Essays on Pneumonia.

Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) are complications that occur while patients undergo treatment and are often associated with invasive procedures and devices. According to Magill et al. (2014), about 721,800 HAIs occurred in acute care settings in 2011 with the top five types of infections being pneumonia, gastrointestinal infection, urinary tract infection (UTI), bloodstream infection, and surgical site infection (SSI). However, most HAIs are preventable through adherence to prevention standards and the implementation of related programs. The purpose of this paper is to explore current HAI standards and HAI prevention programs.

Standards

The “Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections ...

Menkes syndrome(MD), alias kinky hair disease, results is abnormal copper metabolism in the body. The leading clinical findings have revealed its symptoms as short, curly, twisted, coarse, whitish, or gray hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. MD is one among the uncommon neurogenerative maladies caused by the mutations in ATP7A gene. This particular gene is responsible for coding copper-transporting ATPase in cell organelles. Many copper-dependent enzymes go dud resulting in low concentration and accumulation in some tissues. Individuals affected with MD accumulate excess copper levels in kidneys and intestines while the concentration remains low in brain and liver. It results ...

Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

The population under study is ventilated patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia. Priority Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) is a priority given that it has the second highest rate of mortality and morbidity in the U.S among the nosocomial infections (Chung, 2011). It is attributed with longer hospital stays occasioned by the need for close monitoring as well as widely reported cases of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) to the antibiotics used in its treatment as well increasing cases of Multidrug Resistance (MDR) (Chung, 2011). Furthermore, the underlying medical conditions for which the patient has been admitted might ...

(Author, Department, University,

Corresponding Address and email)

Hospital-acquired infections, also known as nosocomial infections, hospital-onset infections, or healthcare-associated infections are those infections that are usually not present in a patient before admission to a hospital. In hospital-acquired infections, microbial flora of a patient starts acquiring characteristics of the bacterial pool in the surrounding. Most of the infections appear within 48 hours of admission to hospital. However, infections may also appear after the discharge of patient though the organisms that were acquired during the stay of a patient in hospital (Magill et al., 2014). According to estimations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( ...

(Author, Department, University,

Corresponding Address and email)

Introduction Methillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by staphylococcus bacteria that is resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics (e.g. penicillin, methicillin, and amoxicillin), which are normally used to treat staphylococcus infections. Studies have shown that about 40% of Staphylococcus aureus strains have developed resistance to methicillin (Durai, Ng, & Hoque, 2010). Most of the MRSA infections occur in people, who have been admitted in hospitals or other such healthcare settings as, for example, dialysis centers and nursing homes. In case of the development of infection in healthcare settings, it is also known as healthcare-associated (HA) MRSA infections. Usually, ...

Subjective Data:

Patient’s demographic and social information Jnr. is a 10 year old African American Male patient brought into clinic by his mother who reports that Jnr. was recently discharged from hospital for acute asthma exacerbation. The boy presented with cough and difficulty in breathing combined with a running nose and elevated temperature which has now been resolved with over the counter Tylenol. The mother also says that her son has a history of multiple admissions to the hospital for acute asthma exacerbation. His mother reports child repeatedly loses inhalers. She also states that she does not check for inhaler ...

{Author Name [first-name middle-name-initials last-name]} {Institution Affiliation [name of Author’s institute]}

Care Plan Template

Patient Initials: ABC Age: 65 Sex: Female Subjective Data: HPI: Dry cough for last two weeks Low-grade fever from last two days, 101 degrees orally Decreased appetite without nausea Intense coughing makes uncomfortable during night Needs to sit up to ease the breath She had been prescribed inhalers in the past but not a regular user Had taken antibiotics in the past on acute conditions Mild activities trigger shortness of breath, due to a dry cough

Condition remained same for the past two weeks with a slight sore throat

Patient doubts that it is a heart problem or she has ...

