treatment

Act fast against anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis can kill within minutes unless the victim receives immediate treatment. Calling a rapid response team to the scene can avert disaster.

Are you prepared for malaria?

Global traveling brings about 1,000 cases of malaria to this country each year. Don’t be caught off guard if you encounter it in your practice.

Calculating and interpreting the odds ratio

Researchers use the odds ratio to analyze which of two groups of individuals
is more likely to have an adverse outcome. Find out how to calculate the
odds ratio and interpret its significance

Calming a thyroid storm

Saving a patient’s life may rest on recognizing which findings are red herrings and which hold the key to the crisis.

Catching on to C. difficle

Typically caused by antibiotic therapy, Clostridium difficile is now common in hospitals. Learn how to help stop the spread of this potentially fatal infection.

Community-acquired pneumonia

Community-acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is exactly what it sounds like—a lung infection acquired while out and about in the world. The cause may be a virus, bacteria, or fungus. (See CAP stats.) community acquired pneumonia cap stats The estimated cost of treating CAP in the United States is about $12.2 billion a year. Inpatient treatment ranges from $7,500 to $10,227 per admission, whereas outpatient treatment ranges from $150 to $350 per patient. This difference demonstrates the need for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Getting a grip on GERD

Most patients manage the heartburn, nausea, and belching of gastroesophegeal reflux disease with lifestyle changes and medications. But some may experience a dangerous symptom cluster that warns of more serious problems.

HAART and its effects on the heart

Many patients with HIV/AIDS are doing well on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Yet HAART can increase cardiovascular risks by reducing high-density lipoprotein levels, raising triglyceride levels, and causing insulin resistance.

Helping patients survive sepsis

In its early stages, sepsis can be difficult to detect.
Learn about the sometimes-subtle signs and symptoms.

Interstitial cystitis – chronic, common, and sometimes complicated to treat

Although painful and disruptive, interstitial cystitis often can be managed with drugs, bladder instillation and other procedures, and dietary changes. Most patients also need psychosocial support or professional counseling to deal with related stress, anxiety, depression, and frustration.

Lyme disease prevention and treatment

SCENARIO: When you meet yourĀ patient Tom for the first time, he reportsĀ fever, headaches, a rash on hisĀ stomach, and muscle aches.…

Osteoporosis-not just for women

Most elderly men don’t know they are at risk for osteoporosis-and they probably won’t find out until a nurse tells them.

Paget’s disease: A therapy update

Pain, arthritis, fractures, and skeletal deformities are calling cards of Paget’s disease. A new one-dose drug therapy can produce extended remission.

Peril on Periphery

Peripheral arterial disease is all too common – and all too often goes unrecognized.

Persevering against pediatric pulmonary hypertension

Despite recent gains in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension, a cure is a long way off. Diagnosis and therapy can be tricky, and prognosis remains poor. Still, there are ways nurses can help slow disease progression and improve quality of life for a child with this condition.

Preventing airway obstruction

Complications of an anterior cervical fusion did not lead to an airway obstruction because of one nurse’s assessment skills and critical thinking.

Putting the breaks on pulmonary edema

I.V. fluids should help a dehydrated patient, but for one with a history of atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease, they could contribute to pulmonary edema. For Grace Johnson, quick assessment and action staved off a poor outcome.

Reversing SIADH

When a cancer patient’s thirst increases and urine output decreases, suspect syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone.

Saving a snakebite victim

While hiking, Paul Sawyer, age 31, is bitten twice on the right hand by a rattlesnake. When he arrives at the emergency department (ED), the team obtains STAT laboratory tests, including a complete blood count, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, fibrin, chemistry panel, blood typing and crossmatch, urinalysis, and urine myoglobin.

Saving lives with continuous ST-segment monitoring

Manay dangerous ischemic events are clinically silent. Continuous ST-segment monitoring gives early warning of the silent ischemia that many other diagnostic methods fail to detect.

Suppressing a COPD flare-up

Nursing vigilance helps a patient with chronic obstructive oulmonary disease stave off respiratory failure.

washing wash hands hygiene note

Take Note – October 2007

Medicare to stop reimbursing hospitals for eight preventable conditions Medicare will stop paying hospitals for the extra costs of treating…

Taking action against acute COPD

Each year, emergency departments see about 1.5 million patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Update your knowledge of the disease and its treatment.

What every nurse needs to know about breast cancer

Breast cancer strikes 1 in 8 American women. This article discusses recent diagnostic and treatment advances (including some you may not know about) that may brighten the outlook for the nearly 180,000 American women diagnosed with the disease each year.
 
 

What’s the latest on lipoproteins

A new lab technique called segmented gradient gel electrophoresis identifies subclasses of cholesterol and more precisely predicts your patient’s cardiac risk.

When all signs point to long QT syndrome

A patient’s brief loss of consciousness leads to discovery of long QT syndrome. By thinking fast and making all the right moves, you can stave off the threat of torsades de pointes.

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