Change-of-Shift Nursing Handoff Interruptions: Implications for Evidence-Based Practice.

Background: The importance of change-of-shift handoffs in maintaining patient safety has been well demonstrated. Change-of-shift handoff is an important source of data used in surveillance, a nursing intervention aimed at identifying and preventing complications. Surveillance requires the nurse to acquire, process, and synthesize information (cues) encountered during patient care.

Therapeutic hypothermia for out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation survivors: a feasibility study comparing time to achieve target core temperature using conventional conductive cooling versus combined conductive plus pericranial convective cooling.

Objective: Mild to moderate therapeutic hypothermia (TH) has been shown to improve survival and neurologic outcome, as well as to reduce healthcare costs in patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with ventricular fibrillation. Accordingly, the American Heart Association has categorized this as a Class IB intervention. The therapeutic window for initiating TH is narrow, and thus, achieving target temperature expeditiously is of paramount importance to improve postresuscitative neurologic outcome.

Honouring patient's resuscitation wishes: a multiphased effort to improve identification and documentation.

Background: Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders are intended to safeguard patients' autonomy and prevent unwanted resuscitative care. However, DNR orders may be miscommunicated between health care providers, leading to errors honoring patient wishes during cardiac arrest events. This project focused on improving accuracy of DNR ordering processes for an academic, tertiary care hospital.

Comparison of a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol for intensive insulin therapy between adult surgical trauma, medical and coronary care intensive care patients.

Background: Sustained hyperglycemia is a known risk factor for adverse outcomes in critically ill patients. The specific aim was to determine if a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol (IIP) was effective in maintaining blood glucose values (BG) within a target goal of 100-150 mg/dL across different intensive care units (ICUs) and to describe glycemic control during the 48 hours after protocol discontinuation.

Methods: A descriptive, retrospective review of 366 patients having 28,192 blood glucose values in three intensive care units, Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU), Medical (MICU) and Coronary Care Unit (CCU) in a quaternary care hospital was conducted.

Lack of association between worsening renal function and mortality in heart failure patients treated with nesiritide.

Background: Nesiritide is approved for the treatment of decompensated heart failure. Because nesiritide may exacerbate renal dysfunction, it has been claimed that there may be a link between worsening renal function caused by nesiritide and increased mortality.

Aims: We analyzed our inpatient experience with nesiritide to determine if changes in renal function were associated with worsened mortality.

Effects of standard heart failure therapy and concomitant treatment with intravenous furosemide or inotropes (dobutamine, dopamine, and/or milrinone) on renal function and mortality in patients treated with nesiritide.

The safety and efficacy of the concomitant use of intravenous diuretics and positive inotropes with nesiritide have not been well studied. There is also a paucity of data examining whether the type of medical therapy before treatment with nesiritide has an effect on outcomes. Data from 167 patients with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fractions (34 +/- 17%) treated with nesiritide were analyzed retrospectively.