Acute bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi while pneumonia is an infection that causes the inflammation of one or both of the lung tissue. Both respiratory diseases have similar manifestations such as cough with sputum production, muscle aches and fatigue. According to the FDA, 300,000 adults age 50 and above are hospitalized every year due to pneumococcal pneumonia (Sagon, 2012). A 55 year old suffering from pneumonia would have signs and symptoms such as cough which can be dry or productive (green or yellow sputum, occasionally rust colored), sudden onset of fever with temperature greater than 380C, chills ...

Preventable hospital re-hospitalizations are key quality and patient safety concerns. Statistics suggest that one in every five Medicare enrollees is re-hospitalized within 30 days of discharge from an acute care facility, and an estimated 75% of these readmissions are avoidable. Readmissions are expensive costing the United Sates (US) healthcare system an estimated $17 billion annually. The 2010 affordable care act established the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. This program offers a financial incentive to hospitals to reduce excess readmissions (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2013). In efforts to avoid Medicare penalties, hospitals around the country have implemented programs aimed at ...

[Institution Title]

Patient Initials: Patient H Age: 65 yrs old Gender: Male SUBJECTIVE DATA: Chief Complaint (CC): Patient H reports cough associated with with shortness of breath, and fever, as verbalized, “I do (have cough). And it's getting worsehad chills and sweats and it took forever to get to sleep” History of Present Illness (HPI): Patient H is a 65 yrs old Caucasian, male who presents self in the outpatient ward with productive cough that was, according to the patient “getting worse”, accompanied by shortness of breath and fever with chills and sweats. He has difficulty bringing ...

Karpetis, George. "How experienced social workers apply recovery-oriented mental health policies in everyday practice." European Journal of Social Work 23.1 (2020): 106-117.

Social workers are the first line helpers to people who have recently suffered stress, trauma, and crisis events. They go through various training to handle these individuals because each individual has a different perspective and crisis or trauma that they may have undergone, and each one of them requires a different kind of attention. Most of these techniques that social workers use include offering psychological first aid, listening to the victim, and offering them a temporary ...

Essay Outline

- Thesis: In Katherine Porter’s Jilting of Granny Weatherall, granny Weartherall’s main antagonist is life itself (that throws back and forth), but she manages to soldier on and weather all kinds of adversity till her death.

- Jilted at the age of 20

- Granny Weatherall gets jilted by her lover, George, at the age of 20.

- She withstands the pain of the break-up.

- Sick at 40

- At the age of 40, granny Weatherall develops milky leg and double pneumonia.

- She manages to pull through.

- ...

Introduction

It is important for the organization to train their nurses and explain the different types of patient care activities that could result in hand contamination. The advantages and disadvantages of hand-washing should be explained to the nurses in order to make them more efficient in their nursing practices. I have reviewed three articles in this direction so as to justify the arguments put forward.

- KuKanich, K.S., Kaur, R., Freeman, L.C., and Poweel, D.A. (2013). Evaluation of a Hand Hygiene Campaign in Outpatient Health Care Clinics. AJN, 113(3), 36-42.

- Why did you choose this article? After ...

The rationale for using the North American antibiotic guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in immunocompetent patients as the basis of measurement in the study reviewed was established by the recommendations of the following bodies:

- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) - The Canadian Infectious Disease Society/Canadian Thoracic Society (CIDS/CTS), - The American Thoracic Society (ATS)

Basis of the Rational

These recommendations resulted from the findings of all four organizations indicating that “Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of CAP, that treatment that covers ‘atypical’ pathogens (e.g., Legionella ...

Northway and his colleagues were the first to describe bronchopulmonary dysplasia in 1967. The condition was described as a lung injury affecting preterm infants with surfactant deficiency as a result of mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy. A lot of the infants that develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia are born at about 30 weeks gestation, weigh about 1kg and are inundated with breathing problems. Also, infections shortly before birth or after birth have also been implicated as a cause of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

CAUSES

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a complication in premature infants that are undergoing treatment for respiratory distress syndrome. Respiratory distress syndrome is a severe breathing disorder that ...

