Emergency catheter ablation of refractory ventricular tachycardia.

Catheter ablation, in extreme cases, can be used successfully as emergency therapy for VT in the CCU. In the hands of a physician experienced in electrophysiologic procedures, catheter ablation may prove to be an alternative to surgical or pharmacologic therapy in acutely ill patients with refractory ventricular arrhythmias.

Electrocautery and patients with implanted cardiac devices.

Implanted cardiac devices, pacemakers, and automatic cardioverter/defibrillators are becoming more common in the general population. There are more than one-half million persons with pacemakers living in North America, and approximately 20,000 patients have received automatic implantable cardioverter/defibrillators. As pacemaker and defibrillator patients experience common gastrointestinal afflictions, it is likely that more will require endoscopic procedures. Appropriate precautions must be undertaken during electrosurgical procedures in order to avoid damage and interruption of pacemaker/defibrillator devices. Through careful assessment, intervention, and discharge planning, the GI nurse and associate can reduce electrosurgical risks to the gastrointestinal patient with an implanted cardiac device. Specific recommendations for preprocedure patient assessment and intraprocedure interventions are discussed, and an actual case is presented to illustrate a successful plan of care.

O conhecimento dos circulantes de sala sobre a utilização do bisturi elétrico / The knowledge of circulating nurses concerning the use o electrocautery

O Centro Cirúrgico (CC) sofre transformações constantes, em função da evolução das técnicas cirúrgicas, anestésicas e tecnológicas. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar o conhecimento dos profissionais de enfermagem de sala cirúrgica quanto à utilização do Bisturi Elétrico (BE), por meio de uma pesquisa de campo, descritiva, exploratória, com análise quantitativa...