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Critical care

Person-centred critical care for a person with learning disability and COVID-19: case study of positive risk taking

From the initial identification of COVID-19 as a disease caused by a novel, highly contagious virus (SARS-CoV-2) presenting a global public health emergency, people with learning disabilities...

Embedding the A-EQUIP model of restorative supervision in a critical care unit by professional nurse advocates

Before implementation of the role and to understand the existing knowledge that staff had around the role, a questionnaire was sent to all staff. Of the relevant 83 staff members, 53 responded (a...

Central venous access device locking practices in the adult critical care setting: a single-centre, observational study establishing duration of locking per catheter lumen

Results reveal that at least one lumen of the majority of central lines in the ICU is locked for longer than a third of the total time in situ. This is a much larger proportion of time than initially...

The diagnosis and management of acute hyponatraemia in critical care

The recognised normal range for serum sodium concentration (SNa) in adults is accepted as 135-145 millimoles per litre (mmol/litre). Hyponatraemia is more commonly an excess of total body water rather...

Evaluating the effectiveness of octenidine-containing wash mitts in reducing infections in intensive care

HCAIs are infections occurring in a healthcare setting that were not present before the patient was admitted, and they remain one of the most common types of adverse events affecting patients (Haque...

Advanced airway management and drug-assisted intubation skills in an advanced critical care practitioner team

The ACCP team has developed over an 8-year period within a conglomerate of three district general hospitals (Heartlands, Goodhope and Solihull hospitals, HGS) comprising 26 critical care beds. The...

Service evaluation of a COVID-19 critical care orientation programme

Critical care areas faced particular challenges during the pandemic (Anandaciva, 2020). In the early stages of the pandemic, recognising the need to increase the nursing workforce, many hospitals...

Evaluating a psychological support service focused on the needs of critical care and theatres staff in the first wave of COVID-19

Research from previous pandemics has shown that working with additional pressures has both a physical and psychological impact on healthcare workers. For example, about 10% of those working in health...

Estimating the time point for nutritional failure in patients suffering from acute brain attacks in the intensive care unit

This study aimed to estimate the time point where the development of nutritional failure and feeding-related complications are more likely among critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients...

Evaluation of the safety of inter-hospital transfers of critically ill patients led by advanced critical care practitioners

An ACCP-led transfer service has replaced an ad hoc process of transfer, with one of a consistent team combined with a process of training, governance and continual review. Data collection has allowed...

Central venous pressure monitoring in critical care settings

The Frank-Starling law states that the force or tension developed in a muscle fibre depends on the extent to which it is stretched..

A Guide to the Gut Microbiome and its Relevance to Critical Care

If abnormalities in the gut microbiome may be a risk factor for —or directly contribute to—particular diseases, then attempting to alter the gut microbiome back to a ‘normal’ state may be an...

The development of critical care nursing education in Zambia

The purpose of this activity was for key stakeholders to review and validate the current Advanced Diploma in Critical Care Nursing and to prepare a framework for a bachelor degree-level critical care...

Factors influencing sleep quality among Jordanian intensive care patients

The general purpose of this study was to investigate the demographic and environmental factors that might adversely affect the patients' quality of sleep. The hypotheses were: patients' demographic...

What are the challenges for nurses when providing end-of-life care in intensive care units?

A comprehensive literature search was conducted between March and July 2018. Key words and synonyms (end of life care, terminal care, nurses, challenges, delivering, provision, quality care, acute...

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