Tuberculosis or TB is one of the leading causes of death that is due to an infectious disease called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and only second to HIV/AIDS. When a person is infected with TB, the bacteria in the lungs multiply causing pneumonia; the patient experiences chest pain and has a persistent cough that often brings up blood. In addition, lymph nodes near the heart and lungs are enlarged. As the bacteria tries to spread to the other parts of the body they are interrupted by the body's immune system. The immune system forms scar tissue around the bacterium that helps fight the ...

The risk of death by patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) stems not only from their critical illness but also from nasocomial infection. Among the critically ill patients, pneumonia is one of the most common nasocomial infections, affecting 27% of the patients (Cai, 2011). Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) or ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) as it is commonly referred occur 48 hours or more after admission and endotracheal intubation (mechanical ventilation) of the patient (Drakulovic, 1999). The frequency of nasocomial pneumonia varies among the types of ICUs with high incidences of VAP mortality reported in children’s pediatric intensive care unit ( ...

Respiratory syncytial infection is an acute viral disease characterized by phenomena of intoxication and moderate lesion predominantly lower divisions Respiratory with the frequent development of bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia. A characteristic feature of this virus is its ability to determine syncytium formation or cells in tissue culture. Replicates in tissue culture HeLa, HEp-2 and human embryonic kidney. In the external environment is unstable at a temperature of 55 ° C is inactivated for 5 min.

A study of the pathogenesis of this disease is difficult. The clinical course of the disease, both natural and experimental infection among adults, does not ...

The human race is facing serious threats from killer diseases caused by mutated viruses. Killer epidemics are one of the major predicted reasons for the extinction of human race. Kibola the newly identified epidemic is a matter of high concern for medical practitioners as well as pharmaceutical companies. This epidemic spreads through air and water which makes preventive mechanisms very difficult. Since this disease is caused by a mutated form of Ebola virus, the symptoms are almost the same as Ebola. However the mortality rate is three times higher and the spreading rate is also enormously high. The symptoms are high ...

Introduction

The debate on the safety of Genetically Modified (GM) foods has raged on for close to two decades now. On one hand of the controversy are people who argue that GM foods are safe and suitable in ensuring that the increasing world population gets adequate food in the face of deteriorating climate and unfavorable production factors. On the other hand, there are a significant number of people who allege that GM foods have negative long-term effect on human beings. Those opposed to GMOs have cited failure by researchers to prove safety and attributed the increment in chronic diseases to the ...

Podolsky, S. H. (2005). The Changing Fate of Pneumonia as a Public Health Concern in 20th-Century America and Beyond. American Journal of Public Health, 95(12): 2144-2154. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.048397.

The article proposes the essence of understanding the history of pneumonia. The article covers historical data from the emerging awareness of the disease in 1930 to the 20th century. Within this timeline Podolsky illustrates the significance of vaccine, control programs and reeducation of physicians. The author also provides insights on how penicillin and sulfonamides affected control programs. As control programs regressed government concerns also become devoid. As a consequence, pneumonia reverted ...

According to Hospital Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care | Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, there has been a prediction by the federal government claiming that there is to be an expected increase in the number of hospital nursing vacancies by nearly 29% which is approximately 800,000 by the year 2020, this will not be filled by slow increase in the number of nurses as their rate of increase will only be a mere 6%.

As it had been noted that higher level of nursing staff will increase both nurse satisfaction and higher quality health care, this cannot be achieved ...

In the early 1980s, following confirmed reports of an outbreak of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) among homosexual men in several states in the U.S, several studies were conducted to identify the risk factors associated with the disease(s), related trends and other associated issues. From these studies and CDC reports on the disease, several issues and trends emerged . Among the trends and the issues identified in the said studies and reports is that the prevalence of the disease was higher in homosexual men.

