Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Cardioversion may be extremely painful or terrifying, and patients must be adequately sedated before its use. Patients who are not adequately sedated may experience extreme anxiety and fear.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Cardioversion is a direct current “shock” across the chest or directly across the ventricle to normalize the conduction pattern of a rapidly beating heart. This shock is delivered during the absolute refractory period of the ECG QRS.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
The most common terminal rhythms reported in children younger than 17 years are PEA, bradycardia and asystole. The etiology of these pediatric arrhythmias is most often hypoxemia, hypotension, hypoglycemia and acidemia.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is much less common in children than in adults. The etiology of VF and sudden cardiac death in children is most likely to be sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory compromise, sepsis and neurologic disease.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Cardiac arrest in infants and children should initially be considered to be secondary to respiratory arrest. Sudden cardiac death, ventricular fibrillation, and pulseless ventricular tachycardia are much less likely to occur in children than in adults.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Complications of defibrillation include soft tissue injury, myocardial injury and cardiac dysrhythmias. The availability of multifunctional electrode pads has decreased the potential for soft tissue injuries such as chest burns.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
When encountering a patient who is unresponsive and has been down for an unknown time, assess the patient, summon help and initiate CPR immediately if indicated. Perform CPR until the defibrillator or AED is brought to the patient's side.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Once an advanced airway is in, the compression and ventilation cycles are no longer delivered 30:2. Now, the compressor will continue to deliver compressions continuously at a rate higher than 100 compressions/min, without pausing.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Two major types of defibrillators are available: biphasic and monophasic. The biphasic defibrillator, which is more likely to be found in the clinical setting, produces either a biphasic rectilinear waveform or truncated exponential waveform.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
If no pulse is present, begin a sequence of 30 chest compressions followed by 2 ventilations/breaths. Keep your hands on the lower half of the sternum and compress it at least 2 inches (5 cm) at a rate of at least 100 compressions/min.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
When confronted with a patient who has just become unresponsive, prepare for immediate defibrillation. As soon as the defibrillator is available and the patient is connected to the monitor, assess the rhythm.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
When performing defibrillation, take care to avoid excessive moisture on the chest or around the patient. Although it is unlikely that there will be current leaks from the patient onto a wet floor, take care to avoid creating an electrical hazard.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Patients “found down” or who have just become unresponsive can have other rhythms present besides VF or pulseless VT (e.g., pulseless electrical activity or asystole). Defibrillation is contraindicated in people with pulseless electrical activity.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
Victims of sudden cardiac arrest as a result of traumatic injuries do not usually survive. The heart, aorta and pulmonary arteries may have sustained injury that will prevent the resumption of normal cardiovascular function.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Fundamentals

Category: Fundamentals 
When sudden cardiac arrest occurs and the heart is in VF or pulseless VT, ventricular contraction is absent and circulation of blood comes to a standstill. To initiate CPR, compress the heart between the sternum and vertebral column.