Critical Care Newsline — November 15, 2012

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NEWS - Ameridose recall may exacerbate drug shortages

NEWS - CDC updates NECC information

ACTION - Complete survey to enter drawing for gift certificate

AACN NEWS - 'Act' now to be the NTI 2013 Guest Emcee

ACTION - Submit poster abstract for National Nursing Ethics Conference

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"Giving Feedback: Expert Solutions for Everyday Challenges," by Harvard Business School.

Complete survey to enter drawing for gift certificate

We invite you to share your suggestions and comments on the revised AACN CriticalCare eNewsline by participating in a short survey. Once you complete the survey, you will be entered in a drawing for a $50 gift certificate for the AACN Online Bookstore. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Submit abstracts for Patient Safety Congress

Submit a speaker or poster abstract for the National Patient Safety Foundation's 15th Annual Patient Safety Congress, May 8-10, 2013, in New Orleans. Speaker abstracts will be considered in the areas of health information technology, risk prevention, employee engagement, transformation models for safe healthcare delivery, and patient and family engagement. Speaker deadline is Nov. 25; poster deadline is Dec. 28.

Register for 2013 TeamSTEPPS Train-the-Trainer course

Register for a two-day Train-the-Trainer course for TeamSTEPPS, an evidence-based set of tools for improving communication and teamwork skills among healthcare professionals. A total of 15 courses will take place from January to September 2013 at five regional training centers.

Submit poster abstract for National Nursing Ethics Conference

Submit a poster abstract for Ethics of Caring's second National Nursing Ethics Conference, March 21-22, 2013, in Los Angeles. The conference theme is "Cultivating Ethical Awareness: Moments of Truth," and the objective is to motivate and empower participants with skills, courage and knowledge to speak confidently and to be creative and steadfast when tackling ethical challenges. Deadline: Nov. 26. Learn more and submit an abstract online.

Participate in study on political awareness, actions of critical care nurses

Joe Degitz and Maureen Cluskey, nurse researchers at Bradley University, Peoria, Ill., are conducting a study to measure the political awareness and actions of critical care nurses. Participate by completing the survey, which takes about 10 minutes. Contact Degitz via email or phone, (309) 677-2571, or call Cluskey at (309) 677-2540 if you have questions.

Nurse-led intervention improves surrogate decision making, study in AJCC says

"Nurse-Led Intervention to Improve Surrogate Decision Making for Patients With Advanced Critical Illness," in November's American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC), concludes the Four Supports Intervention, which incorporates a family support specialist on the intensive care team, "is feasible, acceptable and was perceived by physicians and surrogates to improve the quality of decision making and the patient-centeredness of care."

Synergy Model shows promise for nursing productivity system, says CNE article in AJCC

"Building a Nursing Productivity Measure Based on the Synergy Model: First Steps" sought to use the model as a conceptual framework for generating data to develop a nursing productivity system. The continuing nursing education (CNE) article in November's American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC) concludes that the Synergy Model "shows promise" as a conceptual framework for such a system.

CABG 'superior' to PCI in patients with diabetes and advanced CAD

"Strategies for Multivessel Revascularization in Patients With Diabetes," published online Nov. 4 by The New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that for patients with diabetes and advanced coronary artery disease (CAD), coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) was "superior" to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) "in that it significantly reduced rates of death and myocardial infarction, with a higher rate of stroke."

Study identifies variables for stroke risk after carotid artery stenting

Variables such as increased age, history of stroke or transient ischemic attack, recent myocardial infarction, dialysis and the need for cardiac surgery in addition to carotid revascularization are "independent predictors" of stroke or death after carotid artery stenting in patients with an elevated surgical risk, according to "Risk Prediction for Adverse Events After Carotid Artery Stenting in Higher Surgical Risk Patients," published online Nov. 5 by Stroke.

Recent neonatology study findings

November's Journal of Perinatology includes two studies of interest to nurses: 1) "The Coagulation System of Extremely Preterm Infants: Influence of Perinatal Risk Factors on Coagulation," which concludes that identifying perinatal risk factors may help determine patients who are at risk for bleeding disorders; and 2) "Survey of Neonatologists' Attitudes Toward Limiting Life-Sustaining Treatments in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit," which finds that withdrawal of mechanical ventilation in severely affected patients was "most accepted" by respondents, and withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration was "least accepted."

PICC, PDA treatment associated with increased survival in extremely premature infants

"Factors Associated With Survival of <27 week="" infants="" in="" an="" all-referral="" neonatal="" intensive="" care="">" include treatment for patent ductus arteriosis (PDA) and placement of a peripheral intravenous central catheter (PICC). Infection, necrotizing enterocolitis and respiratory failure were the primary causes of death, although 78 percent of the infants survived to hospital discharge, according to the study of 227 patients, published in Volume 5, Number 3 (July-September) of the Journal of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.

CDC updates New England Compounding Center (NECC) information

On Nov. 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta announced reports of spinal epidural abscess and arachnoiditis among a number of patients undergoing treatment for fungal meningitis associated with contaminated preservative-free MPA steroid injections from New England Compounding Center (NECC), Framingham, Mass. A Nov. 1 Health Advisory from the CDC announced that product testing identified bacterial contamination in unopened vials of betamethasone and cardioplegia solution that were distributed and later recalled by NECC. Access more information about the outbreak.

Ameridose recall may exacerbate drug shortages

On Oct. 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, Md., announced that Ameridose, Westborough, Mass., a sister company of the New England Compounding Center, voluntarily recalled all of its unexpired products after preliminary FDA inspection findings raised concerns about a lack of sterility assurance for products produced at and distributed by the facility. On Nov. 1, the FDA identified six Ameridose products that were on its critical shortage list even before the recall and noted it was working with manufacturers to resolve the shortages.

FDA issues safety communication for Pradaxa

On Nov. 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, Md., announced that after evaluating new information about the risk of serious bleeding associated with the anticoagulant dabigatran (Pradaxa), it is not changing its recommendations but reminded clinicians to "carefully follow the dosing recommendations in the drug label, especially for patients with renal impairment."

FDA expands Xarelto's use to include treatment of DVT and PE

On Nov. 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Rockville, Md., announced it has expanded the use of Xarelto (rivaroxaban), marketed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Titusville, N.J., to include treating deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE), and reducing the risk of recurrent DVT and PE after initial treatment.

'The Future of Nursing' tops reading list

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., says the "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health," released Oct. 5, 2010, topped its October "What You're Reading" list.

'AACN Scope and Standards for Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practice'

The new edition of "AACN Scope and Standards for Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practice" describes the expected level of practice and professional performance for acute care nurse practitioners, incorporating advances in scientific knowledge, clinical practice, technology and other changes in the healthcare environment. Access all three formats: print ($10 member, $25 nonmember); downloadable PDF (free); and Kindle ($3.99).

'Act' now to be the NTI 2013 Guest Emcee

Are you a natural performer who loves to ham it up in front of a crowd? Are you the one that friends and colleagues rely on to liven up the party and keep the festivities going? Then you might just be a candidate for the guest emcee role at the 2013 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI), May 18-23 in Boston. Applying is easy: Mail us a two- to three-minute video telling us in your own unique way why you would make a great NTI guest emcee. To be chosen, you must be able to attend the full NTI 2013, including SuperSessions and rehearsals during the event. The selected guest emcee will receive complimentary NTI registration, airfare to Boston and lodging during NTI. Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 31. Learn more.

Dare To

From November's AACN Bold Voices
"Dare to Explore Possibilities"— Kathryn Roberts, AACN President 2012-2013