patients and methods a cross-sectional study was conducted at icus of imam-reza and vali-asr hospitals, birjand, iran. sampling was done through a census in which 53 icu nurses participated. descriptive statistics, kolmogorov-smirnov test, mann-whitney u tests and kendall's correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. results a total of 53 nurses participated in this study. most of th...

abstract background: endotracheal suctioning (ets) is an essential procedure performed for mechanically ventilated patients. ets can be either performed by open or closed suctioning system (css). there may be some concern on how closed‑system ets is practiced by intensive care nurses. this study was designed to investigate closed‑system ets practices of critical care nurses and to compare their...

In order to keep this guide easy to follow, we have refrained from describing the theoretical background and the statistical analysis techniques in detail. Instead we suggest step-by-step activities intended to solve a fictional but highly plausible problem—low compliance in hand hygiene behavior of resident physicians working in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of a hospital (see Box 1). Introd...

Introduction Underfeeding is still reported as a major therapeutic failure in intensive care units (ICU), despite the increasing recognition of nutritional support as a predictor of patients’ outcome. Early optimized enteral nutrition is reported to diminish infectious events, length of stay (LoS) and, with less preponderance. Implementation of nutritional protocols is likely to improve enteral...

Introduction Pain is common in intensive care units (ICUs) [1]. Regular pain assessment can improve patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. It is commonly performed by nurses [2], yet physician-led assessment can improve analgesic management. Using pain documentation as a surrogate for assessment, a review showed physiological parameters i.e. cardiovascular assessment, were more frequently ...

Population Unlike many other clinical areas, patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) do not have easily identifiable diseases (e.g. diabetes or cancer), but are classified as having syndromes with hazy definitions that may be inconsistently applied both within and between centres. The definition and implementation of inclusion and exclusion criteria is therefore difficult, resulting in...

When patients' surrogates and physicians disagree about the appropriateness of aggressive treatment in intensive care units (ICUs), physicians can experience surrogates' demands as sources of moral distress. This article addresses the virtues and communication strategies needed to respond appropriately in such situations. Specifically, we offer a framework and language that rely on moral commun...

With the aim of identifying the fungus microbiota in air conditioners in intensive care units (ICUs) within public and private hospitals in Teresina, Piauí, solid material was collected from ten different ICUs. Thirty-three species of Moniliaceae and Dematiaceae were isolated, which was the first report of these in Piauí. High frequencies of Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem (60%), Aspergillus fumi...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to explore the prevalence of microbiological contamination of mobile phones that belong to clinicians in intensive care units (ICUs), pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), and neonatal care units (NCUs) in all public secondary care hospitals in Kuwait. The study also aimed to describe mobile phones disinfection practices as well as factors associated...