The Impact of Nursing Delirium Preventive Interventions in the ICU: A Multicenter Cluster-randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Rationale: Delirium is common in critically ill patients and is associated with deleterious outcomes. Nonpharmacological interventions are recommended in current delirium guidelines, but their effects have not been unequivocally established. Objectives: To determine the effects of a multicomponent nursing intervention program on delirium in the ICU. Methods: A stepped-wedge cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in ICUs of 10 centers. Adult critically ill surgical, medical, or trauma patients at high risk of developing delirium were included. A multicomponent nursing intervention program focusing on modifiable risk factors was implemented as standard of care. The primary outcome was the number of delirium-free and coma-free days alive in 28 days after ICU admission. Measurements and Main Results: A total of 1,749 patients were included. Time spent on interventions per 8-hour shift was median (interquartile range) 38 (14-116) minutes in the intervention period and median 32 (13-73) minutes in the control period (P = 0.44). Patients in the intervention period had a median of 23 (4-27) delirium-free and coma-free days alive compared with a median of 23 (5-27) days for patients in the control group (mean difference, -1.21 days; 95% confidence interval, -2.84 to 0.42 d; P = 0.15). In addition, the number of delirium days was similar: median 2 (1-4) days (ratio of medians, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.75 to 1.09; P = 0.27). Conclusions: In this large randomized controlled trial in adult ICU patients, a limited increase in the use of nursing interventions was achieved, and no change in the number of delirium-free and coma-free days alive in 28 days could be determined. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03002701).

Nurses' understanding and experience of applying painful stimuli when assessing components of the Glasgow Coma Scale.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate nurses' application, understanding and experience of applying painful stimuli when assessing components of the Glasgow Coma Scale. BACKGROUND: The Glasgow Coma Scale has been subjected to much scrutiny and debate since its publication in 1974. However, criticism, confusion and misunderstandings in relation to the use of painful stimuli and its application remain. An absence of evidence-informed guidance on the use and duration of application of painful stimuli remains, with the potential to negatively impact on decision-making, delay responsiveness to neurological deterioration and result in adverse incidents. DESIGN AND METHODS: This international study used an online self-reported survey design to ascertain neuroscience nurses' perceptions and experiences around the application of painful stimuli as part of a GCS assessment (n = 273). The STROBE checklist was used. RESULTS: Data revealed varied practices and a sense of confusion from participants. Anatomical sites for the assessment of pain varied, but most respondents identified the trapezius grip/pinch in assessing eye-opening and motor responses. Most respondents identified they assess eye-opening and motor responses together and apply pain for <6 s to elicit a response. Witnessed complications secondary to applying a painful stimulus were varied and of concern. CONCLUSION: Neuroscience nurses in this study clearly required evidence-informed guidelines to underpin practice both in applying painful stimuli and in managing the experience of the person in their care and the family response. A standardised approach to education is necessary to ensure greater interrater reliability of assessment not only within nursing but across professions. RELEVANCE TO PRACTICE: Results of this study illustrate inconsistency and confusion when using the Glasgow Coma Scale in practice; this has the potential to compromise care. Clarity around the issues highlighted is necessary. Moreover, these results can inform future guidelines and education required for supporting nurses in practice.

Profiling the Characteristics of People Who Are Comatose in Long-term and Complex Continuing Care Settings.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics of people who are comatose in Canadian complex continuing care (CCC) and long-term care (LTC) settings, and to make recommendations to promote comprehensive care planning for this population. DESIGN: Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of population data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All residents in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, and the territory of Yukon with data available from the fiscal year 2015 (April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016). MEASURES: Demographic, clinical, and treatment variables were extracted from the Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set (MDS 2.0) and were reported using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of the LTC and CCC populations, 0.07% and 3.5% were identified as comatose, respectively. Overall, people who are comatose in both CCC or LTC settings are younger and have a longer length of stay than those who are not comatose. A higher proportion of people who are comatose experience active infections and irregular bowel elimination patterns, and those who are comatose were more likely to have a feeding tube and require oxygen therapy or suctioning than those who were not comatose. However, a lower proportion of people who were comatose had documented pain. In LTC, one-quarter of people who are comatose are expected to die within 6 months. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: Although the prevalence of people who are comatose in LTC and CCC settings is low, this population is complex and has significant care needs that require comprehensive assessment and care planning.

A Comparison Between the Effectiveness of Full Outline of Unresponsiveness and Glasgow Coma Score at Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit Patients.

