Antimicrobial residual drug error in the intensive care unit; a single blinded prospective observational study.

Objective: To determine the percentage of drug remaining in discarded antibiotic vials after use.

Design: Blinded prospective observational trial.

Setting: 26-bed Australian metropolitan tertiary referral intensive care unit.

Staff perceptions of family access and visitation policies in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units: The WELCOME-ICU survey.

Background: Family-centred critical care recognises the impact of a loved one's critical illness on his relatives. Open visiting is a strategy to improve family satisfaction and psychological outcomes by permitting unrestricted or less restricted access to visit their family member in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, increased family presence may result in increased workload and a risk of burnout for ICU staff.

Developing a postgraduate professional education framework for emergency nursing: a co-design approach.

Background: Hospital and university service providers invest significant but separate resources into preparing registered nurses to work in the emergency department setting. This results in the duplication of both curricula and resource investment in the health and higher education sectors. This paper describes an evidence-based co-designed study with clinical-academic stakeholders from hospital and university settings.

Incidence and Prevalence of Pressure Injuries in Adult Intensive Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: To systematically assess the incidence and prevalence of pressure injuries in adult ICU patients and the most frequently occurring pressure injury sites.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature.

Study Selection: Observational studies reporting incidence rates, cumulative incidence, and prevalence of pressure injuries.

Kirkpatrick's Evaluation of Simulation and Debriefing in Health Care Education: A Systematic Review.

Background: Simulation is an integral component of health care education. Research suggests a positive relationship between simulation and learning outcomes. Kirkpatrick's framework is a four-level model based on the premise that learning resulting from training programs can be classified into four levels: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.

Factors Influencing Clinical Performance of Baccalaureate Nursing Majors: A Retrospective Audit.

Background: Transition of nursing student to new graduate depends on successful completion of clinical work placement during an undergraduate course. Supporting students during the clinical placement is imperative. This study examined associations between grade point average, domestic or international status, course entry qualification, and single or dual nursing degree to successful completion of clinical placement.

Candida albicans colonisation, continence status and incontinence-associated dermatitis in the acute care setting: a pilot study.

Candida albicans is the most prevalent human fungal commensal organism and is reported to be the most frequent aetiological organism responsible for infection associated with incontinence-associated dermatitis. However, it remains unclear whether incontinence predisposes a patient to increased Candida colonisation or whether incontinence acts as a trigger for Candida infection in those already colonised. The purpose of this observational cross-sectional study was to estimate colonisation rates of C.

The Skin Safety Model: Reconceptualizing Skin Vulnerability in Older Patients.

Purpose: To develop a unique skin safety model (SSM) that offers a new and unified perspective on the diverse yet interconnected antecedents that contribute to a spectrum of potential iatrogenic skin injuries in older hospitalized adults.

Organizing Construct: Discussion paper.

Methods: A literature search of electronic databases was conducted for published articles written in English addressing skin integrity and iatrogenic skin injury in elderly hospital patients between 1960 and 2014.

Incontinence-associated dermatitis: a cross-sectional prevalence study in the Australian acute care hospital setting.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify the prevalence of incontinence and incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) in Australian acute care patients and to describe the products worn to manage incontinence, and those provided at the bedside for perineal skin care. Data on 376 inpatients were collected over 2 days at a major Australian teaching hospital. The mean age of the sample group was 62 years and 52% of the patients were male.

A prospective window into medical device-related pressure ulcers in intensive care.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, severity, location, aetiology, treatment and healing of medical device-related pressure ulcers (PUs) in intensive care patients for up to 7 days. A prospective repeated measures study design was used. Patients in six intensive care units of two major medical centres, one each in Australia and the USA, were screened 1 day per month for 6 months.

A prospective pilot study evaluating the 'cardiac decompensation score' in the setting of intraaortic balloon counterpulsation.

The study objective was to determine whether the 'cardiac decompensation score' could identify cardiac decompensation in a patient with existing cardiac compromise managed with intraaortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP). A one-group, posttest-only design was utilised to collect observations in 2003 from IABP recipients treated in the intensive care unit of a 450 bed Australian, government funded, public, cardiothoracic, tertiary referral hospital. Twenty-three consecutive IABP recipients were enrolled, four of whom died in ICU (17.

The provision of patient personal hygiene in the intensive care unit: a descriptive exploratory study of bed-bathing practice.

Background/objectives: The provision of the patient bed-bath is a fundamental nursing care activity yet few quantitative data and no qualitative data are available on registered nurses' (RNs) clinical practice in this domain in the intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to describe ICU RNs current practice with respect to the timing, frequency and duration of the patient bed-bath and the cleansing and emollient agents used.

Methods: The study utilised a two-phase sequential explanatory mixed method design.

Part 1. Chemical and physical restraints in the management of mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU: contributing factors.

Chemical and physical restraints are frequently used in the intensive care unit (ICU) to control agitated patients and to prevent self-harm and unplanned extubations. Published work relating to the numerous issues of the care and treatment strategies for these patients remains conflicting and unclear. Literature regarding sedation and chemical restraint reveals a trend towards management with lighter sedation, use of sedation assessment tools and sedation protocols.

Part 2. Chemical and physical restraints in the management of mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU: a patient perspective.

An important goal of the care for the mechanically ventilated patient is to minimize patient discomfort and anxiety. This is partly achieved by frequent use of chemical and physical restraints. The majority of patients in intensive care will receive some form of sedation.

Nursing care of the mechanically ventilated patient: what does the evidence say? Part two.

The care of the mechanically ventilated patient is a fundamental component of a nurse's clinical practice in the intensive care unit (ICU). Published work relating to the numerous nursing issues of the care of the mechanically ventilated patient in the ICU is growing significantly, yet is fragmentary by nature. The purpose of this paper is to provide a single comprehensive examination of the evidence related to the care of the mechanically ventilated patient.

Nursing care of the mechanically ventilated patient: what does the evidence say? Part one.

The care of the mechanically ventilated patient is at the core of a nurse's clinical practice in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Published work relating to the numerous nursing issues of the care of the mechanically ventilated patient in the ICU is growing significantly. Literature focuses on patient assessment and management strategies for patient stressors, pain and sedation.

The experience of agency nurses working in a London teaching hospital.

This Husserlian phenomenological study explored the lived experience of eight full-time agency nurses working in the environment of intensive care in London, United Kingdom. In-depth interviews were used to ascertain the participants' experiences of full-time agency nursing in intensive care. Colaizzi's [Colaizzi P.