This issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Debora Simmons, RN, MSN, CCRN, CCNS, will feature such article topics as: Cause Mapping Critical Events; Blood Bank Safety in the ICU; Patient Safety in Perinatal Care; High Risk Drugs in Critical Areas; Enteral Feeding Tubing Misconnections; Safe Practices for Enteral Nutrition; Negotiating Safety; Device Complexity and Human Factors; Decreasing Risk; Delirium in ICU; and Voice of the Patient.

This issue contains a series of articles focused on various initiatives aimed at improving the quality of patient care delivery and promoting safe passage across the continuum of care. Exemplary, evidence-based nursing practice is the cornerstone of quality care, and this issue highlights many ways in which nurses have led changes to optimize patient outcomes. In addition, quality care enhances cost-effectiveness by reducing avoidable complications and diminishing avoidable hospital readmissions, a concept more important than ever due to value-based purchasing and the Affordable Care Act. Articles are specifically devoted to prevention of delirium in critical care patients, palliative care in the intensive care unit, prevention of pressure ulcers, fall prevention in high-risk patients, prevention readmissions, preventing sepsis mortality, and nursing interventions in the elderly critical care patient, to name a few.

Pain Management, An Issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America

Dr. Chapa has assembled top-notch authors to write clinical reviews on the important topic of psychologic issues in the ICU. The issue focuses not only psychologic issues of patients in the ICU but also on issues facing critical care nurses working in the ICU. Articles are devoted to the following topics: Caring for the Caregiver in the ICU; Delirium vs. Dementia in ICU; Pediatric Delirium in ICU; Sarcopenia and Psychosocial Variables in ICU; Impact of Early Mobility in ICU on Psychological Issues; Intensive Care Syndrome; PTSD in ICU Nurses; Burnout Syndrome; Management Strategies in the ICU to Improve Psychosocial outcomes; and Psychologic Issues of Patient Transition from Intensive Care to Palliative Care. Readers will come away with current information they need to provide quality care with positive patient outcomes.

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, guest editor Dr. Jeanette Vaughan brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Evidenced-Based Trauma Pearls. Top experts in the field provide evidence-based pearls on key topics such as airway management, spinal cord injuries, chest trauma, geriatric frailty trauma, TBI, falls, trauma and the obstetric patient; and more. - Contains 13 relevant, practice-oriented topics including the multidisciplinary team in critical care; ethical dilemmas in critical care; LGBT+ and trauma; social determinants of health in trauma patients; victim mental health trauma; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on evidenced-based trauma pearls, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

Dr. Wung is addressing an important component of critical care nursing: the role of technology in patient care. She has assembled top authors to provide current clinical information in the following areas: Sensory overload and technology in critical care; Alarm fatigue; Nurse-technology Interactions; Safety steps to prevent Infusion errors; Product design and medical devices for nurses ; Technologies to assess physiologic parameters (hemodynamics/cardio output); Technologies to support hemodynamics (e.g., balloon pump. ECMO, etc); Interactive computer programs for application of critical thinking skills; Information technology Electronic health records (EHR); Real-time detection of clinical care deviations in ICU; Medication safety technology; and eICU/iCARE. Readers will come away with the updates they need to improve patient outcomes.

In consultation with Consulting Editor, Dr. Jan Foster, Drs. Garbee and Danna have put together a state-of the-art issue of the Critical Care Nursing Clinics devoted to Quality Outcomes and Costs. Clinical review articles are specifically devoted to the following: Information Technology, Electronic Medical Records, and Practice Alerts; Telehealth Use to Promote Quality Outcomes and Reduce Costs; Impact of a Mobility Team on ICU Patient Outcomes; MACRA and MIPS Impact on Quality and Cost Outcomes; Leadership’s Impact on Quality, Outcomes, and Costs; Big Data Sets Use for Quality, Outcomes, and Cost; Pediatric Quality Metrics Related to Quality Outcomes and Cost; Geriatric Outcomes Related to Quality and Cost; Mental Health/Behavioral Health Metrics; Obstetric Quality Outcomes and Cost; Emergency Department Throughput; and Veteran Outcomes. Readers will come away with the latest information they need to improve quality and improve out comes in critically ill patients.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, guest editor Dr. Melissa Nunn, Instructor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Pediatric Intensive Care Nursing. Top experts in the field present systematic, evidence-based processes for decision making and care, addressing topics such as palliative communication in the PICU; dialysis care in the PICU; caring for hematology/oncology emergencies in the PICU; nurse-led rounds in the PICU; asthma care protocol implementation in the PICU; and more. - Contains 12 relevant, practice-oriented topics including acute pain management protocols in the PICU; kangaroo care implementation; unplanned extubations in the PICU; pediatric delirium screening in the ICU; battling alarm fatigue within the PICU; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on pediatric intensive care nursing, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, guest editor and Instructor of Clinical Nursing Dr. Sherry Rivera brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Nephrology. Nurses care for patients with acute, chronic, and end-stage kidney disease in all patient care settings. Early recognition of risk and disease can improve health outcomes and delay progression of disease. In this issue, top experts provide expert coverage of issues frequently encountered when providing nursing care to individuals with kidney disease. - Contains 14 practice-oriented topics including medications and the kidney; race-based estimated glomerular filtration rate; acid-base disturbance and electrolyte disorders in nephrology patients; complications of kidney disease; COVID-19 and kidney disease; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on nephrology in critical care nursing, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.