The Dying Patient in the Critical Care Setting: Making the Critical Difference

1990 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Caswell ◽  
Anna Omery
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Critical Care Setting ◽  
Critically Ill Patient ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Nursing Diagnosis ◽  
Care Situation ◽  
Dying Patient

Death is an inevitable fact in the critical care setting. This fact does not make it more comfortable for the nurse who is caring for a critically ill patient who is dying. Some health care providers have recommended that the critical care resources are better utilized for the patient whose prognosis is not death. This position can be countered with the perspective that there may be no better place to provide the intensive nursing care that the dying patient may need than the critical care setting. A new nursing diagnosis, Terminal Syndrome related to the dying process is introduced to assist the nurse in providing comprehensive care for what is often a complex patient care situation. The goal is to achieve for each dying individual in the critical care setting what she or he truly desires, an end to the life process, a death achieved with comfort and dignity.

Anticonvulsants: Pharmacotberapeutic Issues in the Critically Ill Patient

1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Dupuis ◽  
Jorge Miranda-Massari
Keyword(s):  
Critical Care ◽  
Critically Ill ◽  
Critically Ill Patients ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Critical Care Setting ◽  
Critically Ill Patient ◽  
Care Nurse ◽  
Critical Care Nurse ◽  
Epilepsy Treatment

Critically ill patients often have or develop conditions that make them susceptible to seizures and epilepsy. Treatment frequently involves the use of anticonvulsants. In order to use these effectively, the critical care nurse must be aware of the indications and controversies surrounding their use, the pathophysiologic conditions that impact on the disposition, and appropriate dosing and monitoring of these agents in the critical care setting

Compatibility of Intravenous Drugs in a Coronary Intensive Care Unit

1986 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 349-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F. Dasta ◽  
Frederick P. Zeller ◽  
Robert J. Anders
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Setting Time ◽  
Critical Care Setting ◽  
Critically Ill Patient ◽  
Accessible Information ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Physical And Chemical

In a coronary intensive care unit (CCU) it is often necessary to utilize extensive pharmacologic interventions and multiple intravenous medications in order to stabilize a critically ill patient. However, the necessity of several intravenous infusions often presents the problem of compatibility of these medications when infused within a common line. The pharmacist must possess adequate skill to identify potential incompatibilities by retrieving information on the physical and chemical compatibilities of various intravenous medications. In a critical care setting, time is an important factor, and information that can be obtained rapidly and reliably is vital for the pharmacist to prevent the administration of an irritating substance or a medication that has undergone deterioration as a result of chemical inactivation. A compatibility table containing the most commonly used drugs in a CCU has been developed based on currently available literature, including standard reference texts, about these medications. The table outlines the potential for interactions, within a single intravenous line, when several drugs are infused concurrently. In addition, a review of the concepts of physical and chemical incompatibility is presented. The stability of an admixture is defined utilizing requirements established in the USP NF monographs and manufacturers' specifications. The resulting table concisely organizes vital information in a form that allows rapid, accessible information to the pharmacist in a critical care setting, where it is most needed.

Valvular stenosis

2020 ◽  
pp. 195-206
Author(s):  
Ana Martinez-Naharro ◽  
Susanna Price
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Multimodality Imaging ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Critical Care Setting ◽  
Critically Ill Patient ◽  
Valvular Stenosis ◽  
Echocardiographic Parameters

Evaluation of valve stenosis in the critical care setting can be challenging, as the clinical status of the patient may preclude the gold standard for assessment (multimodality imaging), demanding reliance on echocardiographic parameters that are not well-validated in the intensive care unit. Valve stenosis is common, and where it precipitates intensive care admission is likely to be severe, and affecting the left-sided valves. On occasion, however, stenosis may be an incidental finding in a critically ill patient with a variable impact on their clinical status. Right-sided lesions are rare (outside the grown-up congenital patient population) and only very infrequently lead to acute haemodynamic deterioration. Echocardiography is indicated in any intensive care unit (ICU) patient where there is suspicion of valvular heart disease. This chapter outlines how to assess valvular stenosis and define its severity in the critical care setting according to integrated echocardiographic parameters. It highlights how critical care pathophysiology may complicate this evaluation, and any potential pitfalls that may exist.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document