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If procedural sedation is longer-term, or if your patient has pre-existing chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, consider monitoring end tidal carbon dioxide (CO2), advises Leah M. Gehri, RN, MN, CCRN, director of emergency, trauma, and cardiac services at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA.
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An elderly womans bruising and gastrointestinal bleeding turned out to be caused by taking more than triple the dose of her warfarin medication for several days, reports Jeannette Witzel, RN, CEN, an ED nurse at Ukiah (CA) Valley Medical Center.
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Obtaining an EKG in a timely manner is critical, says Brian W. Selig, MHA, BSN, RN, CEN, NE-BC, nurse manager of the ED at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, MO, especially with the recent emphasis on time-critical diagnosis by the Joint Commission and [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.]
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The medical literature is rife with information on the trends of various infectious diseases. Much of this begins with the diagnosis made and helps us connect the diagnosis to a preferred regimen of antimicrobials or antivirals. The real detective work starts before this. Our tools are constant vigilance for subtle clues in the history and physical examination, some nonspecific laboratory tests (for example white blood cell [WBC] count or lactate), and a high level of suspicion for infection.
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Regardless of hospital trauma level designation, every emergency department (ED) manages patients with traumatic injury and needs to address the pain and discomfort that accompanies it.
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Would you like to start a fight? Just ask a colleague how he or she selected the level of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) for a patient.
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In this issue: ACEI/ARB therapy for AS; safety alert issued for dronedarone; statins and cancer risk; nesiritide and heart failure; and FDA actions.
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This study assessed the impact of two formats, intermittent scheduling (IS) or continuous scheduling (CS), on intensivist and patient outcomes.
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The purpose of this review paper was to summarize the evidence on the effect of tooth brushing to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in critically ill adults and children receiving mechanical ventilatory support.