CVME Insider: Nursing Knowledge That Matters

Intravenous Lipids Intravenous Lipids have been used in the clinical setting for over 3 decades. However, the use of these intravenous fluids have had a widespread element of controversy. Some healthcare providers question whether we should be using intravenous lipids due to the potential compromise of patient outcomes. Over the past 15 years new lipids that include olive oil and/or fish oil have been introduced with some remarkable findings seen when these new lipids replace the more traditional ones.     The most widely available intravenous lipids are prepared from soybean oil or a combination of soybean and safflower oil. All of the emulsions are emulsified with egg yolk phospholipid, with glycerol added to achieve an isotonic solution.  The issue of  Lipid function and use in pediatric, adult surgical and critically ill patients were covered in a Swedish Symposium with the aim of developing a clearer picture of the current situation.  ...

Sepsis is a consequence of infection that is difficult to predict, diagnose, and treat. Patients who develop sepsis have an increased risk of complications and death and face higher healthcare costs and longer treatment.  CDC is working to increase sepsis awareness and improve treatment among the public, healthcare providers, and healthcare facilities.  It kills more people than HIV/Aids, prostate cancer and breast cancer combined. What is sepsis? Sepsis is an illness that affects all parts of the body that can happen in response to an infection and can quickly become life-threatening. In severe cases of sepsis, one or more organs fail. In the worst cases, sepsis causes the blood pressure to drop and the heart to weaken, leading to septic shock. Once this happens, multiple organs may quickly fail and the patient can die. Sepsis is a serious illness that is very difficult to predict, diagnose, and treat. Patients who develop sepsis have an increased risk of complic...

Does Your Hospital Use the  The Surviving Sepsis Campaign ? This c ampaign  was created to help healthcare workers implement the recommended guidelines for Severe Sepsis patients in the Emergency Room (ER) and Intensive Care Units (ICU).  The  Surviving Sepsis Campaign  kits include posters, pocket guides, bundle cards, lapel pins and a list of resources to aid your implementation efforts using the most recent edition of the international sepsis guidelines.   The Surviving Sepsis Campaign has developed pre-packaged kits to help clinicians within institutions to improve sepsis identification, management and treatment.   "The Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) partnered with the Institute for Healthcare  Improvement (IHI) to incorporate its “bundle concept” into the diagnosis and treatment  of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. We believe that improvement in  the delivery of care should be measured one patient a...