Pain is difficult to assess in noncommunicative patients who are being treated with mechanical ventilation or are sedated and unable to report pain. Use of a valid and reliable tool to assist health care providers in the management of pain in critically ill, sedated, and non-communicative patients is paramount. Arif Rahu and colleagues evaluated the validity and sensitivity of 6 pain scales to identify the most appropriate measure of pain in noncommunicative patients (ie, those who were mechanically ventilated and sedated). They found the following:
See Article, pp 514–524
Anthropometric measurements (eg, weight, stature, head circumference) are vital for safe care in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). Teams of PICU personnel should evaluate their practice and determine if barriers to obtaining anthropometric measurements exist in their environment and if so, develop innovative ways to remove these barriers from the provision of care. Irving and colleagues explored barriers to obtaining anthropometric...
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