Some lifestyle aspects, common among the infected patients, were linked to ...

SARS Disease Outbreak

The SARS disease outbreak occurred in 2003 when the World Health Organization issued a global alert on the disease that was similar to pneumonia (Wei et al., 2009). Similar cases were experienced in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand. Other countries affected included Germany, United States, and Canada. The disease spread from Beijing leading to an outbreak in Tianjin city. According to Wei et al., (2009), 175 probable cases of SARS were reported. This included 21 deaths. The transfer of patients from one hospital to another stimulated the spread of the disease. A patient that was suspected of ...

Endotracheal suctioning is one of the common procedures performed on patients with an artificial airway. It helps to remove secretions to prevent obstruction. Suctioning is also important in intubated patients in order to prevent the accumulation of secretions, which would then lead to colonization of the respiratory tract by pathogenic bacteria leading to the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Endotracheal suctioning can immediately reduce the dynamic compliance and expired tidal volume in patients (G Briassoulis, 2009).

A study by Choi et al in 2005 indicated that manual hyperinflation followed by suctioning induces beneficial changes in respiratory mechanics in mechanically ventilated ...

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an infectious disease caused by SARS corona virus (SARS-CoV). It is a dangerous, not well understood, and easy to transmit disease. Its most dangerous features are that SARS outbreaks occur within the hospital setting, it can be deadly, and has no definitive set of symptoms. There is a distinct probability of another global outbreak of SARS.

On February 28, 2003, Carlo Urbani, a medical doctor working for the World Health Organization in Vietnam, examined an American patient in a French hospital in Hanoi. The patient presented with atypical pneumonia, a respiratory disease with an unusual panel of symptoms. ...

Nosocomial infections are infections acquired by patients and staff within a hospital or other health care settings. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) defined nosocomial infection as an infection acquired by a patient in a health care facility who was admitted for a different reason than the infection, and which must not be present or incubating at the time of admission. It may be alternately defined as any infection that develops 48 hours after admission or within 48 hours after the patient has been discharged (Shaikh et al., 2008). These infections are also referred to as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (Calfee, 2012). Nosocomial ...

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a condition caused by a progressed state of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The retrovirus can be transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood, semen, breast milk, and vaginal fluids via the bloodstream or mucous membranes (Moss; Maartens et al.; Simon et al.). Infection by HIV typically has four stages. The first stage is acute or primary infection which may last up to a few weeks, during which the infected person may either be asymptomatic or have flu-like symptoms such as fever, rash, malaise, body aches, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. Progression of the ...

Abstract

Early ambulation is now recognised as an intervention that confers many positive benefits to patients following cardiac surgery. However, there is lack of clarity as to the optimum time for the patient to perform early ambulation. A focused question was developed to ascertain whether early ambulation within 24 hours after extubation is more effective compared to ambulation 24 hours or more following extubation. The clinical question guided the search and retrieval of 6 studies that were subsequently appraised. There are benefits and many limitations of the chosen studies and do not provide sufficient evidence to answer the clinical question ...

Darline Stvictor-Viau

Molloy College Abstract Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in the United States today. While smoking is a significant risk factor, there are other causes of the disease. Second-hand smoke, exposure to radon gas and asbestos, and possibly other environmental contaminants act in conjunction with gender and ethnicity to result in a diagnosis of lung cancer. Numbers indicate that more non-smokers are being diagnosed with lung cancer at this time than non-smokers due to development of the disease after cessation. Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly extend the life of the lung cancer patient while studies continue seeking ...

Description of the chickenpox as a communicable disease.

Chicken pox is also refers to as varicella, is a communicable disease (CDC – ACIP, 2015). Chicken pox is a viral disease and it is characterized by an itchy red rash in body which mainly begins on face then chest and eventually to the back before spreading allover the body. Herpes varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox. The oozing blisters or bed linens of an infected person, or contact with the clothing, or droplets as a result of sneeze or cough are all means of spreading the chicken pox. The person infected by the virus will show the symptoms after ten to twenty days of ...

