ICU Flashcards
what is critical care nursing?
field of nursing which focuses on the care of critically ill or unstable patients
what patients often need critical care?
those with life threatening or potentially life threatening problems
why is intense and often constant monitoring of the critical patient needed?
their condition can change on a moment to moment / hour to hour basis
what is a vital skill of a critical care nurse?
able to respond rapidly to an emergency or crisis situation
what patients need critical care nursing?
cardiovascularly unstable respiratory distress neurological disease multiple trauma systemic disease extensive wounds or burns electrolyte imbalances patients with sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome neonates / adolecents
what is triage?
assessment of patient to see if they are stable or unstable and decide order of treatment
when is triage especially useful?
when multiple patients arrive in a short time frame
what is the main question that needs to be answered during veterinary triage?
can the patient be left with the owner or do they need immediate veterinary intervention
what is involved in triage?
quick physical assessment of the 3 major body systems
what are the 3 major body systems assessed in triage?
CVS
respiratory
neuro
how long should the triage primary survey take?
no longer than 2 minutes
what happens if the patient fails any of the 3 major body system assessments in triage?
they have failed triage, are not stable and require immediate intervention
where is triage usually undertaken?
reception area / car park with the owner present
what should you do when arriving to a patient for triage?
Introduce yourself to client: Your name, your role and a brief summary of what
you are intending to do next
what question must you ask before approaching a patient to be triaged?
Ask the client if the patient is friendly – your safety is still paramount in these situations
when can a triaged patient stay with their owner?
if stable and passed triage and owner is happy to be left with them
what should happen if a patient is unstable / has not passed triage?
Immediately take patient from the owner for emergency treatment
what questions should be asked during triage assessment?
Is the patient tachycardic/bradycardic?
What is the pulse quality like?
Is the patient tachypnoeic/dyspnoeic?
Does the patient have respiratory distress or visible effort when breathing?
Is there excessive bleeding?
Is the patient severely painful?
Is the patient bright & alert or dull/obtunded/collapsed?
Is the patient ambulatory?
Is the patient displaying seizure activity?
What is the colour of the patient’s mucous membranes and is this abnormal e.g. white, red, grey or brown?
What is the patient’s capillary refill time and is this within normal range?
what must be communicated to the owner during triage?
Explain to the owner what you have found and why you are concerned
Ask their permission to take the patient for further assessment and/or treatment
Explain someone will be back shortly to give them an update and collect a full history
Remember – this can be a very distressing situation for the client!
how may communication with client differ in a real emergency?
very quick explanation and then take patient!
what should you do if you triage a patient and you are unsure of their triage status?
take the patient to ask for a second opinion, it is better to be overcautious, than potentially leave an unstable patient without treatment!
in the critical patient what should monitoring be tailored to?
the individual
what is useful for monitoring the critical patient?
monitoring equipments
what is even more key than monitoring equipment when monitoring the critical patient?
good regular physical assessment and eye for observation
why should you never 100% rely on monitoring equipment?
equipment can fail
what must be recognised during monitoring?
trends - deterioration or improvement
what critical patients are likely to need constant monitoring?
critical patients and those likely to deteriorate
what critical patients are likely to need monitoring every 15-30 mins?
GA recovery, starting blood transfusion
what critical patients are likely to need monitoring every 1-2 hours?
hypoglycaemic patients, monitoring RR, needing medication
what critical patients are likely to need monitoring every 4-6 hours?
stable patients but clinical status may deteriorate e.g. coagulopathies, cardiac disease
what are the 3 body systems that need to be monitored and assessed frequently?
cardiovascular
respiratory
neurological
how can the CVS be monitored?
PR and quality HR BP MM CRT ECG auscultation
what are the best pulses to assess PR and quality in dogs?
femoral
dorsal pedal
what are the best pulses to assess PR and quality in cats?
femoral
dorsal pedal often hard to feel
when assessing PR and quality what are you looking for?
PR within normal limits
ascertain pulse quality
are there pulse defecits
how can you assess for pulse deficits?
auscultate and feel pulse at the same time
what is a regular pulse with no deficits?
