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Case Study: Hospital Acquired Infection

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When a patient is admitted to the hospital an initial assessment is done. During that assessment we are already thinking of what kind of care and treatment this patient will need in order to dis-charge him as soon as possible. The longer a patient remains in the hospital, the more at risk he is for Hospital Acquired Infections. “Hospital-acquired pneumonia is the second most common nosocomial infection, but carries the highest mortality rate of 30-50 percent. Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a type of HAP that is associated with endotracheal intubation and me-chanical ventilation” (Pellico, 2012). “It is reported that HAP accounts for 25% of intensive care unit infections, and 90% of those occur during mechanical ventilation” (ATS & IDSA, …show more content…

The results showed significant re-ductions in preventable pulmonary complications (PPCs) in those patients. 2 other studies found that patients who had automated turning, spent less time in the intensive care unit (ICU), and “researchers in another study also reported decreased duration of mechanical ventilation” (Hannenman et al. 2015, p. 25). However, none of the prior studies that were done made a com-parison between patients with automated turning, versus patients who were turned manually eve-ry two hours. Research has shown that, “intensive care patients are not turned every 2 hours for a variety of reasons” (Hannenman et al. 2015, p. 25). When a patient is bedridden, it is the nurse’s responsibility to turn the patient every 2 hours. Turning a patient and changing their posi-tion helps keep the patient’s blood flowing, as well as prevents bedsores (Pellico, 2012). A study was done on a specific group of individuals who all fell within the same …show more content…

“A mini-bubble protractor was placed on the patients chest at the second anterior intercostal space to measure angle of turn and at the lowest portion of the back upper bed frame to measure the angle at which the head of the bed was elevated” (Hannenman et al. 2015, p.26). A battery-powered angle sensor was places at the base of the mattress to measure angle of turn in degrees. The patients with manual rotation did not hold their correct positions, despite the fact that they had pillows and wedges to keep them in place, and thus were unable to fully benefit from these turns. “Increased prevalence of PPCs during the study, despite turning, reinforces the high risk for pulmonary morbidity with intubation and me-chanical ventilation…PPC rates were high before, during, and after study participation, making a strong argument for further research on ways to reduce PPCs in ICU patients receiving mechani-cal ventilation”(Hannenman et al. 2015, p. 30). Researchers found that regardless of how the pa-tients were being turned, manual or automatic, patients who were on mechanical ventilation with endotracheal tubes in the ICU were more prone to PPCs because of their intubation. “Compared with manual turning, automated turning appears to better reduce progression/accelerate solution of, but not prevent, PPCs” (Hannenman et al. 2015, p.

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