Time Is Survival: Continuing Education on Sepsis for Neurosurgical Critical Care Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Early identification of sepsis among neurosurgical critical care patients is a significant challenge because of the many possible confounding variables that lead to altered mental status in this specific patient population. Nurses' knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and practices related to the early identification and management of sepsis are crucial to patients' survival. METHOD: This evidence-based intervention project implemented continuing education for neurosurgical critical care nurses on the early signs and symptoms of sepsis and the management of sepsis according to the Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) Guidelines. RESULTS: Continuing education on sepsis increased neurosurgical critical care nurses' knowledge of the SSC 1-hour sepsis bundle, reported confidence in the management of sepsis, and likelihood of assessing for sepsis. CONCLUSION: Continuing education for neurosurgical critical care nurses on the signs and symptoms of sepsis and the SSC Guidelines is necessary and may improve patient outcomes. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(5):224-230.].

Caring for Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: Australian Nursing Perspectives.

Each year, millions of people suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI). It is not inherent to any country or group of people. It occurs as a result of falls, combat situations, sports injury, schoolyard playgrounds, and car accidents. It does not discriminate with age or status. Cost implications for health care settings and individuals are substantial. Management requires prompt neurologic assessment by a highly specialized multidisciplinary team of neuroscience practitioners. It is important to understand normal brain anatomy and physiology to identify what is unusual or abnormal. Keen observational skills and constant questioning aid in early detection of neurologic deterioration.

Caring for Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Nursing Perspectives from the United Kingdom.

The risk of rebleeding is greatest between 2 and 12 hours and is associated with increased risk of mortality and long-term dependent survival. Aneurysms should be secured within 48 hours of diagnosis. However, delays occur because of diagnosis and transfer of patients. Ninety-six hours is the current time it can take until treatment. The challenges for this service continue to be access to and sharing of diagnostic imaging, repatriation back to district general hospitals to continue treatment (eg, for rehabilitation), access to neurorehabilitation, and access to psychological and neurocognitive support.

The Glasgow Coma Scale: A European and Global Perspective on Enhancing Practice.

Although the Glasgow Coma Scale has made a positive contribution to the care of people with neurologic orders, variance exists in its understanding and application secondary to inconsistency in guidelines, their interpretation, and the educational approach to the use of the tool. This fragmentation has been evidenced to result in variances in practice, some potentially harmful. Also, recent evidence demonstrates human factors, such as distress, have not been addressed within such education and guidelines for use. An opportunity now exists to take a new, unified approach to education and standards for use of the tool, framed within a person-centered context.

The effect of neuropalliative care on quality of life and satisfaction with quality of care in patients with progressive neurological disease and their family caregivers: an interventional control study.

BACKGROUND: It is recommended that patients with progressive neurological disease (PND) receive general and specialized palliative care. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of neuropalliative care on quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction with provided care in both patients with PND in advanced stages of disease and their family caregivers. METHODS: The sample consisted of 151 patients with PND and 140 family caregivers. The PNDQoL questionnaire was used for data collection. Patients and family caregivers completed the questionnaires both before and 3 months after the intervention. RESULTS: Before intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in the individual domains of QoL in patients and family caregivers in either the intervention or the control group. After intervention, differences were identified in the sample of patients in the domains of symptoms burden (p < 0.001), emotional (p < 0 .001), social functioning (p = 0.046), spiritual area (nonreligious) (p = 0.050), and in QoL. In the sample of family caregivers, there were differences in the domains of symptoms burden (p < 0.001), emotional functioning (p = 0.016), spiritual area (nonreligious) (p = 0.042), and in the assessment of health (p = 0.002), and QoL (p = 0.002). Patients and family caregivers from the intervention group evaluated their satisfaction with the quality of care provided significantly more positively in all five analyzed domains. CONCLUSION: The provision of neuropalliative care to patients with advanced stages of PND helped to maintain and slightly improve their QoL, and symptoms burden, and resulted in a more positive assessment of satisfaction with the quality of care provided.