Article #1: Becker, R., et al. (2011). “Functional dysphagia therapy and PEG treatment in a clinical geriatric setting.” Dysphagia, 26, 108-116. 1). Summary: The article by Becker et al. delves on the outcomes of two Functional Dysphagia Therapy (FDT) with one group using percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), and another group of non-PEG users. 2) Element: The victims of stroke and those with cerebrovascular diseases have neurogenic dysphagia, 50% and 30% respectively. The result of this study revealed a mortality rate of 19.7%, and lower for the second group of non-PEG users which is at 8.6%. 3) Outcome: Those ...

Article #1. Martins, S.R.M., & De Oliveira, D.S.F. (2014). This article discusses the results of a two-stage speech therapy tests performed on the elderly, 45 in all and between the ages of 60 and 85 years old. The speech therapies resulted in improvements in 73% of subjects with dysphagia, and voice improvements on 62% after 11.6 sessions (Martins & Oliveira, 2014, p. 1120). Although the article makes no mention on the morbidity and mortality rates of dysphagia and dysphonia, it nevertheless affirms that “neurological diseases are common in the elderly” (Martins & Oliveira, 2014, p. 1120). In this respect, it can be ...

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the repeated blockage of upper airway when a person is asleep. It is the most common type of apnea during which the diaphragm and chest muscles open the obstructed airways and pull air into the lungs. This loss of breath reduces the flow of oxygen to vital organs causing irregular heartbeat (Force & American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2009). A person usually snores loudly at night with interruption by a silent period when they are not breathing, they wake up not refreshed in the morning, headaches that are hard to treat, feel sleepy or drowsy all day ...

Approach to reading a chest radiograph

An initial assessment is done to ensure that the radiograph belongs to the patient. According to Moskowitz (2011), once the initial assessment is done, the technical quality of the radiograph is determined. This entails assessing parameters such as rotation of the patient, exposure of the film and inspiratory effort of the patient. Moskowitz (2011) notes that rotations may in most cases symbolize abnormalities in the cardiac contour and can result in erroneous diagnoses. To make certain that the patient is not rotated the position of the medial ends of the clavicles needs to be equidistance from the spinous process. ...

Quantitative Article Critique

Methods, Results, Data Analysis and Findings The quantitative research article chosen to be discussed was entitled Predictive Values of Semi-Quantitative Pro-Calcitonin Test and Common Biomarkers for the Clinical Outcomes of Community-Acquired Pneumonia. The respondent population was mainly composed of people who have been hospitalized as a result of having been diagnosed with Community Acquired Pneumonia between August 2010 and October 2012 using the semi-quantitative serum PCT Test. The objective of the research was to determine whether there is an existing relationship between the semi-quantitative serum pro-calcitonin (PCT) test (BRAHMS PCT-Q) and the clinical outcomes of patients with community acquired ...

Research paper

Abstract The research paper deals with correlation of asthma risk among adults in Finland as a result of infant RSV bronchiolitis and reduced respiratory health-related quality of life after RSV pneumonia. The research includes the patients participated in different kinds of clinical study such as measurement of lung function, skin prick test, doctor examination, etc. The research group stated the problem to follow up the sequelae of the respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection (RSV LRTI) from infant age with asthma, atopy, and lung function in adulthood. The researchers used several tests to give the statistics for the ...

Introduction

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, is a virus that weakens the immune system in humans. This is accomplished as the virus attacks the cells that fight infection and diseases. As a virus, it is similar in nature to other viruses, such as the flu. Unlike other viruses, however, the symptoms associated with HIV do not improve over time as HIV reproduces by systematically overtaking the cells within the host body. HIV does not heal and once an individual is infected, that individual will live the remainder of their life with this virus (aids.gov, n.d.). The symptoms associated with HIV may ...

