Acute and Critical Care

Original Articles

Nursing
A study to assess the psychosocial needs of patient family members in the intensive care unit in India: Lalthlanawmi Renthlei, Ronur Srikantasastry Ramesh, Mahalakshmy Thulasingam, Manjini Jeyaram Kumari; Acute Crit Care. 2024;39(3):420-429. Published online August 30, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2023.01116

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Background
Admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is considered a mental crisis for patients and their families as they are unprepared for such a stressful and difficult situation. Hence, the objectives of this study are to assess the psychosocial needs of patient family members in the ICU in various dimensions such as assurance, proximity, information, support, and comfort; and to associate their psychosocial needs with their socio-demographic variables and clinical variables of the patient.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional analytical study conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 among 188 family members of patients admitted to the ICU using a convenience sampling technique in a tertiary hospital in Puducherry, India. The modified Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) questionnaire was administered to all consenting family members to determine their needs.
Results
The overall most important need among the five dimensions of modified CCFNI scores identified by the family members is the need for assurance (2.71±0.38). Using analysis of variance, statistical significances were found as follows. Education and comfort (F-statistic and P-value): 2.76 (0.029); relationship with the patient and assurance: 2.61 (0.036); relationship with the patient and support: 2.44 (0.048); level of consciousness and comfort: 4.63 (0.010); ICU visit restriction and assurance: 3.28 (0.022); ICU visit restriction and comfort: 8.08 (<0.001).
Conclusions
Since family members are essential members of the treatment teams, nurses should concentrate on reassuring them, assisting them in emerging from crises through appropriate communication, offering support, and attending to their needs.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Perceived Needs of Families of Critically Ill Patients
Destiny R. Brady, Jennifer R. O’Neill, Joann M. Condon
Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America.2025;[Epub] CrossRef

Pulmonary
Under or overpressure: an audit of endotracheal cuff pressure monitoring at the tertiary care center: Biju Viswambharan, Manjini Jeyaram Kumari, Gopala Krishnan, Lakshmi Ramamoorthy; Acute Crit Care. 2021;36(4):374-379. Published online November 26, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2021.00024

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Abstract PDF

Background
Mechanical ventilation is a lifesaving intervention for critically ill patients but can produce the major complication of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Inappropriately inflated endotracheal tubes cause potential harm due to high or low pressure; this can be prevented through monitoring protocols.
Methods
A cross-sectional study of 348 cuff pressure readings was performed with intubated and mechanically ventilated patients to evaluate the exact proportion of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) where the cuff pressure is optimal and to identify the ICUs where device-based monitoring is available to produce a lower proportion of sub-optimal cuff pressure cases. Every three days, cuff pressure was assessed with a handheld cuff pressure manometer. The corresponding VAP rates of those ICUs were obtained from the hospital infection control department.
Results
Cuff pressure of 40.2% was the lower cutoff for the high category, that of optimal was 35.3%, and the highest cutoff of sub-optimal was 24.4%. This study also showed ICUs that had cuff pressure monitoring devices and protocols. Active measurement protocols had a higher proportion of optimal cuff pressure (58.5%) and a lower proportion of sub-optimal and high cuff pressure (19.5% and 22.0%) compared to ICUs with no device-based monitoring protocols. Furthermore, the VAP rate of ICUs exhibited a weak positive correlation with sub-optimal cuff pressure.
Conclusions
Device-based cuff pressure monitoring is essential in maintaining adequate cuff pressure but often is inadequate, resulting in high readings. Therefore, this study suggests that device-based cuff pressure monitoring be practiced.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Assessment of pressure–volume loop, inflation to precise pressure, minimum occlusive volume, and manual palpation techniques for inflation of endotracheal tube cuff: A randomised clinical study
Soumya Murmu, Jyoti Sharma, Mayank Gupta, Ruhi Sharma, Anju Grewal, Dinesh Kumar Singh
Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.2025; 69(11): 1221. CrossRef
Pressure changes in the endotracheal tube cuff in otorhinolaryngologic surgery: a prospective observational study
Sujung Park, Young In Kwon, Hyun Joo Kim
Frontiers in Medicine.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Correlación entre la presión del manguito del tubo endotraqueal y los síntomas laringotraqueales en postoperatorio
Wedley Peñaloza, Reyes Cruz Manuel Reyes , Evelin Núñez Wong
Gaceta Médica de la Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil.2023; 1(1): 13. CrossRef
Efficacy of using an intravenous catheter to repair damaged expansion lines of endotracheal tubes and laryngeal masks
Tingting Wang, Jiang Wang, Yao Lu, Xuesheng Liu, Shangui Chen
BMC Anesthesiology.2022;[Epub] CrossRef

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