A Fast-Track Care by a Nursing Case Management Concept Improved Status Epilepticus Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Status epilepticus (SE) is an emergency neurological condition, which is life-threatening, results in high morbidity and mortality rates, and needs to be diagnosed and promptly cared for. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the SE fast-track care using a nursing case management concept on SE outcomes. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study conducted in adult patients with SE admitted in 15 emergency and intensive critical/intermediate care wards. SE outcomes were evaluated and compared between preintervention and postintervention. RESULTS: Time to treatment was reduced from 30 minutes to 3.5 minutes (P < .001). Similarly, the seizure control rate increased from 65.7% to 94.4% (P = .009). The mortality rate was reduced but did not reach statistical significance (8.6% vs 0%; P = .115). The intervention also reduced average waiting time for receiving antiepileptic drugs from the pharmacy department from 13.09 minutes to < 1 minute. CONCLUSION: The development of the fast-track care system for SE patients by nursing case management is at the core of management for coordinating multidisciplinary teams. This can improve outcomes by reducing the time to diagnosis and treatment time, therefore reducing mortality rates in SE patients.

Thai trauma nurses' knowledge of neuroprotective nursing care of traumatic brain injury patients: A survey study.

Thai trauma nurses play a vital role in neuroprotective nursing care of patients with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Nurses' knowledge of the evidence underpinning initial neuroprotective nursing care vital to safe and high-quality patient care. However, the current state of knowledge of Thai trauma nurses is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated Thai nurses' knowledge of neuroprotective nursing care of patients with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Data were collected by a survey, comprising a section on participant characteristics and series of multiple-choice questions. All registered nurses (n = 22) and nursing assistants (n = 13) from the trauma ward of a regional Thai hospital were invited to participate: the response rate was 100%. Participants had limited knowledge of carbon dioxide monitoring; causes and implications of hypercapnia; mean arterial pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure targets; management of sedatives and analgesics; and management of hyperthermia. Improving their knowledge focusing on knowledge deficits through educational training and implementation of evidence-based practice is essential to improve the safety and quality of care for Thai patients with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.

Aging Individuals With Down Syndrome and Dementia as Teachers: Learnings from Staffin a Developmental Disability Program in Long-Term Care.

Older adults with Down syndrome (DS) and dementia are an emerging sub-population. With much longer life spans than decades ago, issues have arisen as to where these aging adults will live and how nurses and other staff in facilities can provide effective care to these individuals. The current article presents a research study that examined the learnings of nurses and staff members working within a western Canadian program for older adults with DS and dementia. These learnings include: the importance of learning from each other; importance of collaboration; how individuals with developmental disabilities communicate; older adults with DS and dementia differ from older adults with dementia; and residents' impact on staff. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 45(5), 17-22.].

Timeliness of Nursing Care Delivered by Stroke Certified Registered Nurses as Compared to Non-Stroke Certified Registered Nurses to Hyperacute Stroke Patients.

In this retrospective, nonexperimental, comparative descriptive design using convenience sampling, the timeliness of care delivered by 11 Stroke Certified Registered Nurses (SCRNs) to 95 hyperacute stroke patients (last known well of 4.5 hours or less) on the acute stroke protocol set by Target: Stroke Phase II Campaign Manual was compared with that of 13 non-SCRNs in a small, rural, level III stroke facility in the southwestern region of the United States. There was statistical significance in the total timeliness of care delivered by SCRNs to hyperacute stroke patients as compared with the non-SCRNs (t = -4.109, P = .001) and acute stroke protocol goal times for door to stroke team activation (t = -3.291, P = .001), door to computed tomography (t = -4.020, P < .001), door to teleneurology initiation (t = -4.020, P < .001), and door to alteplase administration (t = -3.367, P = .004). Limitations included sample size, nursing documentation, and nurses studying for the SCRN examination. It was concluded that, at this facility, SCRNs had a statistically significant difference in the timeliness of care delivered to hyperacute stroke patients on meeting protocol time goals. The SCRNs also met all protocol goals, and the non-SCRNs did not meet the door-to-teleneurology initiation and door-to-alteplase administration goals. Future studies should include a larger sample size and stroke patient outcomes.