X-ray Reading

X-ray Reading Figure 1 The patient in this x-ray image is centred with both lungs apices. The image has also captured the costophrenic angles but some of the bones are invisible in the picture. The reason some of the bone structures are invisible is because of poor reproduction. Additionally, the medial ends of clavicle are invincible thus it is impossible to assess rotation using this image. Another observation is that the trachea is patent and deviated to the right. The image also shows that the heart is deviated to the right. The heart of the patient has a ...

Exercise 1: Anatomy of the Respiratory System

What are the two functions of the larynx? Larynx is a cartilaginous and a muscular structure while holds vocal cords together. It is used by human beings to talk, swallow and breathe. It is lined by the mucous membrane hence forming part of the respiratory system. Larynx protects the airways by closing quickly after mechanical simulation hence stopping respiratory and curbing the entry of foreign substances into the airways. The larynx also produces sound, controls ventilation and acts as a sensory organ.

Where does gas exchange take place in the lungs?

Gaseous exchange occurs in the lungs and for it to take place; there is the need for a place where ...

English

Fighting Superbugs; more refined tactics need to be discovered Frequent use of antibiotics promotes growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria or superbugs. These bacteria are immune to the strongest medications. Despite the great progress in healthcare and medical technology, antibiotic resistant bacteria still need to be addressed very effectively. Superbugs are at rage against the humankind. An estimated one in twenty, or five percent, of patients now pick up a threatening superbug infection from the hospitals and this number is rising all the time. A recent study has shown that more than 1.7 million patients in the United States develop ...

Scientists have found metallopolymers. Metallopolymers are used to make strains vulnerable to antibiotics. Previously, bacteria were resistant to these antibiotics. Tang and his colleagues noted that a significant fraction of infection is caused by bacteria such as MRSA. MRSA is spread through contaminated hands. The presence of MRSA in the body causes pneumonia and deters treatment by traditional antibiotic such as penicillin when they produce enzymes. Although much effort has been made to inactivate this enzyme, a successful resolution has not been reached. In the process of coming up with a better alternative, Tang’s team tested a recently discovered class against a number ...

Causative agent

Chickenpox is a disease that is highly contagious, and its causative agent is varicella zoster virus (Wood). Historical information The history of the term chicken pox that is documented as being used from 1684 is not dependably known. There have been speculations that it was derived from chickpeas, on the basis of their resemblance of vesicles to chickpeas (Belshe).

Transmission

It begins with vesicular skin rash on the head and body. It is transmitted through the air and it easily spreads via sneezing or coughing by affected persons or via direct contact with the rash’s secretions. The patient ...

Asthma is a chronic airway disease that is difficult to manage because of numerous risk factors and complicated by poor self-management. This is a case study of acute severe asthma triggered by viral respiratory infection and exercise in an Aboriginal female with chronic asthma. The discussion will include the diagnostic tests, patient assessment, care and interventions, medications, and nursing care performed or should have been performed. The expected outcomes will also be described.

An arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis was performed showing respiratory acidosis and mild hypoxaemia. Above normal PaCO2 and below normal pH meant the lungs could not eliminate carbon ...

Oxygen therapy refers to administration of oxygen to a patient as a medical intervention. The purposes can vary in care for both chronic and acute patients. It is normally used when a patient is hypoxic and is unable to supply his or her cells with enough oxygen through normal respiratory processes. The delivery system chosen depends on the age of the patient, humidification needs, oxygen requirements or the therapeutic goals, and, the patient’s tolerance to the selected interface. (Roca, Riera, Torres, & Masclans, 2010). (Pauwels, Buist, Calverley, Jenkins, & Hurd, 2012). The nursing actions needed to assist Mr. Jerrison’s respiratory ...

