ED Nursing Archives – April 1, 2008
April 1, 2008
View Issues
-
Don't allow 'stable' elders to deteriorate during long waits
General malaise is the only complaint of a 77-year-old man and, other than a low-grade fever, his vital signs are within normal limits. But while waiting to be seen, he becomes mildly disoriented, tachycardic, and hypotensive, and he is diagnosed with urosepsis. If the changes in this patient's status go unnoticed, he could suffer circulatory collapse. -
Novel ways to improve triage of elderly patients
Triage often is extra challenging with elderly patients, says Korene Christianson, RN, CEN, ED clinical director at Methodist North Hospital in Memphis, TN. "We are seeing a growing number of patients over the age of 65 in our ED," she says. "Finding out the 'main reason they came today' is often the biggest challenge." -
Web Alert: Site gives free info on geriatric ED care
The next time an older person arrives in your ED with atypical or vague symptoms, an online resource could help you assess that patient. -
You can't assume headaches are benign
An elderly woman tells ED triage nurses she's had an excruciating, unrelenting headache for the past two days. -
If patients say this, suspect life-threatening headache
If you assume that patients complaining of headache are nontherapeutic medication seekers or chronic complainers, you risk undertriaging these patients, warns Rebekah Child, RN, MSN, CEN, CNIV, an ED nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. -
Protocol addresses pain of adult trauma patients
Do your trauma patients suffer longer than they need to because of delays in pain management? -
Do you follow guidelines for traumatic brain injury?
When guidelines for severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are followed, deaths decrease by 50% and patients with poor outcomes decrease from 34% to 19%, according to a recent study. -
Don't make these mistakes when assessing for violence
Do you know how to increase the likelihood that a patient will tell you about abuse? During 293 audiotaped interactions with ED staff assessing for intimate partner violence (IPV), 77 patients disclosed experience with IPV.