Clinical Pearls

Nurses know that head-of-bed (HOB) elevation of 30° to 45° is associated with a decrease in ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, can clinicians accurately identify the correct HOB elevation by observation? Hiner and colleagues put 175 clinicians to the test. Clinicians viewed a simulated critically ill patient in a bed with the HOB elevated and the elevation gauge concealed. They found the following:

—Karen Johnson, RN, PhD

See Article, pp 164–167

Feider and colleagues described the oral care practices performed by critical care nurses for orally intubated patients and compared them to current recommendations to avoid ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The following findings highlight opportunities for nurses to improve patient care:

—Betsy George, RN, PhD

See Article, pp 175–183

The American Heart Association standards for electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring in hospital settings recommends use of atrial electrograms (AEGs) after cardiac surgery to assist in arrhythmia diagnosis. In this issue, McRae and colleagues noted the...