PR matches HR - one pulse for every heart beat
what do pulse deficits indicate?
arrhythmia
what should you do if there is an irregular pulse?
attach ECG
auscultate
paper ECG trace
what are the 3 main types of abnormal pulse quality?
weak / thready
bounding (strong and longer duration)
snappy (strong and shorter duration)
what do weak/thready pulses indicate?
indicative of decreased systolic BP e.g. hypovolaemia/hypoperfusion
what do bounding pulses indicate?
sepsis
what do snappy pulses indicate?
anaemia
what is the normal HR in small breed dogs?
100-140 bpm
what is the normal HR in large breed dogs?
60-100 BPM
what is classed as tachycardia in dogs?
> 140 bpm
what is normal HR in cats?
140-180 bpm
what is classed as tachycardia in cats?
> 180-200bpm
what is classed as bradycardia in dogs?
<60 bpm
what is classed as bradycardia in cats?
<120 bpm
what may affect HR?
pain
stress
drugs
can increase or decrease HR
what is normal blood pressure for dogs?
systolic: 110-160
diastolic: 55-110
what is normal BP for cats?
systolic: 120-170
diastolic: 70-120
what is normal MAP for dogs?
100 mmHg
what is normal MAP for cats?
135 mmHg
what is the acceptable range of MAP for cats and dogs?
60-120 mmHg
what systolic BP is classed as hypotension?
<100 mmHg
what MAP is classed as hypotesion?
<60 mmHg
how can hypotension be treated?
fluid bolus
vasopressors
what do vaspopressors do?
cause vasoconstriction
what systolic BP is classed as hypertension?
> 170-200 mmHg
what MAP is classed as hypertension?
> 120 mmHg
how should hypertension be treated?
Antihypertensive drugs e.g. amlodipine
Investigate and treat underlying cause
what are the non-invasive methods of BP reading?
doppler
oscillometric
how does a doppler measure BP?
Uses sound waves to detect arterial blood flow as an audible signal
how does oscillometric BP read BP?
Detects oscillations as blood flow returns to occluded artery
where should blood pressure be read?
calm, quiet environment
where patient has adjusted to surroundings wherever possible
what position should BP be read in?
lateral recumbancy
what should the cuff be level with when measuring BP?
R atrium
in what animals is it more crucial that the BP cuff is level with the R atrium?
large breed dogs
how many BP readings should be taken?
3-5 and then use average
over a period of time
what is the correct BP cuff size?
40% of leg circumferance
what is the effect of a BP cuff that is too large?
falsely low readings
what is the effect of a BP cuff that is too small?
falsely high readings
what is the gold standard method for BP monitoring?
invasive - measured directly from the artery
what is required for invasive BP monitoring?
arterial catheter placement
transducer
multiparameter monitor
what BP measurements can be shown through invasive BP monitoring?
systolic
diastolic
mean
is invasive BP measurement continuous?
yes - produces a wave-form
describe normal MM
pale pink (presence of RBC’s in capillary beds of MM’s)
what is suggested by red/ hyperaemic MM?
may suggest sepsis
what is suggested by bright/cherry red MM?
carbon monoxide toxicity
what is indicated by very pale / white MM?
anaemia or shock
what do brown MM indicate?
indicative of paracetamol (acetaminophen) toxicity
what is indicated by cyanotic MM?
hypoxia / hypoxaemia
what do icteric / jaundiced MM indicate?
suggests liver disease or haemolysis
what does petechiation on MM suggest?
coagulopathy
when are tachy (dry) MM’s observed?
dehydrated patients
define CRT
the amount of time it takes colour (i.e. blood) to return to the capillary bed of the membrane, after digital pressure has been applied
what is CRT an indicator of?
peripheral perfusion
what is normal CRT?
1-2 seconds
what is indicated by prolonged CRT?
shock
hypoperfusion
what is prolonged CRT due to?
vasoconstriction
what is classed as a prolonged CRT?