The effect of Therapeutic Touch on Back Pain in Adults on a Neurological Unit: An Experimental Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic back pain affects many aspects of everyday life and is a common reason for medical visits, leading to high direct and indirect health care costs. Innovative and cost-effective nonpharmacologic pain management methods should be promoted to ensure adequate treatment. AIMS: The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the pain-relieving effect of Therapeutic Touch in adult neurologic patients with back pain. DESIGN: A pretest-post-test randomized controlled trial. SETTINGS: A university hospital in Austria. PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS: Patients with back pain diagnosis (N = 29) on hospital admission. METHODS: A pilot study was conducted for 3 months. The control group (n = 14) received the pharmacologic pain management recommended by the World Health Organization; patients in the intervention group (n = 15) received additionally four Therapeutic Touch treatments on 4 consecutive days. The Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale were used as outcome measures to evaluate activity domains affected by back pain and pain intensity. RESULTS: Pain improvement was found in the intervention group according to the mean score of the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (day 1: 72.53, standard deviation [SD] ± 14.10; day 4: 39.47, SD ± 8.77; p < .001). The Numerical Pain Rating Scale score averaged 4.33 points (SD ± 2.09) on the first day and 2.47 points (SD ± 1.12) on the fourth day. The long-term effect of Therapeutic Touch was significant and indicated a major effect (Pillai's trace = .641, F(3.12) = 7.1, p = .005, ηp2 = .641). CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic Touch seems to be a noninvasive nursing intervention for back pain management to provide more professional patient care.

Neuro-Oncology Nurse Navigation: Developing the Role for a Unique Patient Population.

Navigation seeks to assess and address barriers that hinder a patient's access to care. With the success of the nurse navigation program at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center, leadership expanded navigation to neuro-oncology. The purpose of this article is to describe this population's unique needs and the effect of nurse navigation. Although the navigation role maintains integrity with regard to scope of practice, specialized navigation strategies are tailored to the neuro-oncology population and are different from other disease sites.

Service provision for stroke: The Greek paradox.

Stroke remains a leading cause of mortality, as well as of subsequent serious long-term physical and mental morbidity. This places special demands for updated clinical excellence and optimum organization of stroke care services. Stroke units have been shown to improve patient outcomes. Thus, many western countries have developed and implemented sophisticated stroke facilities and corresponding public awareness strategies. These cannot be easily "translated" in Greece due to special features on the hospital administration system such as a unique rotation system for acute admissions and long-standing austerity. Yet, despite adverse conditions, clinicians within the Greek health care system have been exceeding themselves in their attempt to provide optimum care outcomes. An example of such efforts is the improvisation of stroke bays (SBs) as part of a medical or neurology ward, providing sophisticated treatments. New centralized policy decisions are now needed in order to improve stroke services nationwide. These should be tailored to the country's geography and health care mapping especially as there is already considerable technical knowhow and local efforts in place. A pragmatic solution would be to create a "grid" of services for stroke, by providing a comprehensive stroke centers in each of the two major cities and SBs at a prefectural level. Once these are established, more efforts should be taken to educate the public on stroke recognition and subsequently on facilities available.

Tiered protocol implementation improves treatment of hypoglycaemia in a neurosciences critical care and surgical intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Although studies demonstrate techniques to limit hypoglycaemia in critically ill patients, there are limited data supporting methods to improve management of existing hypoglycaemia. OBJECTIVE: Assess the impact and sustainability of a computerised, three tiered, nurse driven protocol for hypoglycaemia treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective pre and post protocol study. SETTING: Neurosciences and surgical intensive care units at a tertiary academic medical centre. MEASUREMENTS: Patients with a hypoglycaemic episode were included during a pre-protocol or post-protocol implementation period. An additional six-month cohort was evaluated to assess sustainability. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were included for evaluation (35 pre- and 19 post-protocol); 122 patients were included in the sustainability cohort. Hypoglycaemia treatment significantly improved in the post-protocol cohort (20% vs. 52.6%, p=0.014); with additional improvement to 79.5% in the sustainability cohort. Time to follow-up blood glucose was decreased after treatment from 122 [Q1-Q3: 46-242] minutes pre-protocol to 25 [Q1-Q3: 9-48] minutes post protocol (p<0.0001). This reduction was maintained in the sustainability cohort [median of 29min (Q1-Q3: 20-51)]. CONCLUSION: Implementation of a nurse-driven, three-tiered protocol for treatment of hypoglyacemia significantly improved treatment rates, as well as reduced time to recheck blood glucose measurement. These benefits were sustained during a six-month period after protocol implementation.

