ED Nursing articles from December 2008

ED Nursing archives from December 2008

Study: Older patients are at risk for receiving harmful drugs in the ED.
December 1, 2008... Study: Older patients are at risk for receiving harmful drugs in the ED Decreased renal and hepatic blood flow. Decreased glomerular filtration rate. Decreased total body water. Increased percentage of body fat. For these physiological...

Here are specific side effects to watch for.
December 1, 2008... Here are specific side effects to watch for "Textbook" side effects will be more pronounced in the older adult, says Joan Somes, PhD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAEN, ED educator at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. Here, she gives several to...

Watch for this common reaction to niacin.
December 1, 2008... Watch for this common reaction to niacin "This is one of my favorite problems to 'diagnose,'" says Joan Somes, PhD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAEN, ED educator at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. After taking over-the-counter niacin for...

Clinical Tips: Ask what medications EMS has given in field.
December 1, 2008... Ask what medications EMS has given in field "Many times in the pre-hospital arena, we see medications given as if the person were young and with good kidneys and liver," says Joan Somes, PhD, MSN, RN, CEN, FAEN, ED educator at St. Joseph's...

Risk is great if you don't reassess psych patients.
December 1, 2008... Risk is great if you don't reassess psych patients Patients may wait 2 or 3 days in the ED (Editor's note: This story is part two of a two-part series on care of psychiatric patients in the ED. This month reports on the best ED nursing...

Don't leave a psych patient in waiting room.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Don't leave a psych patient in waiting room Patients can harm themselves or others Psychiatric patients can leave your ED without warning or cause harm to themselves or someone else, says Nancy Bennett, RN, MSN, ED educator at The...

Clinical Tips: Don't assume patients aren't taking psych meds.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Don't assume patients aren't taking psych meds If a psychiatric patient came to your ED acting aggressively with pressured speech, you might conclude that the behavior was caused by failure to take antipsychotic medications. But this is a...

3 things to do immediately if measles is a possibility.
December 1, 2008... 3 things to do immediately if measles is a possibility Make policies 'very specific and very strict' When a Swiss tourist came to a Tucson, AZ, ED with pneumonia, none of the ED nurses suspected that measles was the underlying cause. As...

Signs of DVT can be surprisingly subtle.
December 1, 2008... Signs of DVT can be surprisingly subtle If a middle-aged woman walked into your ED and told you she felt as if something terrible was going to happen to her, but denied any other symptoms, what would you suspect? "I took her to one of...

Questions to ask if you suspect DVT.
December 1, 2008... Questions to ask if you suspect DVT Here are assessment tips to use at triage if you suspect that your patient might have deep venous thrombosis (DVT): * If the patient complains of lower leg or calf pain, do a further assessment of...

Is your patient hiding something from you?
December 1, 2008... Is your patient hiding something from you? Omissions can be life-threatening The middle-aged man on medication for erectile dysfunction who is given beta-blockers for chest pain. The diabetic patient on glucophage who gets a CT scan...

Could a child in need of help walk out of your ED?
December 1, 2008... Could a child in need of help walk out of your ED? Don't let child 'seize the opportunity to elope' A child who was involuntarily committed managed to walk out of the ED at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, right past a...

ED care of peds psych patients is inconsistent.
December 1, 2008... ED care of peds psych patients is inconsistent A child's race and ethnicity is irrelevant when it comes to treatment of pediatric psychiatric patients, correct? Not necessarily, according to a new study, which found that minority children...

CNE objectives/questions.
December 1, 2008... CNE objectives Participants who complete this activity will be able to: *identify clinical, regulatory, or social issues relating to ED nursing; *describe how those issues affect nursing service delivery; *integrate practical...