Editorials:

Kathleen Dracup and Christopher W. Bryan-Brown

Creating a New Tipping Point in Intensive Care
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 537-539. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Letters to the Editor:

David A. Sherman

Manufacturers Can Solve Our Blood Pressure Cuff Problem
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 540. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Sandra Smith

Awareness of Neurogenic Pulmonary Edema May Lead to Early Intervention in Brain-Injured Patients
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 540. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Patient-Focused Care:

Kathleen McCauley and Richard S. Irwin

Changing the Work Environment in Intensive Care Units to Achieve Patient-Focused Care: The Time Has Come
Skilled communication and true collaboration are crucial for creating healthy work environments. This article, written by 2 past presidents of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), describes how AACN’s Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments and ACCP’s Patient-Focused Care project together demonstrate true collaboration and synergy of thought.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 541-548. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Carol W. Hatler, Deanna Mast, Jeannie Corderella, Gina Mitchell, Kathleen Howard, Jackie Aragon, and Deborah Bedker

Using Evidence and Process Improvement Strategies to Enhance Healthcare Outcomes for the Critically Ill: A Pilot Project
Use of focused, interdisciplinary, collaborative projects can aid in the delivery of evidence-based healthcare. To reduce rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia and catheter-related bloodstream infection, these authors provided hospital staff members with research-based, controllable strategies consistent with the staff’s usual methods of care delivery.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 549-555. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Women and Heart Disease:

Anne G. Rosenfeld

State of the Heart: Building Science to Improve Women’s Cardiovascular Health
Coronary heart disease in women is underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underresearched. With an aim toward reducing women’s morbidity and mortality in this area, the article reviews the state of current scientific knowledge in cardiovascular disease, focusing on those elements with the greatest potential to address the needs of women’s cardiovascular status.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 556-566. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [CE Test]  

End-of-Life Care in the ICU:

Lois Downey, Ruth A. Engelberg, Sarah E. Shannon, and J. Randall Curtis

Measuring Intensive Care Nurses’ Perspectives on Family-Centered End-of-Life Care: Evaluation of 3 Questionnaires
This article evaluates the usefulness, validity, and consistency of 3 new short questionnaires designed to measure nurses’ perspectives on family-centered end-of-life care in the intensive care unit.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 568-579. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Susan K. Frazier, Kathleen S. Stone, Debra Moser, Rebecca Schlanger, Carolyn Carle, Lauren Pender, Jeanne Widener, and Heather Brom

Hemodynamic Changes During Discontinuation of Mechanical Ventilation in Medical Intensive Care Unit Patients
As many as one third of patients have difficulty establishing and maintaining adequate spontaneous ventilation following mechanical ventilation. These authors describe and compare hemodynamic function and cardiac rhythm during baseline mechanical ventilation with function and rhythm during a trial of continuous positive airway pressure in a convenience sample of medical intensive care patients.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 580-593. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [CE Test]  

Technical Aspects of Critical Care:

Timothy L. Hudson, Susan F. Dukes, and Karen Reilly

Use of Local Anesthesia for Arterial Punctures
Because arterial puncture is a source of pain and discomfort for critically ill patients, this article reviews recommendations and studies related to the use of intradermal lidocaine to decrease patients’ pain during arterial punctures.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 595-599. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Catherine J. Kirkness, Robert L. Burr, Kevin C. Cain, David W. Newell, and Pamela H. Mitchell

Effect of Continuous Display of Cerebral Perfusion Pressure on Outcomes in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury
Clinical bedside monitoring systems do not provide prominent displays of data on cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP). These authors evaluated the effect of a more highly visible CPP display on immediate and long-term functional outcome in a group of 157 patients with traumatic brain injury at a level 1 trauma center.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 600-609. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [CE Test]  

Case Studies in Critical Care:

Geoffrey C. Wall, Amy Wasiak, and Greg A. Hicklin

An Initially Unsuspected Case of Baclofen Overdose
Intentional or accidental overdose of baclofen can cause central nervous system depression including coma, hypotonia, respiratory depression, and seizures, as well as cardiovascular effects such as bradycardia. These authors report a case of surreptitious baclofen intoxication in a patient with seizures and coma.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 611-613. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Hussam Ammar, Ashok Kumar Malani, Chakshu Gupta, and Dennis C. Dobyan

Brain Natriuretic Peptide, Clinical Reasoning, and Congestive Heart Failure
To highlight the importance of excluding other causes before attributing signs and symptoms and elevated brain natriuretic peptide levels to congestive heart failure (CHF), this article presents a case study of an elderly woman with a known history of CHF who presented to the emergency department with dyspnea.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 614-616. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Cardiac Aspects of Critical Care:

Sharon L. Sheahan, Mary K. Rayens, Kyungeh An, Barbara Riegel, Sharon McKinley, Lynn Doering, Bonnie J. Garvin, and Debra K. Moser

Comparison of Anxiety Between Smokers and Nonsmokers With Acute Myocardial Infarction
Increased anxiety correlates with increased complications after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but anxiety levels and use of anxiolytic agents have not been compared between smokers and nonsmokers hospitalized for AMI. This article compares anxiety level, sociodemographic factors, and clinical variables between these 2 groups, examining predictors of use of ß-blockers and anxiolytic agents.
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 617-625. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Cardiology Casebook:

Laurie G. Futterman and Louis Lemberg

Pericarditis
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 626-630. [Full Text] [PDF]  

ECG Puzzler:

Michele M. Pelter, Teri M. Kozik, and Mary G. Carey

ECG Changes During Induced Hypothermia After Cardiac Arrest
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 631-632. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Education Directory:

Education Directory
Am J Crit Care 2006 15(6): 644. [Full Text] [PDF]  

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