A comparison of two differing doses of promethazine for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting.

PURPOSE: To compare the use of promethazine 6.25 mg intravenous (IV) (experimental group) with promethazine 12.5 mg IV (control group) among adult ambulatory surgery patients to control established postoperative nausea or vomiting (PONV). DESIGN/METHODS: In a double-blind, randomized controlled trial (n = 120), 59 subjects received promethazine 6.25 mg and 61 subjects received promethazine 12.5 mg to treat PONV. Study doses were administered postoperatively if the subject reported/exhibited nausea and/or vomiting. Outcomes for experimental and control groups were compared on the basis of relief of PONV and sedation levels. FINDINGS: Ninety-seven percent of subjects reported total relief of nausea with a single administration of promethazine at either dose. Sedation levels differed between groups at 30 minutes post-medication administration and at the time of discharge to home. CONCLUSIONS: Promethazine 6.25 mg is as effective in controlling PONV as promethazine 12.5 mg, while resulting in less sedation.

Critical care nursing for older adults: pathophysiological and functional considerations.

The aging of the population brings into health care practice, including ICUs, an increasing prevalence of people with chronic conditions with corresponding expectations of eventual decline in function. These age-related health problems, however, do not have a precise moment of onset, nor a single and unambiguous cause. By their nature, chronic conditions do not have an end that can be modified easily, and ordinarily, they are related to parameters other than physiology alone. Aged individuals often are distinguished as a medicalized cohort on the basis of sheer numbers of comorbidities and predisposition toward frequent hospitalizations, without regard for the potential for adaptation to life despite complex health factors. Some care providers, health economists, and bioethicists propose using the existence of chronic conditions and assumed physical decompensation asa valid basis for restricting individuals and groups, by means of rationing, from consideration for intensive care and treatment. In view of studies demonstrating that covert rationing of ICU resources to critically ill older patients already is taking place, there isa need to continue to examine institutional policies that permit care providers to act as gatekeepers, ostensibly with benign intent, but presumably without patients' knowledge or acceptance. On the other hand, there is evidence that older ICU patients do equally well as younger and middle-aged patients in terms of discharge from the hospital with subsequent recovery of function. Thus, age alone is not a useful marker for limiting access to ICUs. Rather, a comprehensive evaluation is the foundation for diagnostic accuracy and health care decision-making for older individuals. Assessment and maintenance of the older person's functional status are fundamental concerns of geriatric and critical care specialists. Evaluation of an individual's baseline abilities in physical, mental, social, and psychological spheres is necessary before limitation of care realistically can be considered. Intensive care unit hospitalizations for catastrophic or critical illness are not necessarily terminal events. Ongoing functional assessment will help to illuminate the impact of chronicity on an older person's capacity for self care, and may help to guide health care decision-making regarding use of critical care resources. Accordingly, assuring equitable access to essential intensive care services, devoid of concerns about age constraints, will help to ensure the autonomy that is central to older adults' achievement of a fulfilling and productive old age.

Deconstructing the myth of the advanced practice blended role: support for role divergence.

Since the early 1980s, there has been discussion about combining the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) and nurse practitioner (NP) roles. Examination of recent nursing literature reveals renewed interest in differentiating, rather than combining, these 2 advanced practice roles. Research has shown that although the 2 roles share similarities, these advanced practice pursuits are more different than alike, both philosophically and practically. Despite curricular attempts at "blending" CNS and NP philosophies of nursing care and their distinctive domains of practice in master's level degree programs, the uniqueness of these roles in actual practice demands a continuation of educational differentiation in preparation. Both roles are important and address varied systems requirements. Each role has been shaped by population needs, education, market, and legal forces that transform with time. The differing ideologies of CNS and NP practice lead to diverse patient and system outcomes and reveal different researchable questions.

New perspectives on advanced practice nursing case management for aging patients.

Providing case management for older individuals is challenging in that this group rarely fits any DRG or managed-care mold. Because many people are living healthier and longer lives, intergenerational family dynamics such as that observed in Sophie and Leo's case may become more the norm than the exception. Well-intentioned family members, lacking the guidance of an experienced gerontologic APN case manager, may inadvertently place their aged loved ones at risk by attempting to arrive at health care, social, and housing solutions on their own. Even though 82-year-old Sophie stated subjectively that she "felt better than ever", an objective clinical assessment revealed that she still was in a convalescent period following major abdominal surgery at the same time that she was faced with providing in-home care for Leo, her 102-year old father. Sophie may have experienced response shift, or a reconceptualization of her own health state, in the aftermath of serious illness. The advanced practice knowledge and skills, systems acumen, talents, and creativity of two APN case managers in two different states contributed to successful health and social outcomes for two "master survivors," whose longevity and clinical presentations exceeded expectations. The value of APNs as case managers is clear: APNs possess the proficiency, tenacity, knowledge base, and nursing confidence needed to make a positive contribution toward individualizing care for members of the greatest generation.