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness and the use of Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) and Full Outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) score by nurses in the follow-up and evaluation of patients admitted to the neurosurgical intensive care unit for cranial surgery or head trauma. MATERIAL and METHODS: The study was performed at a neurosurgical intensive care unit. Sample size was determined as 47 patients (a= 0.05, power= 0.95). The correlation coefficient less than 0.5 was accepted as weak. In the first 24 hours, Karnofsky Performance Scale was applied and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) Score calculated for patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit for cranial surgery or head trauma. Also FOUR and GCS were applied by two different nurses twice a day. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, Pearson Correlation and Cronbach?s Alpha Security Index analyses were used to evaluate the data. RESULTS: Concordance was above 0.810 and correlation was above 0.837 between GCS and FOUR score evaluation results of nurses. Correlation of two different evaluation at every shift for GCS was 0.887, and for FOUR was 0.827 and above. Karnofsky Performance Scale correlation with FOUR and GCS scores of patients at admission and discharge from the intensive care unit was 0.709 and above. The correlation between APACHE II and FOUR was 0.851; between APACHE II and GCS 0.853. There was no difference between the evaluations of two scores and two nurses statistically. CONCLUSION: Concordance between nurses was found high both for GCS and FOUR. The FOUR score is as effective as GCS on the follow-up of patients who are managed in the neurosurgical intensive care units.

Commit to communication.

While working on an intensive care unit, I helped care for a man who had sustained a severe right-sided brain injury aft er falling down the stairs.

[When all hope has gone well-placed affection remains]. / Quand il n'y a plus d'espoir reste l'affection ajustée.

Cédric de Linage experienced coma through his wife, Amélie, after she suffered cardiopulmonary arrest. Here he describes the crucial role, during this period of uncertainty and fear, played by the nursing team. Through their care and day-to-day compassion, the team was able to treat the patient as a fragile but living patient.

[Pain and coma]. / Douleur et coma.

Pain is a complex notion which caregivers must be able to decipher. Its aspects vary depending on the patient's condition. In cases of verbal communication disorders, the subjectivity of the caregiver is enlisted. How should pain be assessed in situations of coma and how should it be treated?

A pediatric FOUR score coma scale: interrater reliability and predictive validity.

The Full Outline of UnResponsiveness (FOUR) Score is a coma scale that consists of four components (eye and motor response, brainstem reflexes, and respiration). It was originally validated among the adult population and recently in a pediatric population. To enhance clinical assessment of pediatric intensive care unit patients, including those intubated and/or sedated, at our children's hospital, we modified the FOUR Score Scale for this population. This modified scale would provide many of the same advantages as the original, such as interrater reliability, simplicity, and elimination of the verbal component that is not compatible with the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), creating a more valuable neurological assessment tool for the nursing community. Our goal was to potentially provide greater information than the formally used GCS when assessing critically ill, neurologically impaired patients, including those sedated and/or intubated. Experienced pediatric intensive care unit nurses were trained as "expert raters." Two different nurses assessed each subject using the Pediatric FOUR Score Scale (PFSS), GCS, and Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale at three different time points. Data were compared with the Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category (PCPC) assessed by another nurse. Our hypothesis was that the PFSS and PCPC should highly correlate and the GCS and PCPC should correlate lower. Study results show that the PFSS is excellent for interrater reliability for trained nurse-rater pairs and prediction of poor outcome and in-hospital mortality, under various situations, but there were no statistically significant differences between the PFSS and the GCS. However, the PFSS does have the potential to provide greater neurological assessment in the intubated and/or sedated patient based on the outcomes of our study.

Standardizing neurological assessments.

Evaluation of neurological status is imperative to patient assessment. Multiple assessment tools are readily available for clinicians to diagnose and report changes in neurological condition. Some of these tools include the Glasgow Coma Scale, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, the Canadian Neurological Scale, and the Four Score. Although assessment tools are beneficial to help standardize the assessment and communication of findings, they are at times cumbersome, leaving bedside clinicians with questions concerning which tool is appropriate for a given patient population. This initiative began as a means to standardize assessments and communication for neuroscience patients. As success was met, the project was moved forward locally at our hospital campus and later extended to the entire health system. With the support of the chief of neurology, the neuroscience patient care services director, the stroke coordinator, and the neuroscience clinical educator, three different neurological examinations were developed. They were defined as the Basic Neurological Check, the Coma Neurological Check, and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale/Stroke Neurological Check. The neurological examinations would address the assessment needs of patients with acute stroke, general neurosurgery/neurology patients, and patients in coma.