Hist 1303 Western Civilization to 1500

Spring 2014 T Th 9:25- 10;40 I certify that I am the author of this work and that any assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledged. I have cited any sources from which I used data, ideas, or words either quoted or paraphrased. I also certify that this work was prepared by me specifically for this course and has not been submitted to any other class."Signed_____________________ Date______________

The Black Death

In October 1347, there was a plaque pandemic that struck a good part of the earth’s surface (Exploring the Middle Ages 99). It was first referred to as ...

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive nursing care plan in relation to a case study. The nursing care plan is a structural framework that is developed by a health care provider for the purpose of ensuring harmonized communication that will eventually result to secure and valuable care for the patient (Doenges, M. E., Moorhouse, M. F., & Murr, A. C., 2005). Maternal health care is a sensitive area of health care provision as it involves handling two lives at once; that of the mother and the unborn child. In this case, developing a maternal care plan requires adequate familiarization with the psychological, ...

Introduction

Bacterial meningitis is an infection that affects the meninges, the cerebrospinal fluid and the spinal cord that causes death and disability in a number of people worldwide. This is a highly contagious airborne disease that is spread through the transmission of three organisms present in the respiratory secretions: Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The onset or origins of the disease varies among different age groups and geographic locations. According to estimates, 200,000 people die annually of meningitis. Case fatality rates vary with age at time of illness and also depend on the particular bacterial strain causing the infection ( ...

Ventilator Assisted Pneumonia

Ventilator Assisted Pneumonia

Implementation Plan

The Policy and Procedure Committee of St. Mary’s Hospital was presented with a literature review and presentation suggesting a policy change; the change regarded care of ventilated patients in the Intensive Care Unit. The change promoted addressed incorporating oral hygiene measures in an effort to reduce ventilator assisted pneumonia (VAP) in the patients. The use of manual cleaning with chlorhexidine swabs or brush in conjunction with suctioning enhances the removal of bacteria from the buccal cavity. The presence of the bacteria encourages development of VAP. The Committee requested an implementation plan for further evaluation of the proposal.

...

Ventilator Assisted Pneumonia

Ventilator Assisted Pneumonia

- O'Keefe-McCarthy, S., Santiago, C., & Lau, G. (2008). Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Bundled Strategies: An Evidence-Based Practice. Worldviews On Evidence-Based Nursing, 5(4), 193-204. doi:10.1111/j.1741-6787.2008.00140.xSummary of Article: In an effort to create care practices and a ventilator bundle to reduce ventilator-induced pneumonia, the study started with a compliance audit by quality control to determine baseline information. - Research Elements: The design included education of staff, placement of reminder signage, and collecting data from the period of October 2008 to December 2009. The quality department conducted compliance audits. Specific objectives were determined, striving for 100% compliance and reduction of VAP ...

Health Care

Health Care Expenditures Attributable to Smoking In the United States alone, there are about 440,000 individuals who die annually of smoking related diseases (Pubmed). According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, recent studies linked cigarette smoking to a numerous other diseases to include abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, cervical cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, pneumonia, periodontitis, and stomach cancer. “These are in addition to diseases previously known to be caused by smoking, including bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, and throat cancers, chronic lung diseases, coronary heat and cardiovascular diseases, as well as reproductive ...

Alcohol is the world’s oldest known drug that is abused by people. Alcohol has been used by many people for several years and its abuse has become a major societal health problem. The consequences of excessive alcohol intake vary from a mild hang-over to mass destruction, diseases, and death at its worst. When consumed in moderation, it has no or little effects for the drinkers and the people around them. Nonetheless, its misuse has become very dangerous to the drinker and the society. We all agree that, occasional taking of alcohol does not hurt, nonetheless it can lead to addiction ...

