Protecting Patient Safety and Preventing Modifiable Complications After Acute Ischemic Stroke

Protecting patient safety and preventing modifiable complications after acute ischemic stroke.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in adults. Stroke survivors often experience a variety of deficits related to mobility, nutrition, immunity, mood, and cognition. These post-stroke complications and residual effects can adversely affect safety, placing the patient at risk for further injury. In order to develop a plan of care that protects patient safety, critical care and progressive care nurses must understand the unique needs of this patient population.

To describe selected ischemic stroke–related physiological changes, how these changes contribute to safety risks, and methods of enhancing patient safety.

Stroke physiology and stroke-specific interventions that can enable nurses to reduce the risk of falls, dysphagia, malnutrition, dehydration, altered glucose metabolism, device-related infections, aspiration pneumonia, delirium, and depression.