New international guidelines for sepsis care: Implications for critical care nursing

International Conference on Nursing & Emergency Medicine

December 02-04, 2013 Hampton Inn Tropicana, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Ruth Kleinpell

Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Severe sepsis (sepsis that has progressed to cellular dysfunction and organ damage or evidence of hypoperfusion) and septic shock (sepsis with persistent hypotension despite adequate fluid resuscitation) are associated with high mortality rates, despite improvements in the ability to manage infection. New guidelines for the management of severe sepsis were recently released that advocate for implementation of evidence based practiced care. Specific areas of focus include early recognition of sepsis, fluid resuscitation to prevent alterations in perfusion that can lead to organ system dysfunction, early administration of antibiotics after cultures have been obtained, use of vasopressor and inotropic therapy as indicated, and supportive therapies including mechanical ventilation, sedation and analgesia, glucose control, renal replacement therapy, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, stress ulcer prophylaxis and discussing goals of care with the patient and their family members, among other areas of care. As nurses are directly involved in the assessment of patients at risk for developing sepsis, and the treatment of patients with severe sepsis, knowledge of the new guidelines are essential. This presentation will present an overview of new recommendations for the treatment of sepsis, highlighting the role of the nurse. Changes that have been made to the evidence based international sepsis guidelines will be reviewed including discussion of the new sepsis care bundles which guide care for patients with severe sepsis.

Biography :

Ruth Kleinpell, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, FCCM is currently the Director of the Center for Clinical Research and Scholarship at Rush University Medical Center and a Professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago Illinois, USA. She served on the 2012 Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guideline taskforce and has presented and published on the topic of sepsis, most recently in a 2013 American Journal of Critical Care publication on implications of the new international sepsis guidelines for nursing care. She is a fellow in the American College of Critical Care Medicine; American Academy of Nursing; American Association of Nurse Practitioners; and the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. She is serving a two-year term as President of the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses, an international organization with 40 country members representing over 400,000 critical care nurses worldwide.