About half of adults admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) are patients whose condition has deteriorated while on a medical-surgical unit. Patients’ early warning scores (EWSs) are based on physiological measures and were developed as a decision tool to help bedside nurses identify and take action when a patient decompensates.
Fetzer and colleagues created an EWS bundle of interventions, including alerting an experienced ICU nurse, to improve communication and patient outcomes related to patient deterioration. After testing the bundle, they found the following:
Findings suggest that use of an electronically embedded EWS and a communication bundle with experienced ICU nurse collaboration can improve patient care and preserve health care costs.
See Article, pp 238–242
Early movement can improve the muscle weakness commonly experienced by patients in the intensive care unit and prevent potential long-term impairments. Nurse-facilitated mobility improves patient outcomes and decreases length of hospital stay. However, a commonly named...
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