> 2.5-3 seconds
what is indicated by a rapid CRT (<1 second) and red/hyperaemic MM?
sepsis/SIRS
rapid CRT due to vasodilation
what is indicated by a prolonged CRT and pale MM?
vasoconstriction (shock / hypoperfusion)
what is indicated by a normal CRT and pale MM?
anaemia
what is measured by an ECG?
the electrical activity of the heart
what is the most accurate method to interpret ECG?
paper trace
when is an ECG essential?
crash scenario
when should all patients have constant ECG monitoring?
all cardiac patients
those likely to have arrhythmias (e.g. GDV and sepsis)
what is enabled by an ECG trace?
distance monitoring
how can the heart be assessed?
auscultation and listen for abnormalities
what should you be listening for or heart auscultation?
any abnormalities (e.g. murmurs, gallop rhythm) pulse deficits
what areas of the respiratory system can be monitored?
RR resp effort lung auscultation pulse ox capnography ABG O2 therapy
what is normal RR in dogs?
10-30 brpm
what is normal RR in cats?
20-30 brpm
what is bradypnoea?
<15 brpm
what are the causes of bradypnoea?
srugs
hypocapnia
CNS disease (affected resp centre)
hypothermia
what breaths per min is classed as tachypnoea?
45-50 brpm
what are the causes of tachypnoea?
hypoxia / hypoxaemia hypercapnia pain hyperthermia pyrexia stress compensation for metabolic acidosis
what is apnoea?
Absence of any ventilatory effort (patient has stopped breathing)
what are the causes of apnoea?
Respiratory or cardiac arrest
Drug overdose
Neurological complications e.g. increased ICP
what is normal respiratory effort?
Gentle chest movements, minimal abdominal movement
what is dyspnoea?
difficulty/laboured breathing
what indicates dyspnoea?
Increased chest and abdominal muscle movement Postural changes (orthopnoea) e.g. extension of head and neck, abduction of elbows, nostril flaring on inspiration Open-mouth breathing
what are the causes of dyspnoea?
Upper airway obstruction and flail chest
Pleural space disease e.g. pleural effusion, pneumothorax and diaphragmatic rupture
Pulmonary parenchymal disease e.g. pulmonary contusions, pulmonary oedema and pneumonia
Upper airway disease e.g. BOAS, laryngeal paralysis
what may be seen with upper airway obstruction and flail chest?
paradoxical breathing pattern (‘see-saw’ effect of thorax
and abdomen)
how is decreased respiratory effort shown?
Reduced chest and abdominal muscle movement
what can cause decreased respiratory effort?
Head and spinal trauma/injury
Tetanus
End stage respiratory fatigue/failure - if tachypnoeic for a long time
what should be done when assessing the respiratory system first?
listen to patient’s breathing from a distance and observe the breathing pattern
what should you observe about breathing sounds?
Is there noise on inspiration, expiration or both?
Stridor (dry noise, e.g. laryngeal paralysis)
Stertor (wet noise/snore e.g. BOAS)
how should you auscultate the thorax to listen for lung sounds?
Divide hemi-thorax (left and right lungs) into dorsal, middle and ventral
lung fields
Auscultate each lung field cranial to caudal
Compare adjacent lung fields and left/right lungs
what causes decreased/absent lung sounds dorsally?
pneumothorax
what causes decreased/absent lung sounds ventrally?
pleural effusion
what is decreased/absent lung sounds accompanied by?
rapid, shallow breathing pattern (due to limited space for lungs to expand adequately)
what sounds may be heard if there is diaphragmatic rupture?
Borborygmi (gut sounds)
what are crackles/wheezes on lung auscultation indicative of?
bronchopulmonary disease e.g. pulmonary oedema, pulmonary contusions, damage/disease of lung parenchyma e.g. pneumonia
what is measured by pulse ox?
Measures oxygenation of blood (% of oxygen bound to haemoglobin in arterial blood)
what is assessed by pulse ox?
Assesses patient’s oxygenation levels
what is the benefit of pulse ox?
Non-invasive and provides continuous information
what is the disadvantage of pulse ox?
Does not measure tissue perfusion or ventilation
what is normal SpO2?
> 95%
where can the pulse ox reader be placed?
Tongue, lip, ear, inguinal fold, prepuce or vulva
Pigmentation can affect reading so avoid these areas
Rectal probes also available
what is measured by capnography?
measures amount of CO2 present in expired gas