October 4, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Positive pressure ventilation has a direct impact on the lungs. Whether delivered as a set volume or set pressure, invasive positive pressure ventilation forcibly distends the lung. It can be injurious causing volutrauma and barotrauma.

October 3, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Propofol's ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier rapidly and distribute into peripheral tissues is responsible for the rapidity and short duration of its clinical effect. Propofol can precipitate hypotension by increasing venous capacitance.

October 2, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
After intubation, additional neuromuscular blocking agents should generally be used only when poor ventilator synchrony interferes with ventilation sedation and analgesia. This may be particularly true in patients with ARDS.

October 1, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Intubation, mechanical ventilation and paralysis are a significant cause of pain and anxiety for patients, and analgesia and sedation are required to promote patient comfort and patient-ventilator synchrony.

September 30, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
CPAP provides constant positive pressure throughout the respiratory cycle, whereas BiPAP alternates between higher pressure during inspiration (IPAP) and lower pressure during expiration (EPAP).

September 29, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
PEEP increases intrapulmonary and intrathoracic pressures and may affect pulmonary and cardiovascular physiology. Potential adverse effects of PEEP include decreased cardiac output, lung overdistention and pneumothorax.

September 28, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
During acute respiratory failure, lung volumes are typically decreased. The application of PEEP increases functional residual capacity, improves oxygenation and decreases intrapulmonary shunting.

September 27, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Regardless of the ventilatory mode chosen, PEEP is often used during invasive mechanical ventilation. PEEP refers to the maintenance of positive airway pressure after the completion of passive exhalation.

September 26, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV) provides intermittent ventilatory support to patients by delivering mandatory and spontaneous breaths. In SIMV, a mandatory breath is given at a preset rate.

September 25, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
Continuous mechanical ventilation (CMV) is intended to provide full ventilatory support. However, if a patient generates negative pressure, representing respiratory effort, on CMV, that breath will be assisted by the ventilator.

September 24, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
The term ventilator mode refers specifically to the amount of respiratory support provided by the ventilator. The most common ventilator modes can be categorized on the basis of how often the ventilator will initiate a breath for the patient.

September 23, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
In volume-controlled ventilation, a breath is defined by delivery of a set tidal volume to the lungs. Inspiratory volume and flow rate are set by the provider and inhalation ends once a preset tidal volume has been delivered.

September 22, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
In pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV), a set amount of pressure is applied to the airway to expand the lungs for a specified amount of time. During PCV, the target pressure and inspiratory time are set by the provider.

September 21, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
How the ventilator defines a breath is referred to as the control variable. The ventilator can give breaths based on delivery of a set pressure or a set volume, referred to as pressure-controlled ventilation and volume-controlled ventilation.

September 20, 2024

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

Category: Critical Care Nursing 
The primary considerations regarding initiation of mechanical ventilation relate to how each breath should be delivered. This includes how a breath is defined, size, duration, frequency and the degree of interaction the patient has with the ventilator.