OCTA.ResultsOCT images from 13 patients were attempted. The success rates of each scan type are 84% for OCT macula, 76% for OCT ONH, 56% for OCTA macula and 36% for OCTA ONH. The overall mean success rate of scans per patient was 64% (95% CI 46% to 81%). Clinicians reported clinical value in 100% scans which were successfully obtained, including both ruling in and ruling out relevant ocular complications such as corneal thinning, macular oedema and optic disc swelling. The most common causes of failure to achieve clinically interpretable scans were inadequately sustained OCT alignment in delirious patients and a compromised ocular surface due to corneal exposure.ConclusionsThis prospective evaluation indicates the feasibility and potential clinical value of the SPECTRALIS FLEX OCT system on the critical care unit. Portable OCT systems have the potential to bring instrument-based ophthalmic assessment to critically ill patients, enabling detection and micron-level monitoring of ocular complications.

scholarly journals Electroencephalogram Monitoring in Critical Care

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (06) ◽  
pp. 675-680
Author(s):  
Clio Rubinos ◽  
Ayham Alkhachroum ◽  
Caroline Der-Nigoghossian ◽  
Jan Claassen
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Eeg Monitoring ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽  
Brain Monitoring

AbstractSeizures are common in critically ill patients. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a tool that enables clinicians to provide continuous brain monitoring and to guide treatment decisions—brain telemetry. EEG monitoring has particular utility in the intensive care unit as most seizures in this setting are nonconvulsive. Despite the increased use of EEG monitoring in the critical care unit, it remains underutilized. In this review, we summarize the utility of EEG and different EEG modalities to monitor patients in the critical care setting.

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