An Overview of Stroke Infrastructure, Network, and Nursing Services in Contemporary Greece.

This article describes the provision of stroke services in Greece and addresses the possible effects of the hospital rotation system. Unique to Greece is a centrally administered rotation system for hospital 24-hour on-call systems in the major cities. This means that a hospital may admit new patients only during specific 24-hour periods every 3 to 5 days. All Greek city hospitals must conform to this rotation basis for emergency and scheduled admissions. Patients with stroke arrive to designated rotation on-call hospital via ambulance or taxi or by private means and are first seen in the accident and emergency department where they are given priority attention accordingly and allocated to a neurology ward, medical ward, or stroke bay if the hospital has one. Occasionally, a neurosurgical consultation is sought; the patient may be admitted directly to a neurosurgery ward. Some attempts have been made to reach a degree of specialization in stroke bays, but with only a few of these, situated only in major cities, the vast majority of patients are still admitted to neurology or medical wards. Nurses and physicians in Greece continue to strive to improve outcomes for their patients with stroke despite adverse circumstances.

Improving Staffing and Nurse Engagement in a Neuroscience Intermediate Unit.

The neuroscience intermediate unit is a 23-bed unit that was initially staffed with a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:4 to 1:5. In time, the unit's capacity to care for the exceeding number of progressively acute patients fell short of the desired goals in the staff affecting the nurse satisfaction. The clinical nurses desired a lower nurse-patient ratio. The purpose of this project was to justify a staffing increase through a return on investment and increased quality metrics. METHODS: This initiative used mixed methodology to determine the ideal staffing for a neuroscience intermediate unit. The quantitative section focused on a review of the acuity of the patients. The qualitative section was based on descriptive interviews with University Healthcare Consortium nurse managers from similar units. DESIGN: The study reviewed the acuity of 9,832 patient days to determine the accurate acuity of neuroscience intermediate unit patients. Nurse managers at 12 University Healthcare Consortium hospitals and 8 units at the Medical University of South Carolina were contacted to compare staffing levels. DISCUSSION: The increase in nurse staffing contributed to an increase in many quality metrics. There were an 80% decrease in controllable nurse turnover and a 75% reduction in falls with injury after the lowered nurse-patient ratio. These 2 metrics established a return on investment for the staffing increase. In addition, the staffing satisfaction question on the Press Ganey employee engagement survey increased from 2.44 in 2013 to 3.72 in 2015 in response to the advocacy of the bedside nurses.

Finding a Middle Ground: Exploring the Impact of Patient- and Family-Centered Design on Nurse-Family Interactions in the Neuro ICU.

OBJECTIVE: This comparative study of two adult neuro critical care units examined the impact of patient- and family-centered design on nurse-family interactions in a unit designed to increase family involvement. BACKGROUND: A growing evidence base suggests that the built environment can facilitate the delivery of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC). However, few studies examine how the PFCC model impacts the delivery of care, specifically the role of design in nurse-family interactions in the adult intensive care unit (ICU) from the perspective of the bedside nurse. METHODS: Two neuro ICUs with the same patient population and staff, but with different layouts, were compared. Structured observations were conducted to assess changes in the frequency, location, and content of interactions between the two units. Discussions with staff provided additional insights into nurse attitudes, perceptions, and experiences caring for families. RESULTS: Nurses reported challenges balancing the needs of many stakeholders in a complex clinical environment, regardless of unit layout. However, differences in communication patterns between the clinician- and family-centered units were observed. More interactions were observed in nurse workstations in the PFCC unit, with most initiated by family. While the new unit was seen as more conducive to the delivery of PFCC, some nurses reported a loss of workspace control. CONCLUSIONS: Patient- and family-centered design created new spatial and temporal opportunities for nurse-family interactions in the adult ICU, thus supporting PFCC goals. However, greater exposure to unplanned family encounters may increase nurse stress without adequate spatial and organizational support.