Identification of mystery microbe based on its morphology and biochemical properties

The experiment was conducted to detect the species of a given mystery microbe. The microbe was subjected to a battery of tests in order to identify its physical and biochemical characteristics. Based on the tests, different possible microbe species were eliminated to finally arrive at the right conclusion. The possible microbes included Escherichia coli, Providencia alcalifaciens, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Micrococcus luteus, Serratia marcescens, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Sarcina aurantiaca, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus licheniformis. The first test conducted was to detect the Gram staining properties of the given microbe. This helped in identifying whether the given microbe had a thin ...

Designing an approach to Lower Respiratory Tract Infections.

Candace Moore No University Affiliation Nursing Introduction: Ethiopia is highly affected by communicable diseases like many countries less economically developed countries. These diseases accounted for over 60% of total death and 63% of DALYs in Ethiopia 2010. Out of these communicable diseases lower respiratory infections play a major role in the mortality and morbidity of the people. These diseases contribute about 14 % and almost 11% of towards all communicable death and DALYs respectively ((( Source from summative assignment))). The risk of developing acute lower respiratory infection was found to be very high in children under the age ...

Sepsis is a clinical condition that evokes an inflammatory response of the host immune system in response to clinically-suspected infections. It usually occurs in an individual with a weak immune system such as a post-surgery patient, organ transplant patient, cancer patients or an AIDS patient. It spreads throughout the body via the bloodstream. There are several degrees of sepsis such as severe sepsis, septic shock and refractory septic shock (Morrell, Micek & Kollef, 2009) that together make up the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (Mayr, Yende & Angus, 2014). Sepsis and septic shock are some of the leading causes of death in the world, ...

Literature review of CVL

Introduction The management of the sick with serious disease like cancer requires a stable central venous access to be used for a variety of treatment that includes antibiotic and blood samples or product. It also allows the resuscitation of fluid, hemodialysis and parenteral nutrition and cytotoxic chemotherapy to access blood-stream so that medical professionals can observe and microbial culturing of the patient. In addition, it is used to monitor the pressure of central venous. The importance of educating the patient was emphasized too so as to avoid keeping the patients in darkness and not knowing what is happening to them ...

Abstract

The topic of this paper is regarding the effects of the nursing shortage on patient safety and adverse events. Due to the nursing shortage, there is an increase inare registered more patient adverse events and there is increasedthe risk to the patient’s safety increased. If the nursing shortage problem is not correctedsolved, then there will be a continuance ofcontinue increase in the risk to patient safety risk , andas well as harm to the patient. In the paper there is provided Aan explanation of the nursing shortage, the its cause of the shortage, how the shortageit affects patient safety, and ...

Studies show that stroke survivors with poor oral hygiene have a poor quality of life (Armstrong and Mosher 2011). (Lam et al. 2014) have explored the effect of clinical oral health and socio-demographic factors on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients following stroke. Oral health-related quality of life results were received before and after provision or oral health promotion interventions. Eighty-one patients faced a stroke rehabilitation ward. OHRQoL have also determined the outcomes after in-hospital oral health intervention programme. They observed a significant association between the absence of regular daily brushing and majority of measurement scale items (6 out of ...

(Author)

Abstract

Unplanned extubation can be defined as the premature removal of ETT. It can be deliberate or accidental. Usually, it is caused by mechanical ventilation, which is the common process in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Unplanned extubations represents fourth most common adverse event in NICUs in North America. Unplanned extubation can result in several complications such as acute cardiorespiratory deterioration, bronchospasm, hypotension, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and subglottic stenosis. Duration of intubation, short length of ETT, less common use of sedatives and muscle relaxants, and time spent out of bed in the hand of parents, i.e. movements, are some of ...

About five years ago, I had an unpleasant experience while driving with my friends. We got in a car and drove all over the city. At one point, while I was sitting in the back seat, a friend who was driving caused an accident. Fortunately, nobody was injured. However, I got very scared and couldn’t calm down for a while. Soon after that a friend offered to drive me home and I had to sit in the back. When I entered the car, I felt enormous fear. This can be explained by classical conditioning. In fact, this is a special type of classical ...