Portable head CT scan and its effect on intracranial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure, and brain oxygen.

Object: Follow-up head CT scans are important in neurocritical care but involve intrahospital transport that may be associated with potential hazards including a deleterious effect on brain tissue oxygen pressure (PbtO(2)). Portable head CT (pHCT) scans offer an alternative imaging technique without a need for patient transport. In this study, the investigators examined the effects of pHCT scans on intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and PbtO(2) in patients with severe brain injury.

Sustaining excellence: clinical nurse specialist practice and magnet designation.

Clinical nurse specialist practice is essential in providing the clinical expertise, leadership, and organizational influence necessary for attaining the excellence in care reflected by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet designation. Clinical nurse specialists, prepared as advanced practice nurses, bring clinical expertise, knowledge of advanced physiology, and pathology and a system-wide vision for process improvements. This unique curriculum specifically prepares clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) to immediately practice as leaders of interdisciplinary groups to improve outcomes.

The use of a portable head CT scanner in the intensive care unit.

Transport of critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients may be hazardous. In this study, we examined the use of a portable head CT scanner (CereTom) in the ICU to assess its feasibility, safety, and radiological quality. Two hundred and twenty-five portable head CT scans were obtained from 114 patients (mean age = 57 +/- 18 years) treated in a neurosurgical intensive care unit at a university-based Level I trauma center.

Interventional patient hygiene model: Infection control and nursing share responsibility for patient safety.

Interventional patient hygiene (IPH) has been defined as a comprehensive evidence-based intervention and measurement model for reducing the bioburden of both the patient and health care worker. The components of IPH are hand hygiene, oral care, skin care/antisepsis, and catheter site care. This practice form will provide evidence-based information for each of the components of IPH model and provide a strategy for the development, implementation, and monitoring of IPH protocols.