What Is 'Normal?' Evaluating Vital Signs.

Problem: Vital sign (VS) assessment and monitoring are often routinely scheduled whether they are needed or not. This practice led pediatric nurse leaders to voice concerns about the frequenty of VS at a National Summit for Pediatric and Adolescent Evidence-Based Practice. A search of databases yielded no direct evidence regarding frequency.

What is 'normal?' Evaluating vital signs.

Problem: Vital sign (VS) assessment and monitoring are often routinely scheduled whether they are needed or not. This practice led pediatric nurse leaders to voice concerns about the frequency of VS at a National Summit for Pediatric and Adolescent Evidence-Based Practice. A search of databases yielded no direct evidence regarding frequency.

Pediatric inpatient falls and injuries: a descriptive analysis of risk factors.

Purpose: This study identified patient characteristics and environmental factors related to falls and injuries at one pediatric hospital.

Design And Methods: This descriptive study was part of a multisite study based on inpatient pediatric falls reported over a 6-month period.

Results: Fall prevalence was .

Aligning the forces of magnetism to achieve exemplary professional practice.

This clinical paper presents the evolution of a Point of Care Scholars (POCS) program, which embodies three components of the Magnet model: exemplary professional practice, new knowledge, innovations, and improvements, and empirical outcomes. The drive to achieve Magnet designation and redesignation provides a focused approach on innovation. The innovative POCS program is structured to introduce new knowledge to point-of-care staff with improvements that will lead to quality outcomes.

Education changes Mexican nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding pediatric pain.

This study explored the effectiveness of a pain education intervention on Mexican nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward pediatric pain. A convenience sample of 106 registered nurses from three hospitals in Mexico City was recruited. A Pediatric Pain Education Program (PPEP) was developed, implemented, and evaluated by a nurse researcher, clinical nurse specialist, and a child life specialist.

Evaluation of the Magic Island: Relaxation for Kids, compact disc.

Managing post-operative pain continues to elude health care professionals despite children's reports of severe pain. Although research has demonstrated that guided imagery is a beneficial complementary treatment for pain, clinicians rarely incorporate it into their practice. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a guided imagery audio compact disc (CD) in reducing post-operative pain, increasing relaxation, and stimulating imagery in children by child life specialists in the clinical setting.

A snapshot of children's postoperative tonsillectomy outcomes at home.

Purpose: To describe home outcomes of pain, medication use, fluid intake, and emesis 24 hr after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. The theory of unpleasant symptoms provided a conceptualizing framework.

Design And Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted.

The difficulties of studying children's pain at home.

Children experience moderate to severe pain in the days after tonsillectomy surgery. This article describes the challenges of analyzing data from pain diaries 24 hours after ambulatory tonsillectomy surgery. Instructions were to record pain levels every 4 hours and the analgesic as given; however, the number of entries was inconsistent, making comparison of groups difficult.

Functional changes in children, adolescents, and young adults with cerebral palsy.

Children with multiple handicaps, including cerebral palsy (CP), often lose or regress in their functional ability through adolescence and adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine functional and psychological changes in children, adolescents and young adults with CP. A retrospective chart review and a prospective telephone interview of 30 patients (11-29 years, M = 16.

Playing in the park: what school-age children tell us about imagery.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe children's use of imagery before and after ambulatory surgery (AS). The study sample was a subset of 75 children (7-12 years) who were randomly assigned to the treatment group (n = 38) from five AS settings in a larger study on the effectiveness of imagery after surgery. They listened to an audiotape of imagery before surgery, after surgery, and after discharge from AS.

Imagery reduces children's post-operative pain.

This un-blinded experimental study investigated the effectiveness of imagery, in addition to routine analgesics, in reducing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy pain and anxiety after ambulatory surgery (AS) and at home. Seventy-three children, aged 7-12, were recruited from five AS settings. Thirty-six children randomly assigned to the treatment group watched a professionally developed videotape on the use of imagery and then listened to a 30-min audio tape of imagery approximately 1 week prior to surgery (T1).

Controlled-release oxycodone for the management of pediatric postoperative pain.

Studies addressing pain management after pediatric spinal fusion surgery have focused on the use of patient-controlled or epidural analgesia during the immediate postoperative period. Controlled-release (CR) analgesics have been found to be safe and effective in adults. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of oxycodone-CR in pediatric patients after the immediate postoperative period.

A study of the effectiveness of a pain management education booklet for parents of children having cardiac surgery.

Parents need education about pain so they can support their hospitalized child and manage their child's pain at home. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a pain booklet on parental pain support to children experiencing postoperative pain. A randomized, repeated measures, experimental design using a pain education booklet and a standard care comparison group was used to study parents of 51 children (3 to 16 years of age) having cardiac surgery.