How do you know when your patient is "waking up": coma recovery assessment in a complex continuing care setting.

Coma, vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS) are disastrous outcomes following severe traumatic brain injury. Due to the extent of the resultant neurological deficits including hemisphere damage, loss of cellular integrity, altered and abnormal movements such as flexor and extensor patterns, and alterations in cranial nerve function, it can become difficult for the interprofessional team to identify when a patient is emerging from their coma. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), commonly used to assess patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not comprehensive or sensitive enough to provide concrete evidence that a patient is emerging from VS to an MCS. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a patient who has emerged from a persistent VS to promote a deeper understanding of what is involved when working with this clientele. Challenges in assessment of cognitive functioning, the development of successful communication through the use of technology and the goals of therapy amongst the various health team members will be provided. Collaborative support with the family will also be discussed. Members of the interprofessional team explored the literature to determine coma recovery assessment tools and best evidence guidelines to direct their interventions with this patient.

Familiares de pacientes em coma internados na unidade de terapia intensiva: percepções e comportamentos / Relatives of coma patients in the intensive care unit: perceptions and behaviors / Familiares de pacientes en coma internados en unidad de terapia intensiva: percepciones y comportamientos

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar as percepções e os comportamentos dos familiares frente ao paciente em estado de coma na Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI). Estudo descritivo, realizado com 15 familiares de pacientes em coma internados em UTI, por meio de entrevista e observação participante, em agosto/setembro de 2011. Análise de conteúdo, segundo Minayo, evidenciou familiares satisfeitos com o atendimento e com a equipe, tendo consciência do estado de saúde do seu familiar internado, apresentando forte sentimento de impotência e sofrimento vivenciado pela situação, porém com esperança, encontrando conforto na espiritualidade. Manifestaram contato verbal e não verbal com o paciente e resgate do passado. A observação identificou os contatos não verbais mais manifestados pelo toque e carinho. Concluiu-se que a percepção mais evidenciada foi a satisfação com o atendimento e a equipe e o comportamento mais evidenciado a emoção. Os achados indicam uma assistência humanizada, atendendo à Política Nacional de Humanização.

The objective of this descriptive study was to analyze perceptions and behaviors of relatives in face of coma patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Subjects were 15 relatives of coma patients in the ICU by means of interviews and participant observation in August/September of 2011. The content analysis, as per Minayo, revealed the relatives were satisfied with the service and the health team, were aware that the health condition of the patient, with strong feelings of helplessness and suffering caused by the situation, but also expressing hope and finding comfort in spirituality. The expressed verbal and non-verbal contact with the patients and remembered the past. The observation identified the non-verbal contacts represented through caress and affection. In conclusion, the most evidenced perception was the satisfaction towards the health team and the most evidenced behavior was emotion. The findings indicate humanized care, complying with the National Policy of Humanization.

Se objetivó analizar las percepciones y comportamiento de familiares frente al paciente en coma internado en Unidad de Terapia Intensiva (UTI). Estudio descriptivo, realizado con 15 familiares de pacientes en coma internados en UTI, mediante entrevistas y observación participante, en agosto/setiembre de 2011. Análisis de contenido según Minayo, evidenció familiares satisfechos con la atención y el equipo, siendo conscientes del estado de salud del familiar internado, presentando fuerte sentimiento de impotencia y sufrimiento experimentado por la situación, aunque con esperanza, encontrando refugio en la espiritualidad. Manifestaron conocimiento verbal y no verbal con el paciente y rescate del pasado. La observación identificó como contactos no verbales más manifestados el tacto y la caricia. Se concluye en que la percepción más evidenciada fue la satisfacción con la atención y el equipo, y el comportamiento más expresado fue la emoción. Los hallazgos indican una atención humanizada, conforme la Política Nacional de Humanización.

Nursing care of patients with disorders of consciousness.

Management of severely brain-injured patients constitutes a social, economical, and ethical dilemma as well as a real challenge for the medical staff, as it requires specific expertise. The aim of this article is to explore the aspects of nursing care in patients recovering from coma such as difficulty of diagnosis, residual perception, clinical assessment, care and management, and communication with the patient and the family. The nursing care of patients with disorder of consciousness must be particular and specific for various reasons such as the difficult diagnosis, the problem of unconsciousness or lack of demonstration of consciousness, extremely complex clinical assessment, daily management with total dependence, communication with patients that requires special attention and training by health professionals, and communication with the family of these patients that requires more sensitivity and full involvement by the team.