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Biomedical subjects

C Birdsall

Publications and source records attributed to C Birdsall.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Preventing complications in severe exfoliative skin diseases.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome Type II are both exfoliative skin diseases with complications similar to burn patients. The critical care nurse's responsibility is to recognize the disease processes early and assure aggressive nursing care is provided to prevent the serious respiratory, gastrointestinal, sepsis, renal, and pain complications.

Critical Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pain and anxiety with burn dressing changes: patient self-report.

Pain and anxiety are integral parts of burn dressing care. Descriptions of pain and anxiety from the patients' perspectives enhance our understanding of their experiences. This descriptive study measured relationships between self-reported pain and anxiety. Twenty-four patients who had an uncomplicated flame or scald wound reported scores immediately before, immediately after, and 1/2 hour after dressing changes. Results indicated that pain and anxiety increased until day 4. Pain correlated with anxiety. Self-report scores showed that pain and anxiety are perceived by patients in a similar manner. Self-report scores are of great value because they indicate the degree of relief achieved with medication. Through the descriptive study, we found that the pain score immediately after dressing changes was greater than 3 on all study days. This finding indicates a need to further examine the way pain is managed with dressing changes.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Adult patients looking at their burn injuries for the first time.

A total of 222 burn nurses from 30 burn centers completed a questionnaire about how and when a burn patient looks at their burn wound for the first time. The registered nurse is most frequently with the patient when the patient sees the wound for the first time (n = 187; 84%). Looking at the wound is not usually a planned event, and it is not documented in the patient record. Nurses use verbal and nonverbal patient cues to determine when it is appropriate for the patient to look initially at the wound and combine this initial look with an opportunity to teach wound healing. The patient asks the nurse for an opinion about the way the wound looks (n = 181; 81.5%). The nurse uses silence, presence-of-self, and gentle encouragement with the patient while remaining positive and honest. Respondents reported that the patient wants the truth but also needs reassurance and some degree of optimism when viewing the wound for the first time.

Burns↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developing a teaching video on mechanical ventilation weaning to facilitate effective nursing research.

This article describes the process of developing a teaching video associated with conducting a nursing research study and directed at educating critical care staff nurses about the process of successfully weaning patients from mechanical ventilation. Techniques on developing the script and filming and editing the video are presented. The results of this process included staff empowerment and a teaching video used by 10 hospitals in a multi-site research project.

Clinical Nursing Research↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of midazolam--an alternative for controlled sedation.

Midazolam hydrochloride (midazolam) is a short-acting central nervous system depressant that allows controlled sedation of the patient after open-heart surgery. Use of an intravenous (IV) loading dose induces sleep rapidly, and can be supplemented by a titratable infusion to allow variations in the sleep-wake cycle. A loading dose of 0.1 mg/kg is given slowly IV. A continuous infusion with the dose based on mcg/kg calculation allows the nurse to titrate the infusion based on the desired therapeutic response.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